Economic Analysis of Different Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Technologies in Rice-Wheat Cropping System of the Indo-Gangetic Plains

To reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from rice and wheat cultivation several mitigation options have been suggested. However, economic impact of these technologies has been poorly documented. In the present study economic analysis of some emerging GHG mitigation technologies for rice-wheat system of the Indo-Gangetic Plains has been carried out. The experiment consisted of six combinations of wheat- rice crop rotation using eight treatments, including conventionally tilled wheat (CTW), zero tilled wheat (ZTW), transplanted puddled rice (TPR), dry direct seeded rice (DSR), intermittent wetting and drying (IWD), application of rice straw (RS) with ZTW and use of neem oil-coated urea (NOCU) in TPR and ZTW. Cost of various inputs and income from grain and straw were used for computing the benefit to cost (B : C) ratio in the different treatments. ZTW showed higher yield and B : C ratio compared to CTW along with reduction in fuel consumption during tillage operation. In spite of lower yield under DSR and IWD, saving of water, labour and energy in these treatments lowered the cost of cultivation and enhanced B : C ratio similar to TPR. Application of rice straw and NOCU also showed positive impact on crop yield. B : C ratio of rice-wheat system ranged from 1.62 to 1.86 in the first year and from 1.86 to 2.16 in the second year. B : C ratio was significantly higher in all the treatments in the experimented rice-wheat system compared to conventional system, i.e. CTW-TPR. The ZTW + RR - DSR (WR5) showed highest B : C ratio followed by ZTW + DSR (WR4) in both the seasons.