PROJECT NEWSLETTER: ACIAR CSE/2015/044 Sustainable intensification and diversification in the lowland rice system in Northwest Cambodia

Newsletter No. 06 Sep 2020

SUMMARY The project titled “Sustainable intensification and diversification in the lowland rice system in Northwest Cambodia (CSE/2015/044) – known in short as CamSID – is in year 4 of the 5 year-project duration. The project, henceforward, places an emphasis on summarizing and scaling of project findings to a wide range of audience; including farmers, farming service contractors, agri-input dealers, NGOs/Develop- ment Projects, Government Ministries/ Departments, research institute and universities. In this main wet season, project teams in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey often meet with farmers individually and in small groups, as well as different key stakeholders to discuss and share the research findings. The followings summarise two technical packages based on participatory on-farm research for enhancing productions of paddy and mungbean. The project also works with watermelon production after rice and aquaculture production as a part of rural household livelihood activities. These technical packages could be included in the next newsletter.

Technical package based on participa- Technical package based on partici- tory on-farm research for enhancing patory on-farm research for improv- paddy production: ing mungbean production: The project suggests paddy production practices to successfully minimize yield gaps and reduce The project suggests five ways to successful- production cost which include: ly minimize yield gaps and reduce production • Suitable land preparations for machine planting cost which include: specifically for the dry and wet field conditions • Preserve residual soil water by reducing (e.g. reduce the amount of disc ploughing, re- the amount of ploughing and keeping crop tain crop residues at the soil surface or shallow residues. incorporation into the soil with rotavator, very • Rather than broadcast, plant the seed with good leveling, etc.) a drill seeder, so that the seed is in better • Promotion of pre-emergence herbicides to im- contact with the soil moisture. prove weed control (pretilachlor for wet seed- • Use improved varieties such as CMB-2 ing and butachlor or oxadiazon for dry-seeded variety which has been selected by mung- rice) bean growers as better than the common • Seed treatments with insecticide and fungicide mungbean varieties imported from Thai- (to be included active ingredients) land and Vietnam. • Mechanised direct seeders and optimal seed- • Treat seed (prior to planting) with rhizobial ing rates (Kid seeder, Kubota seeder, Eli seed- inoculation to help mungbean fix N from er, mechanised Drum seeder, with seeding the atmosphere. rates of 60 to 80 kg/ha). • Replace broad-spectrum insecticides • Optimal rates and timing of fertiliser applica- during the vegetative stage with biological tions (the amount and timing vary according to insecticides such as Beauveria bassiana. rice varieties, field conditions, soil types, weed • The CamSID integrated insect pest man- density, etc.). agement (IPM) schedule replaces chemi- • Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices cal insecticides with biological insecticide, for insect management (e.g. preserve natural Beauveria bassiana, in the vegetative enemies, choose and apply the correct insec- stage, blue sticky traps in the budding ticide to preserve natural enemies and check and flowering stage and, if necessary, Spi- economic thresholds for leaf-area loss before nosad or Spinetorum during the flowering applying the hard method for pest control, etc.). and podding stage. SCALING OUT ACTIVITY: PLANTING MACHINE AND WEED MANAGEMENT FIELD DAY CamSID's baseline survey in 2017 suggested al- On Wednesday 12th August 2020, a rice Field most every paddy field was sown by hand-broad- Day was held at Ou Ta Nhea village of Battam- casting with around 200 kg/ha of seeding rate. bang province to share and discuss machine Majority of the farmers used their own kept seed planting and weed management on-farm re- of rice for planting to reduce cost. This poses a search findings. This is one part of the scaling out high risk of weed seed contamination in sowing activities. The Field Day featured adjacent rice seed. Increased reliance on herbicides is asso- fields planted with two machine planting options ciated with direct-seeded rice and has resulted (Kid and Kubota) which allowed reduced seed- in shifts towards more difficult-to-control weeds ing rates and the option to use weed-free rice and the potential for development of herbicide seed for sowing. Weed problems are worsening resistance. in dry direct seeded rice and the Field Day also featured experiments testing alternative pre- and Results from field trials showed mechanised di- post-emergence herbicides. rect seeders offered several benefits; including (1) reduced seeding rates <80 kg/ha, (2) reduced risk There was good participation from the pub- remarkably from a short duration of drought (~ lic sector representatives and good interaction four weeks of no rain). Another observation was with the private sector service providers. Partic- that planting at a low seeding rate (60-80 kg/ha) ipants were very interested in the planting ma- provided conditions for reduced rice blast dis- chines and were divided on which had the best ease pressure. features. Overall, they saw machine planting as being cheaper and safer compared to broadcast- CamSID commenced on-farm research on ma- ing. Thirty-four participants completed a survey chine planting of rice in 2017 and has now reached and ratings out of 5 were: Kid (1), Kubota (2); and the scaling-out stage where there are currently 20 broadcasting (4). The assessments of advantag- machine planting service providers in Battam- es and disadvantages of each option were mixed bang province. Scaling has been fast-tracked by and it appears that farmers and contractors are the Australian Aid Cambodian Agricultural Value looking for a hybrid planter combining the best Chain Program (CAVAC) who have subsidized the features of both. The ideal machine would seem purchase of 14 Kid planting machines in Battam- to have independent seed boxes, fertiliser boxes bang province. and a back roller. SCALING OUT ACTIVITY: FARMER TRAINING IN A SMALL GROUP

The project intends to disseminate technical information found from the participatory on-farm research to wider farming communities, as well as other relevant audiences – and that is one of our main focuses during this scaling out/up stage. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project team have organised vil- lage training programs to key farmers in small groups, expecting that they (key farmers) will try out the introduced practices on their fields and their fellow farmers could see results from adopting the prac- tices they learnt. The focused technical messages in each training were around suitable land prepara- tion practices for machine planting, pre- and post-emergent herbicide applications, mechanised direct seeding and optimal seeding rates, rates and timings of fertiliser applications, some practices in Inte- grated Pest and Disease Management. The attached table highlights training programs and pictures shows how the trainings were organised during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No. Village Commune District Farmer M F Date 1 Bat Trang Samroang Ou Chrov 4 4 0 20/4/2020 2 Spean Spean Sraeng Phnum Srok 8 1 7 22/4/2020 3 Kouk Tonloap Banteay Neang Mongkol Borei 5 5 0 30/4/2020 4 Bosloak Soeu Mongkol Borei 5 4 2 4/5/2020 5 Bat Trang Samroang Ou Chrov 5 4 1 8/5/2020 6 Preah Ang Koh Pongsatv Serei Soaphaon 5 5 0 20/5/2020 7 Kouk Tonloap Banteay Neang Mongkol Borei 6 6 0 25/5/2020 8 Bosloak Soeu Mongkol Borei 7 5 2 26/5/2020 9 Koh Pongsatv Koh Pongsatv Serei Soaphaon 4 3 1 2/6/2020 10 Cham Noam Lech Cham Noam Mongkoln Borei 7 6 1 4/6/2020 11 Trapean Thmar Paoy Char Phnum Srok 4 2 2 8/6/2020 Kandal 12 Pro Hout Ou Ambel Serei Soaphaon 4 3 2 11/6/2020 13 Kompong Reab Samroang Ou Chrov 4 2 2 15/6/2020 14 Ta In Mouy Sras Reang Mongkol Borei 4 2 1 17/6/2020 15 Por Pi Deum Rohat Teok Mongkol Borei 4 4 0 22/6/2020 Total 77 57 20

IMPROVED MANAGEMENT PACKAGE FOR MUNGBEAN

Farmer field day on mungbean, February 2020

Farmers’ criteria for mungbean varieties are resis- CamSID has developed a “best-practice” manage- tance to pod-shattering and large seeds. After three ment package for expanding the role of mungbean years of CamSID vari- as a diversification crop in lowland rice systems. The etal evaluation, farm- package includes: assessment of soil suitability; re- ers have selected the duced tillage; machine planting; improved variety; Cambodian regis- rhizobium inoculation; integrated pest management tered variety, CMB-2, and hermetic seed storage. as best meeting their criteria. CamSID is Using the soil penetrometer probe now facilitating seed production of CMB-2.

Farmers currently hand-broadcast mungbean, requir- ing excessive tillage which dries out the seedbed and results in poor es- tablishment. Cam- SID has demon- strated machine drill seeding of mungbean which allows reduced Mungbeans are grown on residual soil water into seeding rate, wide the dry season after the wet season rice crop. Con- row-spacing and Inspecting crops before deciding to servation of soil water is therefore most important. improved crop es- apply insecticide Penetrometer probes are also being used to enable tablishment. rapid assessment of the suitability of soils for diver- sification crops such as mungbean in rice fields. In many rice soils, soil strength increases below 20 cm Mungbean growers currently rely on excessive use of depth and these soils are not suitable for mungbean. broad-spectrum insecticides with some applying in- The penetrometer probe can be used to identify rice secticide every week during the crop cycle. This has fields suitable is used to identify soils suitable for lead to outbreaks of secondary pests such as flower mungbean and other diversification crops. thrips, aphids and whitefly. The CamSID integrated pest management (IPM) schedule replaces chemical insecticides with biological insecticide, Beauveria bassiana, in the vegetative stage, blue sticky traps in the budding and flowering stage and, if necessary, Spinosad or Spinetorum during the flowering and podding stage.

Farmers are encouraged to inspect their crops be- fore applying insecticides and yellow sticky traps are useful to detect presence of lepidopteran pests.

Mungbean planted in 60 cm rows ESTABLISHING WOMEN’S LIVELIHOOD CONSULTATIVE GROUPS AND ONGOING FORMATIVE ADVICE SUPPORT Gender and Social Research Methods Workshop: In the context of gender mainstreaming, gender training becomes one of the primary tools for promoting gender equity. With the capability to apply social research methods in gender analysis, it increases visibility of the roles and responsibilities of men and women in agri- culture and allows us to tailor interventions to perceived challenges and needs of women and men. This has the potential to improve rural household livelihoods and the rural people’s lives, especially those of women. In 2018/2019, CamSID and VSO International collaborated to organise two Training of Trainers workshops on gender and social research methods for relevant partner representatives from various institutes (e.g. universi- ties, government departments, NGOs/programs, etc.) that have been working/operating within CamSID focus regional areas. These workshops covered: understanding gender, gender roles, gender as part of tradition and culture, understanding qualitative and quantitative research and how to use these for different purposes, ap- plying social research methods to gender research, photovoice exercise, and designing interview questions to capture qualitative data.

Forming the women’s groups : Following on from the gender and social research methods workshops and the gender in rice analysis, as well as consultations with Mrs Khorn Dinravy (Ministry for Women’s Affairs) and Mrs Thavy Meas (Gender specialist, FAO), women’s groups were developed in 4 villages, 2 in Banteay Me- anchey province and 2 in Battambang province. A number of on-going meetings, consultations, organising guest speakers and field visits have been organised in response to the requests and needs from the women’s groups. These requests and needs include more information and skill-building with regards to growing vege- tables for commercial purposes, improving business skills and record keeping, and reducing chemical use on farm to limit potential impacts on household and community health.

Women-Friendly Technology Initiative : Recommendations resulting from the gender in rice analysis includ- ed the identification and promotion of women-friendly technologies and innovations. To start addressing this issue, a two-day capacity building workshop and multi-stakeholder dialogue was held at the University of Bat- tambang (UBB), aiming to increase awareness among students (from Agriculture and Engineering Faculties) and key stakeholders in the rice value chain on the need to create an enabling environment facilitating women’s use of agricultural technologies.

During the event, students and key stakeholders had the opportunity to interact with development practi- tioners, researchers and private sector representatives, as well as the Battambang women’s groups. On the first day, university students and key stakeholders from the rice value chain, including representatives from women’s groups, Agricultural Cooperatives (ACs), and government ministries, were familiarised with concepts related to women-friendly innovations – thanks to the presentations and the interactive/participatory sessions facilitated by the range of key speakers.

Later, a prototype of a rice drying machine, developed by the two UBB teams with aid and advice from a Cam- bodian technology institute, was unveiled at a field day held in Svay Cheat. The women’s groups were present along with invitees from neighbouring villages including Rokakiri, Bevel and Thmorkol villages. Approximately 60 people were in attendance. STUDENT PROJECT UPDATES

Evaluate the growth, yield and Weed seed and Weedy rice contamina- profitability of alternative mungbean tion in rice paddy in Cambodia hhvarieties in Cambodia

Name: Sophea YOUS Name: Ratha RIEN Institution: University of Battambang Institution: University of Battambang Degree: Master of Sustainable Agriculture Degree: Master of Sustainable Agriculture Supervisor: Dr. Bob Martin Supervisors: Dr. Bob Martin and Dr Pao SREAN Farmers have a limited choice of mungbean varieties My research aimed to (1) document contamination and are looking for varieties that do not shatter and of rice paddy by weeds seed and weedy rice, (2) to have good seed quality. In response to this limitation understand farmers’ knowledge and practices for and the strong need for improved mungbean variet- management of weedy rice and (3) to recommend ies, I conducted on-farm research; aiming to evalu- practices to reduce weed seed contamination in rice ate 10 existing commercial mungbean varieties from paddy. Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam for non-shattering and high quality seed. Study method summary: The level of weed seed con- tamination was determined by sampling from freshly The experiment was designed in a randomized com- harvested paddy, farmer-kept seed and seed pro- plete block design (RCBD) with four replications and ducer seed. Weeds seed and weedy rice were iden- ten different treatments (seed varieties). A total of ten tified by digital microscope HOT S06. A 50 g subsa- varieties were grown in 2x6 m long rows of 6 rows mple was taken from each paddy sample; and weed with 30 cm inter row spacing in each plot the total seeds (other than weedy rice) were separated from 40 plots (Figure 2). The independent variable for all the sample by hand and inspected with a HOT S06 analyses was treatment (seed variety) and the de- digital microscope with magnification up to 200x. pendent variables were emergence counts; NDVI (to estimate plant biomass); timing of appearance of the first flower; number of flowers; number of small, large and brown pods; lodging rate; plant height; weight of harvested pods, number of seeds per pod; grain weight; and weight of 100 seeds.

Results showed mungbean yields from 1,571 to 45 42 450 385 40 400 351 1,953 kg ha-1 were achieved on Toul Samroung soil 35 350 at UBB under good soil water conditions and from 30 300 25 250 20 770 to 1,198 kg ha-1 under limited soil water con- 20 200

15 150

10 rice per Weedy 500 g ditions. CARDI Chey was one of the top performing Echinochloa per 500 g 10 100 varieties but was prone to lodging under good water 5 50 30 1 5 0 0 conditions. None of the Thai or Vietnamese variet- Fresh paddy Farmer kept Seed company Certified (max) Fresh paddy Farmer kept Seed company Certified (max) ies was superior to CMB-3 and it is recommended that action be taken to enable commercial release of Results showed 89% of seed sown was kept by the CMB-3. farmer or bought from a neighbour and only 9% of 2000 ab a a a abc abc ab seed was bought from a seed producer. Ninety-five abc bc percent of paddy samples were contaminated with 1500 c red seeds and the average number of red seeds found

1000 in fresh paddy was 385 per 500 g. Seed kept for sow- ing contained 351 red seeds per 500 g showing that Grain weight (kg/ha) 500 farmers were only reducing red seed contamination by 9%. The average number of red seeds in seed 0 producer seed was 30 seeds per 500 g which is five Local KPS-2 CN-36 SUT-1 CMB-3 DXVN-7 DX-208 V-94208 XANH-044 times over the certification standard of 5 red seeds CARDI Chey per 500 g. The maximum number of Echinochloa seeds for certification is 10 seeds per 500 g. Farmers were able to reduce Echinochloa seeds by 52% to 20 seeds per 500 g. Seed companies were effective in reducing Echinochloa seeds to 1 per 500 g. It is recommended that farmers receive better training to improve the quality of farm-kept seed. Seed certifi- cation standards should be implemented to improve the quality of seed in the marketplace, especially with regard to contamination by weedy rice. CONTACT INFORMATION For more information, please contact

EDITOR Dr Van Touch Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Sydney E: [email protected]

ACTIVE CONTRIBUTORS Asso. Professor Daniel Tan Dr Som Bunna Project Leader Head of Agricultural Engineering Division The University of Sydney Cambodian Agricultural Research and Develop- E: [email protected] ment Institute E: [email protected] Dr Rebecca Cross Postdoctoral Research Fellow Mr Thieblemont Herve The University of Sydney Regional Seed Business Development Lead E: [email protected] Syngenta Foundation for Sustanable Agriculture E: [email protected] Dr Bob Martin Senior Research Fellow - Battambang Dr Dao Xuan Cuong The University of Sydney Country Director in Vietnam E: [email protected] Syngenta Foundation for Sustanable Agriculture E: [email protected] Dr Yorn Try Project Coordinator - Banteay Meanchey Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation E: [email protected]