A breakthrough for sustainable rice seed production
A new pilot project is showing how regenerative practices can achieve higher yields for seed producers with lower impact on the environment.
Across the rice fields of the southern state of Telangana, India, flooded paddies are a familiar image of rice production, but beneath those fields, a serious environmental challenge is bubbling away - methane emissions.
Rice is one of the world's most important crops, making solving it's sustainability challenges vital for a more sustainable agriculture.
Rice is one of the world's most important crops, making solving it's sustainability challenges vital for a more sustainable agriculture.
Flooded fields are vital to help keep fields free from weeds. But this also creates the perfect conditions for microscopic organisms called archaea. These organisms can flourish around the roots of rice plants and in the soil, and are a key driver for the methane from rice fields.
The scale of these emissions shouldn't be underestimated. If the emissions from rice cultivation worldwide were converted into carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), it's on par with the global aviation industry.
Jason Allerding, Global Head of Sustainability, HSE & Risk Management for Seeds Field Crops, Syngenta.
Jason Allerding, Global Head of Sustainability, HSE & Risk Management for Seeds Field Crops, Syngenta.
Jason Allerding, Global Head of Sustainability, HSE & Risk Management for Seeds Field Crops, says: “Rice seed production sits at the start of the agricultural value chain, which gives us both a responsibility and an opportunity to help reduce environmental impact while protecting the quality, reliability and value farmers depend on. The challenge is to turn sustainability ambition into practical production models that can work at scale.”
Solving the sustainability equation
Just as with conventional rice cultivation, seed producers must protect yield, quality and profitability, and respond to pressures on water, soil health and the wider environment all at the same time.
Afzan Munir is Communications and Sustainability Lead for Field Crops in AMEA and explains that: “Rice seed production is increasingly being challenged by climate-related pressures such as water scarcity and extreme weather events, while rice cultivation itself is also a significant source of methane emissions.”
But the question is not simply whether production can become more sustainable. It is how it can do so without compromising the quality of the seeds that farmers around the world rely upon.
A two-year pilot just outside Karimnagar in Telangana is beginning to provide answers.
On a small plot, the project is gathering data on conventional grower practices alongside three regenerative approaches. The central practice was alternate wetting and drying, known as AWD.
Rather than keeping fields continuously flooded, AWD allows water levels to fall at planned intervals before irrigation resumes, making sure the rice gets enough water to flourish.
The pilot tested AWD alone and in conjunction with more precise fertilizer management, as well as using it with a cover crop plus green manure treatment.
Shayamunder Singh, Head of AMEA Seeds Field Crops Production, says: "As climate challenges continue to reshape agriculture, we have a responsibility to innovate and test new approaches that strengthen both productivity and sustainability. This production pilot allows us to evaluate regenerative practices under real-world conditions."
The goal is to gather practical data to see if regenerative practices allow farmers to retain yield and seed quality, and at the same time reduce carbon emissions and improve soil health.
Agronomic changes for measurable impact
At the halfway point of the project, the results are promising. Compared with conventional farmer practices, the regenerative treatments reduced emissions per acre by more than 40 percent.
The strongest reduction in emissions came when AWD was combined with precise fertilizer use applied at key areas and growth stages. This involved using less fertilizer overall and resulted in yields that remained only fractionally below the control plot.
The AWD-only treatment saw emissions fall and it outperformed the control plot in terms of both yield and profit, showing how productivity and sustainability go hand in hand.
The pilot project found that alternative wetting and drying and other regenerative practises can substantially cut methane emissions in rice seed production.
The pilot project found that alternative wetting and drying and other regenerative practises can substantially cut methane emissions in rice seed production.
However, these are early results from a single pilot. After all, conditions, soils, varieties and water systems differ widely across rice-growing regions. But the trial offers an important proof point: lower-emission rice seed production doesn't mean lower productivity or weaker farm economics.
Afzan adds: “What is most encouraging from the first two seasons is that the data is beginning to show sustainability and productivity moving in the same direction. We are seeing meaningful emissions reductions, while yield, seed quality and grower economics remain central to the way the project is being evaluated. That is critical, because for regenerative practices to scale in seed production, they must create measurable value for growers as well as environmental benefit.”
With two more seasons still to go, Chris Argent, Head Sustainability & Corporate Affairs for AMEA, says: “The value of this work is that it gives us a practical foundation for broader conversations on how regenerative approaches can be embedded across our seed production footprint. The next step is to keep building the evidence, learning from each season and identifying where these practices can be scaled responsibly.”
Making rice seed production more sustainable
Field operations for the third season are already well underway, allowing for more data to be gathered about the impact of regenerative practices on rice seed production, emissions reduction, farmers’ profitability, water-use efficiency and soil health.
After all, regenerative agriculture is not akin to a switch that can be flicked on in a single year. Increasing the sustainability and resilience of this system is something built over time and measured through close observation of water, nutrients and the living condition of the soil.
As James Taylor-Alford, Head of Marketing and Strategy for Field Crops AMEA says: "For regenerative practices in rice seed production to succeed, they need to deliver for both farmers and the planet. The project has shown positive results, demonstrating that environmentally responsible production can strengthen farmers' business resilience."
With positive results from the first two seasons, the project continues to investigate ways of making rice seed production more sustainable, without impacting profits or seed quality.
With positive results from the first two seasons, the project continues to investigate ways of making rice seed production more sustainable, without impacting profits or seed quality.
Seed production fields sit at the very beginning of the food system. So, improving that resilience can ripple outward, helping create more sustainable production foundations for the crops that follow and could even show how to make rice cultivation itself more sustainable.
For the project team, the ambition remains: demonstrate that sustainability and productivity can go hand in hand by restoring soil health, conserving natural resources, reducing emissions and creating value for growers. In Telangana, the water in the field may rise and fall more deliberately now. But the direction of travel is clear: a rice seed system that works with natural processes, cuts climate impact and keeps productivity firmly at the center.
