Transforming Inundated Rice Cultivation

Almost 90% of global rice is produced under inundated conditions, i.e. in fields with a standing water layer of 5 to 15 cm during the major part of the growing season. Recently, inundated rice cultivation has come under pressure due to declining availability of water and labour, increasing demand for rice and other food items, increasing claims on limited land resources, and increasing concern for environmental pollution. These changes in ecological, social and economic conditions call for a transformation in rice cultivation to comply with current and future developments. This paper focuses on management practices at the field scale affecting water productivity and other system characteristics and illustrates the consequences of some of these practices at the farm level based on case studies, while the promise of reduced water input in rice cultivation for options of regional allocation of water is demonstrated for a basin that supplies the metropolitan region of Jakarta. The paper discusses future options and opportunities for transforming inundated rice cultivation to comply with changing conditions.