Mint Explainer | Direct seeded rice saves water and costs. What’s holding back farmers?

Mint explainsDSR refers to a cultivation method where seeds are sown directly into the field without transplanting seedlings, saving water, labour, and time compared to traditional methods.This eliminates several stages involved in conventional rice farming such as nursery preparation, ploughing, puddling and transplanting. In the traditional system, farmers grow seedlings in nurseries and later transplant them into flooded, puddled fields.Puddling is particularly concerning from an environmental perspective because it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.Though not a new technique, DSR is increasingly seen as a transformative approach to rice cultivation as India faces growing concerns over groundwater depletion, labour shortages and climate sustainability.Experts say the technique can play an important role in addressing groundwater depletion, particularly in major rice-growing states where intensive irrigation for paddy has put pressure on water resources.Producing a kilogram of rice requires 3,000–5,000 litres of water under conventional methods.

Studies by agricultural research institutions show that DSR can reduce irrigation water use by 25–50%.Lower water requirement also leads to energy savings of up to 60–70%, as farmers need to pump less groundwater.The method can reduce cultivation costs by ₹13,000– ₹14,000 per hectare, mainly by saving on labour and irrigation.Since fields are not continuously flooded, methane emissions are lower, making DSR a more climate-friendly alternative to traditional paddy farming.Despite its potential, adoption remains limited. The total area under rice was 44.5 million hectares in the kharif season 2025-26, while that under DSR was only 400,000 hectares.The limited availability