Necessity Makes Bihar's Rice Farmers Resilient By Adopting Zero Tillage Amid Low Rainfall Threats
Facing El Niño risks, rice farmers are adopting zero tillage to reduce water use, lower cultivation costs, save labour and improve productivity, reports Ratnesh Kumar.
Published : July 6, 2026 at 2:07 PM IST
Gaya: At a time when changing weather patterns, threat of El Nino and below-normal rainfall are posing challenges for rice cultivation across India, farmers in Bihar have come up with a modern farming technique that allows rice to be grown with less water, lower costs and reduced labour. Which means like traditional paddy farming, fields do not require tilling. Zero tillage process does not require raising seedlings in a nursery or transplanting them into flooded fields. Instead, rice seeds are sown directly into the soil, making cultivation possible even in relatively dry fields.
The zero tillage seed drill used in the fields performs tillage and sowing in a single operation. One compartment of the machine carries seeds while another holds fertiliser, placing both into the soil at the correct depth and spacing. The farmers only need to ensure soil moisture through limited irrigation rather than keeping fields continuously flooded.
Since farmers can sow rice before the arrival of the monsoon, they are less dependent on timely rains.
Farmer Ashish Kumar Singh from Gulriachak village in Tikari block, Gaya district, who has been using the technique for the past two years says, "This season, I have planted rice on around 40 acres using zero tillage. The process reduced production costs, saves water and labour, and delivers good yields even when it does not rain."
According to farmers and agricultural experts, zero tillage can reduce water consumption by 30-40%. Cultivation costs also go down significantly, at around Rs 3,000–5,000 per acre, compared with nearly Rs 10,000 per acre under conventional paddy farming. Labour requirements are also much lower.
Traditional rice cultivation involves preparing a nursery, flooding fields, transplanting seedlings and maintaining standing water throughout much of the growing season. But zero tillage saves a farmer from these processes, time and resources.
The Central and Bihar governments are promoting the technology by offering subsidies of up to 40% on zero tillage machines, which cost around Rs 25,000 onwards. Agriculture department officials are also training farmers to adopt the method.
During his recent visit to Bihar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan inspected rice fields where zero tillage method has been used. He said the technology is a useful option for tackling water scarcity and climate-related farming challenges.
Amid weather uncertainty, falling groundwater levels, and wayward monsoon, experts believe zero tillage could become a key farming practice not only for rice but also for wheat, helping farmers improve productivity while conserving water.
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