Laser Land Leveling

Key findings

1. Laser land levelling considerably lowers irrigation time for rice by 47-69 hours per hectare per season and for wheat by 10-12 hours per hecate per season.

2. It increases yields by an average 8 percent for both crops.

3. It saves electricity about 755 kWh per hectare per year for rice-wheat systems.

4. It's cost effective. As demand increases, service providers rent out equipment and farmers collectively share the costs.

5. A study showed that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions from saving on energy, reducing cultivation time and increasing input efficiency.

6. Higher yeilds means higher incomes for farmers.

1. Irrigation time: Laser-levelling in rice fields reduced irrigation time by 47-69 hours per hectare per season and improved yield by approximately 7 percent compared with traditionally levelled fields. In wheat, irrigation time was reduced by 10-12 hours per hectare every season and yield increased by 7-9 percent in laser levelled fields.

2. Food security: Based on analysis from the data, the study computes that if 50 percent of the area under rice-wheat systems in Haryana and Punjab states were laser levelled, it would result in an additional production of 699 million kg of rice and 987 million kg of wheat which amounts to USD 385 million a year extra. Not only does this translate to higher incomes for farmers but it also increases food security of the region given that the Indo-Gangetic Plains are a bread basket and rice bowl in South Asia.

3. Energy: Less time spent on irrigation means less energy spent on irrigation. The study shows that laser land levelling saves electricity amounting to about 755 kWh per hectare per year for rice-wheat systems.

4. Costs: Another perception that the study challenges is that only large-holder or rich farmers can afford and benefit from laser-levellers. In fact, laser land levelling is scale neutral and not particularly biased towards large-holdings. It is common for many small-holder farmers to rent the equipment or form a cooperative to share the costs. The rental cost is about USD10 for an hour. It takes about 4 to 5 hours to laser level a hectare of land and the farmers need to do it once in 3 years

5. Water: Laser land levelling is essentially a water-saving technology as it uses scarce groundwater optimally by ensuring even coverage. Compared to traditionally levelled land, a laser levelled farm minimises run-off and water-logging ensuring that farmers use just as much water they need in the best possible way.

6. Less greenhouse gas emissions: A related study (Jat et al 2015) reported that use of laser land leveller over traditional land levellers reduces emission of greenhouse gases through decreased water pumping time, decreased cultivation time and better use of fertilizers.