In 2016 some of the key activities taken up to contribute to the above mission area were promoting adoption of improved farming practices, reclamation of degraded lands, utilization of seed revolving funds to provide farmers with better access to quality seed,  integrated watershed management and building of sustainable communities.

Dry season groundnut production in Bauchi state, Nigeria

• USD489 : Cost of production per hectare
• USD2679 : Net return per hectare
• Seed availability triples: About 944 tons of different classes of seed were made available, compared to 300 tons in the last year. Use of small seed packets and dry season seed production in intervention states of TL III and upscaling projects in Nigeria led to increased adoption of improved groundnut varieties Samnut 24, Samnut 25 and Samnut 26.

QUOTE:  “There is much higher yield in dry season groundnut production. If you can get a ton in the dry season, you’ll only get half ton per hectare in the rainy season. You can also cultivate this groundnut with less irrigation compared to tomato and maize. This groundnut is also not damaged by pests. From 42 ha I want to go for 100 ha and get into mechanization.”

Mr Abdulahi Abubakar, farmer and legislator, Ningi, Bauchi State, Nigeria

Farmers during a field visit appreciate groundnut variety Samnut 24. Photo: A Diama, ICRISAT

Bio-reclamation of Degraded Land (BDL) in Niger

• USD 26 increase in income of participating women
• 50% increase over non-BDL participants
• Improved household consumption of nutrient-rich leafy vegetables

The technology developed by ICRISAT had two main components – water harvesting techniques, and high-value nutritious trees and annual crops. The water harvesting techniques included half-moons (demi-lunes) for trees, zaï pits for annual crops and trenches for leafy vegetables. Through these techniques rain water was stored to sustain crops in the cropping season and trees in the dry period. The system also used micro-dosing of fertilizer in the zaï holes to stimulate root growth of vegetable crops and promote better nutrient utilization. Examples of high-value trees and annual crops include drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera), pomme du sahel tree (Ziziphus mauritania), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), hibiscus and sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) among others.

Women participants with their harvest from crops grown on reclaimed land. Photo: S Abdoussalam, ICRISAT

Seed revolving fund in Malawi

273,000 kg of pigeonpea certified seed was produced in Malawi. In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, and the private sector, especially, local and upcoming seed companies, ICRISAT has worked to improve pigeonpea seed systems in Malawi. Emphasis was on production and delivery of pigeonpea basic and certified seed utilizing a seed revolving fund. Local seed companies were incubated as the demand expanded through a collective branding under the Malawi Seed Alliance (MASA) brand.

QUOTE: “ICRISAT is a role model for other agricultural institutions in the country. Through ICRISAT’s initiatives, legume seed of improved varieties, particularly groundnut and pigeonpea, have been made available in the market and are easily accessible to farmers.”

Mr Nesimu Nyama, Secretary General, Seed Trade Association of Malawi

Recognizing ICRISAT’s work with partners to improve smallholder farm productivity, food security and incomes through provision of high quality seed, the Seed Trade Association of Malawi (STAM) awarded a certificate and a trophy to ICRISAT. Photo: ICRISAT, Malawi

• Integrated Watershed Management in India
  
  
  • 30-60% increase in cropping intensity
  • 20-50% increase in agricultural productivity and incomes

File photo of Kothapally watershed in India. Photo: PS Rao, ICRISAT

• Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) technology
  • 20,000 ha in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh used for scaling-out operations
  • 40-50% reduction in non-productive water usage with same or increased paddy yields
  • 30% reduction in cost of cultivation
• Seed production to enhance availability of improved seed with farmers and entrepreneurship development in India
  • 100 ha groundnut
  • 50 ha chickpea
• Integrated soil, water, nutrient, seed and crop management practices in India
  • 6 million ha in two Indian states, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, scaled up in partnership with respective state governments
  • 10-50% increase in crop yield and incomes recorded in these states compared to traditionally managed farmers’ fields 

• Improved crop cultivars
• Impact analysis on pearl millet hybrids developed from ICRISAT-bred materials in India
  • More than 50% of pearl millet area in India was covered during 2013-14
  • Annual social benefits due to these hybrids were estimated at
    • USD24.83 million in Gujarat
    • USD51.75 million in Rajasthan
    • USD40.47 million in Uttar Pradesh
      

The total benefits on account of these hybrids could surpass USD150 million per year if the hybrid coverage in other states is also considered. This profit is shared by an array of stakeholders from farmers to consumers.

Participants selecting breeding materials and parental lines of potential hybrids for their programs at a field day held in ICRISAT-India. Photo: PS Rao, ICRISAT

Southeast and South Asia

New legume cropping systems in Vietnam
Farmers in Ha Tinh and Cao Bang provinces switched to new cropping systems involving legumes   groundnut (L23 and L19) in summer, mung bean (DX208 and DXVN7) in summer-autumn and maize in winter, replacing maize in spring-autumn with soybean (variety NAS-S1).

• 70-77% additional income was earned by adopting above system.
• The contract between Tien Nong Industrial-Agricultural Joint Stock Company and the farmers of Huong Khe district, Ha Tinh province is being implemented.

Intercropping of groundnut with maize in Vietnam. File photo: PM Gaur, ICRISAT

Increasing groundnut cultivation in Laos

Rice-groundnut crop rotation was introduced in irrigated areas in Savanakhet province and the system of cultivating two crops of groundnut in the same season in Lao Ngyam district of Salavanh province in order to take advantage of the long-lasting rainy season in this area.

• Increase in area of targeted cultivation from 75 ha to 105 ha
• 2.5 times increase in net income: Farmers earned USD500 per ha with groundnut in the dry season as against USD200 per ha with rice
• 4 womens' self-help groups for groundnut seed production were established
• 2 sets of groundnut harvesters were handed over to farmer groups
• Farmers linked to groundnut traders in Thailand

New cropping systems in Nepal

New cropping systems such as wheat-common bean system in Jumla; rice-lentil and maize-chickpea systems in Bajura; maize-lentil and maize-soybean/chickpea systems in Dailekh and maize-lentil and maize-soybean/chickpea systems in Rolpa were promoted.

• Nutrient loading through seed priming in lentils with sodium molybdate was promoted in target districts.
• Improved practices:

Chickpea variety KPG-59 recorded

• 32% higher yield (1423 kg/ha) in Bajura compared to control variety (1073 kg/ha)
• 41% higher yield (1306 kg/ha) in Rolpa compared to control variety (924 kg/ha)

Lentil variety Khajura-2 recorded

• 37% higher yield (1186 kg/ha) in Bajura compared to control variety (864 kg/ha)
• Large-plot demonstrations resulted in
• 38% higher yield with improved varieties compared to the local variety (798 kg/ha)
• Seed production

At Dailekh, farmers produced

• 400 kg of pigeonpea (varieties ICPL 88039 and ICPL 88005) from 0.4 ha
• 250 kg of beans (variety KBL-2) from 0.3 ha

At Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Jumla

• 200 kg each of bean (varieties PB-0001 and PB-0002)
• 50 kg each of lentil (varieties Sagun and Sital)

At Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Doti

• 500 kg of lentil (variety Khajura-2)
• 500 kg of chickpea (variety Tara) 

At ARS, Dailekh

• 67 kg of lentil (variety Sagun)
• 197 kg of chickpea (varieties KPG-59 and Avrodhi)
• 100 kg of groundnut (variety Jayanti)
• 100 kg of soybean (variety Pooja)

At ARS, Surkhet

• 4 tons of lentil (variety Khajura-1:    3 tons; variety Maheswor Bharati: 1 ton)
• 1 ton of chickpea (variety Avrodhi)
• 1 ton of pigeonpea (variety Rampur Rahar-1)
• 1 ton of soybean (variety Pooja)

  Rice-legume sequential/intercropping systems in Jharkhand, India

• 1580 kg seed of improved varieties distributed to 440 farmers (244 women) in 14 target districts for cultivation in an area of 35 ha
• Pigeonpea (varieties: ICPL-88039 and ICP 7035)
• Groundnut (variety: ICGV 91114)
• Chickpea (varieties: JG 14 and JGK 2)
• 6 seed villages were established, covering 11 villages in 3 blocks for groundnut, pigeonpea and chickpea by supplying 120 kg seed to 84 farmers
• 3 hullers, 1 huller-cum-flour mill and 13 oil expellers were distributed to farmers in 16 villages belonging to Saraikela-Kharsawan and West Singhbhum districts

Adoption of new agricultural technologies increase yields in Madhya Pradesh, India

Several technologies such as intercropping of pigeonpea with soybean, ridge planting of pigeonpea, micronutrient supplementation in chickpea, integrated disease management in lentil, and integrated pest management in chickpea and pigeonpea were promoted.

• For weather forecasting, a mobile service was used to help farmers.
• 72.8% increase in yield from pigeonpea intercropping system when compared to the soybean sole cropping system
• 28.8% higher mean yield of ridge-planted pigeonpea compared to that of the flat-sown pigeonpea.
• 24.6% higher mean yield of chickpea through seed treatment with molybdenum
• 17.8% yield advantage in lentil with application of Trichoderma @ 4 g/kg of seed along with Carbendazim 1 g + Thirum 2 g/kg of seed
• To increase supply of quality seed of improved varieties to farmers, the research stations produced:
• 890 kg pigeonpea
• 9252 kg chickpea
• 780 kg lentil 
• 4600 kg quality seed of improved varieties of pigeonpea, chickpea and lentil was produced by farmers on their fields

Cereal-legume intercropping systems promoted in Rajasthan, India

Cereal-legume intercropping systems in rainfed cropping systems such as pearl millet-mung bean, pearl millet-moth bean, pearl millet-mung bean-moth bean and maize-pigeonpea were promoted.

• On 1170 ha, demonstrations on mung bean, moth bean and pearl millet were conductedduring Kharif season in three Blocks (Sankra, Bali and Baitu). In all, 1793 farmers participated in the demonstrations.
• Distribution of improved varieties and hybrids
• 1300 farmers in Sankra block were given improved hybrids of pearl millet (HHB-67 Improved, ProAgro 9444 and Pioneer 86M86).
• 300 farmers in Bali block were given improved varieties of mung bean (RMG 62 and RMG 268).
• 193 farmers in Baitu block received a mix of three crop varieties (pearl millet, mung bean and moth bean) for planting in an area of 145 ha.

 (The above achievements are from the International Fund for Agricultural Development grant project ‘Sustainable management of crop-based production systems for raising agricultural productivity in rainfed Asia’.)

Legume-based farming systems in the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar

The geographic hub of this project (also called MyPulses project) are the Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway Divisions of Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone (CDZ). The project aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of smallholder farmers, their families and communities in the CDZ through Research, Development and Education (RD&E) targeted at the legume-based farming systems.

• Farmer-participatory varietal trials, which include both mother and baby trials, were conducted on new varieties/elite lines:
• 41 trials: chickpea
• 85 trials: pigeonpea
• 39 trials: groundnut

• 40% higher yield recorded for groundnut line Sinpadetha 11 compared to check variety in monsoon season trials
• Performance of chickpea
• 44% higher yield recorded for ICCV 07118 (desi variety) compared to the check variety in the mother trials
• 13% higher yield recorded for ICCV 07118 (desi variety) compared to the check variety in baby trials
• 7% higher yield recorded for ICCV 07308 (kabuli variety) compared to the check variety in the mother trials
• 33% higher yield recorded for ICCV 07308 (kabuli variety) compared to the check variety in the baby trials
• For pigeonpea, Nyaungoo Shwedinga, Monywa Shwedinga and Yezin 9 outyielded check varieties by 17%, 15% and 12%, respectively. 
• 38.6 tons of certified seed distributed (chickpea 4.3 tons, pigeonpea 3.1 tons and groundnut 31.2 tons) to farmers by the Department of Agriculture (DoA) in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) 
• 96% of total chickpea cropped area in the country is occupied by four ICRISAT-sourced chickpea varieties Yezin 3, 4, 6 and 8. More than 90% cropped area of pigeonpea is occupied by Nagarsanpe, Shwedinga and Monywa Shwedinga. In case of groundnut, around 50% total cropped area is occupied by improved cultivars like Sin 1, 11 and Magway 11.

(The above achievements are from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research project ‘Increasing productivity of legume-based farming systems in the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar’.)

Drought- and disease-tolerant fodder legume Mucuna pruriens enriches the soil with nitrogen and provides valuable protein-rich fodder resources for the farmer. Photo: P Masikati, ICRAF

Program evaluations

The following highlight the various approaches adopted in building sustainable communities:

• Integrated Legume-cereal-livestock Systems can maintain farmers’ livelihoods even through significant droughts such as the last El Niño-induced drought in Zimbabwe. Farmers in Nkayi and Gwanda districts who grew velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) were able to produce high quality cattle and goats which, when sold at functional markets, allowed them sufficient income to pay for food, education and other household needs.

• Innovation Platforms (IP) in Irrigation Systems in Zimbabwe help increase cooperation and learning between important stakeholders (including market stakeholders) and to share and integrate technical data from simple but effective soil and nutrient monitoring tools, resulting in doubling of yields with less than half the water used.

• The Open Innovation Platform approach in Mozambique identifies and explores key success factors and farming systems dynamics (crops-livestock-irrigation) in coping with drought and transition to higher levels of livelihoods and well-being, for farmers with different resource endowments and resilience status.

• Integrated Watershed Development Program (IWSDP) impacts in Ethiopia: The Yezat watershed program was assessed with the objective of determining the trends and changes of soil erosion, vegetation cover and land-use/land cover (LULC) that has changed during pre- and post-treatment periods (2001−2010 to 2010−2015) using remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) approach and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) modeling.

• Adoption of resilient legumes and cereals well adapted to dryland ecologies results in increased yields in Laikala and Mlali, Tanzania.
• Sorghum: From 380 kg/ha to 1200 kg/ha
• Pearl millet: From 500 kg/ha to 1350 kg/ha
• Pigeonpea: From 500 kg/ha to 1400 kg/ha
• Groundnut: From 650 kg/ha to 1750 kg/ha

A farmer in Moleti, Tanzania, showing ICGV-SM 02724, a farmer preferred variety. Photo: ICRISAT

Development of biofortified pearl millet and nutrient-dense groundnut, profiling of finger millet for nutrition, conducting nutrition studies and the launch of the Smart Food campaign in Kenya were some of the activities taken up to achieve the above goal.

Nutrition study

200 mothers in Tanzania and 100 mothers in Malawi with their children aged under 5 years were trained on using a nutritious complementary food package consisting of pigeonpea, finger millet, groundnut and maize along with carrot and amaranthus leaves. Coupled with good hygiene practices and food safety management, the study was conducted over 21 days. The malnourishment levels had decreased as indicated by wasting and underweight metrics.

Children being weighed as part of a health check in a village in Malawi.  Photo: A Paul-Bossuet, ICRISAT

Smart Food campaign in Kenya

To improve the nutritional status of women in the reproductive age and children below five years, an awareness drive under the Smart Food campaign has been launched in selected counties in Kenya. The aim is to promote increased consumption of nutrient-dense, drought-tolerant crops (sorghum, millets, pigeonpea, groundnut, cowpea and green gram) and appropriate dietary practices in the project areas using ‘social behavior change communication’ approaches.

Under this initiative

• 1700 people were trained
• >8,000 Kenyan households were reached
• 5400 children under 5 years of age are expected to benefit

Dr Maureen Cheserek, Nutritionist, Egerton University, addressing mothers at Elgeyo Marakwet. Photo: ICRISAT

Nutrition-dense cultivars

High-Fe pearl millet in WCA:

• 2 high-Fe pearl millet cultivars identified for WCA
• Standardized grain quality phenotyping for Fe and Zn through X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) facility for pearl millet in WCA

High-Fe pearl millet in India:

• 150,000 farming households received 200 tons of certified seeds
• ICMV 221 Fe-11-2 – A new version of the popular variety ICMV 221 has been developed, which has 83 mg kg-1 Fe density (16% higher than ICMV 221) with no compromise in crop yield. Similarly, high-Fe content and high-yielding hybrids (ICMH 1201 and ICMH 1301) were developed which have 77 mg kg-1 Fe density (similar to ICTP 8203) and a yield of 3.4 and 3.5 t ha-1 (43 and 39 % higher than ICTP 8203). All the high-Fe cultivars (both OPVs and hybrids) also had high Zn content (≥40 mg kg-1 of Zn density). 
• Selected bacterial isolates (SRI-229 being the most efficient) have the potential for Plant Growth Promotion (PGP) in cereals and legumes and also have the potential for biofortification of mineral nutrients.
• 15 high-Fe and -Zn sorghum varieties identified for adaptation in Nigeria

Farmer participatory evaluation of sorghum variety 12KNICSV188 released as SAMSORG45 nick named Improved or new Deko by farmers.  Photo: I. Angarawai, ICRISAT Nigeria

Finger millet varieties profiled for nutrient content

• 100 promising finger millet varieties were profiled for nutrient content (value per 100g).
• 5 varieties for calcium (ranging from 680-650mg)
• 6 varieties for iron (ranging from 97.3-32.6mg)
• 5 varieties for zinc (ranging from 5.43- 4.30mg)

Participants at a finger millet seed production plot in KALRO-Alupe Research Centre.  Photo: P Audi, ICRISAT

Nutritionally dense groundnut genotypes identified in WCA

• High protein (30-32%), Zinc (46-51 ppm) and Iron (23-34 ppm): ICGV IS 07833, ICGV IS 13980, ICGV SM 08553 and ICG 5891
• High oil (53-54%): ICGV IS 11060, Samnut 23, ICGV 00064, ICGV 01276, ICGV IS 07827 and Kampala
• 600 farmers (40% women) participated in culinary tests on different varieties of sorghum in 23 villages in Mali

The cooking of enriched porridge, which was part of the nutrition field school activity, attracted lot of attention at the field day organized in Sirakele village, Koutiala district, Mali. Photo: ICRISAT

• Linkage between soil health and crop quality implies that scaling up of soil health rejuvenation program in 6 million ha in India has not only increased access to more food but also led to nutrient-dense food, feed and fodder.
• Study on slowly digestible starch in pearl millet: The work paves the way for selection of pearl millet lines/varieties for development and commercialization of value-added products for addressing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
• Triple burden of malnutrition: Micro-level evidence from the Village Dynamics Studies in South Asia clearly point to the prevalence of undernutrition, overnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiency in the rural semi-arid tropics of India.

Gaining access to land and improving incomes through agri-food processing, seed production and other income-generating activities were some of the key achievements in this sector. Gender studies were conducted to better understand ways and means to empower women farmers.

• 10,770 women gained access to land and increased their income through the BDL project in Niger.

A woman BDL farmer with her okra harvest. Photo: ICRISAT

• USD1500 gross annual revenue was earned by women’s groups (Benkola groups) in Sikasso region of Mali, by having access to two milling machines for agri-food products processing.
• 258 women were trained in seed production techniques in Mali.
• 10,642 women farmers and 6191 men farmers in western Kenya were trained in agronomy, seed production and post-harvest handling.
• 5658 women farmers and 3207 men in eastern Kenya were trained in agronomy, seed production, and post-harvest handling of sorghum, pearl millet, pigeonpea, finger millet and groundnut.
• 396 personnel were trained in Ethiopia on improved chickpea varieties, production constraints, their management options and seed production techniques.
• 165 women farmers and 45 men farmers in Uganda were trained in seed production.
• 5000 small-scale vegetable cultivation (kitchen gardening) kits were promoted in the Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for mainstreaming women farmers and enhancing family nutrition.
• 2000 households in India took up income-generation activities such as goat rearing, vermicomposting, nursery raising, etc., in the watershed development program.
• Systems approaches and innovation platforms have facilitated gender mainstreaming and increased rural livelihoods of dozens of villages in the state of Rajasthan and led to the upscaling of high value crops such as medicinal herbs.
• A study on social networks suggests that policy interventions and government support must target areas where the network linkages are weak or missing. This study brings out that in some villages the rural communities have strong bonding capital (e.g. kinship) but have limited bridging capital with the external environment. The interventions and support should be geared at building or facilitating such connections and networks. Especially from a gender perspective, such linkages and networks for women with the external community, either within the village or outside the village, can help in restructuring the social fabric and empowering women through a self-actualization process.

Ms Murro (L), using the 24-hour dietary recall method to document food consumption. Study shows food gender bias with female adolescent’s diet deficient despite households being diet sufficient Photo: Tata-Cornell Institute

A sowing app piloted in India showed encouraging results, an app for pest and disease recognition is in the making, and farmer producer organizations (FPOs) in India are moving towards digitalizing their operations and management.

Sowing App

• 30% more income for farmers who followed weather-based advisories provided through a sowing app. The app was piloted with groundnut farmers in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India. The app is based on long-period climate data, real-time observed rainfall and forecasted rainfall for the next five days. The advisories empowered farmers in taking suitable decisions on sowing at the right time to avoid crop failure and to take up proper crop management practices for enhancing crop yields and incomes.

Rameswari Devi at her field in Devanakonda, Andhra Pradesh. Photo: S Punna, ICRISAT

• App for pest and disease recognition: A tie-up with PEAT GmbH aims at strengthening and customizing their Plantix mobile app to ICRISAT mandate crops. The app automates pest and disease recognition through neural network based image recognition technology.
• Software development: ICT-based agri-startups incubated by ICRISAT have initiated software development in partnership with the ICRISAT Digital Agriculture theme to support FPOs nationwide with their operations and management.
• Modernizing Village Dynamics in South Asia (VDSA) data: A collaboration with Microsoft was started to upgrade and modernize the analysis and visualization of VDSA data.

Initiatives geared towards helping smallholder farmers cope with climate change employed the use of climate and crop simulation models and climate mapping of regions using geospatial tools. High-yielding and resilient legumes and cereals, well adapted to dryland ecologies, that were introduced resulted in significant gains for farmers.

• 24,000 smallholder farmers in five states in Nigeria increased grain yield from 5% to 46% by implementing a package of climate-smart solutions. This included dissemination of climate-resilient sorghum varieties (drought-and-Striga tolerant, early-maturing and market-preferred with higher nutritive value) and strategic application of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
• 2 multipurpose sorghum varieties with stay-green traits, drought tolerance, high grain yield and high stover quality are available for human consumption and livestock feed in Mali.

Farmers visiting sorghum field. Photo: Agathe Diama, ICRISAT

• >6000 farmers in Ghana made changes in their crop/livestock/other livelihood enterprises following a training of extension and NGO staff in the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach.  The initiative triggered demand for the PICSA approach from more than 160 communities in Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal representing a rural population of over 100,000.
• New, productive and resilient legumes and cereals, well adapted for the dryland ecologies of Dodoma, Tanzania identified:
• Groundnut: ICGV-SM 02724 has a 122% yield advantage.
• Pigeonpea: ICEAPs 00557, 00554 and 00040 for early maturing and drought tolerance with 120% yield advantage over local checks
• Sorghum: Gadam, ICSMV 111 IN and Kari Mtama for high yield, drought tolerance and early maturity
• Pearl millet: ICMV-91450 and ICMV-221 for high yield, early maturity and drought tolerance
• 107% increase in productivity was recorded when coupled with in situ water harvesting technologies such as tied ridging, deep tillage and erosion management.
• Doubled-up legume systems involving shrub and tree crops such as pigeonpea and Gliricidia sepium for food, fodder and fuel production have been tested.
• Crop production was integrated with livestock and poultry production in five districts of Kongwa and Kiteto in central Tanzania.
• Informal approaches to improve access to seed and allied technologies have been tested from 2013 to 2016.

• 8000 ha of farmland in the Indian state of Rajasthan were scaled up for hybrids suitable to drought-prone ecologies to popularize them and also for strengthening the seed system

Partners interact at an innovation platform meet at Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Photo: ICRISAT

• Climate mapping of Telangana state was done by combining data from geospatial analysis, historical and future climate scenarios. A mandal (block)-level mapping of vulnerability, climate risk and participatory prioritization in this Indian state has informed government on the targeting and return on investment of climate-smart agricultural practices.

Workshop on ‘Scaling up climate smart agriculture for Telangana, India’. Photo: PS Rao, ICRISAT

• Advisories on crop management practices: Improved system analysis tools for assessing potential multi-dimensional impacts of technologies under changing climate are being developed in collaboration with Microsoft India Private Limited to develop a stream of advisories on crop management practices.
• Diagnostic procedure developed: To identify critical provision and appropriate action situations in the management of ecosystem services a diagnostic procedure was developed. It will be used in future to identify efficient and adapted ecosystem service governance options.
• Sustainable management of common water infrastructure: Experimental approaches for institutional capacity development of communities in rural India have proved effective.
• Mapping the shift of a cold season crop to warmer climate: A geospatial study revealed an increase in chickpea cultivation in warmer climatic conditions in South India (chickpea is traditionally grown as a winter crop in North India). The adoption area of chickpea tripled from 0.22 million ha during 2000–2001 to 0.6 million ha by 2012–2013 with nearly 98% improved cultivars, giving an average increase in yield of 37% over yields achieved with unimproved varieties.
• Upgrade on the LeasyScan platform: The upgrade allows seamless crop water use assessment and is an important progress in the gene-to-phenotype modeling continuum. The upgrade opens up the possibility for accurate assessment of soil evaporation under different soil managements such as mulching or minimum tillage.
• The Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas (GYGA, www.yieldgap.org): GYGA was published and provides robust estimates of untapped crop production potential on existing farmland based on current climate and available soil and water resources. The Atlas is a foundation for studies aiming to explain and mitigate yield gaps and investigate impact of climate change, land use and environmental footprint of agriculture.
• Global foresight modeling tool: Reviewed and enhanced the parameters of ICRISAT mandate crops to improve understanding of and assess the impacts of changing socio-economic and climate scenarios on rainfed agriculture in the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa.
• Millet crop system model: Improved existing model to assess climate change impacts and identify hotspots for improved technologies.
• Enhanced high performance cluster (HPC) computing facilities: Vital for assessing spatial impacts of climate change and evaluating promising technologies by linking remote sensing and spatial biophysical database.
• Upgraded CCAFS Regional Agricultural Forecasting Toolbox (CRAFT). The toolkit can be used by policymakers and researchers to monitor in-season crop yields and help with food security planning. The upgraded toolkit is loaded with multiple crop simulation models APSIM, DSSAT and SARAH.

Spatial Crop Modelling for improving Food Security. Photo: AM Nenkam, ICRISAT

• Crop simulation models for realistic impact assessment of future projected climate change: Under the AgMIP project, four teams (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) were trained on crop simulation and trade-off models to address possible impacts of climate change on smallholder farmers in the region.

Key activities taken up include rehabilitation of degraded land in Niger and abandoned land in Ethiopia, and soil health rejuvenation programs in Indian watershed programs.

Bio-reclamation of Degraded Land (BDL)

• 241 ha of degraded land converted into productive land in Niger through BDL
• 20 lead farmers trained on BDL in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The farmers, in turn, trained their group members to establish BDL farms in their localities.

 
High-value trees and annual crops like drumstick tree, pomme du sahel tree, okra, hibiscus and sicklepod are grown on BDL farms.

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• 35 ha of abandoned land was rehabilitated in Chifra, Ethiopia. Fifty two households with a total of about 360 household members benefited. Besides providing food for the families and fodder for their livestock, the project created a social movement at village, district and regional scales. The intervention enhanced the water-holding capacity and fertility of the soil, which allowed local lost grasses and trees to flourish.

 
Changing landscapes due to Water Spreading Weirs at Chifra, Afar regional state in Ethiopia.

• Watersheds in India
• Over 15 pilot watersheds (2000 to 5000 ha) were established in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
• 70,000 ha with more than 50,000 farming families are covered in the above states.
• Impact of soil and water conservation practices
• 50-100% increase in groundwater recharge
• 30-60% increase in cropping intensity
• 2-fold increase in crop yield   

(ICRISAT is working with national and international research institutes, NGOs and government line departments and private companies under CSR initiatives.)

• Large-scale rejuvenation of degraded lands in India
  • Nearly 5000 households are involved in building soil organic carbon along with yield benefits and cost cutting of chemical fertilizers in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and model watersheds through recycling farm waste using microbial consortia culture.
• Low-cost runoff harvesting structures (part of watershed activities in India)
  • 50-100% enhanced groundwater recharge
  • More than 50% reduced erosion at upstream locations
  • 10-15% reduction in flooding at downstream locations
• Soil health rejuvenation program
  • In 6 million ha, the program is being implemented along with state governments (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) and consortium partners through soil test-based additions of deficient secondary nutrients and micronutrients.

 
A farmer receiving his Soil Health Card from Village President Ms Kalamma.

• Decentralized wastewater treatment units

• Piloted in 27 locations in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra
• Nearly 950 cubic meter/day capacity to treat domestic wastewater was developed at these sites. The treated water is being utilized for agricultural purposes and fodder production.
• 30-92% reduction in the amount of pollutants in the wetlands which otherwise pollute groundwater resources and water bodies downstream.
• Optimizing nitrogen use: The Cambridge-India Network for Translational Research in Nitrogen (CINTRIN) has been established to improve food production and reduce negative environmental impact of agriculture by optimizing nitrogen use in cereal crops.

 
Water4Crops Review and Planning Meeting, New Delhi, India. Photo: IDC, ICRISAT