Author: Richa Sharma Puri

Arun K Joshi receives prestigious Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on April 17, 2024. Posted in News, Press releases.

The Society for the Advancement of Wheat and Barley Research (SAWBAR), ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal, bestowed the prestigious Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award 2023 for outstanding contribution in the field of Wheat Crop Improvement.

T Mohapatra, former secretary of India’s Department of Agricultural Research and Education and director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and Gyanendra Singh, director of the Indian Institute of Wheat & Barley Research (IIWBR) at ICAR, presented the award at the ceremony on March 27, 2024.

As recipient of this award Joshi, who is the managing director of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), CIMMYT country representative for India, and CIMMYT regional representative for South Asia, also delivered the Sh. VS Mathur memorial lecture during the ceremony. In his speech, Joshi spoke about past and present developments in wheat improvement and emphasized the importance of wheat across the globe, touching on the post-Green Revolution era and the critical timeline of events in wheat improvement. He delved into the factors responsible for variations in wheat yield and how to meet the rising demand for wheat consumption.

Arun Kumar Joshi receives the Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Joshi advised that countries like India must bridge the yield gap by improving management in farmers’ fields, co-learning from other spring wheat-growing countries like Mexico and Egypt, and investing in science to address climate change. He also discussed opportunities to integrate modern science across all disciplines: genomics, gene editing, mechanization, robotics, AI, weed management, water, and nutrient use efficiency.

Talking about the future of wheat production, Joshi stressed the need to focus on traits that will be more important in the future, with an emphasis on accelerated genetic gain, gene-edited wheat, and how to breed heat-tolerant (40° C) varieties using various innovative tools and technologies.

About CIMMYT:

CIMMYT is a cutting edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow’s problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, triticale, sorghum, millets, and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, through building strong partnerships. This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers, while working towards a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries.

CIMMYT is a core CGIAR Research Center, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security and improving natural resources.

For more information, visit cimmyt.org.

About the Society for the Advancement of Wheat and Barley Research (SAWBAR):

SAWBAR was founded in 2007 and is housed at ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research Karnal (Haryana) India. The Society presently has 300 life members and more than 320 annual and student members. SAWBAR is playing a significant role in bringing wheat and barley researchers on one platform for the exchange of innovative research and dissemination of knowledge related to the latest research happenings in the area of wheat and barley improvement. Annually, SAWBAR gives awards to pioneer cereal workers in various award categories.

About the Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award:

The Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award was constituted in year 2018 in the memory of eminent wheat worker Sh. VS Mathur. Mathur was one of the pioneer wheat workers who worked tirelessly with MS Swaminathan and HK Jain and developed a large number of high-yielding wheat varieties viz. Heera, Moti, Janak (HD 1982), Arjun (HD 2009), HD 2177, HD 2182, HD 2204, HD 2236, HD 2278, HD 2281, HD 2285, HD 2329, HD 2307 and HD 2327 for various regions of India.

Advanced training on conservation agriculture focuses on creating sustainable agronomic systems

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on February 12, 2024. Posted in News.

CIMMYT-BISA-ICAR organized a two-week training program on conservation agriculture (CA) to demonstrate how CA can be a sustainable farming method and an effective tool for farmers and scientists in both irrigated and rainfed systems to manage agrifood system risks.

Participants engage in various activities during the two-week course. (Photo: Richa Sharma Puri/CIMMYT)

The training was jointly conducted by CIMMYT in collaboration with the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (ICAR-CSSRI). It was held at the BISA research facilities in Jabalpur and Ludhiana, India, and ICAR-CSSRI in Karnal, India, from 9 December to 24 December 2023.

Creating resilient agrifood systems

Conservation agriculture is an ecosystem approach to agricultural land management based on three interrelated principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop diversification. It helps farmers boost yields, regenerate natural resources, reduce cultivation costs, and create resilient production systems. This helps protect the environment and enhance livelihoods of rural populations, especially in the Global South.

In this region, the rural population depends on natural resources – land, freshwater, and coastal fisheries – for survival. However, the depletion of soil fertility, scarcity of water resources, exacerbated by environmental pollution and climate change-induced stresses, prove challenging to irrigated and dryland agriculture production systems. This puts agrifood systems in South Asia and Africa under tremendous pressure.

Despite the benefits, farmers face significant barriers to adopting CA practices. Lack of knowledge and skills, limited access to appropriate seeds and equipment, lack of policy support, under-developed value chains, and non-acceptance of the fact that CA can yield better results and long-term benefits often prevents farmers from adopting CA practices. Hence, capacity development is vital for the adaptation and scaling of CA-based technologies among smallholder farmers.

To cater to these needs, an Advanced Course on Conservation Agriculture in Asia – a Gateway for Sustainable and Climate Resilient Agrifood Systems was launched in 2010. Later, it was expanded to North Africa. The course links scientific advances and multidisciplinary approaches for upgrading the skills of participants for sustainable intensification and diversification of production systems, enhancing resilience, and conserving natural resources. Since its inception, this training series has directly benefited about 220 researchers, development personnel, and policymakers from 20 countries.

The 12th edition of the training in India saw mid-career researchers and development officers from Morocco, Egypt, Bangladesh, and India participate. Approximately 40% of the attendees were women.

Highlights from the India training program

The inaugural session commenced on 9 December 2023 at the NASC Complex in New Delhi, India. Present at the opening ceremony were chief guest S.K. Chaudhari, deputy director general – Natural Resource Management, ICAR; Arun Joshi, CIMMYT regional representative and managing director of BISA; and Mahesh K Gathala, course coordinator, and Alison Laing, agroecologist from CIMMYT in Bangladesh.

During the welcome address, Joshi informed that CIMMYT and BISA are committed to capacity development of national partners around the world. Chaudhari emphasized the effectiveness in facilitating innovations in CA management. “Under increasing climate variability and change, the need to manage agronomic risks is even more significant and CA is an effective tool for farmers and scientists in irrigated and rainfed systems,” he said.

Participants were introduced to the genesis, background, and objectives of the course by Gathala. Resource persons across diverse disciplines informed the participants about innovative and cutting-edge research in all aspects of CA in both irrigated and dryland cropping systems, including advanced agronomy; mechanization; farm, soil, and water interactions; plant protection, health and crop breeding; climate resilience; farming systems simulation and analysis; agribusiness management; women’s empowerment and gender equity; and agricultural extension and out-scaling. Participants also gained practical knowledge and skills at the BISA research stations where extensive trainings were conducted under the guidance of Ravi Gopal Singh, Raj Kumar, and Lalit Sharma, course coordinators. They organized a series of sessions, along with the hands-on training, at the CA experiment farm in the BISA research facilities. Participants also toured 500 acres of farms at each of the locations. They visited farm facilities such as wheat research trials, molecular laboratory, precision nitrogen nutrition facility, seed processing unit, and farm machinery section.

Workshop participants conduct activities with farmers in the field. (Photo: Richa Sharma Puri/CIMMYT)

The group also visited ICAR-CSSRI facilities in Karnal where R.K. Yadav, director, ICAR- CSSRI, welcomed the participants and highlighted the international and national collaboration activities at CSSRI and how long-term experiments on CA are managing and generating science-based evidence to inform policy and capacity building.

Special visits were organized to farm machinery manufacturers in the region to facilitate industry-participant interactions. Participants visited the Landforce factory at Amargarh, a leading manufacturer of all ranges of farm equipment – from seeding to harvesting and processing. This firm is equipped with the latest manufacturing facilities and techniques such as robotic welding, assembling and automated paint. Later, the group visited the National Agroindustry at Ludhiana, a top manufacturer of planters including bed planters, zero till drills, Happy Seeders, pneumatic and precise planters.

Finally, participants were taken to the farmer fields to interact with the farmers and observe the impact first-hand. They met with a progressive farmer group at Karnal who shared their experiences of practicing CA for the last few years. Post these visits and learning sessions, a closing ceremony was organized at CSSRI at Karnal which was chaired by R.K. Yadav and attended by special guests Rajbir Singh, ADG-ICAR and ML Jat, global director RFFS, ICRISAT. “The session on CA machinery was very helpful and carbon credit was an essential part of our learning. We also got an opportunity to exchange our ideas and experiences with researchers from Morocco, Egypt, and Bangladesh. We sincerely thank the organizers for making us confident and technically smart CA personnels,” said a participant from India.

Planting seeds for bringing youth into agriculture

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on December 22, 2023. Posted in Blogs.

When it comes time to consider career plans, very few young people even consider agriculture as an option. Many young people believe urban areas offer more profitable jobs with less physical labor. However, agriculture in India is evolving every single day. New digital innovations and cutting-edge technologies are making farming more profitable and smarter.

To deliberate on young people’s challenges and solutions to address them, a parallel session was held during the CGIAR GENDER conference, From Research to Impact: Towards Just and Resilient Agri-food Systems, October 9–12, 2023, in New Delhi, India.

In the four-day conference, gender researchers and practitioners from 68 countries shared their perspectives, knowledge and skills about improving gender inclusion in food systems. The conference served as a platform where policymakers, practitioners and private sector actors came together to share the goal of equitable food-systems transformation. They aimed to bridge the gap between research and practice and foster gender-equal and socially inclusive, resilient food systems.

Technology and combined efforts from academia, industry and the government will continue to play critical roles in collectively attracting young people toward these new, innovative ideas in agriculture. Agricultural education can, therefore, play a profound role in shaping the future of sustainable agriculture in India.

Panelists L-R: Neerja Prabhakar, SKLTSHU, Hyderabad; Dorte Thorsen, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; P.S. Pandey, RPCAU Samastipur, Bihar; R.C. Agrawal, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad; Laura Estelle Yeyinou Loko, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Biosciences et Biotechnologies Appliquées (ENSBBA); Geethalakshmi Vellingiri, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University; Seema Jaggi, ICAR.

How academia can enable opportunities for youth

S. Pandey, vice-chancellor of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Bihar, shared his thoughts on addressing youth-centric issues in agriculture. He emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly vital because of its many applications and benefits and that it can help youth to use the power of big data and the internet.

“Use of AI can change the entire scenario: technology-driven agriculture is the need of the hour. New tools and techniques are important to address the current challenges where youth can be at center stage,” he said.

In addition, Geethalakshmi Vellingiri, vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) said, “Agriculture is looked at as manual, hard work, and not as a lucrative job, which makes it unattractive to youth. TNAU is starting One Student One Farm Family linkage for the first-year students. In this model, students will get to know about the issues being faced by the farmers in the field. They will then link the farmer to the scientist for probable solutions, thus bridging the gap.”

Government’s role in shaping policy

“Students are unaware of the different dimensions of agriculture; hence, their inclination towards agriculture education is not much,” said R. C. Agrawal, deputy director general of the Agricultural Education Division of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and moderator of the youth careers session. “ICAR is designing a new agriculture-based curriculum for primary, middle and secondary levels to attract more youth. ICAR has initiated its efforts towards integrating the agriculture world with this new education policy.”

Industry opening doors for youth in agriculture

Ch. Srinivasa Rao, director of ICAR’s National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad, spoke about the importance of industry. “The youth, both men and women, should be sensitized towards the agrifood sector. Start-ups can help to attract youths’ attention. We should characterize farms as an industry, farming as a business and the farmer as a businessperson. If this orientation doesn’t occur, livelihoods cannot be improved, and youth retention in agriculture won’t be achieved.”

Expanding BISA expertise to new horizons in South Asia

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on October 5, 2022. Posted in Features.

Ten years ago, a foundation was laid on the principles of Norman Borlaug to translate agrarian challenges into opportunities through collaboration between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). This major step toward sustainable food and nutrition security was taken through the establishment of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) as an independent, non-profit research organization.

Today, BISA is a global name in agriculture research with a vision to promote food security, nutrition, stable livelihoods, and eco-friendly practices in South Asia. Given the prominent challenges of climate change in these economically fragile agroecosystems, the partnership between BISA, ICAR, and CIMMYT plays a pivotal role in developing improved wheat and maize varieties with climate-smart and conservation agriculture-based practices.

A decade of impact

One of the most significant outcomes of BISA’s work has been its contribution to building a vast, solid network for evaluating and disseminating new high-yielding and climate-resilient wheat varieties for India and other South Asian countries in close partnership with ICAR and CIMMYT. BISA’s transformative solutions and science-led research are critical to targeting stressed resources and attaining global food security.

With support from ICAR and CIMMYT, BISA has developed state-of-the-art research facilities at its three strategically selected research stations, having 1,200 acres of land that the Government of India, jointly with the respective state governments, generously granted to the project. Located in three disparate agro-climatic and socioeconomic environments, these sites are model research farms supporting agriculture research in South Asia. The learning labs at BISA emphasize that scaling climate-smart villages also strengthen climate-resilient agriculture, primarily through addressing challenges such as residue burning. BISA’s collaborative and inclusive approach is more relevant today when the world is grappling with various food and nutrition insecurity challenges.

Time for expansion

BISA envisages attracting countries from south Asia, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), national research institutes, private sector companies, and civil society organizations as active partners for expanding reach in the region. To this end, BISA has completed extensive work in Nepal and Bangladesh and has extended its services to Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Still, more needs to be done in South Asian countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a strong commitment to harnessing the best of international scientific discoveries with local efforts. Collective action is to be garnered to provide trusted and effective mechanisms for developing and sharing cutting-edge agricultural technologies in the South Asian region.

Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICAR, with Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, discuss how BISA’s work can create food security in South Asia. (Photo: BISA)

To this end, a BISA High-Level Meeting was organized on September 1 and 2 in Delhi, with senior government representatives from the NARS in Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. The meeting provided a forum to identify opportunities to co-create and deploy innovative, multidisciplinary solutions to effectively address the transboundary challenges related to food, nutrition, and environmental security faced by farming communities in South Asia. This platform strives to unite the scientific community and thought leaders to support research and development across the agriculture domain.

Delegates from these countries felt that there is a need for a robust program of germplasm exchange within the region, which is essential to strengthening agriculture’s resilience. All countries expressed a significant need to raise their capacity of young researchers in advanced research techniques related to genomics, phenotyping, climate-smart agriculture, precision agriculture, and digital technologies. Delegates also discussed BISA’s role as a research and innovation regional catalyst, innovation hub, and integrated research platform to build resilient agrifood systems and achieve long-term sustainability and resilience for food security in South Asia.

BISA’s farm-ready research, from setting up climate-resilient villages and developing viable alternatives to rice residue burning to facilitating an open exchange of elite germplasm and cutting-edge technologies, reflects not only the vision of CIMMYT but also the philosophy of our mutual inspiration, Borlaug, who believed strongly in sharing knowledge and “taking it to the farmer”.

Cover photo: Delegates from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India meet to deliberate on the significant issues in South Asia’s agriculture sector. (Photo: BISA)

Can agriculture bring South Asian countries together?

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on September 15, 2022. Posted in Features.

Agriculture is central to South Asian economies, lives and livelihoods. However, the challenges of an increasing population and brisk economic growth are straining the agriculture sector as it struggles to meet the present and future demand for food, nutritional security, and economic development. Not only this, the three Cs – COVID, climate change and conflict – are fueling the growing fragility in food systems across the world.

To address these issues and find potential solutions, the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) organized a high-level meeting with top agriculture ministry officials from its neighboring countries – Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Pakistan – to collaborate and learn from each other.

BISA’s outreach to India’s neighbors in South Asia has already produced results. Data from the BISA farm in Ludhiana, India, on resistance to yellow rust that affects wheat crop has been used in Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Genomic prediction evaluation for grain yield and other traits worked on at BISA through the help of the Global Wheat Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been extended to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal since 2020. Regular training is organized for students, scientists and farmers in India on breeding and climate resistant technologies, and BISA scientists organize courses in Nepal on climate-smart technologies.

Read more in Amar Ujala (published in Hindi): Can agriculture bring South Asian countries together?

Cover photo: Tara Miah (50) is a farmer from Rajguru in Rahamanbari union, Barisal, Bangladesh. He used seeder fertilizer drills to plant wheat on his fields. Previously, this was done manually. SFD has resulted in a better harvest for Miah. (Credit: Ranak Martin)

A woman farmer weeding maize field in Bihar, India. Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT

Q&A: Spotlighting gender mainstreaming in agriculture

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on February 10, 2022. Posted in Features.

On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, CIMMYT speaks to Tripti Agarwal, whose research paper delves into the impact of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) on women and farming households in Bihar, India. CSAPs offer a promising solution to address environmental issues through gender-inclusive technological interventions. As we celebrate the achievements of women in science today, we see CSAPs bridging the gender gap and empowering women.

Hello Tripti, it’s great to talk to you about labor migration and how the adoption of CSAPs ensures household food security. Could you share how this approach influences gender equality in farming households?

My paper is titled “Gendered impacts of climate-smart agriculture on household food security and labor migration: insights from Bihar, India.” Bihar is highly vulnerable to hydro-meteorological natural disasters that cause agricultural production loss. The issue is that the male workforce migrates to other cities to seek different employment opportunities and improve their families’ livelihoods, often leaving the women behind to farm. Women left behind are then responsible for household and farming activities, making them overburdened. Therefore, Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) could play a vital role in safeguarding the loss in production and supporting livelihoods. The concept of Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) links this, acknowledging the gender gap and striving to promote gender-equitable approaches in knowledge enhancement, capacity development, and better practices. CSAPs empower women to support farming decision-making and a better utilization of resources

That is interesting. Would you also tell us how the CSV program addresses climatic risks from technological and social perspectives?

As per the study I mentioned earlier, climatic stress that affects crop production directly impacts a household’s food security and, more severely, women’s food security. The CSV program promotes adopting climate-resilient practices and technologies that mitigate the risk of crop loss and ensure enough food for the household. CSV is a promising solution to address environmental issues through gender-inclusive technological interventions.

Ensuring food for the household is the most important thing. We also see that this paper highlighted the knowledge gaps between men and women farmers in terms of CSAPs. What action plan is needed to have a more equitable gender-responsive environment at the policy level?

The paper attempts to drive the concentration of the state/policymakers in providing more opportunities to women in having access to resources. Policies or strategies — driven towards ensuring female education, knowledge and capacity building — are likely to play a significant role in providing access and control of resources to women across their lifetimes in varied areas of work.

As per the research paper, the probability of out-migration is reduced by 21% with the adoption of CSAPs. What factors do you think are the critical indicators of this trend?

The increase in knowledge about CSAPs, both for men and women, supports household decision-making in adopting CSAPs. With the adoption of CSAPs, the increase in agricultural production reduced the compulsion of males to migrate, and better female literacy also had a negative and significant effect on male out-migration

The study also reveals that the farmer’s education has a direct impact on the adoption of CSAPs. Is there any plan to bridge this gap? Or a suggestion for the policy makers to address this issue?

There are two steps to be covered on this front. First, to have gender-equitable knowledge dissemination and to ensure that women receive the required and necessary information about CSAPs. For this, the role of women in society needs to be strengthened and would primarily come from (i) support from the family & society and (ii) right to education. Second, knowledge alone is not enough to contribute to economic activities. Gender-inclusive strategies need to be framed and implemented to provide women the required access and control over resources. For this, multi-sectoral efforts are necessary, like having policies from the government, corporates supporting the cost of efforts, specialized agencies providing the expertise, NGO partners working with the community, and foremost, support from the society.

Very rightly said, and we hope that some strong measures are taken at the policy level. Today, women play a huge role in agriculture; thus, it becomes vital to enhance their capacities, especially in newer technologies. In this context, what approaches can you suggest to strengthening their skills and knowledge to achieve a gender-empowered agricultural domain?

There is no limit to enhancing the skills and capacities of an individual. And when we talk about women, especially in rural/agricultural contexts, we see that support from the family is critical for them. To ensure that, we need ways to educate men on how women can support them in providing better livelihoods. Creating plans and roadmaps for women would help achieve a gender-empowered agricultural domain, but we must also bring behavior change among men towards a more accepting role of women in farming and decision making.

One last question related to this special day. Why do you love your work? And how is science exciting for you?

I was assigned the position of Project Administrator; however, after working for many years with a team of experts, my interest in research slowly ignited. Thanks to the support I received, I decided to work closely on the subject and identify the areas where I may add value. Linking my knowledge and field studies, I started contributing to relevant publications like this one, which is the output of my years of experience at CIMMYT. I received a lot of support from my team, especially from Dr. M.L. Jat, who has been a great mentor throughout my journey of learning and growth.

M.L. Jat is a Principal Scientist at CIMMYT and co-author of the article. Building on this publication, CIMMYT’s gender research will be further strengthened under the One CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative on Transforming Agri-Food Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA), which has a core learning site in Bihar.

BISA Jabalpur team gathers for a celebration

Celebrating 10 years of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on October 10, 2021. Posted in News.

BISA and CIMMYT gather for a virtual 10 year celebration.

A decade ago, a foundation was laid with a vision to secure food, nutrition, livelihoods, and the environment in South Asia. The Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) was formed and the principles were set following the path of Norman Borlaug to translate the agrarian challenges into opportunities by collaborating with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). BISA was established as an independent, non-profit research organization.

To commemorate the 10^th anniversary of BISA, Bram Govaerts, Director General, CIMMYT-BISA, gathered BISA staff for a virtual celebration on 5 October 2021. He congratulated BISA colleagues and said “[…] BISA has continued to expand Norman Borlaug’s vision and legacy. It has […] been committed and achieved excellence in science, seeds and partnerships by touching lives of millions of farmers and consumers.”

“Perhaps one of the most impactful outcomes of BISA’s work has been its contribution to build a strong and wide network for evaluating and disseminating new high yielding and climate-resilient wheat varieties for southern Asia in close partnership with ICAR and national agricultural research systems. CIMMYT-BISA has not only contributed towards this but will also make sure that India’s farmers are the happiest. Efforts will and have been made towards their income generation, livelihood for families, a clean environment and building of future agricultural resilience,” he added.

Pramod Aggarwal, Regional Program Leader, BISA and CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), gave suggestions for the way forward and BISA’s future collaborations. He said, “It’s time to strengthen BISA and further expand it to other South Asian countries.”

Arun Joshi, Managing Director, BISA, spoke about the achievements of BISA throughout the last decade and about the establishment of the ‘Farms of the Future’. “BISA farms are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. BISA’s no residue burning, efficient resource management, precision phenotyping, climate resilient germplasm, quality seed and capacity development activities are just a few examples of BISA’s successful programs,” he said.

“BISA has been scaling climate smart agriculture technologies not only in Indian villages but to other countries of South Asia, as well, and has supported African colleagues in capacity development.” Joshi recalled the support provided by numerous funding partners, by ICAR (Government of India), state governments (Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra), other governmental institutions, CIMMYT’s Board of Trustees and Management Committee team members and different research programs to strengthen BISA.

BISA Ludhiana team gathers for a celebration — BISA’s Ludhiana team gathers for a celebration

Celebrations galore

In addition to the virtual celebration with the leadership of BISA and CIMMYT, numerous teams scattered across India celebrated the success and fruitful journey of BISA. The teams at BISA farms in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Pusa (Bihar), and Ludhiana (Punjab) marked the occasion by gathering at a COVID-19-appropriate distance and paid regards to Norman Borlaug and spoke about the objectives and vision of BISA.

The New Delhi team celebrated by garlanding the statue of Borlaug, that stands in front of the office of BISA based at the National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC).

Capturing the decade-long journey

The ten-year journey of BISA is captured in “A Decade of Research in Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) 2011-2021,” a research highlights report that was unveiled during the virtual celebration and that will soon be available online. Arun Joshi explained that the document encapsulates the spirit of BISA and its achievements throughout the last ten years. Its sixteen themes define the work of BISA and its reach across South Asia.

The report also informs of BISA’s outreach activities throughout the last decade and its impact on climate resilient agriculture. Themes such as ‘Managing Rice Residue Burning’, ‘Climate Smart Village Approach’, ‘Precision Phenotyping in Wheat Breeding’, ‘Developing Improved Crop Insurance Products’, ‘Mainstreaming Gender in Climate-Resilient Agriculture’ reveal how BISA scaled up these approaches with its advanced technology mechanisms. In addition, every theme captures information related to funding and research partners.

Overall, the ten-year report is a robust document which showcases how millions of farmers in South Asia have benefitted from the strong scientific partnership of BISA and national programs.