funder_partner: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

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Climate-smart agriculture achievements inspire support for BISA-CIMMYT in Bihar, India

Written by on April 28, 2015. Posted in News.

The Director of Agriculture (3rd from left) and the District Collector (2nd from right) view a demonstration of urea drilling in a standing wheat crop. Photo: Manish Kumar/CIMMYT

The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), CIMMYT and stakeholders are developing, adapting and spreading climate-smart agriculture technologies throughout Bihar, India. During the 2014-2015 winter season, BISA hosted visits for national and international stakeholders to view the progress of participatory technology adaption modules and climate-smart villages throughout the region.

“It is very encouraging to see the [BISA-CIMMYT’s] trials of new upcoming technology…We will be ready to support this,” wrote Dharmendra Singh, Bihar’s Director of Agriculture, in the visitor book during a state agriculture department visit to one of BISA’s research farms and climate-smart villages in Pusa. BISA, CIMMYT and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), in collaboration with local stakeholders and farmer groups, established 15 Borlaug climate-smart villages in Samastipur district and 20 in Vaishali district, as part of a 2012 research initiative to test various climate-smart tools, approaches and techniques.

Agriculture Production Commissioner (3rd from the left) discussing climate smart practices with farmers in Digambra village. Photo: Deepak/CIMMYT

“I could understand conservation agriculture better than ever after seeing the crop and crop geometry in the field today,” wrote Mangla Rai, former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) & Agriculture Advisor to the Chief Minister of Bihar. Raj Kumar Jat and M.L. Jat, CIMMYT cropping system agronomist and senior cropping system agronomist, respectively, showcased research trials on zero-tillage potato and maize, early-planted dual-purpose wheat, precision nutrient management in maize-wheat systems under conservation agriculture, genotype -by- environment interaction in wheat and crop intensification in rice-wheat systems through introduction of inter-cropping practices. Raj Kumar Jat also gave a presentation on how to increase cropping intensity in Bihar by 300% through timely planting and direct seeding techniques.

“Technologies like direct-seeded rice and zero-till wheat, which save both time and labor, should be adapted and transferred to Bihar’s farmers,” said Thomas A. Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, at a meeting of the CIMMYT Board of Trustees with the Chief Minister of Bihar and other government representatives. “BISA is a key partner in building farmer and extension worker capacity, in addition to testing and promoting innovative agriculture technologies.”

The Agriculture Minister of Bihar visiting a zero tillage wheat field in a climate-smart village ( Bhagwatpur) of Samstipur district. Photo: Deepak/CIMMYT

“State agriculture officials should support BISA to hold trainings on direct-seeded rice for fast dissemination across Bihar,” agreed Vijay Chaudhary, Agriculture Minister of Bihar, at a BISA field day. Chaudhary along with 600 farmers and officials visited a climate-smart village where farmers plant wheat using zero tillage. Zero-till wheat is sown directly into soil and residues from previous crops, allowing farmers to plant seed early and to avoid losing yields due to pre-monsoon heat later in the season. Direct-seeded rice is sown and sprouted directly in the field, eliminating labor- and water-intensive seedling nurseries.

During the Bihar Festival, 22-24 March, BISA-CIMMYT showcased conservation agriculture practices and live demonstrations of quality protein maize-based food products, with over 10,000 famers and visitors participating. Vijoy Prakash, Agriculture Production Commissioner of Bihar, and other Bihar government officials discussed with farmers about new BISA-CIMMYT agriculture practices and emphasized the need to “introduce conservation agriculture in the state government’s agricultural technology dissemination program.” Prakash, along with government representatives, has approved two BISA proposals for a training hostel and research.

Nutrient management tool wins award

Written by Sam Storr on February 12, 2014. Posted in News.

A tool developed by CIMMYT and the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) offering site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) advice to help farmers achieve higher yields more efficiently recently won an innovation award.

Nutrient Expert^TM decision support tools received the best innovation award in the information and communications technology category at the Bihar Innovation Forum II, which recognizes innovations to improve rural livelihoods in India. These tools were in development by CIMMYT and IPNI for five years and were launched in June 2013.

In South Asia, 90 percent of smallholder farmers do not have access to soil testing. The computer-based support tools aim to provide them with simple advice on how to get the most from fertilizer inputs. An IPNI study funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE CRP) Competitive Grant Initiative (CGI) found that farming practices and the resources available to farmers vary hugely in east India.

The cutting-edge value of Nutrient Expert^TM is that it offers specific information at the farm level, where it can provide the greatest benefits. Nutrient Expert^TM is especially relevant because it was developed through dialogue and participation with stakeholders, which also raises awareness and eventual adoption by users.

It is now used by the Indian National Agricultural Research System and is a key intervention used by the CRP on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in its Climate Smart Villages. The Nutrient Expert^TM approach is also being applied to maize and wheat in other areas of Southeast Asia, China, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

CIMMYT launches mobile phone voice messaging for climate-smart villages in India

Written by on September 19, 2013. Posted in News.

A new pilot program is trying to reach farmers in India with information on weather, pests and climate change — through their mobile phones. CIMMYT launched the “Dissemination of climate smart agro-advisories to farmers in CCAFS benchmark sites of India” project on 15 August in four villages of the Karnal District in the State of Haryana and in the Vaishali District in the State of Bihar on 1 September. The project is led by CIMMYT‘s Surabhi Mittal with IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited as the content partner and Kisan Sanchar as the dissemination and implementing agency.

The project has aims to help farmers clarify information about climate-smart technology; help them adopt technologies that could mitigate their risks due to climate change; and to measure how receiving information on mobile phones affects farmers. Its reach covers 1,200 male and female farmers in eight villages and will run for 8 months on a pilot level. Farmers whose mobile numbers are in the project database receive two voice messages every day along with detailed SMS messages – in Hindi when required. These messages give weather predictions, information about pests and remedies, details of climate smart technologies and general information about climate change and solutions. Some farmers belong to the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) climate smart villages and some belong to control villages in the Karnal and Vaishali districts.

Challenges building this mobile number database included farmers who could not receive messages from unknown numbers. The project team worked with farmers to authorize the messages and get permission from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to unblock them. Encouraging women to participate was another hurdle. Due to cultural barriers, men were not willing to share the contact numbers of their wives. Awareness and focus group discussions held in Karnal from 29 to 30 August helped solve the issue. Project Leader Mittal met the Sarpanch, or the elected head, of the villages as well as with government women health workers known as Anganwadi workers. The four villages in Karnal have women Sarpanch, helped mobilize women farmers and women in households headed by men. In Bihar, a female scout is working closely with women farmers and has created women’s groups to for the project.

Customized feedback is built into the project. First, a helpline allows farmers to give feedback and ask for responses to questions. Some questions are instantly sorted out, some are diverted to other experts and some responses are collected and the farmer is called later. The feedback is converted the next day into voice messages if it is relevant to a wider group of farmers. The other form of feedback is filtered back by field scouts who interact closely with the farmers, frequent focus group discussions and through a bi-weekly structured feedback form. Efforts are being made to make the information more relevant, timely, customized and useful for the farmers. The research and field teams have to work closely and proactively to meet the farmers’ diverse requests. Efforts to compile farmers’ correct phone numbers and to make farmers aware of the benefits of learning about new technologies are great challenges. But the enthusiasm of farmers – shown through an increased listening rate to the voice messages and an increasing number of calls to the helpline – is a great motivation for the project team.

Article author Surabhi Mittal was quoted in India’s Financial Chronicle on the subject. Read the story here.