funder_partner: India's Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

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Atlas of Climate Adaptation in South Asian Agriculture (ACASA)

Written by mcallejas on August 14, 2023. Posted in Uncategorized.

About ACASA

Increasing climatic risks make it imperative to identify spatial and temporal risks that are likely to impact agriculture. Adaptation options are thus needed to mitigate the negative impacts. Considering this, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) is working with national agriculture research systems in South Asia to develop the Atlas of Climate Adaptation in South Asian Agriculture (ACASA).

This comprehensive Atlas aims to provide granular-scale information for South Asian countries at the village scale by integrating various spatially explicit data sets together. It covers climate hazards, and the exposure of smallholder populations, farms, and crop and livestock enterprises to hazards. It will also look into the vulnerability of these populations to climatic risks, impacts on critical commodities in the region, and evidence of the effectiveness of different climate adaptation interventions.

The ACASA offers a unique set of tools that can facilitate improved investment targeting and priority setting, and support stakeholders’ decision-making and investments in agricultural technologies, climate information services, and policies. The intended beneficiaries of this Atlas include governments, insurance and agri-food industries, international and national donors, and adaptation-focused entities.

Driven by science and data, explore ACASA’s approach to safeguard South Asian Agriculture

P. Malathy, Director General of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka, delivering keynote address during ACASA Project Inception Meeting.

ACASA Objectives

Increase the quality, availability, and utility of data and evidence.
Improve climate adaptive capacity of agricultural systems and guide stakeholders on location-specific adaptation options, including gender-informed technologies, practices, and climate information services to address risks.
Increase the resilience of small-scale producers to climate variability and change.

ACASA Workstreams

Climate Risk Assessment

Gridded risk analysis using historical crop yield data and satellite signatures; indicators of current and future hazards, exposure, and vulnerabilities.

Assessment of Climate Impact on Commodities

Climate impact on commodities under current and future climate

Portfolio of Adaptation Options

Decision trees, crop/livestock models, statistical and econometric models, and expert consultations

UI/UX Development

An open-source, web-enabled, interactive, and dynamic Atlas development

Capacity Strengthening of Stakeholders

Training materials, tools, tutorials, and country/regional level workshops

ACASA Advisory Panel

The advisory panel established under ACASA will identify potential users, use cases in different countries, and guide and review Atlas’ progress. The constituted panel will have the scientific advisory committee (SAC) and South Asia’s country team leaders, who will be instrumental in hosting and adapting the Atlas. Explore the dynamic team of ACASA’s advisory panel.

Reports

ACASA Project Inception Report

To discuss ACASA and its development, a 3-day inception meeting was held in Delhi, India, from 25th to 27th April 2023, marked by 70 distinguished guests from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India discussing the various aspects of Atlas. The inception meeting provided some valuable recommendations/highlights that will be instrumental in building the Atlas.

ACASA Use Case Report

The ACASA project places significant importance on the practical applications of the Atlas. Various stakeholders could utilise Atlas to enhance investment in agricultural adaptation technologies and climate information services. Drawing from the diverse perspectives of the panellists during the inception meeting, a consolidated report was prepared on how ACASA team and its partners will be prioritising and developing use cases based on geographical and thematic considerations.

CIMMYT and BWMRI host international training program on surveillance and management strategies for wheat blast

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on June 21, 2023. Posted in News.

The devastating disease wheat blast is a threat to crop production in many South Asian countries. In Bangladesh, it was first identified in seven southern and southwestern districts in 2016, and later spread to 27 others causing significant damage. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is working with the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI) and other national partners to conduct research and extension activities to mitigate the ongoing threat.

From March 1-10, 2023, a group of 46 wheat researchers, government extension agents, and policy makers from ten countries — Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Sweden, and Zambia — gathered in Jashore, Bangladesh to learn about and exchange experiences regarding various wheat diseases, particularly wheat blast. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first in-person international wheat blast training held in Bangladesh. It focused on the practical application of key and tricky elements of disease surveillance and management strategies, such as resistance breeding and integrated disease management.

Training participants get hands-on practice using a field microscope, Bangladesh. (Photo: Ridoy/CIMMYT)

“This is an excellent training program,” said Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), during the opening session. “Participants will learn how to reduce the severity of the blast disease, develop and expand blast resistant varieties to farmers, increase production, and reduce imports.”

This sentiment was echoed by Golam Faruq, director general of BWMRI. “This program helps in the identification of blast-resistant lines from across the globe,” he said. “From this training, participants will learn to manage the devastating blast disease in their own countries and include these learnings into their national programs.”

Hands-on training

The training was divided into three sections: lectures by national and international scientists; laboratory and field experiment visits; and trips to farmers’ fields. Through the lecture series, participants learned about a variety of topics including disease identification, molecular detection, host-pathogen interaction, epidemiology and integrated disease management.

Hands-on activities were linked to working on the Precision Phenotyping Platform (PPP), which involves the characterization of more than 4,000 wheat germplasm and releasing several resistant varieties in countries vulnerable to wheat blast. Participants practiced taking heading notes, identifying field disease symptoms, tagging, and scoring disease. They conducted disease surveillance in farmers’ fields in Meherpur and Faridpur districts — both of which are extremely prone to wheat blast — observing the disease, collecting samples and GPS coordinates, and completing surveillance forms.

Muhammad Rezaul Kabir, senior wheat breeder at BWMRI, explains the Precision Phenotyping Platform, Bangladesh. (Photo: Md. Harun-Or-Rashid/CIMMYT)

Participants learned how to use cutting-edge technology to recognize blast lesions in leaves using field microscopes. They went to a pre-installed spore trapping system in a farmer’s field to learn about the equipment and steps for collecting spore samples, observing them under a compound microscope, and counting spores. They also visited the certified seed production fields of Shawdesh Seed, a local company which has played an important role in promoting wheat blast resistant varieties BARI Gom 33 and BWMRI Gom 3 regionally, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) in Gazipur to see current wheat blast research in action.

Blast-resistance in Bangladesh

“I am so happy to see the excellent infrastructure and work ethics of staff that has made possible good science and impactful research come out of the PPP,” said Aakash Chawade, associate professor in Plant Breeding at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Rapid development of blast-resistant varieties and their dissemination will help Bangladesh mitigate the effects of wheat blast, not only inside the country but by supporting neighboring ones as well.”

Training participants scout and score disease in a blast-infected wheat field, Bangladesh. (Photo: Md. Harun-Or-Rashid/CIMMYT)

“Besides the biotic and abiotic challenges faced in wheat production, climate change and the Russia-Ukraine crisis are further creating limitations to wheat production and marketing,” said Pawan Kumar Singh, head of Wheat Pathology at CIMMYT and lead organizer of the training. “Due to the development of blast-resistant wheat varieties and its commercial production under integrated disease management practices, the domestic production of wheat in Bangladesh has increased and there is increased interest from farmers in wheat.”

Dave Hodson, a principal scientist at CIMMYT and one of the training’s resource speakers, added: “This is a remarkable success that researchers developed two blast resistant varieties in Bangladesh urgently. It was only achievable because of the correct measures taken by the researchers and support of Government policies.”

However, there are still some barriers to widespread adoption of these varieties. As such, in parallel to other activities, a team from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) joined the field trip to meet local farmers and conduct research into the socio-economic factors influencing the adoption and scaling of relevant wheat varieties.

New generation of farmers lead the way in making farming more productive and profitable

Written by Nima Chodon on May 29, 2023. Posted in Features.

In the Indo-Gangetic Plains of northern India, nearly 70% of the population is involved in agriculture and extension services. Despite the abundantly fertile soil and farmers’ resilience, the adoption of agricultural innovations and productivity in the region has been slow.

This slow progress is often attributed to comparatively low levels of agricultural mechanization in the region and small land holdings of individual farmers, which often makes them risk averse to new technologies. However, times are changing.

Farmer Gangesh Pathak, in his recently harvested field using combine harvester machine, discuss Kharif – summer crops – schedule with CIMMYT Agronomist Ajay K Pundir. (Photo: Vijay K. Srivastava/CIMMYT)

Through the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), working closely with the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and partners, have led the transition from traditional farming to sustainable intensification agricultural practices in the region, helping the region slowly but steadily realize its full potential. Over the years, working extensively with progressive farmers, CSISA scientists have helped optimize the cost of inputs and increase productivity through new technology adoption and capacity building for these farmers.

Krishnamohan Pathak, a farmer in his early sixties from the village of Patkhaoli, first learned about conservation agriculture practices when he attended a field event in Nonkhar village in Deoria district, Uttar Pradesh. CSISA researchers invited farmers from Nonkhar and neighbouring villages to attend a field day event, an exposure activity, on zero tillage wheat and direct seeded rice (DSR) technologies. Zero tillage allows farmers to plant directly without plowing or preparing the soil, minimizing soil movement. Pathak was one of the farmers who got to see first-hand the advantages of these sustainable agricultural practices.

Seeing merit in these practices, Pathak continued to engage with CSISA scientists and in 2013-2014, adopted zero tillage, and directly seeded rice in his family-owned fields.

“The CSISA field team encouraged me to buy a rice planter which has helped manage paddy transplantation on time, and wheat after that through zero till,” Pathak said.

Pathak later participated in other agri-technology events and CSISA field trial activities. In 2018, he joined other progressive farmers from the region who attended a training at ISARC (IRRI South Asia Regional Centre) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on direct seeded rice, organized by CSISA researchers to build capacity and raise awareness of the conservation agriculture method.

The next generation leads the way

Today, Pathak is one of the key influential farming members in the region. He has now, however, passed the baton to his 37-year-old son Gangesh Pathak. “I have occupied myself with other local leadership activities after my son has been active in the fields. I am not so skilled at using these machines, their maintenance and their services. The younger generation seems much better at adapting,” he said.

Gangesh has been involved actively in farming ever since he finished his graduation, trying to make it lucrative. He has enjoyed recent success growing wheat and rice through new technology and practices. Standing in the fields recently harvested with the new improved wheat variety DBW 187, grown through early sowing – a method which goes against the traditional practice of planting after November – and zero tillage, he is happy with his 5.5 ton per hectare yield.

He spoke enthusiastically about the farming machinery he has procured to reduce drudgery in his farms and the hiring services provided to smallholder farmers in the region. After his father bought the transplanter in 2014, the family added larger machines such as the Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Laser Land Leveller, Straw Reaper, and Direct Seeded Rice machine.

Farmer Gangesh Pathak explains the use of machinery that has enabled conservation agriculture practices in his fields and helped improve yields and income. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)

According to Gangesh, this has been possible thanks to the support from the local agriculture authorities and guidance from the CSISA team, who told his father about the various schemes offered by the central and state government to support farmers to adopt more productive and sustainable agricultural technologies.

Ajay Kumar Pundir, CIMMYT agronomist, based in Uttar Pradesh and leading CSISA’s efforts, stressed the importance of access to agricultural mechanization and support.

“Our job just does not end at informing and training farmers about better-bet agricultural practices. Along with other public and private stakeholders, we must support and ensure their availability and access – machines, quality seeds, timely information – for farmers to adopt it,” he said.

Custom hiring center help scale mechanization

With so much farm machinery, the Pathaks soon began extending hiring services. Custom hiring is a promising enterprise opportunity for farmers as they can use the machinery on their farms and earn extra income by extending services to other farmers at a reasonable cost, which helps cover diesel and maintenance costs. Gangesh made about 2.5 lakhs (USD $3,033.76) in profit during the 2022-2023 Rabi (winter crops) through hay machine hiring services, where around 250 farmers used these services.

Once the word spread, demand for hiring services by smallholder farmers, challenged by scarce labor for sowing and harvesting, started growing. Gangesh was encouraged by the good profits and was keen to share the benefits of such hiring services to as many farmers as possible, and he helped establish a Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) with his father, Krishnamohan. FPO is a group made up of farmer-producers who are entitled to a host of benefits, including quality seeds, technical support, market access, under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW).

The FPO, started by the Pathaks in 2020, with 75 members (farmers) initially, currently boasts of around 300 farmers. Almost all FPO members have availed the custom hiring services for all farming purposes and various crops. Farmers, “particularly smallholders who cannot afford to purchase these machines for less than a few acres of land, are happy with the custom hiring services. It helps reduce their input cost by almost 50% along with other FPO member benefits,” Gangesh said.

Community-based technology demonstrations by CSISA and KVK and partners are ongoing to scale-out proven technologies and practices like early wheat sowing, zero tillage, and direct seeded rice. Gangesh is hopeful that farmers in the region, despite the emerging climate crisis concerns – already being felt in the region – can produce more and improve their income. He reckons that diversifying between rice-wheat cropping systems, mechanizing and system optimization through better advisories, and improved access to technologies as recommended by agronomists, will help farmers stay ahead of the curve.

About CSISA

Established in 2009, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) is a science-driven and impacts-oriented regional initiative for increasing the productivity of cereal-based cropping systems. CSISA works in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. CSISA activities in India focus on the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, dominated by small farm sizes, low incomes, and comparatively low agricultural mechanization, irrigation, and productivity levels. Learn about CSISA (India) Phase 4.0

Graduate of CIMMYT/ICAR partnership honored by Indian government

Written by Leslie Domínguez on April 18, 2023. Posted in News.

Harisankar Nayak, a CIMMYT supported PhD student, received significant honors from the Government of India for his PhD thesis. The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) recognized Nayak’s exceptional academic performance and thesis work during the 61st convocation ceremony held in New Delhi on February 24, 2023. The Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, presided over the ceremony. Nayak was awarded the IARI Merit medal for his thesis, “Machine learning evidence-based agronomic practices for higher yield and lower emission in rice-wheat system,” published in the esteemed journal Field Crops Research.

Nayak’s research involved comparing multiple machine learning methods to identify the primary drivers and causes of wheat yield variability in northwestern India. His findings provide important methodology to identify variables involved when one farm’s yield is less than a similar farm in the same area. With these variables classified, policymakers, government ministries, and farmers themselves can take steps to raise yield, sustainably, across the entire north-western Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Timothy Krupnik, Country Representative for Research and Partnerships and Systems Agronomist at CIMMYT-Bangladesh, and Nayak’s PhD supervisor from CIMMYT, expressed his pride in Nayak’s achievements. “I saw first-hand how much work he put into his research, and he richly deserves this honor. The same was opined by Dr C. M. Parihar, Nayak’s supervisor from IARI, Dr. M.L. Jat, former principal scientist, CIMMYT-India and Dr T B Sapkota, senior scientist, Agricultural System/Climate Change, CIMMYT. In addition, this is an excellent example of the capacity development work arising from CIMMYT’s collaborations with ICAR and IARI.”

Nayak also led research examining the sustainability of rice production in the same area of India, which determined that nitrogen use could be reduced without impacting rice yields. “To be recognized by ICAR and IARI, among many other worthy students, is a great honor,” said Nayak. “CIMMYT provided crucial material support, helping me facilitate my research. Just as important were the opportunities to collaborate with CIMMYT scientists.” Nayak’s work is vital for addressing the challenges posed by a changing climate and feeding a growing population.

The Australian High Commission, ACIAR and BARC delegates recognizes the BWMRI-CIMMYT collaborative wheat blast research platform in Bangladesh

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on March 22, 2023. Posted in News.

Delegates with other officials in front of the seminar room. (Photo: Biswajit/BWMRI)

Representatives from Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) paid a visit to Bangladesh to see the valuable work of the Precision Phenotyping Platform (PPP).

PPP was established in response to the devastating wheat blast disease, which was first reported in the country in 2016.

Technical and financial support from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Australian Commission for International Agricultural Research and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, along with other funders, has contributed to the effort to combat the disease.

This is achieved by generating precise data for wheat blast resistance in germplasm in Bangladesh, as well as other wheat growing countries. This PPP has been used to screen elite lines and genetic resources from various countries.

On February 16 and 17, 2023, two groups of national and international delegations visited the BWMRI-CIMMYT collaborative research platform PPP at the BWMRI regional station in Jashore, Bangladesh.

The first group was made up of representatives from both the Australian Commission for International Agricultural Research and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. This included seven commissioners under the direction of Fiona Simson, along with ACIAR senior officials from Australia and India.

The other group was from BARC, which was led by Executive Chairman Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, along with Golam Faruq, Director General of BWMRI, and Andrew Sharpe, Bangabandhu Research Chair, Global Institute of Food Security (GIFS), University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

Both delegations were welcomed by Muhammad Rezaul Kabir, the Senior Wheat Breeder at BWMRI. Kabir gave a brief presentation about the platform and other wheat blast collaborative research programs in the seminar room.

The delegations then went to the PPP field, where BWMRI researchers Kabir and Robiul Islam, as well as CIMMYT researcher Md. Harun-Or-Rashid, explained further information about the BWMRI-CIMMYT collaborative research. Both commissioners and delegates appreciated seeing the work being conducted in person by the national and international collaborations of BWMRI and CIMMYT on wheat blast research.

Visitors observing blast disease symptoms in wheat leaves. (Photo: Muhammad Rezaul Kabir/BWMRI)

“It is important, innovative work, that is affecting not only Bangladesh but many countries around the world that are now starting to be concerned about the impacts of wheat blast,” commissioner Simson said. “This study is very important for Australia and we are pleased to be contributing to it.”

Lindsay Falvey, another commissioner, added, “This is a wonderful experiment, using high-level science and technologies to combat wheat blast in Bangladesh. The experiment is well-planned. Overall, it is an excellent platform.”

ACIAR delegate Eric Huttner added to the praise for the project. “The platform is performing extremely well for the purpose of evaluating lines, resistance to the disease and that’s very useful for Bangladesh and rest of the world,” he said. “This is a gift that Bangladesh is giving to the neighboring countries to protect wheat.”

The delegates pledged to share their expert advice with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh in order to increase investments and improve facilities for agricultural research programs in the country.

Golam Faruq, Director General of BWMRI discussing the PPP with Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, Executive Chairman of BARC (Photo: Md. Harun-Or-Rashid/CIMMYT)

“This is an excellent work,” Executive Chairman of BARC, Bokhtiar said. “We can get more information from screening activities by using bioinformatics tools and training people through the BARC-GIFS program.”

Pawan Kumar Singh, Head of Wheat Pathology at CIMMYT-Mexico and Project Leader, coordinated the visits virtually and expressed his thanks to the delegations for their visit to the platform. This PPP, within a short span of few years, has been highly impactful, characterizing more than 15,000 entries and releasing several resistant varieties in countries vulnerable to wheat blast.

‘Farmers now more aware about climate resilient agri’

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on January 23, 2023. Posted in In the media.

A workshop in New Delhi on the Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) programme explored solar harvesting, carbon credit, crop residue management, climate resilient cultivars, millets and pulses in cropping systems, and maize drying and processing.

Arun Kumar Joshi from the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) highlighted the potential of the programme if more farmers embrace CRA technology.

New technologies and innovations are essential in helping farmers adapt to changing climate conditions and reduce reliance on greenhouse gases (GHG).

Read the original article: ‘Farmers now more aware about climate resilient agri’

Lokesh Chaudhary

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on January 13, 2023. Posted in Uncategorized.

Lokesh Chaudhary is an agronomist with expertise in seed physiology, crop modelling, precision agriculture and GIS GNSS. He is currently learning about drone piloting, data collection and processing.

At CIMMYT, Chaudhary works on resilient climate agriculture, under which technology transfer is done. Expertise in agronomy, seed and machinery is required and used extensively. He supports in the execution of farmers participatory and on-station demonstrations/research trials on climate-resilient agricultural practices, monitors day-to-day field activities (irrigation, fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, etc.) and conducts data collection of the farmers participatory/research trials.

A reluctant farmer changes the fortune of his inherited land

Written by Nima Chodon on December 22, 2022. Posted in Features.

In the sultry spring-summer heat of Bihar, India, the landscape is yellow with wheat grains ready for harvest. Here, in Nagma village farmer Ravi Ranjan attends to his fields — mostly wheat, with some pulses in the adjoining plots. The harvest this year will be a little less than anticipated, he explains, as receding monsoon rains left the soil too moist to begin sowing on time.

Ranjan’s grandfather and father were both farmers who owned sizable land. His father used to say that the land was productive but required a lot of hands, sweat, and time to sustain the yields. Agriculture was all that the family had known and depended on for decades before Ranjan’s father left the sector for the civil service. After the early demise of his grandfather in 2003, and with his father in a secure government job, it fell to Ranjan to shoulder the responsibility of managing the family farm.

As a young man, Ranjan had sometimes helped his grandfather in the fields, but now, as the owner of a hydraulic mechanical service firm working hundreds of kilometers away in Chhattisgarh, he had never imagined becoming a farmer himself. Though reluctant to begin with, Ranjan decided there was no alternative but to take on the challenge and do his best, and while initially he had little success with the new venture, slowly and steadily he began to change the fortune of his inherited land.

Today Ranjan is one of the local area’s success stories, as a progressive and influential farmer with ties to the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project. Researchers on the CSISA team have been working with farmers like him in the region for over a decade and are proud of the ongoing collaboration. Ranjan’s fields are regularly used as CSISA trial plots to help demonstrate the success of new technologies and conservation agriculture practices that can enhance productivity and sustainability. For example, in the 2021-2022 winter cropping season — locally known as Rabi — he harvested 6.2 tons per hectare – while a separate acre plot as demonstration site was harvested publicly with officials from CSISA and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra Network (KVK), JEEViKA, and farmers from neighboring villages for improving yield sustainably.

As India celebrates Kisan Diwas (Farmer’s Day) on December 23, we speak to Ranjan about his hopes for the future and the continuity of farming in his family after he hangs his boots.

Farming has seen a sea of change since your grandfather’s time. What do you think has been the most transformative change in the years you have been involved in farming?

I think using mechanized tools and technology to ensure good cropping practices has tremendously reduced manual work. Furthermore, today with innovations and digitization in agriculture science, farming is not just recognized as a noble profession, but also an enterprising one. I am happy I came into it right when things were changing for good. I have no regrets.

Though not by choice that I came into it, I am now fully invested and devoted to farming. From being an entrepreneur to farming, it has been a transformational journey for me. I am unsure whether my daughters — I have three, the eldest turns 18 next year — will choose to be involved in agricultural farming. But I will encourage and fully support them if they choose to take it up. After all, they will inherit the land after me.

Extreme climate effects are challenging agricultural practices and output. How are you preparing to reduce the impact of these in your fields?

It is worrying to see how extreme climatic effects can be challenging for agriculture, particularly for smallholder farmers in the region. Erratic rains, drought at times, and increasing temperatures have all harmed our cereal and vegetable farms and affected yield in wheat crops significantly. The adoption of new technologies like direct seeded rice (DSR) to avoid puddled rice transplanting, early wheat sowing (EWS) to avoid terminal heat at maturity, zero tillage technology (ZTT), and better-quality seeds, are interventions introduced and supported by CSISA and other agricultural organizations from the state that has helped combat some of these climate-induced problems.

In my own fields, I have also introduced proper irrigation systems to reduce the impact of limited water availability. I hope to stay ahead of the curve and make sure I am aware of all that is possible to keep my farm productive and sustainable.

How did you begin your association with CSISA? What has been your experience of working with them to make your agriculture resilient and productive?

I was initially approached by one of their scientists working in the area. And because of my interest, they slowly began informing me of various technologies I could try. With these technologies implemented in my field, the yield and productivity improved.

Soon after expanding my agriculture output, I got 50 acres of land on lease in the village to grow more crops like pulses, along with rice and wheat. Today, CSISA has started using my fields as their demonstration plots for new technologies and best practices, and to spread awareness and bring in more farmers from neighboring villages to encourage adoption.

CSISA and others call me a progressive and innovative farmer. I am proud that many farmers and other agricultural agencies in the area have appreciated our efforts to continue making agriculture productive and sustainable.

About CSISA:

Cover photo: Ravi Ranjan takes the author on a tour of his fields where wheat grown with conservation agriculture practices like zero tillage technology is ready for harvest, Nagwa village, Bihar, India. (Photo: Nima Chodon/CIMMYT)

Sustainability of rice production in the Northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on December 16, 2022. Posted in Publications.

Rice is a vital crop for India, contributing around 30 percent of calories consumed in the country and providing a crucial source of income from exports. However, due to climate change and conversion of land for other uses, rice growing area in India is projected to decline by 6-7 million hectares (ha) by 2050, while production must increase by 1.1% annually over the next four decades to achieve rice self-sufficiency for the country.

As there is limited opportunity to horizontal expansion of cultivable land, the predicted increase in demand must be met through increasing rice yields in regions with low yields and maintaining existing yields in high-yielding areas. This must be achieved using sustainable farming practices: currently, 90 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of monsoon season cropped cereals in India is caused by rice cultivation, as is 80 percent of the energy and water used in agriculture.

Scientists found that in the Northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India, yield gaps were small (ca. 2.7 t ha^−1, or 20% of potential yield) mainly because of intensive production system with high input use. Using management data from 4,107 individual farmer fields, the study highlighted scope to reduce nitrogen (N) inputs without compromising yields in this intensive production system.

Findings show evidence of and methodology for the quantification of yield gaps and approaches that can improve resource-use efficiency, providing a possible alternative approach that could be reproduced elsewhere for other crops and contexts. It is recommended that future research focuses on ways to reduce other production inputs without compromising the yields in such intensive production systems.

This paper is the result of Harishankar Nayak’s PhD training in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) jointly supervised by the researchers at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Read the study: Rice yield gaps and nitrogen-use efficiency in the Northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains of India: Evidence based insights from heterogeneous farmers’ practices

Cover photo: A farmer stands in his rice field at a Climate-Smart Village in the Vaishali district of Bihar, India, as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). (Photo: DK Singh/CIMMYT)

Indian scientists visit CIMMYT Türkiye facility for wheat improvement systems

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on December 8, 2022. Posted in News.

Scientists from the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Wheat and Barley, part of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology visited the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) facility in Türkiye on November 14-17.

This trip was an extension of their visit to the Türkiye Akdeniz University, Antalya, under the ICAR-NAHEP overseas fellowship program. The trip to CIMMYT program in Türkiye was with the objective to get exposure to CIMMYT’s germplasm and other new developments in wheat improvement that may be helpful for wheat production in the Northern Hill zone of India, which grows wheat on around 0.8 million hectares.

Ajaz Ahmed Lone, Principal Scientist, Genetics and Plant Breeding at the Dryland Agricultural Research Station, and Shabir Hussain Wani, Scientist, Genetics and Plant Breeding and Principal Investigator, aimed to learn more about CIMMYT’s wheat improvement systems.

Meeting at TAGEM, from left to right: Hilal Ar, Amer Dababat, Ajaz Lone, Shabir Wani, Fatma Sarsu, Aykut Ordukaya. (Photo: TAGEM)

After a brief introduction on CIMMYT’s international and soil borne pathogens program in Türkiye by Abdelfattah Dababat, CIMMYT Country Representative for Türkiye and program leader, the visitors met with General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM) representative Fatma Sarsu and her team to discuss possible collaboration and capacity building between the two institutions.

Ayşe Oya Akın, Amer Dababat, Shabir Wani, Sevinc Karabak, Senay Boyraz Topaloglu, Ajaz Lone and Durmus Deniz outside of the GenBank in Ankara, Türkiye. (Photo: GenBank)

Wheat improvement in Türkiye

Lone and Wani also visited the GenBank in Ankara to meet its head, Senay Boyraz Topaloglu, who gave a presentation about the GenBank and highlighted the site’s various facilities.

They then visited the Transitional Zone Agricultural Research Institute (TZARI) in Eskisehir, located in Central Anatolian Plateau of Türkiye, to hear about historical and current studies, particularly within the national wheat breeding program delivered by Head of the Breeding Department, Savas Belen. Belen briefed the visitors about the institute’s facilities, and the collaboration with CIMMYT scientists on wheat breeding activities and germplasm exchange.

Dababat and Gul Erginbas-Orakci, research associate at CIMMYT, presented an overview of soil borne pathogens activities in TZARI-Eskisehir.

Before the visitors departed to Konya, Director of TZARI, Sabri Cakir, welcomed the visitors in his office.

Visitors to TZARI, from left to right: Sali Sel, Shabir Wani, Ajaz Lone, Sabri Cakir, Amer Dababat, Savas Belen, Gul Erginbas-Orakci. (Photo: TZARI)

On the final day, the scientists were briefed about Bahri Dagdas International Agricultural Research Institute (BDIARI) through a presentation given by Murat Nadi Tas and Musa Turkoz. Bumin Emre Teke from the animal department presented a European project report on animal breeding, and Mesut Kirbas provided an overview of a European project on e-organic agriculture, as well as visits to the institute’s laboratory and field facilities and the newly established soil borne pathogens field platform.

Dababat said, “It was a fruitful short trip which enabled scientist from SKUAST-Kashmir and CIMMYT-Türkiye to share knowledge about wheat improvement activities and will give way to a road map for future research collaborations between the three institutions.”

Musa Turkoz, Amer Dababat, Ajaz Lone, Shabir Wani, Gul Erginbas-Orakci, Murat Nadi Tas, Bumin Emre Teke and Mesut Kirbas visit the BDIARI site in Konya, Türkiye. (Photo: BDIARI)

CIMMYT leads innovation sprint to deliver results to farmers rapidly

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on December 5, 2022. Posted in Features.

Smallholder farmers, the backbone of food systems around the world, are already facing negative impacts because of climate change. Time to adapt climate mitigation strategies is not a luxury they have. With that in mind, the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C) facilitates innovation sprints designed to leverage existing development activities to create a series of innovations in an expedited timeframe.

At the UN COP27 in Egypt, AIM4C announced its newest round of innovation sprints, including one led by the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) to enable smallholder farmers to achieve efficient and effective nitrogen fertilizer management. From 2022 to 2025, this sprint will steer US $90 million towards empowering small-scale producers in Africa (Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe), Asia (China, India, Laos and Pakistan), and Latin America (Guatemala and Mexico).

“When we talk to farmers, they tell us they want validated farming practices tailored to their specific conditions to achieve greater productivity and increase their climate resilience,” said Sieg Snapp, CIMMYT Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program director who is coordinating the sprint. “This sprint will help deliver those things rapidly by focusing on bolstering organic carbon in soil and lowering nitrous oxide emissions.”

Nitrogen in China

Working with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the sprint will facilitate the development of improved versions of green manure crops, which are grown specifically for building and maintaining soil fertility and structures which are incorporated back into the soil, either directly, or after removal and composting. Green manure can significantly reduce the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, which prime climate culprits.

“There are already green manure systems in place in China,” said Weidong Cao from CAAS, “but our efforts will integrate all the work being done to establish a framework for developing new green manure crops aid in their deployment across China.”

Triple wins in Kenya

The Kenya Climate Smart Climate Project, active since 2017, is increasing agricultural productivity and building resilience to climate change risks in the targeted smallholder farming and pastoral communities. The innovation sprint will help rapidly achieve three wins in technology development and dissemination, cutting-edge innovations, and developing sets of management practices all designed to increase productive, adaption of climate smart tech and methods, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Agricultural innovations in Pakistan

The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral project funded by USAID, led by CIMMYT, and active in Pakistan since 2015, fosters the emergence of a dynamic, responsive, and competitive system of science and innovation that is ‘owned’ by Pakistan and catalyzes equitable growth in agricultural production, productivity, and value.

“From its beginning, AIP has been dedicated to building partnerships with local organizations and, smallholder farmers throughout Pakistan, which is very much in line with the objectives and goal as envisioned by Pakistan Vision 2025 and the Vision for Agriculture 2030, as Pakistan is a priority country for CIMMYT. However, a concerted effort is required from various players representing public and private sectors,” said Thakur Prasad Tiwari, senior scientist at CIMMYT. “Using that existing framework to deliver rapid climate smart innovations, the innovation sprint is well-situated to react to the needs of Pakistani farmers. “

Policies and partnerships for innovations in soil fertility management in Nepal

The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project, funded by USAID and implemented by CIMMYT, facilitates sustainable increases in Nepal’s national crop productivity, farmer income, and household-level food and nutrition security. NSAF promotes the use of improved seeds and integrated soil fertility management technologies along with effective extension, including the use of digital and information and communications technologies. The project facilitated the National Soil Science Research Centre (NSSRC) to develop new domain specific fertilizer recommendations for rice, maize, and wheat to replace the 40 years old blanket recommendations.

Under NSAFs leadership, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD) launched Asia’s first digital soil map and has coordinated governmental efforts to collect and analyze soil data to update the soil map and provide soil health cards to Nepal’s farmers. The project provides training to over 2000 farmers per year to apply ISFM principles and provides evidence to the MOALD to initiate a balanced soil fertility management program in Nepal and to revise the national fertilizer subsidy policy to promote balanced fertilizers. The project will also build efficient soil fertility management systems that significantly increase crop productivity and the marketing and distribution of climate smart and alternative fertilizer products and application methods.

Public-private partnerships accelerate access to innovations in South Asia

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), established in 2009, has reached more than 8 million farmers by conducting applied research and bridging public and private sector divides in the context of rural ‘innovation hubs’ in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. CSISA’s work has enabled farmers to adopt resource-conserving and climate-resilient technologies and improve their access to market information and enterprise development.

“Farmers in South Asia have become familiar with the value addition that participating in applied research can bring to innovations in their production systems,” said Timothy Krupnik, CIMMYT systems agronomist and senior scientist. “Moreover, CSISA’s work to address gaps between national and extension policies and practices as they pertain to integrated soil fertility management in the context of intensive cropping systems in South Asia has helped to accelerate farmers’ access to productivity-enhancing innovations.”

CSISA also emphasizes support for women farmers by improving their access and exposure to improved technological innovations, knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills.

Sustainable agriculture in Zambia

The Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Farming systems in Zambia (SIFAZ) is a research project jointly implemented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture and CIMMYT designed to facilitate scaling-up of sustainable and climate smart crop production and land management practices within the three agro-ecological zones of Zambia. “The Innovation Sprint can take advantage of existing SIFAZ partnerships, especially with Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture,” said Christian Thierfelder, CIMMYT scientist. “Already having governmental buy-in will enable quick development and dissemination of new sustainable intensification practices to increase productivity and profitability, enhance human and social benefits while reducing negative impacts on the environment.”

Cover photo: Paul Musembi Katiku, a field worker based in Kiboko, Kenya, weighs maize cobs harvested from a low nitrogen trial. (Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT)

Bringing voluntary carbon offset markets to smallholder Indian farmers

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on November 4, 2022. Posted in Features.

To mitigate their amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, companies and individuals have access to international voluntary carbon offset markets, which are trading systems that financially compensate credit producer participants for offsetting the amount of carbon emitted. An innovative new initiative from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR) is working to establish carbon markets among smallholder farmers in India, with the goal of reducing GHG emissions, encouraging climate smart farming practices through financial incentives.

In India, agriculture is one of the biggest sources of GHG emissions – between 14 and 21 percent of all GHGs are attributable to agricultural activities, which derive from the use of farm machinery, rice cultivation, fertilizer use, and other activities. Emissions from agriculture are increasing drastically due to synthetic fertilizers and enteric fermentation from livestock.

Within CIMMYT’s farmer-centered approach, participants in voluntary carbon markets will improve their own financial viability in two ways – through adopting sustainable practices and through receipt of payments from carbon markets. The approach will also employ regenerative interventions such as direct dry seeding of rice, minimal tillage, crop diversification, use of biofertilizers, and perennial cropping all while contributing to an overall reduction in GHG emissions.

“Working with ICAR to engage smallholder farmers with high-quality carbon offsets allows the farmers to offset their unavoidable emissions,” said Vijesh Krishna, senior CIMMYT scientist. “This program promotes inclusiveness because this newly created income is distributed among participating farmers, thereby improving their income.”

These regenerative agriculture interventions will increase and retain soil’s carbon content, water permeability and retention, resulting in crops’ ability to withstand drought, flooding, and temperature stresses. Only a small percentage of farmers currently implement these methods in India.

CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that widespread adoption of these practices, combined with upgraded technologies, has the potential to return the carbon levels in agricultural soils from an average of 0.5 percent back to 1.5 percent. At present, the agricultural soils of India are poor with respect to soil organic carbon.

Carbon markets for smallholders

About 2,000 small holder farmers of Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Maharashtra, all in India, are enrolled in the project through individual partnership agreements. Once farmers implement regenerative agricultural methods, they will be eligible to receive payments for carbon credits generated for 10 to 20 years, conditional upon continuing to use climate-smart practices.

“We believe these efforts can be expanded to other regions of India, and other countries,” said Sieg Snapp, CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program director. “Helping farmers and reducing GHG emissions at the same time is the way forward in dealing the crisis of climate change.”

Farms are geo-tagged and monitored using remote sensing for regenerative farming practices, and soil carbon content will be measured at the beginning and end of the crop cycle. Those that produce rice and wheat with a lower carbon footprint will be identified, so their produce gets purchase and price preferences from those who want to promote lower carbon agriculture.

Digital agronomy tools and satellite imagery analysis to measure and verify soil carbon offsets and on-farm GHG emission levels are essential for scaling small farmer-centered carbon projects. The veracity, transparency, and traceability of each carbon offset have direct implications for its credibility and actual market value. CIMMYT will contribute towards a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) platform to expand climate action country-wide.

So far, CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that the enrolled smallholder famers have sequestered between four and five tons of carbon dioxide. After independent third-party auditors verify the data, farmers will be paid based on the amount of GHG reduction, with the first carbon offset payments expected to be issued in 2023.

Cover photo: A green maize seedling emerges from the soil (Photo: Wasim Iftikar/CIMMYT)

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)

Singh recognized for wheat crop improvement

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on September 8, 2022. Posted in News.

Ravi Singh delivers a lecture during the 61st All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet celebrating the fruitful partnership of CIMMYT and ICAR. (Credit: SAWBAR)

Ravi Singh, head of wheat improvement and rust research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), received the Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award 2022 for outstanding contribution in the field of wheat crop improvement from the Society for Advancement of Wheat and Barley Research (SAWBAR).

Singh received the award from T. R. Sharma, Deputy Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and G. P. Singh, Director of the Indian Institute for Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) at ICAR.

As recipient of the award, Singh delivered a lecture during the 61^st All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet in Gwalior, India, on August 29. He highlighted and praised the partnership between India and CIMMYT as essential for accelerating gains in wheat yield despite the stresses of climate change thanks to improved resilience in new varieties and earlier sowing.

“The ICAR-CIMMYT wheat improvement partnership remains crucial for delivering new varieties with higher rates of genetic gain in farmers’ fields to enhance productivity, climate resilience, disease resistance and nutrition while meeting market needs,” he said.

Successes of the partnership include integrated breeding with a common agenda, commercialized varieties that are adapted to flexible sowing dates including early sowing, diverse and durable resistance to rust diseases, adoption of wheat blast resistant varieties in large areas, biofortified and high-quality varieties, and the move towards mainstreaming of zinc (Zn) biofortification.

Singh also paid homage to the award’s namesake, as VS Mathur’s “wheat varieties once occupied fields of many millions of farmers and provided food and nutrition to many more millions throughout India and beyond”.

Singh, a CIMMYT scientist, receives the Sh. VS Mathur Memorial Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of wheat crop improvement. (Credit: SAWBAR)

About 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 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.

Fragile global food system calls for a collaborative approach

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on September 5, 2022. Posted in In the media.

Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), underscored the need for collaboration to address the challenges of global food shocks, climate change and agricultural trade.

Speaking at a Strengthening AR4D in South Asia workshop on Thursday, September 1, Govaerts highlighted the work of CIMMYT’s Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) project.

“The collaborative, inclusive approach of BISA (Borlaug Institute for South Asia) is more relevant than ever today. In an era when the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity — exacerbated by climate change, poverty, and inequality — cannot be solved by one sector,” he explained.