Location: India

For more information, contact CIMMYT’s India office.

Direct sowing of wheat seed into a recently-harvested rice field using the “Happy Seeder” implement, a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to burning rice straw, in northern India. (Photo: BISA/Love Kumar Singh)

Happy Seeder can reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while making profits for farmers

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on August 8, 2019. Posted in Press releases. 2 Comments on Happy Seeder can reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while making profits for farmers

A research paper published in the world’s leading scientific journal, Science Magazine, indicates that using the Happy Seeder agriculture technology to manage rice residue has the potential of generating 6,000-11,500 Indian rupees (about US$85-160) more profits per hectare for the average farmer. The Happy Seeder is a tractor-mounted machine that cuts and lifts rice straw, sows wheat into the soil, and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch.

The paper “Fields on fire: Alternatives to crop residue burning in India” evaluates the public and private costs and benefits of ten alternate farming practices to manage rice residue, including burn and non-burn options. Happy Seeder-based systems emerge as the most profitable and scalable residue management practice as they are, on average, 10%–20% more profitable than burning. This option also has the largest potential to reduce the environmental footprint of on-farm activities, as it would eliminate air pollution and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions per hectare by more than 78%, relative to all burning options.

This research aims to make the business case for why farmers should adopt no-burn alternative farming practices, discusses barriers to their uptake and solutions to increase their widespread adoption. This work was jointly undertaken by 29 Indian and international researchers from The Nature Conservancy, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), the University of Minnesota, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and other organizations.

Every year, some 23 million tonnes of rice residue is burnt in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh, contributing significantly to air pollution and short-lived climate pollutants. In Delhi NCR, about half the air pollution on some winter days can be attributed to agricultural fires, when air quality level is 20 times higher than the safe threshold defined by WHO. Residue burning has enormous impacts on human health, soil health, the economy and climate change.

The burning of crop residue, or stubble, across millions of hectares of cropland between planting seasons is a visible contributor to air pollution in both rural and urban areas. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

“Despite its drawbacks, a key reason why burning continues in northwest India is the perception that profitable alternatives do not exist. Our analysis demonstrates that the Happy Seeder is a profitable solution that could be scaled up for adoption among the 2.5 million farmers involved in the rice-wheat cropping cycle in northwest India, thereby completely eliminating the need to burn. It can also lower agriculture’s contribution to India’s greenhouse gas emissions, while adding to the goal of doubling farmers income,” says Priya Shyamsundar, Lead Economist at The Nature Conservancy and one of the lead authors of the paper.

“Better practices can help farmers adapt to warmer winters and extreme, erratic weather events such as droughts and floods, which are having a terrible impact on agriculture and livelihoods. In addition, India’s efforts to transition to more sustainable, less polluting farming practices can provide lessons for other countries facing similar risks and challenges,” explains M.L. Jat, CIMMYT cropping systems specialist and a co-author of the study.

CIMMYT principal scientist M. L. Jat shows a model of a no-till planter that facilitates no-burn farming. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

“Within one year of our dedicated action using about US$75 million under the Central Sector Scheme on ‘Promotion of agriculture mechanization for in-situ management of crop residue in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi,’ we could reach 0.8 million hectares of adoption of Happy Seeder/zero tillage technology in the northwestern states of India,” said Trilochan Mohapatra, director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). “Considering the findings of the Science article as well as reports from thousands of participatory validation trials, our efforts have resulted in an additional direct farmer benefit of US$131 million, compared to a burning option,” explained Mohapatra, who is also secretary of India’s Department of Agricultural Research and Education.

The Government of India subsidy in 2018 for onsite rice residue management has partly addressed a major financial barrier for farmers, which has resulted in an increase in Happy Seeder use. However, other barriers still exist, such as lack of knowledge of profitable no-burn solutions and impacts of burning, uncertainty about new technologies and burning ban implementation, and constraints in the supply-chain and rental markets. The paper states that NGOs, research organizations and universities can support the government in addressing these barriers through farmer communication campaigns, social nudging through trusted networks and demonstration and training. The private sector also has a critical role to play in increasing manufacturing and machinery rentals.

Read the full study

This research was supported by the Susan and Craig McCaw Foundation, the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The Happy Seeder was originally developed through a project from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

For more information, or to arrange interviews with the researchers, please contact:

Rodrigo Ordóñez, Communications Manager, CIMMYT
r.ordonez@cgiar.org, +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 1167

Sonali Nandrajog, Communications Consultant, The Nature Conservancy – India
sonalinandrajog@gmail.com, +98 9871948044

Spokespersons:

M.L. Jat, Cropping Systems Agronomist, CIMMYT, India
M.Jat@cgiar.org

Priya Shyamsundar, Lead Economist, The Nature Conservancy
priya.shyamsundar@tnc.org

Seema Paul, Managing Director, The Nature Conservancy – India
seema.paul@tnc.org

About CIMMYT

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat, and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.

About The Nature Conservancy – India

We are a science-led global conservation organisation that works to protect ecologically important lands and water for nature and people. We have been working in India since 2015 to support India’s efforts to “develop without destruction”. We work closely with the Indian government, research institutions, NGOs, private sector organisations and local communities to develop science-based, on-the-ground, scalable solutions for some of the country’s most pressing environmental challenges. Our projects are aligned with India’s national priorities of conserving rivers and wetlands, address air pollution from crop residue burning, sustainable advancing renewable energy and reforestation goals, and building health, sustainable and smart cities.

India’s farmers feed millions of people. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam)

Alternatives to burning can increase Indian farmers’ profits and cut pollution, new study shows

Written by Mike Listman on August 8, 2019. Posted in News.

A new economic study in the journal Science shows that thousands of farmers in northern India could increase their profits if they stop burning their rice straw and adopt no-till practices to grow wheat. Alternative farming practices could also cut farmers’ greenhouse gas emissions from on-farm activities by as much as 78% and help lower air pollution in cities like New Delhi.

The new study compares the costs and benefits of 10 distinct land preparation and sowing practices for northern India’s rice-wheat cropping rotations, which are spread across more than 4 million hectares. The direct seeding of wheat into unplowed soil and shredded rice residues was the best option — it raises farmers’ profits through higher yields and savings in labor, fuel, and machinery costs.

The study, conducted by a global team of eminent agriculture and environmental scientists, was led by researchers from The Nature Conservancy, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and the University of Minnesota.

A burning issue

To quickly and cheaply clear their fields to sow wheat each year, farmers in northern India burn an estimated 23 million tons of straw from their rice harvests. That enormous mass of straw, if packed into 20-kilogram 38-centimeter-high bales and piled on top of each other, would reach a height of over 430,000 kilometers — about 1.1 times the distance to the moon.

Regulations are in place in India to reduce agricultural fires but burning continues because of implementation challenges and lack of clarity about the profitability of alternate, no-burn farming.

Farmers have alternatives, the study shows. To sow wheat directly without plowing or burning rice straw, farmers need to purchase or rent a tractor-mounted implement known as the “Happy Seeder,” as well as attach straw shedders to their rice harvesters. Leaving straw on the soil as a mulch helps capture and retain moisture and also improves soil quality, according to M.L. Jat, CIMMYT Principal Scientist, cropping systems specialist and a co-author of the study.

A combine harvester (left) equipped with the Super Straw Management System, or Super SMS, works alongside a tractor fitted with a Happy Seeder. (Photo: Sonalika Tractors)

Win-win

The Science study demonstrates that it is possible to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in a way that is profitable to farmers and scalable.

The paper shows that Happy Seeder-based systems are on average 10%–20% more profitable than straw burning options.

“Our study dovetails with 2018 policies put in place by the government of India to stop farmers from burning, which includes a US$166 million subsidy to promote mechanization to manage crop residues within fields,” said Priya Shyamsundar, Lead Economist, Global Science, of The Nature Conservancy and first author of the study.

Shyamsundar noted that relatively few Indian farmers currently sow their wheat using the Happy Seeder but manufacturing of the Seeder had increased in recent years. “Less than a quarter of the total subsidy would pay for widespread adoption of the Happy Seeder, if aided by government and NGO support to build farmer awareness and impede burning.”

“With a rising population of 1.6 billion people, South Asia hosts 40% of the world’s poor and malnourished on just 2.4% of its land,” said Jat, who recently received India’s prestigious Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award for outstanding and impact-oriented research contributions in natural resource management and agricultural engineering. “Better practices can help farmers adapt to warmer winters and extreme, erratic weather events such as droughts and floods, which are having a terrible impact on agriculture and livelihoods. In addition, India’s efforts to transition to more sustainable, less polluting farming practices can provide lessons for other countries facing similar risks and challenges.”

In November 2017, more than 4,000 schools closed in Delhi due to seasonal smog. This smog increases during October and November when fields are burned. It causes major transportation disruptions and poses health risks across northern India, including Delhi, a city of more than 18 million people.

Some of these problems can be resolved by the use of direct sowing technologies in northwestern India.

Read the full study in Science

For more information, or to arrange interviews with the researchers, please contact:

Rodrigo Ordóñez, Communications Manager, CIMMYT
r.ordonez@cgiar.org, +52 5558042004 ext. 1167

CIMMYT scientist M.L. Jat (third from left) receives the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award.

India honors CIMMYT climate-smart farming expert

Written by Mike Listman on July 22, 2019. Posted in News.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) honored a cropping systems agronomist from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) with its prestigious Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award for outstanding and impact-oriented research contributions in natural resource management and agricultural engineering.

M.L. Jat, a native of India and a CIMMYT principal scientist, received the award from Narender Singh Tomar, India’s Union Minister of Agriculture, in New Delhi, as part of ceremonies celebrating ICAR’s 91st Foundation Day on July 16.

The award is given every other year to Indian scientists engaged in research relevant for Indian agriculture. It includes a cash prize of half a million Rupees, about $7,250.

Dedication and achievement making a difference

Jat has worked for more than two decades to benefit farmers and the environment in South Asia’s vast rice-wheat farm belt through the study and promotion of conservation agriculture and better natural resource management practices. These have included reduced or zero-tillage, keeping crop residues on the soil instead of burning or removing them, more precise fertilizer and water use, scale-appropriate mechanization, and the intelligent diversification of crops.

“I’m extremely honored and grateful for this recognition,” said Jat. “With a rising population of 1.6 billion people, South Asia hosts 40% of the world’s poor and malnourished on just 2.4% of its land. Better practices can help farmers adapt to the warmer winters and extreme, erratic weather events such as droughts and floods, which are having a terrible impact.”

The science of Jat and his associates aims to boost the efficiency of use of water, nutrients, and energy, while improving soil health, raising farmers’ profits, and reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint.

Among other contributions, Jat’s efforts have fostered the adoption of precision land levelling for better irrigation and conservation agriculture practices on more than 6 million hectares in India. Research and policy advice by Jat and colleagues helped foster a recent shift in national policy to avoid rice residue burning and mitigate the region’s severe seasonal smog.

Evidence from studies of Jat and co-workers suggests that India could cut nearly 18% of its agricultural greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable and cost-saving farming practices, while helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of reducing poverty and hunger.

Jat has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed, widely-cited articles in high impact journals. One recent innovation studied and promoted by Jat and partners involves precision delivery of fertilizer through sub-soil drip irrigation.

“Climate change has complex and local impacts, requiring scalable solutions likewise to be locally-adapted,” explained Jat, who in 2016 received India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences fellowship in Natural Resource Management and has been at the forefront of training farmers and young researchers in conservation agriculture and climate-smart practices.

ICAR Foundation Day draws large attendance

The ICAR ceremonies were attended by more than 1,500 stakeholders, including representatives of CGIAR centers and other international agencies; Shri Kailash Choudhary and Shri Purshottam Rupala, Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare; Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of ICAR and Secretary of India’s Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE); along with vice chancellors of state agriculture universities and other senior officers of ICAR, the Ministry of Agriculture, and state governments.

A long-time partner and funder of CIMMYT and one of the world’s largest national agricultural research systems, ICAR is an autonomous organization under DARE in India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare that encompasses more than 100 institutes and 70 agricultural universities spread across the country.

Groundwater, the unexpected villain in India’s air pollution crisis

Written by Mary Donovan on July 15, 2019. Posted in In the media.

In a study by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), water conservation policies by the regional governments of Haryana and Punjab were revealed to actually aggravate air pollution. Read more here.

Reconciling food security, resource depletion and environmental quality trade-offs in India

Written by Matthew O'Leary on June 28, 2019. Posted in Features.

Northwestern India is home to millions of smallholder farmers making it a breadbasket for grain staples. Since giving birth to the Green Revolution it has continued to increase its food production through rice and wheat farming providing food security to the region.

This high production has not come without shortfalls; groundwater tables are falling from excessive irrigation and climate change has brought erratic rainfall. In response, the state governments of Haryana and Punjab introduced separate legislation forcing farmers to delay rice planting to coincide with the arrival of the monsoonal rains in late June.

With rice sowing pushed back to tackle a looming water crisis, the time available between harvesting rice and planting wheat has been reduced. Consequently, the majority of farmers opt to burn the post-harvest rice straw to quickly prepare their fields for wheat. The majority of the 34 tons of rice residues the region produces is burned in a short window of time, throwing a lot of toxic smoke into the air.

New research, by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), delved into linkages between groundwater and agricultural burning policies. The study uncovered that groundwater conservation policies in Haryana and Punjab are exacerbating the nation’s air pollution crisis by concentrating crop residue burning in the late fall.

“Despite being illegal, the burning of post-harvest rice residues continues to be the most common practice of crop residue management, and while groundwater policies are helping arrest water depletion, they also appear to be exacerbating one of the most acute public health problems confronting India – air pollution,” said CIMMYT scientist and author of the study, Balwinder Singh.

Millions of farmers burn the straw that remains after the rice harvest to prepare their fields for a wheat crop. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

Getting to the guts of air pollution’s chokehold on India

Air pollution in India has increased significantly since 2000. Each fall, from late October to November, a toxic fog containing a mixture of dust, carbon and particles covers northwestern India. For the 18.6 million who live in New Delhi the smog not only brings daily life to a standstill but slices years off life expectancy. It kills an estimated 1.5 million people every year, with nearly half of these deaths occurring in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the northernmost part of the country that includes New Delhi.

The analysis suggests that temporal changes in burning are a prime contributor to the air quality crisis. The limited amount of time to prepare fields for wheat planting has caused fire intensity to increase by 39 percent, peaking in November with a maximum of 681 fires per day. This increase occurs when temperatures in New Delhi are lower and winds are weak. The still conditions trap pollution and limit the amount that can escape.

Recognizing policy tradeoffs is important for sustainable agricultural intensification

Agriculture for development researchers with CIMMYT investigate how best to sustainably intensify food production. This seeks to produce more food, improve nutrition and livelihoods, and boost rural incomes without an increase in inputs – such as land and water – while reducing environmental impacts. Policies can help to shape efforts towards sustainable intensification by encouraging farming practices that save resources and protect the environment. However, it is important that governments strike the right balance between food security, resource depletion and environmental quality.

The research results shed light on the sustainability challenges confronting many highly productive agricultural systems, where addressing one problem can exacerbate others, said Andrew McDonald, a professor at Cornell University and co-author of the study.

“Identifying and managing tradeoffs and capitalizing on synergies between crop productivity, resource conservation, and environmental quality is essential,” he said.

Policies to promote sustainable intensification can also burst India’s pollution bubble

Surface crop residue retention and incorporation are the promising on-farm management options to address the issue of burning as well as maintaining soil health and long-term sustainability, said M.L. Jat, a scientist with CIMMYT who coordinates sustainable intensification programs in northwestern India.

Apart from pumping toxic smoke into the air, ash left on fields after residue burning can negatively affect soil health in the long term. However, if residue is mulched into the soil, nutrient levels improve and carbon sequestration capacity increases, lowering the release of greenhouse gases. Additionally, residue retention reduces evaporation and increases soil moisture by as much as 10 percent during the wheat-growing season.

“A sensible approach for overcoming tradeoffs will embrace agronomic technologies such as the Happy Seeder, a seed drill that plants seeds without impacting crop residue, providing farmers the technical means to avoid residue burning,” he explained.

“When rice is ready to be reaped, a tractor or a harvester collects the grain, a spreader distributes the straw that remains on the ground and the Happy Seeder drills into the land to seed wheat,” Jat said. “Farmers no longer need to till the land to plant their wheat, instead they practice a form of conservation agriculture.”

M. L. Jat, CIMMYT Cropping Systems Agronomist with a no-till planter that facilitates no-burn farming. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

Researchers at CIMMYT and Punjab Agricultural University have undertaken extensive trials in farmer fields and the new technology has proven itself as a step forward for developing viable solution to rice crop residue burning.

The Indian government launched a $157 million initiative to discourage burning through agricultural machinery innovations. However, the Happy Seeder is yet to be adopted widely. It is estimated that to cover 50 percent, 5 million ha, of the total acreage under rice-wheat cropping systems in India, about 60,000 Happy Seeders are needed. At present, there are only about 10,000 available.

A recent policy brief suggests rapid adoption needs a major government push to publicize and popularize the technology. The brief suggests delivery of machinery hire services through Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies and private entrepreneurs with ongoing government support is a viable tool to equitably reach farmers.

Access the journal article on Nature Sustainability:
Tradeoffs between groundwater conservation and air pollution from agricultural fires in northwest India

Policy Brief:
Innovative Viable Solutions to Rice Residue Burning in Rice-Wheat Cropping System through Concurrent Use of Super Straw Management System-fitted Combine and Turbo Happy Seeder

Video demonstration:
The concurrent use of super SMS-fitted combines and Turbo Happy Seeder

Groundwater conservation policies help fuel air pollution crisis in northwestern India, new study finds

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on June 17, 2019. Posted in Press releases.

Groundwater conservation policies are contributing to the air pollution crisis in northwestern India by concentrating agricultural fires into a narrower window when weather conditions favor poor air quality, according to a new study by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) published on Nature Sustainability.

Facing severe groundwater depletion from intensive crop cultivation, the state governments of Haryana and Punjab introduced separate legislation in 2009 to prohibit early rice establishment in order to reduce water consumption. The study revealed that later rice planting results in later rice harvest, leading to a delayed and condensed period when residues are burned prior to wheat establishment. Consequently, more farmers are setting fire to crop residues at the same time, increasing peak fire intensity by 39%, contributing significantly to atmospheric pollution.

“Despite being illegal, the burning of post-harvest rice residues continues to be the most common practice of crop residue management in northwestern India, and while groundwater policies are helping arrest water depletion, they also appear to be exacerbating one of the most acute public health problems confronting India,” said CIMMYT scientist Balwinder Singh.

“Burning agricultural waste dominantly releases PM2.5 aerosols, a type of fine particulate matter that is particularly harmful to human health,” he explained.

Air pollution in India kills an estimated 1.5 million people every year, with nearly half of these deaths occurring in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the northernmost part of the country that includes New Delhi.

A holistic view of policies to support sustainable development

Farmers work on rice paddies. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

“Identifying and managing tradeoffs and capitalizing on synergies between crop productivity, resource conservation, and environmental quality is essential,” McDonald said.

“To devise more effective agricultural development programs and policies, integrative assessments are required that meld groundwater, air quality, economic, and technology scaling considerations in common frameworks,” he explained.

The current policy environment in India encourages productivity maximization of cereals and very high levels of residue production especially in the western Indo-Gangetic Plains, according to Bruno Gerard, another author of the study and head of CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Program.

“If these policies are changed, companion efforts must facilitate sustainable intensification in areas such as the Eastern Gangetic Plains, where water resources are relatively abundant and closer coupling of crop-livestock systems provides a diverse set of end-uses for crops residues,” Gerard said.

The way forward

Northwestern India is home to millions of smallholder farmers and a global breadbasket for grain staples, accounting for 85% of the wheat procured by the Indian government. Thus, what happens here has regional and global ramifications for food security.

“Through continued efforts on the technical refinement and business model development for the Happy Seeder technology, uptake has accelerated,” he added. “Financial incentives in the form of payments for ecosystem services may provide an additional boost to adoption.”

“Additional agronomic management measure such as cultivation of shorter-duration rice varieties may help arrest groundwater decline while reducing the damaging concentration of agricultural burning,” Jat explained.

The researchers suggested that long-term solutions will likely require crop diversification away from rice towards crops that demand less water, like maize, as recently started by the government in the state of Haryana.

Access the journal article on Nature Sustainability:
Tradeoffs between groundwater conservation and air pollution from agricultural fires in northwest India

Read Balwinder Singh’s op-ed in The Telegraph:
Groundwater, the unexpected villain in India’s air pollution crisis

For more information or interview requests, please contact:

Genevieve Renard, Head of Communications, CIMMYT. g.renard@cgiar.org +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 2019.

Rodrigo Ordóñez, Communications Manager, CIMMYT. r.ordonez@cgiar.org +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 1167.

ABOUT CIMMYT

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of CGIAR and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat, and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.

Rab is a traditional practice in which a rice nursery is established by burning naturally available biomass such as branches and dry leaves of trees, cow dung, dry grass and crop residues. It has enormous negative eﬀects on the environment due to the destruction of biomass, emission of multiple greenhouse gases, particulate matters and black carbon. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

A burning issue

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on June 4, 2019. Posted in Photos.

Pollution has become a part of our daily life: particulate matter in the air we breathe, organic pollutants and heavy metals in our food supply and drinking water. All of these pollutants affect the quality of human life and create enormous human costs.

India is home to 15 of the world’s cities with the highest air pollution, making it a matter of national concern. The country is the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter, where agriculture is responsible for 18% of total national emissions.

For decades, CIMMYT has engaged in the development and promotion of technologies to reduce our environmental footprint and conserve natural resources to help improve farmer’s productivity.

Zero tillage reverses the loss of soil organic matter that happens in conventional tillage. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

Efficient use of nitrogen fertilizers, better management of water, zero-tillage farming, and better residue management strategies offer viable solutions to beat air pollution originating from the agriculture sector. Mitigation measures have been developed, field tested, and widely adopted by farmers across Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

India’s farmers feed billions of people, while fighting pest and weather related uncertainties. Is it too much to ask them to change their behavior and help support air quality with the food they grow? (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

“Multi-lateral impacts of air pollution link directly it to various sustainability issues,” explained Balwinder Singh, Cropping Systems Simulation Modeler at CIMMYT. “The major sustainability issues regarding air quality revolve around the common question: How good is good enough to be sustainable? We need to decide how to balance the sustainable agriculture productivity and hazardous pollution levels. We need to have policies on the regulation of crop burning and in addition to policies surrounding methods to help reach appropriate air quality levels.”

Read the whole story

SRFSI: The West Bengal story

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on May 27, 2019. Posted in Videos.

In India’s state of West Bengal, the success of men and women farmers and agri-entrepreneurs is paving the way for the out-scaling of climate-smart conservation agriculture practices for sustainable intensification across the region.

Through the Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI) project, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is improving productivity, profitability and sustainability across the Eastern Gangetic Plains.

Looking forward, looking back

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on May 23, 2019. Posted in News.

Participants in the five-year workshop for the SRFSI project in Kathmandu in May 2019 stand for a group shot. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Over 50 stakeholders from the Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI) project engaged in three days of reflection and planning in Kathmandu, Nepal, in early May 2019. Partners from four countries focused on identifying key learnings across a range of topics including value chains, business models, agricultural extension, capacity building, innovation platforms and policy convergence. After almost five years of project activities, there was naturally plenty of vibrant discussion.

The cross-cutting themes of gender and climate change were considered within each topic, to capture project outputs beyond participation and farm level impact. Discussions around gender confirmed the benefits of targeted women’s participation and ensuring that women’s availability was accommodated. Working within the SRFSI project, researchers have identified new business opportunities for women, with benefits for individuals and community groups. In terms of business models, it was highlighted that promoting gender-inclusive strategies for all partners, including the private sector, is necessary. Ensuring a wide range of partnership institutions, such as NGOs with women-centric programs, is also beneficial for reaching more women.

In the five-year SRFSI workshop, participants discussed research outputs and planned the year ahead. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification techniques have been confirmed as contributing to climate-resilient farming systems, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation. Importantly, the project has demonstrated that these systems can be profitable, climate smart business models in the Eastern Gangetic Plains. They were also seen as fitting well with government plans and policies to address climate change, which was demonstrated by convergence with country and NGO programs that are focused on climate change adaptation.

In keeping with the recently approved no-cost extension of the SRFSI project until June 2020, the final sessions identified remaining research questions in each location and scaling component, and project partners nominated small research activities to fill these gaps. The final year of SRFSI is an excellent opportunity to capture valuable lessons and synthesise project outputs for maximum impact.

The Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification Project is a collaboration between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the project funder, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

You can grow wheat, rice with 40% less water-research shows

Written by Mary Donovan on May 23, 2019. Posted in In the media.

Representatives from eight Asian countries meet in Hyderabad to tackle fall armyworm

Written by Mary Donovan on May 1, 2019. Posted in In the media.

Deadly Fall Armyworm threat here to stay

Written by Mary Donovan on May 1, 2019. Posted in In the media.

Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI)

Written by Mary Donovan on April 12, 2019. Posted in Uncategorized.

The Eastern Gangetic Plains region of Bangladesh, India, and Nepal is home to the greatest concentration of rural poor in the world. This region is projected to be one of the areas most affected by climate change. Local farmers are already experiencing the impact of climate change: erratic monsoon rains, floods and other extreme weather events have affected agricultural production for the past decade. The region’s smallholder farming systems have low productivity, and yields are too variable to provide a solid foundation for food security. Inadequate access to irrigation, credit, inputs and extension systems limit capacity to adapt to climate change or invest in innovation. Furthermore, large-scale migration away from agricultural areas has led to labor shortages and increasing numbers of women in agriculture.

The Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification (SRFSI) project aims to reduce poverty in the Eastern Gangetic Plains by making smallholder agriculture more productive, profitable and sustainable while safeguarding the environment and involving women. CIMMYT, project partners and farmers are exploring Conservation Agriculture-based Sustainable Intensification (CASI) and efficient water management as foundations for increasing crop productivity and resilience. Technological changes are being complemented by research into institutional innovations that strengthen adaptive capacity and link farmers to markets and support services, enabling both women and men farmers to adapt and thrive in the face of climate and economic change.

In its current phase, the project team is identifying and closing capacity gaps so that stakeholders can scale CASI practices beyond the project lifespan. Priorities include crop diversification and rotation, reduced tillage using machinery, efficient water management practices, and integrated weed management practices. Women farmers are specifically targeted in the scaling project: it is intended that a third of participants will be women and that at least 25% of the households involved will be led by women.

The 9.7 million Australian dollar (US$7.2 million) SRFSI project is a collaboration between CIMMYT and the project funder, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. More than 20 partner organizations include the Departments of Agriculture in the focus countries, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Bihar Agricultural University, EcoDev Solutions, iDE, Agrevolution, Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Services, JEEViKA, Sakhi Bihar, DreamWork Solutions, CSIRO and the Universities of Queensland and Western Australia.

OBJECTIVES

Understand farmer circumstances with respect to cropping systems, natural and economic resources base, livelihood strategies, and capacity to bear risk and undertake technological innovation
Develop with farmers more productive and sustainable technologies that are resilient to climate risks and profitable for smallholders
Catalyze, support and evaluate institutional and policy changes that establish an enabling environment for the adoption of high-impact technologies
Facilitate widespread adoption of sustainable, resilient and more profitable farming systems

Zero-tillage service provision is key to facilitating adoption.

Service provider Azgad Ali and farmer Samaru Das have a fruitful relationship based on technology promoted through CIMMYT’s SRSFI project.

A zero-tillage multi-crop planter at work in West Bengal.

Bablu Modak demonstrates his unpuddled mechanically transplanted rice.

CIMMYT’s SRFSI team and the community walk through the fields during a field visit in Cooch Behar.

Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA)

Written by Courtney Brantley on April 12, 2019. Posted in Uncategorized.

The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) is a non-profit international research institute dedicated to food, nutrition and livelihood security as well as environmental rehabilitation in South Asia, which is home to more than 300 million undernourished people. BISA is a collaborative effort involving the CIMMYT and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. The objective of BISA is to harness the latest technology in agriculture to improve farm productivity and sustainably meet the demands of the future. BISA is more than an institute. It is a commitment to the people of South Asia, particularly to the farmers, and a concerted effort to catalyze a second Green Revolution.

BISA was established on October 5, 2011, through an agreement between the Government of India (GoI) and CIMMYT and was bolstered by the globally credible name of Nobel Laureate Norman Ernest Borlaug. The institution draws on the decades of experience and success by CIMMYT, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and a global network of partners in using research to generate tangible benefits for farmers internationally. BISA is supported by a growing number of national stakeholders in South Asia. It is committed to stronger collaborations for accelerated impact, most prominently with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the three state governments (Punjab, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh) where BISA farms are located.

Objectives

Ensure access to the latest in research and technologies that are currently not available in the region
Strategize research aimed at doubling food production in South Asia while using less water, land and energy
Strengthen cutting-edge research that validates and tests new technologies to significantly increase yield potential
Develop technologies for higher productivity in rice, maize and wheat based farming systems
Design research outputs targeted to small and marginal farmers across the region
Build on CIMMYT’s vast germplasm resources, and make research products and know-how developed by BISA freely available to stakeholders
Create a new generation of scientists to work with new technologies through training programs that will retain them in South Asia
Enable researchers to pursue multiple strategies and research possibilities while simultaneously allowing for more meaningful collaboration with national institutions
Build a forum with partners from all sectors – research centers, governments, science community, businesses and farmers – to transform farmers’ lives and improve food security in the region
Develop a policy environment that embraces new technologies and encourages investments in agricultural research
Develop and utilize BISA as a regional platform that focuses on agricultural research in the whole of South Asia