Location: India

For more information, contact CIMMYT’s India office.

Tek Sapkota (center) stands for a group photo with other scientists working on the IPCC’s special report on climate change and land, at the second lead author meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2018.

Breaking Ground: Tek Sapkota finds ways to reduce emissions from agriculture without compromising food security

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on December 13, 2018. Posted in Features.

As the world population increases, so does the need for food. “We need to produce more to feed increasing populations and meet dietary demands,” says Tek Sapkota, agricultural systems and climate change scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). In the case of agriculture, the area of land under cultivation is limited, so increased food production has to come through intensification, Sapkota explains. “Intensification means that you may be emitting more greenhouse gases if you’re applying more inputs, so we need to find a way to sustainable intensification: increase the resilience of production systems, but at the same time decrease greenhouse gas emissions, at least emission intensity.”

Sapkota is involved in a number of global climate change science and policy forums. He represents CIMMYT in India’s GHG platform, a multi-institution platform that regularly prepares greenhouse gas emission estimates at the national and state levels and undertakes relevant policy analyses. Nominated by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and his country, Nepal, he is one of the lead authors of the “special report on climate change and land” of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

He coordinates climate change mitigation work at CIMMYT. “I am mainly involved in quantification of greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental footprint from agricultural production systems, exploring mitigation options and quantifying their potential at different scales in different regions,” Sapkota says. In addition, he explores low-carbon development activities and the synergies between food production, adaptation and mitigation work within the different components of CIMMYT’s projects.

Agriculture is both a victim of as well as a contributor to climate change, Sapkota explains. “Climate change affects all aspects of food production, because of changes in temperature, changes in water availability, CO₂ concentrations, etc.,” he says. “The other side of the coin is that agriculture in general is responsible for about 25 to 32 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.”

Measuring emissions and examining mitigation options

A big part of Sapkota’s work is to find ways to mitigate the effects of climate change and the emissions from the agricultural sector. There are three types of mitigation measures, he explains. First, on the supply side, agriculture can “increase efficiency of the inputs used in any production practice.” Second, there’s mitigation from the demand side, “by changing the diet, eating less meat, for example.” Third, by reducing food loss and waste: “About 20 percent of the total food produced for human consumption is being lost, either before harvest or during harvest, transport, processing or during consumption.”

Sapkota and his team analyze different mitigation options, their potential and their associated costs. To that purpose, they have developed methodologies to quantify and estimate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural products and systems, using field measurement techniques, models and extrapolation.

“You can quantify the emission savings a country can have by following a particular practice” and “help countries to identify the mitigation practices in agriculture that can contribute to their commitments under the Paris climate agreement.”

Their analysis looks at the biophysical mitigation potential of different practices, their national-level mitigation potential, their economic feasibility and scalability, and the country’s governance index and readiness for finance — while considering national food security, economic development and environmental sustainability goals.

Recently, Sapkota and his colleagues completed a study quantifying emissions from the agricultural sector in India and identifying the best mitigation options.

This type of research has a global impact. Since agriculture is a contributor to climate change “better management of agricultural systems can contribute to reducing climate change in the future,” Sapkota says. Being an important sector of the economy, “agriculture should contribute its share.”

CIMMYT scientist Tek Sapkota (second from left) explains greenhouse gas emissions measurement methods to a visiting group of scientists. — *CIMMYT scientist Tek Sapkota (second from left) explains greenhouse gas emissions measurement methods to a visiting group of CCAFS and Indian scientists. (Photo: CCAFS)*

Impact on farmers

Sapkota’s research is also helping farmers today. Inefficient use of products and inputs is not only responsible for higher greenhouse gas emissions, but it also costs farmers more. “For example, if farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plain of India are applying 250 to 300 kg of nitrogen per hectare to produce wheat or rice, by following precision nutrient management technologies they can get similar yield by applying less nitrogen, let’s say 150 kg.” As farmers cut production costs without compromising yield, “their net revenue from their products will be increased.”

Farmers may also get immediate benefits from government policies based on the best mitigation options. “Governments can bring appropriate policy to incentivize farmers who are following those kinds of low-emission technologies, for example.”

Farmers could also get rewarded through payments for ecosystem services or for their contribution to carbon credits.

Sapkota is happy that his work is beneficial to farmers. He was born in a small village in the district of Kaski, in the mid-hills of Nepal, and agriculture was his family’s main livelihood. “I really enjoy working with farmers,” he says. “The most fascinating part of my work is going to the field: talking to farmers, listening to them, learning what kind of farming solutions they’re looking for, and so on. This helps refine our research questions to make them more strategic, because the way farmers look at a problem is sometimes entirely different from the way we look at it.”

When he was in Himalaya Secondary School, he studied agriculture as a vocational subject. “I was interested because we were doing farming at home.” This vocation got cemented in university, in the 1990s. When he heard about the agricultural industry and the future opportunities, he decided to pursue a career in science and focus on agriculture. He got his bachelor’s and master’s degree of science in agriculture from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Tribhuvan University, in Nepal.

*Tek Sapkota (second from left) and other scientists participate in a small group session during a meeting of lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).*

A global path

He first heard about CIMMYT when he was doing his master’s. “CIMMYT was doing research in maize- and wheat-based plots and systems in Nepal. A few of my friends were also doing their master theses with the financial support of CIMMYT.” After his master’s, he joined an organization called Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD) which was collaborating with CIMMYT on a maize research program.

Sapkota got a PhD in Agriculture, Environment and Landscapes from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Italy, including research in Aarhus University, Denmark.

After defending his thesis, in 2012, he was working on greenhouse gas measurement in the University of Manitoba, Canada, when he saw an opening at CIMMYT. He joined the organization as a post-doctoral fellow and has been a scientist since 2017. Sapkota considers himself a team player and enjoys working with people from different cultures.

His global experience has enriched his personal perspective and his research work. Through time, he has been able to see the evolution of agriculture and the “dramatic changes” in the way agriculture is practiced in least developed countries like Nepal. “When I was a kid agriculture was more manual … but now, a lot of technologies have been developed and farmers can use them to increase the efficiency of farming”.

K.V. Naga Madhuri, Principal Scientist for Soil Science at Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University (front), explains soil spectra during the opening of the soil spectroscopy lab at the Regional Agricultural Research Station in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

New Soil Intelligence System for India provides high-quality data using modern analytics

Written by on December 4, 2018. Posted in Features.

NEW DELHI (CIMMYT) — The new Soil Intelligence System (SIS) for India will help the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha rationalize the costs of generating high-quality soil data and build accessible geospatial information systems based on advanced geostatistics. The SIS initiative will rely on prediction rather than direct measurements to develop comprehensive soil information at scale. The resulting data systems will embrace FAIR access principles — findable, accessible, interoperable, and reproducible — to support better decision-making in agriculture.

SIS is a $2.5 million investment funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This initiative is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with numerous partners including the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), World Soil Information (ISRIC), the Andhra Pradesh Space Applications Center (APSAC), and the state governments and state agriculture universities of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. The initiative runs from September 2018 through February 2021.

“SIS will make important contributions towards leveraging soil information for decision-making in Indian agriculture by devising new soil health management recommendations,” explained Andrew McDonald, CIMMYT’s Regional Team Leader for Sustainable Intensification and Project Leader for the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). Researchers and scientists will combine mapping outputs with crop response and landscape reconnaissance data through machine-learning analytics to derive precise agronomy decisions at scale.

Farmers will be the primary beneficiaries of this initiative, as they will get more reliable soil health management recommendations to increase yields and profits. SIS will also be useful to state partners, extension and agricultural development institutions, the private sector and other stakeholders who rely on high-quality soil information. Through SIS, scientists and researchers will have an opportunity to receive training in modern soil analytics.

The SIS initiative aims to facilitate multi-institutional alliances for soil health management and the application of big data analytics to real-world problems. These alliances will be instrumental for initiating broader discussions at the state and national levels about the importance of robust data systems, data integration and the types of progressive access policies related to ‘agronomy at scale’ that can bring India closer to the Sustainable Development Goals.

CIMMYT scientist Shishpal Poonia places a soil sample on the Tracer instrument for soil spectroscopy analysis.

Better soil analysis

Spectroscopy enables precise soil analysis and can help scientists identify appropriate preventive and rehabilitative soil management interventions. The technology is also significantly faster and more cost-effective than wide-scale wet chemistry-based soil analysis.

As part of the CSISA project, led by CIMMYT and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, two new soil spectroscopy labs were recently set up in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, in collaboration with the state departments of agriculture. One lab is now operating at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh; and the other one at Bihar Agricultural University (BAU Sabour), in Bhagalpur, Bihar.

“The support from CIMMYT through the Gates Foundation will contribute directly to bringing down the cost of providing quality soil health data and agronomic advisory services to farmers in the long run,” said K.V. Naga Madhuri, Principal Scientist for Soil Science at Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University. “We will also be able to generate precise digital soil maps for land use planning. The greatest advantage is to enable future applications like drones to use multi-spectral imagery and analyze rapidly large areas and discern changes in soil characteristics in a fast and reliable manner.”

Under the SIS initiative, soil spectroscopy results will be validated with existing gold standard wet chemistry methods. They will also be integrated with production practice data collected from the ground level, through new statistical tools.

Precise predictive models

Drawing information from a limited number of soil observations from a sample dataset, digital soil mapping (DSM) uses (geo)statistical models to predict the soil type or property for locations where no samples have been taken.

“These ‘unsampled locations’ are typically arranged on a regular grid,” explained Balwinder Singh, CIMMYT scientist and Simulation Modeler, “so DSM produces gridded — raster — soil maps at a specific spatial resolution — grid cell or pixel size — with a spatial prediction made for each individual grid cell.”

“Adopting DSM methods, combined with intelligent sampling design, could reduce the strain on the soil testing system in terms of logistics, quality control and costs,” noted Amit Srivastava, a geospatial scientist at CIMMYT. “Improving digital soil mapping practices can also help create the infrastructure for a soil intelligence system that can drive decision-making at scale.”

In partnership with state government agencies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CIMMYT will continue to support the expansion of digital soil mapping and soil analysis capacity in India. The CSISA project and the SIS initiative are helping to deliver soil fertility recommendations to farmers, an important step towards the sustainable intensification of agriculture in South Asia.

For more details, contact Balwinder Singh, Cropping System Simulation Modeler, CIMMYT at Balwinder.SINGH@cgiar.org.

An example of digital soil mapping (DSM), showing pH levels of soil in the state of Bihar. (Map: Amit Kumar Srivastava/CIMMYT)

Hosneara Bibi (top-right) shows her zero-tillage wheat crop. (Photo: SSCOP)

West Bengal agri-entrepreneur a role model for farmers in her community

Written by on November 29, 2018. Posted in Features.

Hosneara Bibi is a farmer in the village of West Ghughumari, in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, India. She began her journey as an agricultural entrepreneur two years ago, when members of the nonprofit Satmile Satish Club o Pathagar (SSCOP), a CIMMYT partner, first came to her village.

Their visit was part of CIMMYT’s Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification (SRFSI) project. This project aims to reduce poverty in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of Bangladesh, India and Nepal by making smallholder agriculture more productive, profitable and sustainable while safeguarding the environment and involving women.

In the context of the SRFSI project and in collaboration with Godrej Agrovet, Bibi and her self-help group received training on conservation agriculture practices for sustainable intensification. Self-help groups are small associations, usually of women, that work together to overcome common obstacles. With support from SSCOP, Bibi’s fellow group members learned about a variety of improved agricultural practices, including zero tillage, which improves soil nutrient levels and water efficiency. This support helped them to increase their crop yields while promoting sustainability.

Hosneara Bibi works at the rice seedling enterprise she and her fellow self-help group members started. (Photo: SSCOP)

After adopting the improved practices, Bibi increased her wheat yield by 50 percent. This positive experience encouraged her to implement mechanically transplanted rice technology. Bibi and her self-help group have since started a rice seedling enterprise and they offer their mechanically transplanted rice services to other farmers. This has become a profitable agri-enterprise for the group.

Bibi has been able to expand her farm and now cultivates wheat, rice and jute. She has also adopted digital technologies in her farming practice and now uses a mobile app to aid in pest management for her rice crop, designed by Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya.

Because of her higher yields and the profitability of the self-help group’s rice seedling enterprise, Bibi has successfully increased and diversified her income. Her proudest moment was when she was able to buy a motorbike for her husband.

Members of the SRFSI team consider Hosneara Bibi a role model for other farmers and entrepreneurs in her community.

The Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

Hosneara Bibi (center, in pink) poses for a photograph with other members of her self-help group, SSCOP representatives and Sagarika Bose, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility for Godrej Agrovet. (Photo: SSCOP)

Zero-tillage wheat growing in the field in Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab, India. (Photo: Petr Kosina/CIMMYT)

New study: India could cut nearly 18% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions through cost-saving farming practices

Written by on November 26, 2018. Posted in Press releases.

NEW DELHI (CIMMYT) — India could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by almost 18 percent through the adoption of mitigation measures, according to a new study. Three improved farming practices would account for more than half of these emission reductions, researchers say: efficient use of fertilizer, zero tillage and better water management in rice farming.

In an article published in Science in the Total Environment, scientists estimate that, by 2030, “business-as-usual” greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector in India would be 515 MtCO2e per year. The study indicates that Indian agriculture has the potential to mitigate 85.5 Megatonne CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) per year without compromising food production and nutrition. Considering the 2012 estimates of 481 MtCO2e, that would represent a reduction of almost 18 percent. Researchers suggest mitigation options that are technically feasible but will require government efforts to be implemented at scale.

The study was conducted by scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the University of Aberdeen and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), with support from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS). They followed a “bottom-up” approach to estimate and analyze greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, using large datasets related to crops (around 45,000 data points) and livestock production (around 1,600 data points) along with soil, climate and management information. To evaluate mitigation measures, associated costs and benefits of adoption, researchers used a variety of sources, including literature, stakeholder meetings and consultations with experts in crops, livestock and natural resource management.

The authors also identify “hotspots” where mitigation practices would have the highest potential for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, reduced fertilizer consumption through precision nutrient management shows the highest potential in the state of Uttar Pradesh, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. Water management in rice farming has the highest mitigation potential in Andhra Pradesh, followed by Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West Bengal.

India is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Contributing almost one-fifth to the national total, agriculture has been identified as a priority in the country’s efforts to reduce emissions. The results from this study can help the country make great strides towards its goals. However, these climate change mitigation benefits can only work if farmers take up the new practices, some of which require an initial investment. Government policies and incentives will be crucial to help farmers take the first steps, ensure wide-scale adoption of these mitigation options, and help India meet its food security and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

*Marginal abatement cost curve of Indian agriculture.*

Three feasible mitigation measures

Efficient use of fertilizer not only lowers emissions at the field, but also reduces the need for fertilizer and the emissions associated with production and transportation. It also represents savings for the farmer. Mitigation options would include applying fertilizer at the right time and the right place for plant uptake, or using slow-release fertilizer forms or nitrification inhibitors. “Efficient fertilizer use in the agriculture sector in India has potential to reduce around 17.5 MtCO2e per year,” said Tek Sapkota, CIMMYT scientist and lead author of the study.

Adoption of zero tillage farming and residue management — maintaining crop residues on the soil surface to protect the ground from erosion — in rice, wheat, maize, cotton and sugarcane was shown to reduce emissions by about 17 MtCO2e per year. “CIMMYT has successfully worked to develop and promote these practices in India,” said M.L. Jat, CIMMYT principal scientist and co-author of the study.

Better water management in rice farming — such as adopting alternate wetting and drying in rice fields that are currently continuously flooded — can offer mitigation of about 12 MtCo2e per year. Other water management techniques in major cereals, such as laser-levelling of fields, or using sprinkler or micro-sprinkler irrigation and fertigation together, also provide important greenhouse gas emissions savings, with a reduction of around 4 MtCO2e per year for laser levelling alone.

This work was jointly carried out by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the University of Aberdeen. Research was funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), supported by CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements.

RELATED RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS:

Cost-effective opportunities for climate change mitigation in Indian agriculture

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

Tek Sapkota – Scientist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

M.L. Jat – Principal Scientist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS, CONTACT THE MEDIA TEAM:

Geneviève 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.

A woman in a climate-smart village in Bihar, India. (Photo: V.Reddy/ViDocs/CCAFS)

New publications: Does a climate-smart village approach influence gender equality in farming households?

Written by Emma Orchardson on November 21, 2018. Posted in Publications.

South Asia faces multiple food security challenges, one of which being its extreme vulnerability to climate change. Millions living in the region are expected to be affected by water stress, yield loss, and other climate disasters caused by rising temperatures. Technological innovations can in important tool in ensuring food and livelihood security in the region, but social inclusivity is key to promoting the large-scale adoption of new technologies and practices.

Women’s participation in agricultural activities is increasing over time, but many still have limited capacity to contribute to farm decision-making. They may also have limited control over and access to resources such as credit, extension services and markets. The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has developed and piloted the use of climate-smart villages (CSVs) in the Indian states of Bihar and Haryana to test climate-smart agriculture options for managing climate-related risks and promoting gender equality in agricultural production.

As climate change disproportionately affects poor and socially marginalized groups, including women, it is important to understand the ways in which the climate-smart approach helps to address specific climate change adaptation challenges. However, there are few studies to date focusing on this question.

In an attempt to fill this gap, a new study carried out as part of the CCAFS project on Climate-Smart Agriculture analyzes the extent to which the climate-smart village approach can contribute to establishing greater gender equality across the agricultural, political, social and economic sectors. The study introduces a Gender Empowerment Index for climate-smart villages, based on measurable indicators. It also documents the gender gap by mapping differences in empowerment levels across selected climate-smart villages and other villages across India’s eastern and western Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Read the full article “Does climate-smart village approach influence gender equality on farming households? A case of two contrasting ecologies in India” in Climatic Change.

The research was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Check out other recent publications by CIMMYT researchers below:

When the going gets tough: performance of stress tolerant maize during the 2015/16 (El niño) and 2016/17 (la niña) season in Southern Africa. 2018. Setimela, P.S., Gasura, E., Thierfelder, C., Zaman-Allah, M., Cairns, J.E., Prasanna, B.M. In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment v. 268, p. 79-89.
Potassium supplying capacity of diverse soils and K-use efficiency of maize in South Asia. 2018. Saiful Islam, Timsina, J., Muhammad Salim, Majumdar, K., Gathala, M.K. In: Agronomy v.8, no. 7, art. 121.
Improvement of power tiller operated seeder for maize planting. 2018. Muhammad Arshadul Hoque, Gathala, M.K. In: Fundamental and Applied Agriculture v. 3, no. 2, p. 474–479.
Climate change impact on Mexico wheat production. 2018. Hernandez-Ochoa, I.M., Asseng, S., Kassie, B.T., Wei Xiong, Robertson, R., Pequeño, D. N. L., Sonder, K., Reynolds, M.P., Md Ali Babar., Molero, A., Hoogenboom, G. In: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology v. 263, p. 373-387.
Genetic dissection of grain zinc concentration in spring wheat for mainstreaming biofortification in CIMMYT wheat breeding. 2018. Velu, G., Singh, R.P., Crespo-Herrera, L.A., Juliana, P., Dreisigacker, S., Valluru, R., Stangoulis, J., Sohu, V.S., Gurvinder Singh Mavi, Vinod Kumar Mishra, Balasubramaniam, A., Chatrath, R., Gupta, V., Gyanendra Pratap Singh, Joshi, A.K. In: Nature Scientific reports v. 8, art. 13526.
Re-assessing nitrous oxide emissions from croplands across Mainland China. 2018. Qian Yue, Ledo, A., Kun Cheng, Albanito, F., Lebender, U., Sapkota, T.B., Brentrup, F., Stirling, C., Smith, P., Jianfei Sun, Genxing Pan, Hillier, J. In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment v. 268, p. 70-78.
Crop model and weather data generation evaluation for conservation agriculture in Ethiopia. 2018. Liben, F.M., Wortmann, C.S., Haishun Yang, Lindquist, J.L., Tsegaye Tadesse, Dagne Wegary Gissa. In: Field Crops Research v. 228, p. 122-134.
Assessing sustainability in agricultural landscapes: a review of approaches. 2018. Eichler Inwood, Sarah E., Lopez-Ridaura, S., Kline, K.L., Gerard, B., Gardeazabal Monsalue, A., Govaerts, B., Dale, V.H. In: Environmental Reviews v. 26, no. 3, p. 299-315.
Unpacking the push-pull system: assessing the contribution of companion crops along a gradient of landscape complexity. 2018. Kebede, Y., Baudron, F., Bianchi, F., Tittonell, P. In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment v. 268, p. 115-123.
Genetic relationships and heterotic structure of quality protein maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines adapted to eastern and southern Africa. 2018. Dagne Wegary Gissa, Vivek, B., Labuschagne, M. In: Euphytica v. 214, art. 172.

Rooting for a green comeback

Written by Emma Orchardson on November 6, 2018. Posted in News.

For decades, rice stubble has been burned in India to clear fields and prepare for wheat sowing. The easiest way of getting rid of rice crop residue is to burn it in bulk, but this poses a serious threat to the entire biosystem, from soil nutrition to human health. Deteriorating soil health results in lower crop yields, increased dependence on fertilizers, and increased water volume requirements for irrigation, all of which have negative impacts on farmer incomes.

“Earlier when rice harvesting was manual, crop residues were taken out from fields and farmers benefited from selling them,” explains M.L. Jat, principal scientist and systems agronomist at CIMMYT. “Later, when agriculture included more mechanical operations for harvesting with the increase in the production to the tune of millions of tons, crop residue became a hazard in terms of disposal that would involve huge money, labor, and logistics.”

The 13th Asian Maize Conference took place from October 8 to October 10 in Ludhiana, India. (Photo: Manjit Singh/Punjab Agricultural University)

Experts at Asian Maize Conference express concern over growing incidence of fall armyworm

Written by on October 17, 2018. Posted in Director General's corner.

B.M. Prasanna and I joined colleagues at the 13^th Asian Maize Conference and stressed the need for continued funding for maize research, keeping in mind climate change and the challenge of the insatiable fall armyworm, which spread to India this year.

Read the full story on Krishi Jagran: https://krishijagran.com/news/experts-at-asian-maize-conference-express-concern-over-growing-incidence-of-fall-armyworm/

The feminizing face of wheat farming in South Asia

Written by Courtney Brantley on October 12, 2018. Posted in Features.

In wheat systems throughout South Asia, the gender myth that “wheat is a man’s crop” is still pervasive. To debunk this myth, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is combatting stereotypical norms of women in agriculture through GENNOVATE, a project carried out by 11 CGIAR Research Programs. Led by CIMMYT, this global comparative research initiative strives to address the questions of how gender norms influence men, women and youth to adopt innovative practices and technologies in agriculture and natural resource management.

Surprisingly, there was little knowledge and little literature on the intersection of wheat farming and gender before 2013. What was peculiar about the narrative of women wheat farmers in South Asia was that they were described — by rural advisory services, research organizations and even farmers themselves — as if they had never set foot in a field. On the ground, however, the local reality has long been different. Women, typically from particular castes and income groups, are involved in field operations.

South Asia is experiencing a rise in innovative undertakings by women in agriculture. This change, fueled by strong male outmigration in some locations, has been promoted by equality narratives created through social and women’s movements, NGOs and education. They have all contributed to strengthen women’s desire to have a voice in decision-making. “The face of agriculture in South Asia, particularly wheat farming, is feminizing,” says Cathy Rozel Farnworth. She is a social inclusion, gender and agriculture expert working with CIMMYT’s Gender Research Unit to analyze interactions between changing gender norms and agricultural innovation.

This shift was one of the findings in a series of comparative studies conducted through GENNOVATE in three research hotspots in South Asia: Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Farnworth and co-authors from the region, CIMMYT and Glasgow Caledonian University analyzed the similarities and distinctions in each country.

In the village of Nalma, Lamjung District, Nepal, most of the adult male population has gone abroad for work, leaving only children, women and the elderly. (Photo: Mokhamad Edliadi/CIFOR) — *In the village of Nalma, Lamjung District, Nepal, most of the adult male population has gone abroad for work. (Photo: Mokhamad Edliadi/CIFOR)*

Shifting rules

In Nepal, women are traditionally seen as destitute and far from equals in the farming community. However, migration of men to urban areas and to other countries has given way to more opportunities in agriculture for women in rural communities. “This translates to a fundamental change in the social structure of communities and the roles of men and women, due to the absence of men,” says Farnworth. Women in the community are increasingly taking on the challenging managerial roles that men once occupied. While women in Nepal support themselves and their families, they rarely have institutional support from rural advisory services, for example, training on new wheat technologies. On occasion, support comes from individual male extension workers, and women report that NGOs have been critical to building their sense of empowerment and entitlement. Learning networks between women farmers are also important. Overall, the gender myth that “wheat is a man’s crop” is shifting in Nepal, but extension services, researchers, the private sector and others need to catch up quickly with this new reality to help provide women with adequate support.

Wheat is also increasingly becoming a women’s crop in India, despite limited institutional support and neglect. In some locations, women are responding to male outmigration not only by increasing their work in the field, but also taking key decisions, for example on hiring labor and machinery. Some women are also driving machinery themselves. In other locations, women, though not involved in fieldwork, are trying to strengthen their participation in decision-making around wheat technologies. They have an understandable interest in what happens on the farm and in how investments will impact family income. Overall, the GENNOVATE data shows that, “Women are limited by, working with and increasingly renegotiating gender and caste identities,” says Farnworth.

In Bangladesh, a women-only agricultural organization dominated by the Santal indigenous community is strongly innovating in wheat. Interestingly, the organization is drawing in and supporting low-income Muslim women innovators as well. This case study is particularly valuable in relation to achieving Sustainable Development Goals because it shows that even though Santal women are truly “left behind” in Bangladesh, very small institutional modifications have enabled them to take charge of the organization and inspire a whole community.

Taking decisions and innovating

*Women use a mini-tiller for direct seeding in Ramghat, Surkhet, Nepal. (Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT)*

The driving force surrounding these cases in South Asia is the gender equality narrative. The narrative is not driven by men or external partners; rather, it is being transformed by women from within. Women have been long working in the fields; they have always been part of the wheat story. Now many women are demonstrably taking more decisions about wheat, giving them more control over their own lives and households.

GENNOVATE researchers are now looking for ways to work with women themselves, with their partners, with rural advisory sectors, the private sector, community leaders and others to address the demand for technological advances to improve their wheat harvest, including machinery. The starting point is that women need to be seen as capable farmers. Partners need to get on board and start working the new realities of “who does what,” “who decides” and “who benefits,” rather than continue subscribing to old myths. Rural women farmers have critical interests in wheat, whether they farm in the field or not. Women want and are seeking inclusion. Women are collectively expressing, “We have the right to be interested, and participate in innovating around wheat,” Farnworth states.

The comparative studies are available for download:

CHALLENGING GENDER MYTHS: Promoting inclusive wheat and maize research for development in Nepal

LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND: Supporting women, poor people, and indigenous people in wheat-maize innovations in Bangladesh

STRENGTHENING WOMEN IN WHEAT FARMING IN INDIA: Old challenges, new realities, new opportunities

Cathy Rozel Farnworth is a social inclusion, gender and agriculture expert. She holds a PhD in Rural Development Studies from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and an MA in Gender Analysis. Farnworth collaborates with CIMMYT on the CGIAR GENNOVATE global research project, among others. Farnworth trained and mentored the Ethiopian GENNOVATE research teams and has also supported CIMMYT’s gender research under the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

How women are unlocking the potential of maize in Mayurbhanj, India

Written by on July 5, 2018. Posted in News.

In the tribal belt of Mayurbhanj, Odisha, maize cultivation is becoming increasingly popular. Thousands of acres of fallow upland areas are suitable for maize cultivation during the kharif (monsoon) season due to the availability of rain, a slopy landscape and porous red soil. As maize is considered a ‘women’s crop,’ meaning that it is mainly cultivated by women, the expansion of maize can increase women’s economic opportunities as well. The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) has worked in Mayurbhanj since 2013 to increase agricultural productivity and diversify livelihood options for farmers. One way to maximize the productivity of their arable upland areas is to cultivate maize on previously fallowed land during kharif.

In 2017, CSISA held and event in Badbil village at which 130 members of 10 different self-help groups showcased their work on commercial maize cultivation from the previous year. Members of Baitarani Maa Shibani, a women’s self-helf group from Tangabila village with a 12-year history of participating in agricultural programs in the area were impressed with the successes they saw and felt inspired to cultivate maize themselves.

After some discussion within the group, six of the 16 members decided to start cultivating maize as soon as possible. The group allowed these women to take a loan from their joint savings to cover start-up costs. Having also received support from their husbands, despite skepticism in some cases, the six women proceeded to plant maize on fallow land as villagers looked on critically.

Women from the Baitarani Maa Shibani women’s self-help group who decided to take on maize cultivation. Photo: D. Vedachalam/CIMMYT.

The women approached a community resource person from a women’s group in the Sayangsidha Federation to learn how to cultivate maize, as the community resource person had already attended trainings organized by CSISA and the Department of Agriculture. They also sought guidance from other maize farmers, as well as from CSISA. One of the women worked with the state Horticulture Department and was permitted to grow crops during off-season on a 37 acre plot of land. This opportunity gave the women immediate access to land.

CSISA suggested that they only cultivate 10 acres the first year as planting in the last week of July meant they had missed optimal sowing time for maize, which runs from the first week of June until mid-July. CSISA-trained service providers helped the group complete sowing within two days, following best-bet management practices for land preparation and sowing, including integrated weed management using herbicides and power weeders, sensible fertilizer use and post-harvest management to maintain high quality dry grain. The group also visited a large CSISA and Department of Agriculture event in the tribal-dominated village of Kashipal. Interacting with other farmers and seeing their successes boosted the womens’ confidence, especially when they saw what they could achieve the following year if they sowed their crop earlier.

At the end of the season, the women harvested 11 metric tons of good quality dry grain. CSISA, the Department of Agriculture and the district administration facilitated the procurement of this grain by Venkateswara Hatchery, one of the leading poultry production plants in the region, at a price of $223 (INR 14,500) per metric ton. This group of six women farmers had invested $923 (INR 60,000) for maize cultivation and earned $2,453 (INR 159,500). They were able to repay their loan and keep the rest of the profit as savings. The women felt proud and confident knowing they had set an example for other group members and men in the village who did not believe it would work.

Following this success, in the 2018 kharif season, more farmers (both men and women) are planning to utilize fallow land for maize cultivation. This will help farmers increase their income, and improve their collective access to markets, since their total grain production will be larger and better able to meet the needs of local industry.

Unfortunately, Baitarani Maa Shibani has not been given access to the same piece of land this year, so they have planned to cultivate maize on 10 acres of their own land in the plantation area. This change in fortune mirrors the cautionary tale reflected in the experience of maize-cultivating women of Badbil village, who also found it harder to get access to leasable land following their economic success in 2016. However, women in Mayurbhanj are still optimistic. Inspired by the success of Baitarani Maa Shibani, another group, Baitarani Maa Duarsani, is now planning to cultivate maize this season.

A decade earlier in Mayurbhanj, women often did not even step out of their houses. They feared going to the market or to the bank. Now, through opportunities afforded by economic development programs and collaborations such as the one with CSISA, women often hold leadership positions in their groups, go to the bank and are active members of their village. Money earned by self-help groups is frequently used to educate children as members want their daughters to be educated and have better opportunities.

The enthusiastic women who stepped forward to cultivate maize in the face of so much uncertainty are an example of what women can achieve through collective effort, dedication, hard work and determination, as well as by tapping into the potential productivity of the fallow land around them. CSISA will continue to facilitate partnerships, technical trainings and market linkages in Mayurbhanj to support income generation amongst women’s groups and tribal communities through the cultivation of maize and companion crops.

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) was established in 2009 with a goal of benefiting more than 8 million farmers by the end of 2020. The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and implemented jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Operating in rural ‘innovation hubs’ in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, CSISA works to increase the adoption of various resource-conserving and climate-resilient technologies, and improve farmers’ access to market information and enterprise development. CSISA supports women farmers by improving their access and exposure to modern and improved technological innovations, knowledge and entrepreneurial skills. CSISA works in synergy with regional and national efforts, collaborating with myriad public, civil society and private-sector partners.

About the authors: Sujata Ganguly is Research Consultant for CIMMYT and Wasim Iftikar is a Research Associate.

Better farming practices key to combating desertification and drought

Written by on June 15, 2018. Posted in News.

Combating desertification and drought is critical, but focusing on the bigger challenge of unsustainable agriculture can deliver more for farmers. Research from India offers new insights on practical solutions for better soil fertility, more efficient water use, reduced air pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Irrigated wheat field. Photo: S. Sukumaran/CIMMYT.

The world has made significant progress in reducing poverty and malnutrition over the last century. The number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut by half over the last twenty years, while the percentage of young children suffering from the effects of malnutrition has also declined 17 percent in fewer than 20 years (UNICEF). Yet these improvements have come at a cost to our planet. Can we feed the world and fight poverty without continuing to deplete water, degrade soils and change our climate?

June 17 is the UN Day to Combat Drought and Desertification, which puts a spotlight on efforts to reverse land and soil degradation. Land degradation and drought affect farmers everywhere, especially poor farmers, but tackling these issues without looking at the big picture may not accomplish the long-term change needed, according to researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

“Land degradation and abiotic stresses, especially drought, are often symptoms of a bigger problem,” says M.L. Jat, a Principal Scientist and Cropping Systems Agronomist at CIMMYT. “Unsustainable land use, particularly poor farming practices and policies, have led to a wide set of challenges in many rapidly-developing countries. In addition to drought and land degradation, we are experiencing climate change, increased air pollution and water scarcity” he points out. The answer, he says, can be found by taking systems focus and selecting the right combination of agricultural techniques that improve the resilience and productivity of farms while combating drought, land degradation, climate change and air and water pollution.

A farmer at work weeding in a maize field close to the Pusa site of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), in the Indian state of Bihar. Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT.

Reversing the worrying trends in India

In India, a recent CIMMYT analysis led by Jat’s team and national partners underscores the need for action to improve current agricultural practices, which are “severely stressing the natural resource base.” The analysis shows that Indian farmers are grappling with many issues that intersect with desertification and drought. The Green Revolution, which led to enormous advances in India’s agricultural productivity and fed a rapidly expanding population, also left a worrying aftermath of inefficient or inappropriate resource use.

“The extent of land degradation is alarming” write the authors, with up to 145 million hectares of farmland now considered “practically infertile” and unable to sustain long-term agricultural production. Meanwhile, over pumping of India’s water resources for rice production has depleted groundwater to “critically low levels,” putting India in the unfortunate top world position in terms of withdrawal of fresh water from aquifers.

Further challenges in India include adapting farming to climate change (particularly increasing temperatures), reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate climate change impacts and dramatically cutting air pollution caused by the widespread burning of rice crop residues. The data indicate an urgent need to improve air quality, reverse soil degradation, and reduce GHG emissions.

A farmer at work in a wheat field close to the Pusa site of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), in the Indian state of Bihar. Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT. — A farmer at work in a field close to the Pusa site of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), in the Indian state of Bihar. Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT.

Treat the causes instead of the symptoms

“Rather than treating each problem separately, we’re trying to find answers that can address a multitude of urgent challenges,” says Jat. “It’s like a doctor understanding and treating the whole person rather than the physical symptoms of the disease – but for agricultural systems,” he explained.

For the rice and wheat growing areas of Northwest India, taking a systems approach means building a closed-loop farming system. Farmers customarily burn leftover rice stems in the field in order to plant wheat, a practice that causes air pollution and depletes soil nutrition. The innovative ‘Turbo Happy Seeder’ tool allows farmers to sow wheat seed directly into unplowed fields and rice residues. Leaving the residues not only helps improve air quality in this region but builds up organic carbon and nitrogen in soils. It also offers a low-cost alternative to chemical fertilizers, saving the farmers money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and environmental damage from overuse of fertilizers.

The scientists are also experimenting with “layering” various techniques to produce even more benefits to people and the planet. Field tests in India include combinations of climate-smart technologies for tillage, crop establishment, residue and nutrient management, along with use of improved crop varieties, information and communication technology and crop insurance. The scientists found that layering climate-smart agriculture practices improved productivity of the rice-wheat system up to 19 percent. Layering techniques helped farmers use 20 percent less water for irrigation. And global warming potential was cut by 40 percent. The results to date bring to light new possibilities for highly productive and resilient farms that have a smaller environmental footprint. This includes healthier soils, cleaner air and water, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

From India to the rest of the world

The early evidence from India is promising and could offer inspiration for other countries grappling with their own resource and food challenges. India’s leaders have embarked on a conscious effort to invest in and promote technologies that simultaneously protect the environment, support farmers and feed its people. This approach marks a shift from the last 50 years of thinking and represents the kind of transformative change needed around the world to help accomplish several of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Further Reading

Agricultural policies and investment priorities for managing natural resources, climate change and air pollution – Policy brief

“Layering” climate smart rice-wheat farming practices in India boosts benefits – CIMMYT Blog

Kakraliya SK, Jat hs, Singh I, Sapkota TB, Singh LK, Sutaliya JM, Sharma PC, Jat RD, Choudhary M, Lopez S, Jat ML. 2018. Performance of portfolios of climate smart agriculture practices in a rice-wheat system of western Indo-Gangetic plains. Agricultural Water Management 202:122-133.

This work is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and supported by the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), and the World Bank Group.

CIMMYT director general visits India

Written by on June 13, 2018. Posted in News.

Work plan signing ceremony, Kropff and Mohapatra. Photo: CIMMYT.

Last week director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Martin Kropff touched down in India.

For Kropff, the visit would help establish and strengthen several strong private-sector partnerships for CIMMYT, including with UPL Limited, the largest manufacturer of agrochemicals in India.

During his trip, Kropff hosted all India-based staff and partners to a gala dinner to give updates from the headquarters in Mexico and thank stakeholders for their valuable contributions to the CIMMYT mission of i mproving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

Kropff spoke at a “Climate-smart agriculture as an investment destination for CSR” talk organized by the CGIAR program on Climate Change and Food Security (CCAFS), the Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) and CIMMYT in association with The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry partners.

The visit culminated in the Ninth Executive Committee Meeting for BISA. BISA is a collaboration between CIMMYT and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The committee reviewed BISA’s financial and research updates, ICAR reiterated its commitment and support to BISA and ICAR director general, Trilochan Mohapatra and Kropff signed the ICAR-CIMMYT five-year work plan for 2018-2022. The work plan was co-developed in consultation with ICAR and CIMMYT scientists and outlines areas of synergy and priority such as exchange of germplasm, technologies, technical cooperation, personnel, joint experimentation, joint publications and capacity enhancement in several frontier areas of research.

New Publications: Tackling the wheat blast threat in South Asia

Written by Mike Listman on May 31, 2018. Posted in Publications.

This blast-infected wheat spike contains no grain, only chaff. Photo: CIMMYT files.

A spatial mapping and ex ante study regarding the risk and potential spread in South Asia of wheat blast, a mysterious and deadly disease from the Americas that unexpectedly infected wheat in southwestern Bangladesh in 2016, identified 7 million hectares of wheat cropping areas in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan whose agro-climatic conditions resemble those of the Bangladesh outbreak zone.

The study shows that, under a conservative scenario of 5-10% wheat blast production damage in a single season in those areas, wheat grain losses would amount to from 0.89 to 1.77 million tons worth, between $180 and $350 million. This would strain the region’s already fragile food security and forcing up wheat imports and prices, according to Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb, first author of the study.

“Climate change and related changes in weather patterns, together with continuing globalization, expose wheat crops to increased risks from pathogens that are sometimes transported over long distances,” said Mottaleb.

Foresight research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has focused on new diseases and pests that have emerged or spread in recent decades, threatening global food safety and security. For wheat these include Ug99 and other new strains of stem rust, the movement of stripe rust into new areas, and the sudden appearance in Bangladesh of wheat blast, which had previously been limited to South America.

“As early as 2011, CIMMYT researchers had warned that wheat blast could spread to new areas, including South Asia,” said Kai Sonder, who manages CIMMYT’s geographic information systems lab and was a co-author on the current study, referring to a 2011 note published by the American Pathological Society. “Now that forecast has come true.”

CIMMYT has played a pivotal role in global efforts to study and control blast, with funding from the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This has included the release by Bangladesh of the first blast resistant, biofortified wheat variety in 2017, using a CIMMYT wheat line, and numerous training events on blast for South Asia researchers.

Read the full article in PLOS-One: “Threat of wheat blast to South Asia’s food security: An ex-ante analysis” and check out other recent publication by CIMMYT staff below:

Africa’s unfolding economic transformation. 2018. Jayne, T.S., Chamberlin, J., Benfica, R. In: The Journal of Development Studies v. 54, no. 5, p. 777-787.
Agricultural innovation and inclusive value-chain development: a review. 2018. Devaux, A., Torero, M., Donovan, J. A., Horton, D. In: Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies v. 8, no. 1, p. 99-123.
Challenges and prospects of wheat production in Bhutan: a review. 2018. Tshewang, S., Park, R.F., Chauhan, B.S., Joshi, A.K. In: Experimental Agriculture v. 54, no. 3, p. 428.442.
Characterization and mapping of leaf rust resistance in four durum wheat cultivars. 2018. Kthiri, D., Loladze, A., MacLachlan, P. R., N’Diaye, A., Walkowiak, S., Nilsen, K., Dreisigacker, S., Ammar, K., Pozniak, C.J. In: PLoS ONE v. 13, no. 5, art. e0197317.
Fixed versus variable rest period effects on herbage accumulation and canopy structure of grazed ‘Tifton 85’ and ‘Jiggs’ Bermuda grass. 2018. Pedreira, C. G. S., Silva, V. J. da., Guimaraes, M. S., Pequeño, D. N. L., Tonato, F. In: Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira v. 53, no. 1, p. 113-120.
Gestión de la interacción en procesos de innovación rural. 2018. Roldan-Suarez, E., Rendon-Medel, R., Camacho Villa, T.C., Aguilar-Ávila, J. In: Corpoica : Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria v. 19, no. 1, p. 15-28.
Market participation and marketing channel preferences by small scale sorghum farmers in semi-arid Zimbabwe. 2018. Musara, J. P., Musemwa, L., Mutenje, M., Mushunje, A., Pfukwa, C. In: Agrekon v. 57, no. 1, p. 64-77.
The economics behind an ecological crisis: livelihood effects of oil palm expansion in Sumatra, Indonesia. 2018. Kubitza, C., Krishna, V.V., Alamsyah, Z., Qaim, M. In: Human Ecology v. 46, no. 1, p. 107–116.
Understanding the factors that influence household use of clean energy in the Similipal Tiger Reserve, India. 2018. Madhusmita Dash, Behera, B., Rahut, D. B. In: Natural Resources Forum v. 42, no. 1, p. 3-18.

Participatory experimental field in Beernarayana climate-smart village. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“Layering” climate smart rice-wheat farming practices in India boosts benefits

Written by on May 8, 2018. Posted in News.

Farmers confront a daunting range of options for potentially achieving high crop yields in India’s western Indo-Gangetic Plains, where rice and wheat crops are planted in rotation to meet high demand for dietary food staples.

Since 1965, rotational crop planting has been deployed in the area to intensify production in a limited growing area, initially yielding positive food security results. Over time, agricultural practices have led to troubling consequences for the landscape, leading to unreliable or lower yields for farmers.

Now, new scientific research into “layering” climate smart agriculture techniques shows promise, demonstrating the potential for crop adaptability to climate change. Experiments reveal the possibilities for high productivity, benefits for water and energy supplies resulting in a smaller environmental footprint.

Throughout Southeast Asia, but particularly in the Indo-Gangetic Plains area, natural resources are three to five times more stressed due to agricultural intensification, urbanization, population growth, increasing climate change risks, and land degradation difficulties.

“Land is degraded in the region because over the past 50 years crop production increased quickly leading to inefficient use and mismanagement of resources,” said M.L. Jat, a Principal Scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), who works with a team of scientists on sustainable intensification and climate smart agriculture.

The scientists conducted a study to determine the most effective methods to grow rice and wheat in constrained conditions where horizontal expansion of crop growing areas is no longer a viable option for increasing yields.

Before embarking on their research, scientists were already aware that due to overpopulation, to meet rising food demand in the Indo-Gangetic Plains area, the only option for farmers is to increase yields on land already under agricultural production. Land shortages are exacerbated by reduced availability of water and energy.

By 2050, variability in growing conditions due to climate change is projected to lower crop yields by 10 to 40 percent and total crop failure will become more common.

Additionally, over the same time period, more than half the current wheat growing area in the Indo-Gangetic Plains will likely become unsuitable for production due to heat stress. Over pumping of ground water for rice production is simultaneously depleting the water table.

“Adaptation to climate change is no longer an option, but essential for minimizing crop losses that will occur as a result of the adverse impact of climate change,” Jat said, adding that the key to future food security is to use agricultural technologies that promote sustainable intensification and adapt to emerging climatic variability.

“Farmers face an enormous challenge – to be successful they must now rely on sustainable intensification management practices and adapt to emerging climate variability while playing a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon to keep global warming in check,” he said.

The key will be to boost the use climate smart agriculture techniques, which have the potential to address these challenges, maintain environmental equilibrium and produce high crop yields simultaneously.

The strategy opens the door to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and farmer income, adapt to and develop the capacity to resist climate change, and reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

After experimental fieldwork, the scientists learned that strategically combining climate smart agricultural technologies already used selectively as a result of years of CIMMYT-designed trials in the region are most likely to lead to high crop yields and food security.

WINNING TECHNIQUES

Their findings are reported in a new research paper published in Agricultural Water Management journal.

Currently, farmers are using such climate smart water and energy saving techniques as direct seeded rice, zero tillage, laser land leveling, alternate wetting and drying, weather forecast based irrigation, precision nutrient management. Other climate smart techniques include retention of crop residues on the fields to store carbon and prevent emissions and unhealthy smog levels that result from residue burning.

“Climate smart agriculture practices in isolation may not fulfill their full potential in adapting to climate risks and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in rice-wheat production systems,” Jat said.

“However, layering of these practices and services in optimal combinations may help to adapt and build resilience under diverse production systems and ecologies to ensure future food security.”

The scientists studied six scenarios in three different climate smart villages in India’s sub-tropical state of Haryana in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

The first scenario was based solely on observing the normal practices of a farmer, the second and third scenarios were layered with different technologies used for tillage, crop establishment, residue and nutrient management, and designated as “improved farmers’ practices.”

The other three scenarios were based on climate smart agriculture practices combined with the available range of technologies deployed to enhance tillage, crop establishment, laser land leveling; residue, water and nutrient management; improved crop varieties, information and communication technology and crop insurance.

Scientists set out to determine the best combination of practices and found that layering of climate smart agriculture practices improved rice-wheat system productivity from 6 to 19 percent depending on techniques used.

Layering also led to savings of more than 20 percent irrigation water. Global warming potential was reduced by 40 percent.

“The research leaves us feeling optimistic that the work we’ve been conducting throughout South Asia is leading to strong results,” Jat said. “Our aim now is to continue to work through various real life scenarios to see how far we can go in sustainably intensifying the entire region so that food supply can keep apace with population growth under emerging climate change challenges.”

The project was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Fourth international workshop on farming system design in south Asia

Written by on May 3, 2018. Posted in News.

The fourth international workshop on “Science of Farming Systems: Moving from Prototyping to Model-Based Assessment and Designing of Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems in South Asia” took place in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India from 19 to 22 March this year. The workshop was jointly organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR) and was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security (CCAFS).

Twenty-five participants from 11 research centers across 13 Indian states and Nepal attended the workshop. Workshop objectives included mainstreaming science-based approaches to farming systems analysis and research for development programs in South Asia, as well as overview and training courses on farming systems and technologies, especially focusing on FarmDESIGN, modelling software developed by WUR. A number of talks around FarmDESIGN were given, including hands-on workshops by scientists from CIMMYT and WUR.

Group photo of participants at the fourth international workshop on farming system design in south Asia. Photo: CIMMYT.

South Asian farming systems are characterized by a large diversity of smallholder systems with diversified faming system households. Accordingly, the farming systems research has been central to the south Asian national agriculture research systems. ICAR-IIFSR has developed specific integrated farming systems (IFS) prototypes for different agro-ecological zones of India and implemented them in research stations and rural communities.

The growing complexity of climate, markets and income uncertainties, as well as large age divides within farming households limits the large-scale adoption these prototype farming systems weigh output performance on the one hand and tradeoffs such as income resilience, environmental footprints and markets on the flip-side. Therefore, designing farm systems with effective targeting of climate resilience, profitability and sustainability, requires suitable technologies, practices to understand and capture the diversity of farming systems, their main components, characteristics, interrelationships and flows.

Previous CIMMYT-ICAR-WUR collaborations have explored the use of farm level modeling tools to assess, with multiple criteria, the sustainability of such IFS, identify main trade-offs and synergies and provide guidelines for their improvement. Capacity development of farming system network researchers on the use and application of the FarmDESIGN model has been one important activity in such collaboration. For scaling the outputs of such exercise, the farming systems have to be evaluated in terms of relevant indicators for different farm household types and communities, allowing them to identify main potential leverages and obstacles for adoption of different intervention. In this regard, this workshop is being organized involving key stakeholders.

The workshop objectives were to mainstream science based approaches for farming systems analysis in research for development programs in South Asia; to share results of integrated assessments of farming systems’ performance in a range of agro-ecologies across South Asia and discuss main implications for the re-design of IFS; to select methods for improved prototyping and model-based analysis using on-station data for developing an out-scaling process that is tested in multiple environments for large scale application; to share and solve main technical barriers implementation; to share and discuss other modeling techniques and their potential complementarity; to provide an overview of the application ‘FarmDESIGN,’ which was created by WUR, discuss main issues for further development to cover the needs of South Asian farming systems and further steps for larger implementation; discuss future research activities and collaborations.

Santiago Lopez Rodaura, senior farming systems specialist, CIMMYT and Jeroen Groot, farming systems expert from WUR gave a hands-on session on debugging, analysis visualization and analyzing prototype implementations in FarmDESIGN. AK Prusty, scientist, ICAR-IIFSR and collaborators from WUR, elaborated on-farm diagnosis and analysis in FarmDESIGN. AS Panwar, director, ICAR-IIFSR, led a session with presentations of case studies from peer review articles in diverse ecologies to demonstrate improved efficiency, income and reducing footprints through optimizing resource allocation with science-based approach using FarmDESIGN and other modeling programs using at least 10 prototype farming systems cases.

The workshop concluding with a planning session facilitated by CIMMYT principal scientist ML Jat. Recommendations were made by all the participants and emphasized studies on ongoing interventions looking at 10-15 year scenarios in cropping systems. Participants suggested studying climate prediction data and crop simulations with alternate wet-dry techniques to consider variability in the water table, among a number of other follow-up suggestions.

A “Virtual Task Force” was assigned to organize follow-ups on progress made based on meeting suggestions across locations and present a document to the Prime Minister of India’s office with suggestions for the Government of India’s initiative “Doubling farmer Income by 2022.”

Participants suggested creating a users guide for FarmDESIGN to be circulated to encourage wide-scale adoption, along with a manual for targeting typology interventions.

Panwar said, “seeing the progress across sites, I am convinced with the impact FarmDESIGN model has brought and will continue to with support from CIMMYT and WUR for changing face of cropping systems research”.

The program was able to achieve its target for improved understanding and capacity of key researchers on designing and implementing science based farming systems for improved efficiency and enhanced adoption in smallholder systems of South Asia.

The fourth international workshop on “Science of Farming Systems: Moving from Prototyping to Model-Based Assessment and Designing of Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems in South Asia” was jointly organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR) and was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security (CCAFS).

Precision Nutrient Management: The Future of Nitrogen Use Efficiency

Written by on April 20, 2018. Posted in News.

This March, the Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) held an international workshop on enhancing Nitrogen use efficiency in wheat using the combined approach of breeding and precision agronomy in Ladhowal, Punjab. The objective of this workshop was to train young scientists and students on new opportunities for improving Nitrogen use efficiency in wheat. This initiative is a part of the project supported by the Rothamsted Research, U.K. known as the Indo-U.K. Centre. Eighteen young scientists and post-graduate students from organizations across India and the U.K. attended the event.

The workshop was kicked off by N.S. Bains, director of research, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), who emphasized the need to increase Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in wheat through breeding and agronomic adjustments. The workshop combined lectures and hands-on activities during field visits. In the lectures, participants received a global overview of fertilizer use and strategies for improving NUE in cereals with special reference to wheat. Lecturers used examples from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) germplasm bank to highlight the variability of genetic NUE in wheat, explored modeling approaches for improving NUE and soil-based approaches.

BISA organized field visits to provide a real-life learning platform for participants to see the precision nutrient management techniques used in the research trials. Coordinators provided hands-on training about in field root measurements and other physiological and agronomic traits. Coordinators defined NUE, discussed calculations and explained how root traits can affect Nitrogen use efficiency – extensive root systems allow plants to use Nitrogen more effectively. The group participated in using a handheld GreenSeeker Nitrogen sensor with the help of algorithms to find critical values nitrogen and fertilizer doses.

Concluding the workshop, Rajbir Singh, director, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) at PAU, Ludhiana said “precision nutrient management is the new and futuristic research in the field of NUE.”

Feedback from participants shows an increased understanding of processes and procedures for improved NUE in wheat, genotype by environment interactions and recent advances in precision nutrient management. The site-specific knowledge and hands-on training supported better understanding on rate and timing effects of Nitrogen in conventionally and fertigation applied fertilizer. The knowledge exchange of experts from multi-disciplinary fields enhanced the understanding of principles of precision nutrient management and provided guidance for organizing the precision nutrition platform.

The Borlaug Institute for South Asia 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 International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center 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.