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Location: India

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CA training in India

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AC-india1Nearly 20 delegates from North Bengal Agriculture University’s agricultural outreach stations and several local farmers attended a conservation agriculture (conservation agriculture) traveling training seminar in India during 29-30 October 2009.

At a field owned by farmer Paras Nath and located in Paghra village of the Samastipur District, presenters explained laser-land leveling, zero-tillage, and bed planting. The first presenter, Sanjeev Kumar, service engineer from the laser manufacturing company Leica, Elcom Technologies Pvt Limited, in Gurgaon, India, described the use of the laser system and provided hands-on training for laser-land leveling, a practice that improves productivity and conserves irrigation water. Next, CIMMYT agronomist Raj Kumar demonstrated zero-till planting for lentils and bed planting for maize.

AC-India2Participants then traveled to Rajendra Agriculture University’s (RAU), Pusa Farm, where they saw CA-based longterm experimental trials of rice-wheat and rice-maize systems. Following this, the delegation visited participatory trials of zero-till rice and listened to additional CA information and herbicide application techniques presented by CSISA hub manager Ravi Gopal. Finally, S. Chowdhury, CIMMYT seed production specialist, spoke about new wheat varieties suitable for the eastern Indo- Gangetic Plains.

Nutritious and delicious

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India1-300x215Tortillas made from quality protein maize (QPM) are now being sold on the streets in Patna, the capital city of Bihar, India. CIMMYT-India donated a QPM tortilla unit to Magadh Credit Cooperative Society (MCCS) and the society is now selling five tortillas with curry for about US$ 0.25 (10-12 rupees). The program is based on a “meals on wheels” scheme and the food will be sold at mobile shops and Sudha milk booths across Patna. The goal is to provide affordable, healthy food to the city’s urban poor. CIMMYT and Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) are working to strengthen inbred production of hybrid QPM seed in eastern India to support this production chain.

Conservation agriculture training continues in Bihar, India

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Bihar1aThree years of sowing experience with conservation agriculture (CA) practices in a rice-wheat system at an agricultural outreach station (KVK) in the Jamui district of Bihar State in India have been successful. So far, results show that dry, direct-seeded rice or transplanted rice on permanent beds give higher yields than other crop establishment methods, said KVK agronomist P.K. Singh to visitors during a CA farmer’s field day.

Held on 19 October 2009, the event included 50 farmers, 10 service providers, and 9 representatives from the Bihar State Department of Agriculture. KVK’s program coordinator, R.N. Singh, opened the event with remarks on how increasing input costs and labor shortages are pushing up the cost of rice production in the predominantly rice-growing districts of Jamui and Lakheesarai. CA-based practices, he emphasized, are one way farmers can cut costs and improve yields, making farming more sustainable and economically viable. The district agricultural officer, Manoj Kumar, added that the introduction of winter maize will help diversify the current rice-wheat systems and will also improve productivity. He concluded with information about the government’s initiatives for and increased supply of quality seed and more mechanization.

Bihar2aLater in the day, farmers viewed various plots sown with different CA practices, during which they asked questions and saw CA machinery demonstrations. Dry, direct-seeded rice with anchored residues in a permanent no-till system caught the attention of many participants, along with the high-yielding, unpuddled transplanted rice on permanent beds. Farmers also discussed weed management practices for various crops with Ravi Gopal, agronomist for the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). The event was part of CSISA’s delivery objective for the central Bihar Hub.

Traveling seminar on conservation agriculture in Central Bihar, India

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The Central Bihar Hub for Conservation Agriculture (CA), the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), and Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU) organized a traveling seminar for farmers on 2-3 October 2009 in Bihar, India. The seminar, whose theme was the application of CA technologies to rice/wheat and rice/maize systems, began at the Regional Maize Research and Seed Production Center in Begusarai, continued in farmers’ fields at Bachwara (Samastipur) and Krishnawara (Vaishali), and ended at RAU in Pusa, Samastipur. Scientific and technical guidance was provided by Dr. S. Chowdhury, CIMMYT-India; Dr. M. Kumar, RAU agronomist; Dr. M.L. Chaudhari, Vice-Chancellor, RAU; Dr. I.S. Solanki, Head, IARIRS, Pusa; and Mr. Ravi Gopal, Hub Manager, CSISA.

Participating farmers from 10 districts of central Bihar viewed trials in farmers’ fields and listened to local farmers talk about their experiences with new technologies, such as zero-till for rice-wheat, that have increased their yields and reduced their production costs. A technology that particularly caught their eye was the double no-till rice-wheat and rice-maize system with residue retention, outstanding due to its intense biological activity, good crop growth, and fertile soil conditions. Farmers asked questions about specific subjects such as weed management in rice, the effect of residues for conserving moisture (of particular interest in this dry year), and nutrient management strategies.

On the second day, participants gathered for a technical meeting at RAU Pusa to discuss issues related to the adoption of CA technologies. Among other subjects, results of long-term rice-wheat and rice-maize trials and of farmer participatory research were presented, and strategies for reducing production costs and increasing farm productivity were discussed. Vice-Chancellor Chaudhari explained that RAU is strengthening its seed production and technology transfer capabilities for the benefit of farmers. Of particular use to farmers was the opportunity to present their views, success stories, and experiences with CA technologies, aswell as to voice problems relating to crop production, productivity, and marketing. Potential solutions (growing pulses to diversify the cropping systems; green manuring to help restore soil fertility and micronutrient availability) were suggested by attending scientists and technical staff.

Hybrid maize breeding course in Hyberabad

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Forty-five maize scientists gathered at CIMMYT’s office in Hyderabad, India, from 31 August until 5 September for a course on maize hybrid breeding for rainfed areas in Asia. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), and the Generation Challenge Program (GCP) organized the course, which received nearly 90 applications from interested scientists.

Various aspects related to hybrid maize breeding were covered by competent and qualified scientists from CIMMYT, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Indian maize programs, and the private sector. “This course was very successful,” said Harun-or Rahsid, a participant from Bangladesh. “We were introduced to several new ideas that we can use to develop stable maize hybrids in a more effective and resource-efficient manner.” The majority of participants came from India (23), but others came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The private sector was well represented; 12 participants came from the following companies: Monsanto, Syngenta, BIOSEED, Krishidhan Seeds, Ajeet Seeds, ABS Seeds, Safal Seeds, JK Seeds, VNR Seeds, and Vibha Agri-tech.

“I’m glad the CIMMYT-Asia program took the initiative to organized this much anticipated course,” said CIMMYT scientist S.K. Vasal. “It will strengthen partnerships and collaboration in the region and help us to achieve our goal of doubling maize production by the year 2020.”

CA seminar in India

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 More than 100 farmers in India benefited from a traveling seminar on conservation agriculture (CA) organized by CIMMYT and held in the Samastipur and Begusarai districts during 28-29 March 2009.

After opening remarks by Dr. Solanki, head of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s regional Pusa research station, farmers visited CIMMYT run experimental CA plots at Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU) and the Regional Maize Research & Seed Production Center. They observed CA wheat seed production at the Adaptive Research Station, Begusarai, and saw several farmer participatory trials planted with zero-till (ZT) wheat, ZT maize, or bed planted with sugarcane and wheat intercropping. Also at the Adaptive Research Station, assistant agronomist Ashok Mahraj discussed on-station productivity improvements due to the adoption of CA practices in 2006, and the need to make local farming economically viable despite higher input prices and farm wages.

Other presenters included Dr. M. Kumar, RAU agronomist, who discussed the present status of zero-tilled wheat in Bihar state; Dr. R. Liak and Dr. P.K. Jha who spoke about the results of long-term CA experiments in ricewheat systems in connection with soil changes; Dr. S. Chowdhury, wheat breeder and CIMMYT consultant, who described new wheat varieties; and Ravi Gopal, CA agronomist, who explained overall practices in a rice-wheat CA system.

For their part, farmers from Katihar, Purnea, Khagaria, Begusarai, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Muzafarpur, and East Champaran learned how to improve yields and cut production costs for major crops, through participatory collaboration with scientists and extension workers on targeted CA modules.

 

Renewing and reinforcing partnerships in South Asia

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As part of global efforts to strengthen CIMMYT’s presence with key partners in important maize and wheat production regions, in recent weeks Tom Lumpkin met with high-level agricultural research directors and other CIMMYT friends in India and Pakistan.

In Pakistan during 25-28 June, discussions with Dr ME Tusneem, Chair of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), covered renewed collaboration on topics such as research to combat Ug99, the new strain of stem rust that is moving out of eastern Africa to threaten South Asia’s wheat crops. CIMMYT and Pakistan are also developing a new memorandum of understanding on partnerships and moves to reopen the center’s office in that country. Important contributions to the work and discussions have come from former CIMMYT wheat cytologist, Dr Mujeeb-Kazi, who led CIMMYT’s efforts to develop synthetic wheats, and Dr Mushtaq Gill, long-time CIMMYT partner and champion of zero-tillage in Pakistan.

In meetings in India during 30 June-01 July, it was agreed with Dr Mangala Rai, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), to develop a new five-year workplan that will be signed at the CIMMYT BOT meeting in India in October. Lumpkin also visited with Dr Gautam, ICAR DDG for Crops; Dr Mishra, Director of the Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), and Dr Dass, director of the Directorate of Maize Research (DMR), and interacted with directors and staff of National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), and the Directorate of Maize Research (DMR).

Lumpkin thanked Olaf Erenstein, CIMMYT agricultural economist and liaison officer in India, for organizing the visits and accompanying him, in representation of the center. “Olaf arranged very productive programs in Islamabad and Delhi that should greatly reinforce CIMMYT’s stature in South Asia,” he said.

India breeders choose outstanding maize from CIMMYT

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Immediately upon his return after Science Week on 10 March 2008, P.H. Zaidi, breeder in CIMMYT’s global maize program, led a field day on ICRISAT’s campus in Hyderabad, India, that was attended by some 70 maize scientists from India’s public and private sectors. Dr. Sain Dass, Director of India’s Directorate for Maize Research (DMR), leader of the Indian Maize Program, and a visiting scientist at CIMMYT in 1996 and 2004, along with several DMR colleagues, participated. “Dr. Dass was delighted to see our ongoing activities, especially on QPM and drought stress tolerance,” says Zaidi. “There were about 25 scientists from SAU’s maize program and 30 scientists from private seed companies. After a brief introduction about breeding activities in our Asian regional maize program, participants toured maize germplasm nurseries and selected the best entries as per their own requirements. Among other outcomes, we obtained lists of breeder selections from a nursery we sent them.”

Also contributing to the success of the event were Mehraj UdDin, CIMMYT-India research assistant who received CIMMYT’s 2007 Most Valuable Employee Award, and Gaurav Yadav, also of CIMMYT-India and associated with the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) for the Indo-Gangetic Plains. “Apart from the germplasm we are working on here, there was lot interest in the speciality corn,” says Zaidi. “Many partners suggested circulating a form to collect views and prioritize the emerging germplasm requirements in the region. We are working on developing a form for collecting this feedback, so that our products will be truly demand-driven.”

More precise targeting of poverty in South Asia

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In line with the need to target activities where they contribute most to alleviating poverty, CIMMYT and the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) for the Indo-Gangetic Plains, a CIMMYT-convened network of national programs and other partners in South Asia, have produced the publication “Livelihoods, poverty and targeting in the Indo- Gangetic Plains: A spatial mapping approach,” authored by CIMMYT scientists Olaf Erenstein, Jonathan Hellin, and Parvesh Chandna. It outlines results of work to develop a spatial mapping methodology that can guide priority-setting and targeting within the RWC. The approach draws on data for 18 quantitative, spatially-explicit variables, which serve as indicators of poverty based on the natural, social, human, physical, and financial assets of households, complementing the more conventional monetary approach to measure poverty.

Outputs include district-level spatial poverty maps for the four sub-regions of the Indo- Gangetic Plains in India, covering the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. In addition to its relevance for the RWC, the approach outlined and the results are of potential use for policy makers, researchers, or development practitioners who wish to ensure that agricultural research continues to contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth. The publication will soon be available through the RWC and the publications catalog on CIMMYT’s website.

Advanced wheat improvement

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Eight breeders from developing countries arrived in El Batán this week to attend the Advanced Wheat Improvement course. They come from India, Pakistan, Sudan, Egypt, Ecuador and South Africa and will study wheat improvement techniques in Mexico for the next three months. The new course is currently the longest being offered in the CG system. On Saturday, participants move to Ciudad Obregón, where the real work begins.

CIMMYT Board Chair at ICRISAT

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Lene Lange, chair of the CIMMYT Board of Trustees, recently visited the headquarters of our sister institute, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Patancheru, India. It was her first visit to the campus in 20 years and she was shown the ICRISAT lab facilities and germplasm bank and visited some field activities. Lange was particularly interested in discussing issues surrounding the new global interest in biofuels as well as public-private sector partnerships. Her hosts for the visit were ICRISAT Deputy Director General, Dyno Keatinge and former CIMMYT scientist, David Hoisington.

Farewell to Raj Gupta

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On January 19, 2007, Raj Gupta stepped down as the CIMMYT Facilitator of the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) based in New Delhi, India. When Raj assumed the leadership of the RWC, the technological foundation had been created for the new resourceconserving technologies (RCT) appropriate for the dominant ricewheat production system of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), such as zero-till seeding and bed planting of wheat and other crops. It was obvious that these new technologies offered a tremendous potential to benefit the livelihoods of farmers producing rice and wheat in the IGP and that they also offered pragmatic opportunities to enhance the long-term sustainability of this production system.

However, farmer adoption of these new technologies was still negligible. Teaming with former CIMMYT wheat agronomist Peter Hobbs, Raj brought together farmers, the private sector (especially machinery manufacturers), scientists, and extension agents in a partnership essential for the rapid adoption of the RCTs. When Raj began his efforts, the area in the IGP devoted to RCTs was not more than 10,000 ha. After less than seven years, it has reached nearly 3 million hectares. This tremendous achievement of the RWC partnership, led by Raj, was awarded the King Baudouin award in 2004 and represents the best example of the widespread adoption of RCT and conservation agriculture by small and mediumscale farmers in irrigated production systems anywhere in the world.

The CIMMYT community wishes to express a deep sense of gratitude for Raj’s remarkable efforts and wishes him all the best as takes on new challenges with ICAR in India.

Workshop on fueling the future

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An international technical workshop on ‘Bioethanol, maize and wheat: opportunities and risks’, jointly organized by CIMMYT and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), with the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), was held on 4–5 November in New Delhi. The meeting was a forum for debate and knowledge-sharing, and will form a springboard to future research and action.

About 40 participants came from across the globe and included researchers, policy makers and managers from the public and private sectors in agriculture, rural development and environment. Attending from CIMMYT were John Dixon, Olaf Erenstein, Raj Gupta, Masa Iwanaga, Rodomiro Ortiz, and Ashish Srivastava.

The focus was on the wide range of potential opportunities and risks, posed by the ongoing expansion in biofuels, for the food security and livelihoods of the poor and for the environment. These are complex and not yet well understood. For example, higher grain prices due to demand for use in biofuels may boost farmers’ incomes, but may also lead to increased hunger and malnutrition.

CIMMYT and IFPRI are conducting a joint assessment of likely effects on food stocks and trade, national and household food security, and farm household livelihoods; John Dixon of CIMMYT and Siwa Msangi of IFPRI presented the workshop with an overview and scenario analysis. Delegates considered specific aspects of using biofuels, including national status and strategies in India, China, and Uganda, technical and environmental issues, and opportunities and risks in different agro-ecosystems. The participants ended by identifying and discussing priority issues for research.

The conclusions and recommendations will be presented to GFAR and to the CGIAR AGM in December, where CIMMYT will lead a side event on biofuels.

Bihar to subsidize zero-tillage and maize

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On 09 August, the government of Bihar State, India, announced a 25% subsidy for the purchase of zero-tillage seeders, bed planters, and maize threshers. According to Raj Gupta, facilitator of the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) for the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the decision emerged in part from a meeting in March 2005 that involved the Chief Minister of Bihar, the Minister of Agriculture, the DG of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and other relevant actors.

“I also participated,” says Gupta. “Among other things, we discussed the promotion of quality protein maize and resource-conserving technologies as a strategy for transforming agriculture in Bihar. Now they have also decided to replace some of the winter wheat area with winter maize, whose productivity is nearly double that of wheat.”

With a population of 100 million, Bihar is one of India’s most densely populated and disadvantaged states and has been a particular target of RWC efforts to offer viable alternatives for resource-poor farmers in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains. Land-use studies by Parvesh Chandna, CIMMYT affiliate scientist and expert in geographic information systems and remote sensing, have also contributed. This outcome shows the effectiveness of concerted, science-based efforts to influence policy.