As a fast growing region with increasing challenges for smallholder farmers, Asia is a key target region for CIMMYT. CIMMYTâs work stretches from Central Asia to southern China and incorporates system-wide approaches to improve wheat and maize productivity and deliver quality seed to areas with high rates of child malnutrition. Activities involve national and regional local organizations to facilitate greater adoption of new technologies by farmers and benefit from close partnerships with farmer associations and agricultural extension agents.
Narenda is a Market System coordinator in the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Nepal.
Narenda’s work focuses on developing business models for post-harvest enterprises, linking and coordinating post-harvest MSMEs with relevant stakeholders, preparing success stories based on post-harvest enterprises, leading the implementation of technical training programs, and facilitating market and value chain evaluations.
Shahabuddin is a Machinery Development officer in the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh.
The Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) Initiative held its Evaluation and Planning Workshop in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, from June 6 to 8, 2023. The purpose of this interactive workshop was to bring together people from diverse sectors to assess the progress and challenges and adjust future implementation of the Initiativeâs activities, which aim to improve South Asian agrifood systems to promote sustainable and nutritious foods for all. All three government partners participated in the three-day event: the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition (BIRTAN), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute â On-Farm Research Division (BARI-OFRD), and the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI).
The primary goal of the first day was to visit the locations of TAFSSAâs experiments and to interact with the farmers hosting the trials while they were taking place. Participants were divided into groups and visited several on-farm sites, viewing the trials and engaging in meaningful discussions with the farmers. These visits provided useful firsthand insights on the problems farmers confront while attempting to diversify their crops and improve their livelihoods. For example, visiting the research platform trial hosted by the BWMRI at its research station in Dinajpur allowed the participants to compare results from a broader set of diversified cropping patterns.
âMore crops mean more money,â said Mohammad Ali, one of the farmers. âI am delighted to produce a variety of crops and witness the increase in my earnings. By cultivating four crops in a single year, I have experienced firsthand the positive impact on my income. Crop diversification has opened doors to new opportunities and has brought greater satisfaction to my farming endeavors.â
During the second day of the workshop, presentations were held to provide an overview of results from the activities TAFSSA implemented during the first seasons of the Initiative, including research platform trials, training sessions on nutrition, and on-farm activities carried out across the divisions of Rangpur and Rajshahi. These presentations emphasized TAFSSA’s progress, obstacles, and preliminary results and were followed by a question-and-answer session to discuss the outcomes and efforts. This interactive workshop promoted information exchange and sparked more debate. Participants underlined the significance of market links between farmers and consumers, emphasizing the need to develop sustainable and lucrative value chains.
Future adjustments and improvements were discussed, which encouraged collaboration and problem-solving as a group. The method was inclusive and participative, ensuring that all opinions were heard and considered. The day ended with a dinner, during which participants were free to network and discuss ideas further with one another.
The third and final day began with a discussion on TAFSSAâs beneficiaries, particularly those involved in altering agrifood systems in South Asia to promote sustainable and healthy diets for all in the region. Participants looked at the gender aspect of the Initiative and whether it was effectively reaching all of its target beneficiaries, including men, women, and other marginalized groups.
The workshop provided a forum for participants to share their experiences, address issues and collaborate together to reform South Asian agrifood systems. The evaluation and planning exercises aimed to create equal access to nutritious diets, boost livelihoods and resilience among farmers, and safeguard land, air and groundwater resources.
âIt’s crucial to acknowledge the lack of technical knowledge among farmers,â said Dr. Mazharul Anwar, from the BARI. âProviding targeted training programs for specific crops like tomato, carrot, sorghum, and others can help bridge this knowledge gap and enhance farmers’ capabilities in achieving better yields and sustainable practices.â
Through its work in South Asia, TAFSSA can contribute to change in the region and continue its objective to develop more sustainable and equitable agrifood systems by obtaining useful information from field trials, interactive visits with farmers, presentations, and conversations. To that end, the workshop has set the stage for the Initiative to achieve its goals thanks to the collaborative efforts and collective passion of all the participants.
Malnutrition is rampant in Pakistan and the release of bio-fortified wheat varieties with higher zinc content will help the countryâs 9 million hectares of cultivated wheat fields become more productive, climate resilient and disease resistant.
Read the full story.
Pankaj Koirala has a PhD in Economics and currently contributes to CSISA Ukraine project within CIMMYTâs Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program. He conducts research in agricultural systems, climate change, and sustainability, especially focusing on survey data and human/farmer’s behaviors, socioeconomic and institutional contexts. Currently, he engages in studies to understand the impacts of climatic variables on food and nutritional security, climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Koirala has published peer-reviewed scientific papers on Economic Policy and Analysis, sustainability, and others and served as a reviewer in various peer-reviewed journals.
Wheat is critical to millions of households in Pakistan as it serves a dual role as a foundational part of nutritional security and as an important part of the countryâs economy. Pakistanâs goal to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production is more attainable with the release of 31 wheat varieties since 2021.
These new seeds will help the countryâs 9 million hectares of cultivated wheat fields become more productive, climate resilient, and disease resistantâa welcome development in a region where climate change scenarios threaten sustained wheat production.
The varieties, a selection of 30 bread wheat and 1 durum wheat, 26 of which developed from wheat germplasm provided by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) were selected after rigorous testing of international nurseries and field trials by partners across Pakistan. During this period, three bread wheat varieties were also developed from local breeding programs and two varieties (one each of durum and bread wheat) were also developed from the germplasm provided by the ICARDA. These efforts are moving Pakistan closer to its goal of improving food and nutrition security through wheat production, as outlined in the Pakistan Vision 2025 and Vision for Agriculture 2030.
Over multiple years and locations, the new varieties have exhibited a yield potential of 5-20% higher than current popular varieties for their respective regions and also feature excellent grain quality and attainable yields of over seven tons per hectare.
The new crop of varieties exhibit impressive resistance to leaf and yellow rusts, compatibility with wheat-rice and wheat-cotton farming systems, and resilience to stressors such as drought and heat.
Battling malnutrition
Malnutrition is rampant in Pakistan and the release of biofortified wheat varieties with higher zinc content will help mitigate its deleterious effects, especially among children and women. Akbar-2019, a biofortified variety released in 2019, is now cultivated on nearly 3.25 million hectares. Farmers like Akbar-2019 because of its 8-10% higher yields, rust resistance, and consumers report its good chapati (an unleavened flatbread) quality.
âIt is gratifying seeing these new varieties resulting from collaborative projects between Pakistani wheat breeding programs and CIMMYT along with funding support from various donors (USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, HarvestPlus, and FCDO) and the government of Pakistan,â said Ravi Singh, wheat expert and senior advisor.
Closing the yield gap between research fields and smallholder fields
Releasing a new variety is only the first step in changing the course of Pakistanâs wheat crop. The next step is delivering these new, quality seeds to markets quickly so farmers can realize the benefits as soon as possible.
Increasing evidence suggests the public sector cannot disseminate enough seeds alone; new policies must create an attractive environment for private sector partners and entrepreneurs.
âPakistan has developed a fast-track seed multiplication program which engages both public and private sectors so the new varieties can be provided to seed companies for multiplication and provided to farmers in the shortest time,â said Javed Ahmad, Wheat Research Institute chief scientist.
Strengthening and diversifying seed production of newly released varieties can be done by decentralizing seed marketing and distribution systems and engaging both public and private sector actors. Marketing and training efforts need to be improved for women, who are mostly responsible for household level seed production and seed care.
A concerted effort to disseminate the improved seed is required, along with implementing conservation agriculture based sustainable intensification, to help Pakistanâs journey to self-sufficiency in wheat production.
Integrated management of organic and inorganic nitrogen sources in high- to low-yield cereal production could bring yearly savings in nitrogen fertilizer of over 1 million tons in India, some 90,000 tons in Ethiopia, and more than 20,000 tons in Malawi, according to a new scientific paper, âSpatially differentiated nitrogen supply is key in a global food-fertilizer price crisis.â
âGlobal policies and governments should prioritize nitrogen supplies to low-yield, low-fertility cropping systems, such as smallholder maize and rice farms in Malawi, which are representative of the highly N-deficient cereal systems relied upon by over 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa,â said Sieglinde Snapp, director of the Sustainable Agrifood Systems Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and first author of the paper. âThose farmers should also ramp up organic nitrogen inputs, such as manure and legume crops.â
In the intensive, high-yield cropping systems of India, farmers generally over-apply N fertilizer on 90% of the rice and wheat crops and more than half of maize crops. Less than half the nitrogen is taken up and used by the crops and the rest is lost into the environment, contaminating water, land, and the atmosphere. âSimply saving the excess fertilizer from over-fertilized areas and shifting it to low-application areas could increase global crop yields by 30%, with huge reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,â said Tek Sapkota, co-author of the paper and climate change leader at CIMMYT.
This study is based on evidence of achievable shifts in nitrogen management over 1-2 years, for a modest proportion of cropped area (10%). âWe did not assess interventions with longer time horizons or large investment requirements such as precision agriculture, mechanization, or deep placement of fertilizer,â Snapp explained.
Snapp and her colleagues used evidence from the scientific literature to estimate N-fertilizer savings from the above interventions for maize, wheat, and rice cropping systems in India, Ethiopia, and Malawi. Integrated organic and inorganic nitrogen management was estimated by considering manure and legume N inputs along with N fertilizers. The effect of reallocating public subsidies to more cost-effective, high-N fertilizer was calculated as the extra nitrogen that could be made available through a lower unit cost of nitrogen.
Food production vs healthy environment?
According to Snapp, humanity is caught in a bind. Food crops grown using synthetic nitrogen fertilizer have fed expanding world populations since the 1960s, fertilizer use has increased nearly 10-fold since then, and significantly higher food demands lie ahead to mid-century. At the same time, poor use of N fertilizer is hurting the environment and, most recently, geopolitical conflicts have disrupted N fertilizer supplies and exposed the vulnerabilities of the global fuel-fertilizer-food nexus.
âIn regions where cropping systems are highly deficient in nitrogen, investment is needed in policies and extension education to promote the use of organic nitrogen residues and legume crops,â Snapp said.
Extension agencies, she suggests, can extend their reach using digital tools and bi-directional communication approaches that engage local knowledge and farmers, including advisories regarding local soils and crop and fertilization requirements.
Awais Rasheed has established a high-throughput KASP molecular breeding platform and made outstanding contributions to promoting China-Pakistan cooperation. He has discovered and validated 90 KASP markers available for wheat breeding, accounting for 60 percent of similar markers internationally, which are widely used in China and 15 other countries.
Read the full story here.
Several factors, including temperature, water deficit, and water access, have been identified as major causes in recent wheat yield variability worldwide. DSSAT wheat models showcase the impact of temperature, heat stress, water balance and drought stress in large wheat yield reductions due to climate change for Africa and South Asia, where food security is already a problem.
Read the full story here
Climate change will lower global wheat production with the most negative impacts occurring in Africa and South Asia, reveals a new study released by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
Read the full story here.
The devastating disease wheat blast is a threat to crop production in many South Asian countries. In Bangladesh, it was first identified in seven southern and southwestern districts in 2016, and later spread to 27 others causing significant damage. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is working with the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI) and other national partners to conduct research and extension activities to mitigate the ongoing threat.
From March 1-10, 2023, a group of 46 wheat researchers, government extension agents, and policy makers from ten countries â Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Sweden, and Zambia â gathered in Jashore, Bangladesh to learn about and exchange experiences regarding various wheat diseases, particularly wheat blast. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first in-person international wheat blast training held in Bangladesh. It focused on the practical application of key and tricky elements of disease surveillance and management strategies, such as resistance breeding and integrated disease management.
âThis is an excellent training program,â said Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), during the opening session. âParticipants will learn how to reduce the severity of the blast disease, develop and expand blast resistant varieties to farmers, increase production, and reduce imports.â
This sentiment was echoed by Golam Faruq, director general of BWMRI. âThis program helps in the identification of blast-resistant lines from across the globe,â he said. âFrom this training, participants will learn to manage the devastating blast disease in their own countries and include these learnings into their national programs.â
Hands-on training
The training was divided into three sections: lectures by national and international scientists; laboratory and field experiment visits; and trips to farmersâ fields. Through the lecture series, participants learned about a variety of topics including disease identification, molecular detection, host-pathogen interaction, epidemiology and integrated disease management.
Hands-on activities were linked to working on the Precision Phenotyping Platform (PPP), which involves the characterization of more than 4,000 wheat germplasm and releasing several resistant varieties in countries vulnerable to wheat blast. Participants practiced taking heading notes, identifying field disease symptoms, tagging, and scoring disease. They conducted disease surveillance in farmersâ fields in Meherpur and Faridpur districts â both of which are extremely prone to wheat blast â observing the disease, collecting samples and GPS coordinates, and completing surveillance forms.
Participants learned how to use cutting-edge technology to recognize blast lesions in leaves using field microscopes. They went to a pre-installed spore trapping system in a farmer’s field to learn about the equipment and steps for collecting spore samples, observing them under a compound microscope, and counting spores. They also visited the certified seed production fields of Shawdesh Seed, a local company which has played an important role in promoting wheat blast resistant varieties BARI Gom 33 and BWMRI Gom 3 regionally, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) in Gazipur to see current wheat blast research in action.
Blast-resistance in Bangladesh
âI am so happy to see the excellent infrastructure and work ethics of staff that has made possible good science and impactful research come out of the PPP,â said Aakash Chawade, associate professor in Plant Breeding at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. âRapid development of blast-resistant varieties and their dissemination will help Bangladesh mitigate the effects of wheat blast, not only inside the country but by supporting neighboring ones as well.â
âBesides the biotic and abiotic challenges faced in wheat production, climate change and the Russia-Ukraine crisis are further creating limitations to wheat production and marketing,â said Pawan Kumar Singh, head of Wheat Pathology at CIMMYT and lead organizer of the training. âDue to the development of blast-resistant wheat varieties and its commercial production under integrated disease management practices, the domestic production of wheat in Bangladesh has increased and there is increased interest from farmers in wheat.â
Dave Hodson, a principal scientist at CIMMYT and one of the trainingâs resource speakers, added: âThis is a remarkable success that researchers developed two blast resistant varieties in Bangladesh urgently. It was only achievable because of the correct measures taken by the researchers and support of Government policies.â
However, there are still some barriers to widespread adoption of these varieties. As such, in parallel to other activities, a team from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) joined the field trip to meet local farmers and conduct research into the socio-economic factors influencing the adoption and scaling of relevant wheat varieties.
Temina Lalani-Shariff explains the importance of mechanization technologies to sustainably manage finite land and water resources but also to enhance food security for a growing world population, in a more equitable manner.
Read the full story.
Leading crop simulation models used by a global team of agricultural scientists to simulate wheat production up to 2050 showed large wheat yield reductions due to climate change for Africa and South Asia, where food security is already a problem.
The model predicted average declines in wheat yields of 15% in African countries and 16% in South Asian countries by mid-century, as described in the 2021 paper âClimate impact and adaptation to heat and drought stress of regional and global wheat production,â published in the science journal Environmental Research Letters. Climate change will lower global wheat production by 1.9% by mid-century, with the most negative impacts occurring in Africa and South Asia, according to the research.
âStudies have already shown that wheat yields fell by 5.5% during 1980-2010, due to rising global temperatures,â said Diego N.L. Pequeno, wheat crop modeler at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and lead author of the paper. âWe chose several models to simulate climate change impacts and also simulated wheat varieties that featured increased heat tolerance, early vigor against late season drought, and late flowering to ensure normal biomass accumulation. Finally, we simulated use of additional nitrogen fertilizer to maximize the expression of these adaptive traits.â
The wheat simulation models employed â CROPSIM-CERES, CROPSIM, and Nwheat within the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer, DSSAT v.4.6 â have been widely used to study diverse cropping systems around the world, according to Pequeno.
âThe DSSAT models simulated the elevated CO2 stimulus on wheat growth, when N is not limiting,â he said. âOur study is the first to include combined genetic traits for early vigor, heat tolerance, and late flowering in the wheat simulation.â
Several factors, including temperature, water deficit, and water access, have been identified as major causes in recent wheat yield variability worldwide. The DSSAT wheat models simulate the impact of temperature, including heat stress, water balance, drought stress, or nitrogen leaching from heavy rainfall.
âGenerally, small and low-volume wheat producers suffered large negative impacts due to future climate changes, indicating that less developed countries may be the most affected,â Pequeno added.
Climate change at high latitudes (France, Germany, and northern China, all large wheat-producing countries/region) positively impacted wheat grain yield, as warming temperatures benefit wheat growth through an extended early spring growing season. But warmer temperatures and insufficient rainfall by mid-century, as projected at the same latitude in Russia and the northwestern United States, will reduce rainfed wheat yields â a finding that contradicts outcomes of some previous studies.
At lower latitudes that are close to the tropics, already warm, and experiencing insufficient rainfall for food crops and therefore depending on irrigation (North India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), rising heat will damage wheat crops and seriously reduce yields. China, the largest wheat producer in the world, is projected to have mixed impacts from climate change but, at a nation-wide scale, the study showed a 1.2% increase in wheat yields.
âOur results showed that the adaptive traits could help alleviate climate change impacts on wheat, but responses would vary widely, depending on the growing environment and management practices used,â according to Pequeno. This implies that wheat breeding for traits associated with climate resilience is a promising climate change adaptation option, but its effect will vary among regions. Its positive impact could be limited by agronomical aspects, particularly under rainfed and low soil N conditions, where water and nitrogen stress limit the benefits from improved cultivars.
Extreme weather events could also become more frequent. Those were possibly underestimated in this study, as projections of heat damage effects considered only changes in daily absolute temperatures but not possible changes in the frequency of occurrence. Another limitation is that most crop models lack functions for simulating excess water (e.g., flooding), an important cause of global wheat yield variability.
This study was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat agri-food systems (CRP WHEAT; 2012-2021), the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture, the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP115 Project), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the Mexican government through the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project, and the International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its Benefit-sharing Fund for co-funding the project, with financial support from the European Union.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) played a significant role in India’s agricultural development during the 1950s and 1960s. A brief history of this involvement – through the Green Revolution – is useful to understand CIMMYT’s journey of strengthening global partnerships.
Read the full story here.
In the Indo-Gangetic Plains of northern India, nearly 70% of the population is involved in agriculture and extension services. Despite the abundantly fertile soil and farmers’ resilience, the adoption of agricultural innovations and productivity in the region has been slow.
This slow progress is often attributed to comparatively low levels of agricultural mechanization in the region and small land holdings of individual farmers, which often makes them risk averse to new technologies. However, times are changing.
Through the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), working closely with the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and partners, have led the transition from traditional farming to sustainable intensification agricultural practices in the region, helping the region slowly but steadily realize its full potential. Over the years, working extensively with progressive farmers, CSISA scientists have helped optimize the cost of inputs and increase productivity through new technology adoption and capacity building for these farmers.
Krishnamohan Pathak, a farmer in his early sixties from the village of Patkhaoli, first learned about conservation agriculture practices when he attended a field event in Nonkhar village in Deoria district, Uttar Pradesh. CSISA researchers invited farmers from Nonkhar and neighbouring villages to attend a field day event, an exposure activity, on zero tillage wheat and direct seeded rice (DSR) technologies. Zero tillage allows farmers to plant directly without plowing or preparing the soil, minimizing soil movement. Pathak was one of the farmers who got to see first-hand the advantages of these sustainable agricultural practices.
Seeing merit in these practices, Pathak continued to engage with CSISA scientists and in 2013-2014, adopted zero tillage, and directly seeded rice in his family-owned fields.
“The CSISA field team encouraged me to buy a rice planter which has helped manage paddy transplantation on time, and wheat after that through zero till,” Pathak said.
Pathak later participated in other agri-technology events and CSISA field trial activities. In 2018, he joined other progressive farmers from the region who attended a training at ISARC (IRRI South Asia Regional Centre) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on direct seeded rice, organized by CSISA researchers to build capacity and raise awareness of the conservation agriculture method.
The next generation leads the way
Today, Pathak is one of the key influential farming members in the region. He has now, however, passed the baton to his 37-year-old son Gangesh Pathak. “I have occupied myself with other local leadership activities after my son has been active in the fields. I am not so skilled at using these machines, their maintenance and their services. The younger generation seems much better at adapting,” he said.
Gangesh has been involved actively in farming ever since he finished his graduation, trying to make it lucrative. He has enjoyed recent success growing wheat and rice through new technology and practices. Standing in the fields recently harvested with the new improved wheat variety DBW 187, grown through early sowing â a method which goes against the traditional practice of planting after November â and zero tillage, he is happy with his 5.5 ton per hectare yield.
He spoke enthusiastically about the farming machinery he has procured to reduce drudgery in his farms and the hiring services provided to smallholder farmers in the region. After his father bought the transplanter in 2014, the family added larger machines such as the Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Laser Land Leveller, Straw Reaper, and Direct Seeded Rice machine.
According to Gangesh, this has been possible thanks to the support from the local agriculture authorities and guidance from the CSISA team, who told his father about the various schemes offered by the central and state government to support farmers to adopt more productive and sustainable agricultural technologies.
Ajay Kumar Pundir, CIMMYT agronomist, based in Uttar Pradesh and leading CSISA’s efforts, stressed the importance of access to agricultural mechanization and support.
“Our job just does not end at informing and training farmers about better-bet agricultural practices. Along with other public and private stakeholders, we must support and ensure their availability and access â machines, quality seeds, timely information â for farmers to adopt it,” he said.
Custom hiring center help scale mechanization
With so much farm machinery, the Pathaks soon began extending hiring services. Custom hiring is a promising enterprise opportunity for farmers as they can use the machinery on their farms and earn extra income by extending services to other farmers at a reasonable cost, which helps cover diesel and maintenance costs. Gangesh made about 2.5 lakhs (USD $3,033.76) in profit during the 2022-2023 Rabi (winter crops) through hay machine hiring services, where around 250 farmers used these services.
Once the word spread, demand for hiring services by smallholder farmers, challenged by scarce labor for sowing and harvesting, started growing. Gangesh was encouraged by the good profits and was keen to share the benefits of such hiring services to as many farmers as possible, and he helped establish a Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) with his father, Krishnamohan. FPO is a group made up of farmer-producers who are entitled to a host of benefits, including quality seeds, technical support, market access, under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW).
The FPO, started by the Pathaks in 2020, with 75 members (farmers) initially, currently boasts of around 300 farmers. Almost all FPO members have availed the custom hiring services for all farming purposes and various crops. Farmers, “particularly smallholders who cannot afford to purchase these machines for less than a few acres of land, are happy with the custom hiring services. It helps reduce their input cost by almost 50% along with other FPO member benefits,” Gangesh said.
Community-based technology demonstrations by CSISA and KVK and partners are ongoing to scale-out proven technologies and practices like early wheat sowing, zero tillage, and direct seeded rice. Gangesh is hopeful that farmers in the region, despite the emerging climate crisis concerns â already being felt in the region â can produce more and improve their income. He reckons that diversifying between rice-wheat cropping systems, mechanizing and system optimization through better advisories, and improved access to technologies as recommended by agronomists, will help farmers stay ahead of the curve.
About CSISA
Established in 2009, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) is a science-driven and impacts-oriented regional initiative for increasing the productivity of cereal-based cropping systems. CSISA works in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. CSISA activities in India focus on the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, dominated by small farm sizes, low incomes, and comparatively low agricultural mechanization, irrigation, and productivity levels. Learn about CSISA (India) Phase 4.0 Â