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.
Annie Tremblay, who was representing the Netherlands, gave a presentation on agriculture in the Netherlands. She emphasized the most commonly traded commodities between the Netherlands and Mexico and said she sees Mexico as a “sleeping giant” in the flower-trading world.
Following Tremblay’s presentation, Martin Kropff talked about how CIMMYT works globally to improve livelihoods. As Kropff explained CIMMYT’s biofortification work, he stressed that in a perfect world people would be able to diversify their diets and get nutrients from all kinds of plants, but that many people CIMMYT serves are living on less than two dollars a day. “This is not the solution, but it is a solution.”
Bram Govaerts gave a presentation about the work Sustainable Intensification Program in Latin America (SIP-LatAm) is doing and discussed the importance of public-private partnerships to the MasAgro program. This underscored Kropff’s points about the importance of public-private partnerships to CIMMYT and the importance of corporate social responsibility.
Dr Thakur Prasad Tiwari, Country Representative, CIMMYT is seen welcoming the Planning Minister of Bangladesh to the CIMMYT exhibition. Photo: Barma, U./CIMMYT.
DHAKA, Bangladesh â On December 10 2017, The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) joined the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in celebrating the 33rd SAARC Charter Day – the annual festivities commemorating the formation of SAARC. The day was celebrated through a special agricultural exhibition and regional seminar on agricultural mechanization in the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Centre (BARC) campus, Dhaka.
With the theme “International Year of Agricultural Mechanization”, the event aimed to educate the attendees on improved farm machine and technologies, and promote agricultural mechanization for sustainable intensification of agriculture to achieve greater food and nutrition security in South Asia.
CIMMYT exhibited its conservation agricultural (CA) techniques and machines that have been developed in collaboration with public and private sector partners. The exhibition stall was visited by government officials (including two ministers in Bangladesh), NGOs and private sector organization, as well as people off the street.
The Minister for Planning A. H. M. Mustafa Kamal inaugurated the event and later visited CIMMYTâs exhibition stall.
CIMMYT country representative received the certificate for the participation from Motia Chowdhury, Agricultural Minister, GoB. Photo: Barma, U./CIMMYT.
CIMMYT Country Representative for Bangladesh, Thakur Prasad Tiwari, along with senior scientists and staffs were present during the visit and explained CIMMYT activities to the delegates.
A book titled âMechanisation for Sustainable Agriculture Intensification in SAARC region,â with a chapter on the role of mechanization in CA written by McHugh, Ken Sayre and Jeff Esdaile, of CIMMYTâs CA team was launched during the event.
Chowdhury presented a certificate of appreciation and plaque to Tiwari on behalf of CIMMYT and its keynote speaker, McHugh.
Agricultural leaders from across South Asia recently meet to discuss how to best tackle climate change while meeting future food demand. Photo: CIMMYT/ M. DeFreese
Fifty years ago, economists and population experts predicted millions were about to die from famine.
India and other Asian countries were expected by scholars like Paul Ehrlich in The Population Bomb to be especially hard hit in the 1970s and 1980s, given the regionâs high population growth rates.
South Asia braced for mass starvation as hunger and malnutrition spread while multiple droughts plagued India and neighboring countries â but it never happened.
Instead, rice and wheat yields more than doubled in Asia from the 1960s to 1990s, grain prices fell, people consumed nearly a third more calories and the poverty rate was cut in half â despite the population growing 60 percent.
Improved rice and wheat varieties combined with the expanded use of fertilizers, irrigation and supportive public policies for agriculture led to this dramatic growth in food production and human development that would become known as the Green Revolution.
Today, South Asia faces new, but equally daunting challenges. By 2050, the United Nations predicts the worldâs population will grow by more than two billion people, 30 percent of which will be in South and Southeast Asia. These regions are also where the effects of climate change, like variable rainfall and extreme flooding, are most dire.
Wheat, maize and rice yields in South Asia could decrease by as much as 30 percent over this century unless farmers adopt innovations to mitigate rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns.
Agricultural leaders from across South Asia recently gathered in Dhaka, Bangladesh to create a roadmap on how to best help farmers cope with climate change while meeting future food demand.
âSouth Asian agriculture needs to be transformed as it was during the Green Revolution,â according to ML Jat, principal scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and co-author of a recent policy brief detailing the policy dialogue in Bangladesh. âHolistic management and more efficient use of resources to protect soil, water and air quality is necessary to improve both agricultural and human health.â
Public policies across the region currently subsidize agrochemicals, irrigation and unsustainable tilling, making it an uphill battle for many who promote sustainable intensification â a set of practices that adapt farming systems to climate change and sustainably manage land, soil, nutrient and water resources â as an alternative to these environmentally destructive practices.
Sustainable intensification advocates in South Asia have found that conservation agriculture â a sustainable management paradigm based on the principles of minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and the use of crop rotation to simultaneously maintain and boost yields, increase profits and protect the environment â could be greatly expanded to benefit farmers across the region.
Conservation agriculture was first adopted in South Asia in the mid-1990s for no-till wheat farming and has since spread to cover more than 5 million hectares of farmland, mostly in India. Precision land levelers, machines equipped with laser-guided drag buckets to level fields so water flows evenly into soil — rather than running off or collecting in uneven land — were also adopted during this time, which significantly boosted conservation agricultureâs impact.
âWhen these technologies are combined with improved seed, like HD-2967, Munal, HDCSW 18, the benefits for farmers are even greater,â said Jat.
Despite this growth, conservation agriculture is practiced on just two percent of South Asiaâs arable land, and very limited farmers end up adopting the complete set of sustainable intensification practices necessary to fully boost production while conserving the environment.
âWhile some practices like zero-till wheat have become very popular, growing rice in submerged fields remains a common practice which is one of the major obstacle in the adoption of full conservation agriculture in irrigated intensive rice-wheat systems of South Asia,â said Jat.
Policies that support farmers with few resources to take chances to experiment with conservation agriculture, such as guaranteeing a cash payout if crops fail or free access to zero-till machinery, can give people the incentive and protection they need to permanently shift the way they farm.
In addition to on-the-ground policy commitments, delegates in Bangladesh declared conservation agriculture and sustainable intensification should be at the heart of South Asiaâs development agenda not only to improve national food security but to meet international obligations.
âIf we donât make South Asiaâs farming sustainable, we will fail to meet international commitments on climate change, poverty and the environment, including the Sustainable Development Goals,â said Raj Paroda, Chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Science (TAAS).
Delegates at the meeting called for a significant boost in funding towards conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification efforts, as well as the need to incorporate sustainable intensification practices in existing publicly-funded agricultural development initiatives.
Finally, the delegates created a platform where regional leaders, national agricultural research centers, donors and international research organizations can share knowledge, success stories, new technologies and expertise.
Read the full policy brief of the Scaling Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification in South Asia meeting here.
Since 2015, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) has been working with Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) – agricultural extension centers created by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research – to generate evidence on best management practices for improving cropping system productivity in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains.
Billboard Campaign on early sowing and zero tillage wheat. Photo: CSISA
Technologies and management practices essential to this research include early wheat sowing, zero tillage and the timely transplanting of rice. In response to clear evidence generated through the CSISAâKVK partnership, Bihar Agriculture University (BAU) announced in October 2017 that all KVKs in Bihar would promote early wheat sowing starting November 1. KVKs promoted this intervention by placing notices, which were designed by CSISA, on roadsides.
BAU also directed the KVKs to act as commercial paddy nurseries, supplying healthy rice seedlings in a timely manner to farmers.
Pairing these rice and wheat interventions is designed to optimize system productivity through the on-time rice transplanting of rice during Kharif (monsoon growing season), allowing for the timely seeding of zero-till wheat in Rabi (winter growing season).
Under the CSISAâKVK partnership, KVKs have supported early wheat sowing by introducing local farmers to the practice of sowing zero tillage wheat immediately after rice harvesting.
Evidence has shown that early sowing of wheat increases yields across Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. KVK scientists have begun to see the importance of breaking the tradition of sowing short duration varieties of wheat late in the season, which exposes the crops to higher temperatures and reduces yields.
Across the annual cropping cycle, monsoon variability threatens the rice phase and terminal heat threatens the wheat phase, with significant potential cumulative effects on system productivity. The combined interventions of early wheat sowing, zero tillage wheat and rice nurseries for timely planting help mitigate the effects of both variable monsoon and high temperatures during the grain-filling stage.
In 2016â17, data collected across seven KVKs (333 sites) indicated that yields declined systematically when wheat was planted after November 10. When planting was done on November 20 — yields declined by 4%, November 30 – 15%, December 10 – 30%, reaching a low when planting was done on December 20 of a 40% reduction in yield.
Rice yields are also reduced significantly if transplanting is delayed beyond July 20. The timing of rice cultivation, therefore, is important in facilitating early sowing in wheat without any yield penalty to rice.
KVKs are working to generate awareness of these important cropping system interventions, as well as others, deep in each district in which they work. CSISA supports their efforts and strives to mainstream sustainable intensification technologies and management practices within a variety of public- and private sector extension systems as capacity building are core to CSISA Phase IIIâs vision of success.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CIMMYT) – The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) is helping farmers in Bangladesh save money and time with the implementation of simple calibration keys.
Calibration keys. Photo: Khan, S.M.H./CIMMYT.
CSISAâs Mechanization and Irrigation project (CSISA-MI) has introduced keys to replace the tedious task of calibrating seeding rate of power tiller operated seeders (PTOS). This new, easy-to-use tool, allows farmers to save time and money with the fast and accurate adjustment of the seed distribution rate without additional resources (e.g. two-wheel tractor, land space, seeds, weighing scale, mathematical calculations, calculator etc.).
Previously, local machinery service providers (LSPs) needed to go through a time-consuming and resource-demanding calibration process so that the correct number of seeds per hectare are distributed. Potential LSPs who received training on calibration had difficulty remembering how to do the procedure due to its complexity, reducing their willingness to provide their services. Initial calibration is usually conducted on a road or farmersâ yard, rarely would an LSP or farmer confirm the calibrated seed rate under actual field operating conditions as is recommended.
Key being used to calibrate machine. Photo: Belal Siddiqui, Md./CIMMYT.
Using the key, crop specific seed meter calibration can be completed in the field in under ten minutes and LPSs can quickly re-adjust the machine to sow multiple crops in a single day.
Currently, the calibration keys are only for the common crops in Bangladesh – wheat, mung bean, lentil, sesame, and jute. However, more keys can be added for other crops or different sizes of seed meter.
The keys are commercially produced by a local service provider, Alam Engineering Works, using metal cutting dies for precision with technical support from the project. A set of high-quality stainless steel keys costs about $2.
NSAF field research technician showing a demonstration variety of maize to farmers in Kailali, Nepal. Photo: D. Joshi/CIMMYT
KHATMANDHU, Nepal (CIMMYT) — In Nepal, nearly 20 local seed companies are involved in producing and marketing seed, contributing to about 50 percent of the countryâs formal seed supply system.
Maximizing crop yields requires quality seed production and the development of new varieties locally. Adopting improved quality seed alone has shown to increase crop production up to 30 percent.
However, seed production practices are currently not standardized in Nepal and seeds of inconsistent quality are produced by various sources. To ensure farmers adopt new varieties, the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer project (NSAF) is working with seed companies to build their capacity for both seed production and distribution by providing technical guidance and resources to strengthen local seed production, seed producersâ network and market linkages by adopting new technology and business approaches.
NSAF also helps seed companies hold seed production demonstrations for newly released crop varieties to test, analyze and promote the best agronomic practices for achieving high yield. As a result, several farmers have shown interest in adopting improved practices in seed production.
A NSAF seed partner company was recently presented an award from Nepalâs Ministry of Agricultural Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for World Food Day 2017. Global Agri-Tech Nepal Private Limited (GATE Nepal), the awardee, was recognized for their excellent contribution in seed production and distribution network for seed supply.
âOver the span of seven years, the companyâs yearly portfolio of seed trading has increased from 40 tons to 800 tons by 2017,â said Tikaram Rijal, Managing Director of GATE Nepal.
GATE Nepal has been engaged in the production, processing and marketing of government-registered high quality improved cereal, legume, oil and vegetable seeds. NSAF is supporting the company by training and providing newly released seed varieties to growers, which have resulted in 20 percent production growth by participating farmers.
Learn more about the Nepal Seed and Fertilizer project (NSAF) through this infographic and fact sheet from the U.S. governmentâs Feed the Future initiative.
Group photo during the visit of the Australian High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu. Photo: SRFSI program.
DEHLI, India (CIMMYT) â This November, the work of the Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification (SRFSI) project was marked with notable recognition by the Australian Government with a visit from the Australian High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu. The project is co-led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
Field visit at SRFSI. Photo: SRFSI program.
Sidhuâs visit to observe the SRFSI projectâs activities from a grassroots level allowed her to have hands-on experience and interaction with university students, farmers, womenâs self-help groups, local service providers and private agencies engaged as members of an SRFSI innovation platform.
Sidhu met with the members of a farmersâ club which is solely operated and monitored by women of the local community. She was highly impressed with the efforts of these women to make themselves independent and self-reliant through new innovations in mushroom, fish and duck farming.
Australian High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu, sitting with a local women’s group. Photo: SRFSI program.
âIt was heartening to observe the positive response of the farmers, especially women, to conservation and sustainable farming, and how the technology has improved incomes, reduced drudgery, had positive health impacts and facilitated the development of agri-entrepreneurs,â said Sidhu in her thank you letter.
On the last day of her visit to trial fields, Sidhu was impressed by the service provider business model developed by the SRFSI project to facilitate the creation of employment opportunities and motivation for youth to engage in farming activities.
Sidhu wrote, âI wish you and your team success in reaching out to farmers in north Bengal and working together with them to improve their lives and those of future generations.â
SRFSI is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and jointly implemented by the Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal and Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya Agricultural University.
Group photo at ESAP workshop in Bangladesh. Photo: CSISA.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CIMMYT) â In South Asia, the population is growing and land area for agricultural expansion is extremely limited. Increasing the productivity of already farmed land is the best way to attain food security.
In the northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains, farmers use groundwater to irrigate their fields. This allows them to grow two or three crops on the same piece of land each year, generating a reliable source of food and income for farming families. But in the food-insecure lower Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains in Bangladesh, farmers have lower investment capacities and are highly risk averse. Combined with environmental difficulties including ground water scarcity and soil and water salinity, cropping is often much less productive.
Could the use of available surface water for irrigation provide part of the solution to these problems? The government of Bangladesh has recently promoted  the use of surface water irrigation for crop intensification. The concept is simple: by utilizing the countryâs network of largely underutilized natural canals, farmers can theoretically establish at least two well-irrigated and higher-yielding crops per year. The potential for this approach to intensifying agriculture however has various limitations. High soil and water salinity, poor drainage and waterlogging threaten crop productivity. In addition, weakly developed markets, rural to urban out-migration, low tenancy issues and overall production risk limit farmersâ productivity. The systematic nature of these problems calls for new approaches to study how development investments can best be leveraged to overcome these complex challenges to increase cropping intensity.
Policy makers, development practitioners and agricultural scientists recently gathered to respond to these challenges at a workshop in Dhaka. They reviewed research results and discussed potential solutions to common limitations. Representatives from more than ten national research, extension, development and policy institutes participated. The CSISA-supported workshop however differed from conventional approaches to research for development in agriculture, in that it explicitly focused on interdisciplinary and systems analysis approaches to addressing these complex problems.
Systems analysis is the process of studying the individual parts and their integration into complex systems to identify ways in which more effective and efficient outcomes can be attained. This workshop focused on these approaches and highlighted new advances in mathematical modeling, geospatial systems analysis, and the use of systems approaches to farmer behavioral science.
For the first time in Bangladesh, research using cognitive mapping, a technique developed in cognitive and behavioral science that can be used to model farmersâ perceptions of their farming systems, and opportunities for development interventions to overcome constraints to intensified cropping, was described. This work was conducted by Jacqueline Halbrendt and presented by Lenora Ditzler, both with the Wageningen University.
âThis research and policy dialogue workshop brought new ideas of farming systems and research, and has shown new and valuable tools to analyze complex problems and give insights into how to prioritize development options,â said Executive Director of the Krishi Gobeshona Foundation, Wais Kabir.
Workshop participants also discussed how to prioritize future development interventions, including how to apply a new online tool that can be used to target irrigation scheme planning, which arose from the work presented by Krupnik. Based on the results of these integrated agronomic and socioeconomic systems analyses, participants also learned how canal dredging, drainage, micro-finance, extension and market development must be integrated to achieve increases in cropping intensity in southern Bangladesh.
Mohammad Saidur Rahman, Assistant Professor, Seed Science and Technology department at Bangladesh Agriculture University, also said he appreciated the meetingâs focus on new methods. He indicated that systems analysis can be applied not only to questions on cropping intensification in Bangladesh, but to other crucial problems in agricultural development across South Asia.
CSISA is a CIMMYT-led initiative implemented jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). CSISA works to increase the adoption of various resource-conserving and climate-resilient technologies by operating in rural âinnovation hubsâ in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, and seeks to improve farmersâ access to market information and enterprise development.
Support from Nepalâs banking sector has the potential to benefit seed companies across the country. Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CIMMYT) â Nepalâs push to grow its seed sector is expanding to banking, with new financial measures expected to benefit seed companies across the country.
Nepal launched its National Seed Vision 2013-2025 to improve food security by increasing its domestic production of high quality seeds, and make them available and affordable to farmers. The seed replacement rate, or the percentage of area using certified quality seeds rather than the farm saved seed, is set to increase up to 30 percent for cereal crops and over 90 percent for vegetables.
However, there is a lack of financing from formal sources across agricultural value chains, which led the country to mandate that banks allocate 10 percent of their lending â around NPR 1.3 billion ($12.7 million) â to agriculture in 2017.
A value chain is the full set of activities businesses go through to bring a product or service from conception to delivery, in agriculture, this could involve everything from the development of plant genetic material to selling the final crop at market.
Value chain finance refers to financial products and services that flow to or through any point in a value chain that enables investments that increase actors’ returns, as well as the growth and competitiveness of the chain. This could dramatically improve Nepalâs seed sector by giving farmers, seed companies and banks access to more resources to grow.
In fact, if banks financed just 30 percent of seed company working capital, it would give an extra $2 million to invest in research and development activities, such as variety development, quality improvement, maintenance breeding and other vital functions that are currently not carried out by Nepali seed companies. These funds could also be invested in infrastructure development such as storage and seed processing facilities.
Participants concluded at a recent consultative meeting on financing seed business in Nepal that soft loans â loans that have lenient terms like low interest rates or extended grace periods â to seed companies that charge a government-mandated 5 percent interest rate are an ideal way to provide this extra working capital. The commercial banks offering these loans would benefit by reaching more farmers, thereby expanding their customer base and would reach the government-mandated agricultural financing target.
The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project provided a platform to banks and seed companies to share information and identify business opportunities to support NSAFâs seed system development approach during the meeting. Nearly 40 participants from national banks, seed companies and other governmental and non-governmental organizations participated.
Dyutiman Choudhary, NSAF coordinator, shared the overall seed system development approach of NSAF and the role of finance in seed business. An overview of successful cases and models of bank-seed company partnerships adopted in Asia and Africa was also given.
Banks requested additional information about risks in the seed business and sought guidance to assess and reduce risks associated to their loans. It was agreed that value chain finance through three-party agreements between banks, farmers and seed companies could be a viable approach that could be initiated immediately.
âThrough this sort of agreement, seed companies guarantee they will purchase seeds from farmers,â said the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal Chair. âThis guarantees a market for seed, minimizing the risk of market failure for banks.â
Four national banks so far have shown interest in partnering with the NSAF seed companies to finance seed production with soft loans. A proposed working group comprised of banks, seed companies and the Government of Nepal will provide strategic direction to finance seed business. NSAF will lead the working group to guide strategic decisions on financing seed business by sharing evidence based information, providing a common platform and catalyzing innovations to ease access to finance by seed companies.
Participants of the workshop. Photo: Directorate of Plant Protection Central Research Institute of Turkey.
ANKARA, Turkey (CIMMYT) â In a world of rapidly changing climates and related threats to agriculture and food production, including the emergence and spread of deadly crop pathogens and pests, Turkeyâs Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MFAL) has for the first time allocated funding to establish a world-class center for research on soil borne pathogens.
The announcement was made at an international workshop on soil borne pathogens (SBP) organized at MFAL in Ankara in October by the Directorate of Turkeyâs Plant Protection Central Research Institute, Ankara (PPCRI). The new SBP research center will be located at that PPCRI, according to Dr. Nevzat BÄ°RÄ°ĆÄ°K, Director General, MFAL General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies.
âAmong other things, the new center will focus on controlling the expansion of soil borne pathogens to new cropping areas, as well as linking to international research and experts on the pathogens, which cause massive damage each year to agriculture in Turkey,â BÄ°RÄ°ĆÄ°K said.
More than 147 delegates from across the ministry of agriculture and representatives of private companies gathered at this workshop, bringing together senior government officials and high-level experts to review and discuss scientific and technical activities in the management of soil borne pathogens in cereals.
The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture has given ongoing support to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)-led SBP program in Turkey to fight against diseases affecting cereal crops, which occupy 65 percent of Turkeyâs farmland.
Presenters received with the director of PPCRI, Dr. Sait ErtĂŒrk. Photo Directorate of Plant Protection Central Research Institute of Turkey.
Soil borne pathogens cause significant damage in cereals, with global yield potential losses in wheat of up to 20 percent. Changing climates that are reducing growing conditions in tropical areas are also enabling the spread of SBPs into northern regions at increasing rates. This spread presents the risk of areas previously unaffected by SBPs having serious issues. Climate change may also affect the resistance of crops to specific soil pathogens through impacts of warming or drought and through the increased pathogenicity of organisms by mutation induced by environmental stress.
The SBP program is also involved with the use of chemical control on soil pathogens, with regard to the outlook and future expectations of pioneering pesticide producers in the world. The SBP program at CIMMYT-Turkey is using seed treatment to investigate whether or not it can synergistically reduce diseases populations. Seed treatment is absolutely required where diseases are present or where farmers do not accept changing their local, highly susceptible varieties with the resistant and modern ones.
“Super SMS” fitted combine harvester and “Happy Seederâ can be used for simultaneously harvesting rice and seeding wheat. Photo: H.S. Sidhu/CIMMYT
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â In conjunction with recent state regulations outlawing the use of fire to destroy field crop waste in northwest India, some farmers are benefitting from technological innovations that can help prevent damaging smog levels in the capital Delhi and other areas, according to scientists.
Currently, the majority of farmers in northwest India burn leftover vegetation residue to prepare fields for planting in cyclical rice-wheat crop rotations, leading to negative consequences for soil quality, the environment, animal and human health. Rice-wheat crop rotations make up 84 percent of burned crops, a key source of atmospheric pollution.
âFarmers need access to appropriate machinery and training to implement change to discourage burning,â said M.L. Jat, a systems agronomist who works in New Delhi with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). âUsing crop residue in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner could benefit all stakeholders.â
Many farmers keep costs low by burning residue on the farm, rather than paying for its removal for other uses, which could include animal feed, biofuel,  incorporating it into the soil or retaining it in the field as mulch, according to a research paper titled “Burning issues of paddy residue management in northwest fields of India.” Fire is also used to eliminate weeds, pests, disease and remaining field stubble after harvest.
Ash left on the fields after residue burning increases the availability of some nutrients, while depleting others and negatively affecting soil health in the long term. During burning, soil temperature increases, bacteria and fungi are killed off, regenerating in a matter of days. Residue burning can damage plants and trees on field edges with negative implications for the overall ecosystem.
Residues can be used as a renewable energy source to improve air, soil quality, climate change and reduce global warming, provided these are economically viable options for farmers. Incentives could also help encourage farmers to leave residues on their fields for use as fertilizer.
If residue is mulched into the soil, nutrient levels improve and carbon sequestration capacity increases, lowering the release of greenhouse gases into the environment. Additionally, residue retention reduces evaporation and increases soil moisture by as much as 10 percent during the wheat-growing season.
Farmers can benefit from the Happy Seeder, a machine that can plant wheat seed directly into the soil by boring through crop residue. The Straw Management System (SMS) machine spreads straw residue thinly on the soil surface allowing seeding.
âResidues are also of great economic value as livestock feed, fuel and industrial raw materials, but of the total rice residues produced in northwestern India, only around 15 percent can potentially be used for these purposes and the rest must be managed with in-situ (on site) management technologies,â said Jat, who conducted the research in collaboration with the CGIAR research programs on maize (CRP Maize), wheat (CRP Wheat) and climate change, agriculture and food security (CCAFS).
âAlthough farmers are aware of the adverse affects of crop burning, they rely on it due to the lack of economically viable and acceptable machinery and alternatives to dispose of residue.â
However, deploying advanced technology, including the concurrent use of straw management systems, fitted combine harvesters and Happy Seeders for direct drilling is a viable solution to eliminate burning, he added.
With these advancements and aggressive campaigns, within a period of a couple of months in Punjab state alone, over 1,000 combine owners have launched a âSuper SMS.â
Additionally, nearly 2,000 happy seeders are being manufactured, which will lead to large-scale adoption of conservation agriculture techniques in the upcoming wheat season, Jat said.
Index insurance is one of the top 10 innovations for climate-proof farming. Photo: P. Lowe/ CIMMYT
What stands between a smallholder farmer and a bag of climate-adapted seeds? In many cases, itâs the hesitation to take a risk. Farmers may want to use improved varieties, invest in new tools, or diversify what they grow, but they need reassurance that their investments and hard work will not be squandered.
Climate change already threatens crops and livestock; one unfortunately-timed dry spell or flash flood can mean losing everything. Today, innovative insurance products are tipping the balance in farmersâ favor. Thatâs why insurance is featured as one of 10 innovations for climate action in agriculture, in a new report released ahead of next weekâs UN Climate Talks. These innovations are drawn from decades of agricultural research for development by CGIAR and its partners and showcase an array of integrated solutions that can transform the food system.
Index insurance is making a difference to farmers at the frontlines of climate change. It is an essential building block for adapting our global food system and helping farmers thrive in a changing climate. Taken together with other innovations like stress-tolerant crop varieties, climate-informed advisories for farmers, and creative business and financial models, index insurance shows tremendous promise.
The concept is simple. To start with, farmers who are covered can recoup their losses if (for example) rainfall or average yield falls above or below a pre-specified threshold or âindexâ. This is a leap forward compared to the costly and slow process of manually verifying the damage and loss in each farmerâs field. In India, scientists from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), have worked out the water level thresholds that could spell disaster for rice farmers if exceeded. Combining 35 years of observed rainfall and other data, with high-resolution satellite images of actual flooding, scientists and insurers can accurately gauge the extent of flooding and crop loss to quickly determine who gets payouts.
The core feature of index insurance is to offer a lifeline to farmers, so they can shield themselves from the very worst effects of climate change. But thatâs not all. Together with my team, weâre investigating how insurance can help farmers adopt new and improved varieties. Scientists are very good at developing technologies but farmers are not always willing to make the leap. This is one of the most important challenges that we grapple with. What weâve found has amazed us: buying insurance can help farmers overcome uncertainty and give them the confidence to invest in new innovations and approaches. This is critical for climate change adaptation. Weâre also finding that creditors are more willing to lend to insured farmers and that insurance can stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation. Ultimately, insurance can help break poverty traps, by encouraging a transformation in farming.
Insurers at the cutting edge are making it easy for farmers to get coverage. In Kenya, insurance is being bundled into bags of maize seeds, in a scheme led by ACRE Africa. Farmers pay a small premium when buying the seeds and each bag contains a scratch card with a code, which farmers text to ACRE at the time of planting. This initiates coverage against drought for the next 21 days; participating farms are monitored using satellite imagery. If there are enough days without rain, a farmer gets paid instantly via their mobile phone.
ACRE makes it easy for Kenyan farmers to get insurance. Source
Farmers everywhere are businesspeople who seek to increase yields and profits while minimizing risk and losses. As such, insurance has widespread appeal. Weâve seen successful initiatives grow rapidly in India, China, Zambia, Kenya and Mexico, which points to significant potential in other countries and contexts. The farmers most likely to benefit from index insurance are emergent and commercial farmers, as they are more likely than subsistence smallholder farmers to purchase insurance on a continual basis.
Itâs time for more investment in index insurance and other innovations that can help farmers adapt to climate change. Countries have overwhelmingly prioritized climate actions in the agriculture sector, and sustained support is now needed to help them meet the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.
 MEXICO CITY (CIMMYT) â Zhonghu He, CIMMYT distinguished scientists and country liaison office in China, was one of a small number of scientists invited to the recent 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. He was selected based on his outstanding contributions in wheat research.
Left to Right: Mr Jin Liu (chairperson), Dr Huajun Tang (CAAS president), Dr Zhonghu He (CIMMYT scientist), Lingling Wei (CAAS scientist), Yijun Shen (MOA scientist), Jihe Ling, farmer from Jiangxi province. Photo courtesy of Zhonghu He
He gave a keynote presentation on agriculture and wheat research to the assembly, together with eight ministers including the Minister of Agriculture, Changfu Han, in an open discussion forum at The Great Hall of the People, with coverage by Chinese and global media.
Zhonghu He with His Excellence Changfu Han, Minister of Agriculture in China. Photo courtesy of Zhonghu He
His presentation emphasized the nutritional and health value of wheat-based foods and the environmental benefits of wheat, particularly the role of winter wheat in protecting protect the soil during winter and spring.
He also described the importance of international germplasm exchange and collaboration.
CIMMYT has been a valued partner of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS) and other national and provincial organizations for several decades. Genetic contributions of CIMMYT breeding are present in more than 26% of all major wheat varieties released in China after 2000 and over 350 Chinese researchers have taken part in CIMMYT wheat training programs since 1970.
Zhonghu He on CCTV News. Photo courstesy of Zhonghu He
Farmer weeding maize field in Bihar, India. Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT.
India needs to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from its rice and livestock sectors according to a study by CIMMYT and partners. Researchers say this can and must be done in ways that improve yields, and sustain food and nutrition security.
Paradoxically, India is also the worldâs second largest food producer, and agriculture is a vital part of the countryâs economy. Indian agriculture also accounts for about 18% of the countryâs greenhouse gas emissions, making agriculture a key sector for climate action. In fact, Indiaâs government has already indicated willingness to reduce emissions from agriculture as part the Paris Climate Agreement, in an effort to keep global warming below the 2-degree target. To take action, the countryâs leaders need to know where to focus their efforts, and find ways to reduce emissions without compromising food and nutrition security.
Indian agricultureâs climate âhotspotsâ
A new study uncovers some answers to this question, and offers insights into how dietary shifts might influence future emissions. The study, Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural food production to supply Indian diets: Implications for climate change mitigation, was done by researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and partners at the University of Aberdeen and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Using the empirical model Cool Farm Tool, researchers analyzed the farm-level greenhouse gas emissions of 20 major food commodities in India, and two types of food products emerged as the worst culprits: rice and animal products such as meat, milk and eggs.
When looking at the level of emission per unit of area and unit of product, rice was the top source of emissions in agriculture. Continuously flooded paddies release huge amounts of methane, especially compared to intermittently flooded or irrigated rice land. The scientists found that the total global warming potential of rice on a per hectare basis was even higher than what was being reported in existing literature and at the national level.
Meat, eggs and milk were also found to have high emissions per unit of production. The authors warn that animal products will contribute an increasing share to overall emissions as Indiaâs middle class grows, traditions evolve, and diets shift towards consumption of more animal products. That said, it will probably not match the rapid trajectory towards meat consumption of other large countries like China, due to Indiaâs cultural preference for a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet.
No tradeoff between mitigation and food security
The revelation of Indiaâs agricultural emission âhotspotsâ are a crucial step towards action. âThese findings can help farmers, researchers and policy makers to understand and manage these emissions, and identify mitigation responses that are consistent with Indiaâs food security and economic development priorities,â according to CIMMYT scientist Tek Sapkota, who co-authored the paper. âAgriculture is an important sector of the economy,â he said. âIf India is to reduce its total emissions then agriculture has to play its part,â he explained, mentioning that emissions from agriculture must decline worldwide in order to meet the 2°C warming target.
In the UN climate discussions on agriculture, there has been ongoing resistance among some countries about promoting mitigation in agriculture, due to fears that this could compromise food security and nutrition. This is a âmisconceptionâ according to Dr. Sapkota. âMany agricultural practices advocated to increase production and increase the capacity of a system to cope with climate change also happen to reduce emissions,â he explained. The paperâs authors emphasize that mitigation must be a co-benefit of improved and more efficient agronomic practices, and interventions will need to consider the nutritional and health implications. Negotiators at the upcoming UN climate talks in Bonn should take note as they mull a decision on agriculture.
Sustainable solutions
There are many approaches and technologies in agriculture that can contribute to food and nutrition security and at the same time deliver climate change adaptation and mitigation services. Dr. Sapkota is part of a team undertaking a detailed analysis of mitigation options, their national level mitigation potential and associated cost of their adoption to come up with total technical mitigation potential sector of Indian agriculture. This study is coming out very soon, and will help build a more complete picture of the solutions available.
A new study finds sustainable agriculture can cut emissions in India. Photo: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT.
As an example, Dr. Sapkota points to conservation agriculture, which is based on the principles of minimum soil disturbance, continuous soil cover and diversified crop rotation. Conservation agriculture techniques can increase production in a sustainable way, by improving water use efficiency, reducing fertilizer consumption and reducing machinery use and fuel consumption. Through this approach, âyou can reduce production costs, without compromising yield. In some instances you can increase yields. Itâs a win-win from every perspective,â he says. Farmers are already getting more precise at managing nutrients, using several tools like the GreenSeeker and the , and techniques such as drilling fertilizer into the soil instead of broadcasting it. They are also using decision support systems like Nutrient expert and the Crop Manager, to help them determine how much fertilizer to apply, at the right time and in the right place. These approaches have been shown to reduce the amount of fertilizer needed while maintaining and even increasing yields.
In a similar vein, Alternative Wetting and Drying of rice fields, which otherwise remain continuously flooded, can reduce methane emissions substantially. In Vietnam and the Philippines, farmers have successfully used this method and reduced methane emissions by 48% without reducing yield.
In the livestock sector, there several ways to address emissions, including improved manure management, changing feed rations, growing feed crops in a more sustainable way, and feeding animals crop residues that would otherwise be burned.
Although the study points out food products with a particularly high climate footprint, itâs important not to think about solutions on a commodity-by-commodity or crop-by-crop basis, according to Dr. Sapkota. âFarmers grow crops in a system and we need system-based solutions,â he says. âFor example, in the rice-wheat system in Indo-Gangetic Plains, if you want to go for conservation agriculture you cannot just focus on one crop. The way you manage water, energy,nutrients and other resources for one crop will have repercussions on other crops,â he explains.
The results of this study are an important starting point. âIndia is moving in the right direction,â says Dr. Sapkota. âNow there needs to be more research to show the effectiveness of technical mitigation options which can reduce emissions without compromising yield and profit,â he says. The government must also work closely with people on the ground: âThere must be more awareness among extension workers and farming communities that they are part of this movement to tackle climate change,â he adds.
At this year’s UN Climate Talks, CIMMYT is highlighting innovations that can help farmers overcome climate change. Read more stories in this series and follow @CIMMYT for the latest updates.
Progressive farmer sharing experience of using CSAPs and yielding higher gains. Photo: CIMMYT.
SAMBALI, India (CIMMYT) – In the 1960s, India became the center of the Green Revolution by adopting high-yielding crop varieties and new technologies and practices that staved off famine for millions.
Today, India needs a new Green Revolution.
The countryâs combination of high greenhouse gas emissions, vulnerability to climate change and pressure to feed nearly 2 billion people by 2050 is driving farmers to find ways to grow more food in harsher environments.
Climate-smart agriculture is a new approach to farming that combines adaptation options that sustainably increase productivity, enhance resilience to climatic stresses and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This option is becoming increasingly popular among smallholder farmers, who make up nearly 80 percent of Indiaâs farmers and produce more than 40 percent of its food.
Harynana is a north-western state in India, and part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, which covers an area of over 2.5 million square kilometers and feeds 500 million people. The village of Sambali, in Haryana, is one of the first communities in India to officially become âclimate-smartâ as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security project (CCAFS), which is helping smallholder farmers globally find practical adaptation options to improve food security and resilience to climate change effects like drought, flooding and other extreme weather events.
In Sambali, more than 60 percent of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. For over 50 years, farmers from the village have worked with Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (ICAR-CSSRI), this long-term knowledge exchange and exposure has resulted in 45 percent of the farming community practicing climate smart farming.
However, residue burning – the burning of excess residue on fields after a crop is harvested, as a means to clear the area to plant the next crop – remains a common practice in highly cultivated regions in India. Sambali becoming a residue-burning free village is setting an example of a model village contributing towards a healthier environment.
Besides triggering costly respiratory ailments in humans and animals in farm regions and urban centers, burning rice residues has negative agricultural implications. For example, residue burning depletes soil nutrients, with estimated yearly losses in Punjab alone of 3.9 million tons of organic carbon, 59,000 tons of nitrogen, 20,000 tons of phosphorus and 34,000 tons of potassium, according to M.L. Jat, a principal scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), who leads CIMMYTâs contributions to CCAFSâ climate-smart villages in South Asia.
In response, a CIMMYT-CCAFS campaign was recently organized in Sambali to eliminate residue burning and combat its harmful effects to the environment, soil and human health.
It is advisable to have one percent organic matter in soil to assist conservation and increase productivity. According to Sunil Mann, the State Development Officer of the Department of Agriculture in Haryana, there has been a decline in organic matter in this region due to burning from one percent to less than half of one percent, highlighting a significant threat to soil health and productivity. The challenges of burning are exacerbated by the risk of areas turning into âdark zones,’ areas where groundwater has been over-exploited, due to the declining water table.
Hanuman Sahay Jat, a Scientist at CIMMYT, expressed concerns about the amount of chemicals released while burning crop residue and emphasized the need to stop this practice and adopt residue and nutrient management strategies. One way to achieve this is by using technologies like the GreenSeeker, a compact sensor that quickly assesses crop vigor and calculates optimal fertilizer dosages, to reduce dependency on chemical fertilizers and improve soil health.
Climate Smart Van launched to widespread knowledge and adoption. Photo: CIMMYT.
M.L. Jat also highlighted the need for all stakeholders to do cost-benefit analyses before adopting new technologies. Farmers should ensure that profits will be worth investments in new technologies and researchers should ensure the efficiency and environmental impact of new technologies. For example in Basmati rice growing areas, zero-till machines, which help farmers plant new seeds directly in the residue of their previous crop’s harvest, are half the cost of the traditionally used “turbo happy seeder,” saving farmers money.
A positive result from Sambali will gain political attention and is likely to contribute to the development of new policies favoring climate-smart agriculture and their efficient utilization.
A âClimate Smart Vanâ was also launched during the campaign, which will drive through villages to spread knowledge, garner support and clarify the aspects of climate smart agriculture.
Sambali and other villages are taking steps towards integrated farming, with stakeholdersâ engagement focusing sustainable development and scaling climate-smart agriculture practices while including women in decision making and engaging youth with profit-making opportunities.
