NewsletterHappenings 4 September 2015

No. 1691

ICRISAT

Workshop participants visit the ILRI research station at ICRISAT, India.

to page 2...4

Millets and sorghum play a crucial role in interlinking agriculture, dairy and fisheries sectorsThe role of millets and sorghum in providing quality feed

and minimizing input costs in dairy, poultry and fisheries sectors was emphasized at a workshop conducted for farmers of Andhra Pradesh, India. Given that for dairy farming, feed cost constitutes 70% of milk production cost, reduction of feed cost is vital and a localized fodder solution was sought by farmers who attended the meet.

Interacting with farmers, Mr SP Tucker, Special Chief Secretary, Planning Department, and Agricultural Production Commissioner, Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP), asked them to develop an action plan as the department is preparing a credit plan of ` 1.25 trillion (US$ 18.93 billion) for the next five years. https://youtu.be/MtNLDZRd3gc

Dr Manmohan Singh, Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, GoAP, said that an integrated farming systems approach needs to be promoted vigorously in all districts to face present and future fodder issues. He pointed out that the primary cost to a farmer in maintaining milk yields depends upon the type of feed and the cost of feed. https://youtu.be/kg9Q1LdeorM

The important role that fisheries play in improving livelihoods of farmers and also enhancing human health through improved nutrition was highlighted by Dr Rama

Sankar Naik, Commissioner Fisheries, GoAP. He expressed concern over the quality of seed, feed and infrastructure in the state.

Key problems in the three sectors were identified by farmers and an action plan was developed based on their suggestions. Smallholder farmers urged officials to treat dairy as part of agriculture and not as a separate industry.

The role of fodder crops in changing climate scenarios was emphasized by Dr Peter Carberry, Deputy Director General - Research, ICRISAT. He said that ICRISAT’s mandate crops, millets and sorghum, play a crucial role in interlinking agriculture, dairy and fisheries sector. With increasing pressure on farmers to produce more fodder for sustaining livelihood, the government plays a key role in strengthening the white revolution in the state, he said. He also compared the Australian and Indian dairy revolution and how these countries play a vital role in the global context.

Dr Ramana Murthy, Managing Director, AP Dairy Development Cooperative Federation, expressed concern over the high production cost of milk in Andhra Pradesh compared to other states and talked about the need for enhancing efficiency of milk distribution.

Photos: S Punna, ICRISAT

2 ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 4 SEPTEMBER 2015 1691

Country teams release draft work plans at project launch Tropical Legumes III workshop

Work plans that aligned with country strategies; involved women and youth; recognized emerging

partnerships; and built on lessons and synergies from Tropical Legumes I and II projects were released by the respective country teams at a workshop to mark the launch of the Tropical Legumes III (TL III) project.

Key project outcomes reflected in the work plans include: ▪ Enabling policies for adoption and impact – especially

narrowing the gender yield gap in legume systems by 20%.

▪ Realizing productivity gains in groundnut, common bean and cowpea on an average of 10% over existing improved varieties and 20% over local varieties.

▪ Realizing productivity gains in chickpea by 10% over local varieties in Ethiopia and 15% in Uttar Pradesh, India, where seeds of improved varieties have been released.

▪ Increasing the quantity of improved seeds purchased by smallholder farmers, including women, by 10% annually in each country.

▪ Improving effectiveness and efficiency of legume breeding programs and seed delivery systems of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) partners.

The TL III project works on the premise that ‘efficient legume breeding and seed systems lead to increased productivity and income for smallholder farmers, especially women’. The project focuses on four legumes namely, groundnut, cowpea, common bean and chickpea in eight

target countries: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and India.

The draft work plans were further refined at the Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) workshop that followed the launch workshop.

Follow-up action plan: ▪ Country teams are expected to consult at the national

level and finalize their work plans within the next one month. New country plans should take cognizance of the outcome of the MLE Planning Workshop

▪ The facilitators – Institute for People Innovation and Change in Organizations - Eastern Africa (PICO-EA) and Agricultural Learning and Impacts Network (ALINe) – will finalize the workshop outcome and share inputs with ICRISAT and the planning teams for the finalization of country-specific project work plans.

▪ The MLE Plan will be finalized with inputs from country teams that incorporate actor-outcome mapping, clarifying how multiple actors in each country contribute to each outcome.

The launch workshop of the TL III project, was held at Nairobi, Kenya, from 18-21 August.

This project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The work is undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes. g

Guest speakers, Mr Narender Singh, a progressive dairy farmer from Ludhiana and Mr Baljinder Singh from Faridkot, shared their experiences with fellow farmers from Andhra Pradesh.

Scientists from International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), ICRISAT and officials from line departments of GoAP explained the various techniques used to minimize

costs in dairy, poultry and fisheries sector. Participating farmers were given opportunities to interact with members from the Planning Department and scientists from ICRISAT.

The two-day workshop on ‘Strategies to Minimize Input Costs in Dairy, Poultry and Fisheries Sectors’ was conducted by ICRISAT Development Center in India on 26-27 August with the support of the Planning Department, GoAP. g

Millets and sorghum play a crucial role... from page 1

Photo: ICRISAT

(L to R) Dr Jeff Ehlers, TL III Program Officer, BMGF; Dr Carberry and Dr Yilma Kebede, Senior Program Officer, BMGF at the TL III workshop.

The TL III project builds on the lessons learnt from the TL II project. Seen above are women groundnut seed producers in Mali.

File photo: ICRISAT

3ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 4 SEPTEMBER 2015 1691

This work is now incorporated as part of the

Policies,Institutionsand Markets

Project: Village Dynamics in South Asia

Investor: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Partners: IRRI & Socio-Consult, Bangladesh,ICAR-RCER, IIWM, NIAP and ICRISAT, India

RESEARCH PROGRAM ON

Village Dynamics InsightsFortnightly column

Dwindling number of pulse growers in eastern states. Share of pulse crops in gross cropped area on pulse growers’ fields.

No. of non-pulse-growersNo. of pulse-growers

OdishaJharkhand2013 20132012 20122011 20112010 2010 2013201220112010

0 0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

Pulses missing from farmers’ fields and plates

Pulses are a major source of nutritional security for poor farmer-households and can also help boost

income given the high market price of pulses. Paradoxically, production continues to fall short of demand – particularly in areas of eastern India with its high poverty levels and poor nutrition statistics.

Given their high protein value, pulses are viewed by nutritionists as the ‘poor person’s meat’. Yet, poor households in these regions are neither producing nor consuming pulses as part of their regular diet. These apparent contradictions are revealed in a VDSA survey across two villages each in Bolangir and Dhenkanal districts of Odisha state and the Dumka and Ranchi districts of Jharkhand state between 2010 and 2013.

Low priority to pulsesIn both the states of Odisha and Jharkhand only one-third of the farmers are growing pulses. Most farmers use their own farm-saved seeds. These crops are grown mainly in the postrainy season and are reliant on residual moisture only - with little irrigation, if any. As a result, yields are low and unstable – between 247-494 kg per ha. This discourages farmers from allocating large areas to pulse crops. Most pulse growers allocate only 0.08 to 0.2 ha of land for pulses – mainly black gram, green gram, horse gram and grass pea in Odisha and black gram, horse gram, pigeonpea and chickpea in Jharkhand.

Monthly consumption of pulses per household has declined in both the states to 2.2 kg (14.6 g per day per capita) in Jharkhand and about 4 kg (26.6 g per day per capita) in Odisha, which is significantly lower than 35 g per day per capita pulse consumption as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research. VDSA data also reveal that home-produced pulses constitute only 15-20% of total pulses consumed in these households with the balance being purchased from the market.

Of the households surveyed, around 75% are marginal farmers with less than 1 ha of land and minimal resources.

They are largely dependent on rainfall for crop cultivation. Farmers in these areas grow mainly staple cereals such as rice and maize to meet their household needs. During the postrainy season much of their land remains fallow.

Solutions to boost household income and nutritionImprovement in the availability and access to diverse and nutrient-dense foods like pulses is key to ending malnutrition in poverty-stricken areas of eastern India. According to Dr Ranjit Kumar, Principal Scientist, Economics, and VDSA Eastern India Coordinator, “If they have access to improved quality seeds then this will reduce the high volatility in pulse production and may trigger an interest amongst poor smallholders for allocating more acreage to these crops.”

The other area that needs to be addressed is supplemental irrigation – efforts towards rainwater-harvesting and management would significantly improve yields thus boosting productivity and leading to improved household nutrition as well as income. g

** *

*

*Jharkhand-MCOP Jharkhand-ESOPOdisha-MCOP Odisha-ESOP

133 119 112 118 105 106 111 108

41 48 42 55 57 55 5927

Monthly Consumption of Pulses (MCOP); Expenditure Share of Pulses (ESOP)

A farmer with his pigeonpea crop in Jharkhand.

(Kg)

(%)

Photo: ICRISAT

ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR ConsortiumAbout ICRISAT: www.icrisat.orgICRISAT’s scientific information: EXPLOREit.icrisat.org DG’s Journal: dgblog.icrisat.org

WelcomeDr Ayoni Ogunbayo, a Nigerian national, joined on 1 September, as Country Project Manager, ICRISAT-Mali.

Dr Ogunbayo obtained his PhD in Plant Breeding, MSc in Plant Breeding, and Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in Plant Breeding and Seed Technology from the Federal University of Agriculture,

Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. He has over 20 years of experience with international agricultural research

organizations in plant breeding, seed production, and genetic resources management.

Prior to his appointment, he was a Cassava Breeder and Project Manager of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Suakoko, Liberia.

Dr Ogunbayo will work on the USAID-funded project ‘Increasing Groundnut Productivity of Smallholder Farmers’.

We welcome Dr Ogunbayo and his family to Team ICRISAT and wish him all success. g

Readers’ commentGood to see ICRISAT expanding its work in cereal-legume systems, especially on sustainable intensification and productivity growth in tef-chickpea systems in Ethiopia. Tef is no longer a national commodity – it is now an internationally valuable dryland cereal with major nutritional and climate adaptation benefits for the world. This will substantially enhance the relevance and overall profile of ICRISAT in the region.

– Bekele Shiferaw, Executive Director, Partnership for Economic Policy, Kenya

CondolencesMr M Pentaiah, Senior Scientific Associate, RP – Grain Legumes, expired on 30 August.

Mr Pentaiah joined ICRISAT on 1 May 1984 as Field Attendant in Pulse Improvement Program. He served the Institute for over 31 years.

Team ICRISAT expresses its deepest condolences to all members of Mr Pentaiah’s family.

AnnouncementInternational Journal of Tropical Agriculture (IJTA) 2nd International Conference on Agriculture, Horticulture & Plant Sciences

Date: 26-27 December 2015; Venue: Shimla, India

Organized by: Academic Research Journals (India)

Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 30 October 2015

Contact person: Vijay Kumar Jha

Website: http://icahps.com/

I am glad that ICRISAT has taken in its portfolio to improve tef, it is an important crop in Ethiopia, I have lived a few years in Ethiopia as the General Manager, Ethiopian Pioneer Hybrid Deed Company and realized the yield constraint. Ethiopian restaurants in USA also sell injera but shortage of tef, I am told, compels them to add sorghum flour.

– Dr Pramod K Agrawal, Managing Director, Prasha Agri Consultants Pvt Ltd, India

TwitterLive Chat

Chat Handle: #geo4ag

Join this Twitter Live Chat on geospatial solutions in agriculture. Chat with panelists representing both private and public sectors and engage in a stimulating discussion with: Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISATDr Bruno Sanchez Andrade Nuno, Innovation Labs Data Scientist, World BankDr Kumar Navulur, Senior Director, DigitalGlobeParticipant from GMV

The panelists will answer questions and facilitate a dialogue.Join us on: 16 September 12:00 – 13:00 hrs Eastern Time