Scaling-up of Productivity Enhancement in Rainfed Agriculture

Suhas P Wani, KV Raju, K Krishnappa, KL Sahrawat, KH Anantha ICRISAT Development Centre

Challenges of Rainfed Agriculture

Home of world’s poor and malnourished people

Yields from rain-fed agriculture are low in semi-arid tropical agroecosystems

Green revolution drove away food shortage of 1960’s but at a cost

Contributes 60% of world’s food from 80% of cultivated land

Rainfed Agriculture: Large Untapped Potential

Current farmers’ yields are lower by 2 to 5 folds than the achievable yields

Vast potential of rainfed agriculture needs to be harnessed

Issues in scaling up process

Changing external environment New Paradigm – R4D to transform lives

Discovery

Lab/plot

Pilot

Field

Proof of Concept

100s

Impact/ Outcomes

100,000 & millions

Development Research

Death Valley of Impact

Bhoochetana (Land Rejuvenation): Innovative Scaling-up Initiative to Bridge Yield Gaps

Strategy

I C Es Innovate Convergence Economic gain

Inclusive Collective Efficiency

Intensive Capacity building Equity

Integrated Consortium Environment Protection

Soils are not only Thirsty but Hungry also

Widespread deficiencies of multiple nutrients including Zn, B and S across country

• Stratified random sampling

• 30 districts • 92,904 soil

samples

Knowledge Sharing: Sharing Soil-test Results with Stakeholders

Rejuvenate Extension System

Empowered farmers as para extension workers

Farm Facilitators (FF) and Lead Farmers (LF) Every 500 ha one FF and 2-3 LFs

Training and empowering FFs and LFs by master trainers trained by ICRISAT

To be certified and quality assurance

Large scale demonstrations

Integrated Nutrient Management

Integrated Pest Management

Improved cultivars

Seed treatment

Land and water management

Innovative Extension Systems

• Farmer to Farmer Videos

• Tablet-based Extension for Farm Facilitators

Monitoring and Evaluations Rigorous – Regular – Resourced – Remote (4 Rs)

Empowered State, district and taluk level Coordination Committee

Decentralized powers with accountability

Awareness building amongst the farmers who need to register (demand driven)

Incentivize inputs but farmers must pay

With timely interventions to ensure removal of bottlenecks (godowns hiring, trainings, transportation funds etc.,)

Crop Cutting Experiments

Productivity enhancement

Increased productivity by 23 to 66 per cent with improved practices

Improved agricultural practices increased crop yields and income

Year 2009 2010 2011 2012

No. of districts 6 16 30 30

Area (M. ha) 0.2 1.2 2.8 3.7

Net income (Million US$) 2.5 45.7 112.5 82.4

*Figures in parentheses indicate No. of farmers (million) participated

Number of Farmers Participated and Area Covered in Bhoochetana in Karnataka

Demand driven — water scarcity, low crop yields, higher rainfed lands

Tangible economic benefits to individuals through integrated approach

Knowledge-based entry point

Equal partnership, trust and shared vision among the consortium partners

Innovations for enhancing community participation

Drivers of Success

Good local leadership

Pre-disposition to work collectively for community development

Transparency and social vigilance in the financial dealings

Equity thru low-cost structures

Empowerment – enhanced accessibility of new technologies and knowledge sharing developed local capacity

Innovations for enhancing impacts and sustainability

Drivers of Success (Contd..)

Learning from Bhoochetana

Large scope exists to enhance the benefits thru science-led development in agriculture:

Delivery systems

Quality and scientific monitoring

Communication and capacity building

Knowledge

Inputs

Summary

Rainfed SAT ecologies are complex as millions of small farm holders with mixed typologies are involved

Science-led PR4D holistic approach as a business model is needed to harness the potential

Inclusive market oriented development – collective action and integrated solutions converging technologies – delivery systems – enabling policies and institutions with strong champion are drivers of success for impacts

Thank you!