Dr. Andrew McDonald

CSISA Phase II – India Country Coordinator, Objective 1 / 2 leader International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Odisha Partners MeetingBubaneshwarJuly 10, 2012

Project Goal: To increase food and income security at scale in South Asia through sustainable intensification of cereal-based systems.

Metrics of success: marked crop productivity increases, income generation for > 6 m farmers by 2019…

Four countries: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, PakistanTwo donors: USAID, BMFGDuration: Phase I: 2009-12; Phase II: 2012-15

Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia

The Challenge: catalyzing durable change with millions of small and medium-scale farmers

2002......................

Peter Jennings, FLAR, 2005

Yiel

d to

n/ha

Variety revolution(semi-dwarfs – 2 t / ha)

350 new varieties released

Agronomic Revolution(management gain 2 t / ha, )

Creation of FLAR

.......................1968 1995

The rice revolution in South America

Agriculture can be transformed….

CAPITAL

RISK

KNOWLEDGE

Are technologies matched to needs of smallholders?

Are key messages reaching farmers?

LABOR

ACCESS

Why aren’t improved technologies adopted?

Drivers of change in S. Asia Agriculture• Cereal demand projected to: double by 2025,

quadruple by 2050?

• Land, water, energy, labor scarcity

• Increasing production costs

• Resource loss and degradation (land, water, soil)

• Risks and uncertaintyoHigh temperatures, drought, inundation oLess predictable climate systems

CSISA-supported technical innovations

CSISA technical priorities

Water productivity

Labor scarcity

Soil degradation

Climate resilience

Yield Profitability

Conservationagriculture (CA)

*** ** *** *** * ***

Site-specific nutrient management

** ** ** ***

Scale-appropriate mechanization

*** ** ** ** ***

Laser land leveling *** * * ***Elite germplasm ** ** *** **System intensification(more crops/yr)

* ** *** ***

Post-harvest storage ***Improved livestock feeding

** *** ***

Floods, cyclones, and tidal surges, salinity across the coastal belt

Drought , overuse of groundwater, acid soils

Seasonal inundation, flash flooding

Temperature / drought stress, arsenic

Limited-source surface irrigation

Production-ecologies are distinctin cases over small distances

Addressing non-technological barriersthat impede innovation

Needs-based irrigation with AWD canreduced irrigation water use for rice.

BUT…

Business model for pump rental mustfavor conservation. (in BD they don’t)

How do farmers make decisions? Fundamental research gaps on conception of risk, behavioral science, etc.

Literacy / numeracy

What information is valued, actionable, and profitable?

When must it be provided?

Matching the tactic and toolto the audience…….

Remembering the simple thingsGood agronomy pays large dividends

Uniform placement of fertilizers:

10 -15% yield gain

More precise approaches needn’t be sophisticated to be successful

Release of elite seeds

Wide-spread cultivation of elite seeds

?

Not by technology alone…

CSISA: A ‘big tent’ initiativeIntegrating disciplines and organizations

• Participatory development of sustainable, productive, and economical agricultural management technologies

• Future-oriented process-based research (e.g. net GHGs, NUE, WUE, models simulations)

• Development of high-yielding and stress-tolerant cereal varieties (wheat, rice, and maize)

• Strategic partnerships (public + private sectors) to increase the scale and longevity of interventions

• Strengthen markets and business development, especially SMEs.

• Capacity building through training and scholarship

• Policy analysis and evidence-based advocacy

Defining impact pathways: a key element for project planning

CSISA will not succeed by acting alone…..

but partnerships have to be based on:

• Clear value proposition to motivate the participation of all partners• Joint ownership and commitment to success• Timelines for action• Coordination of activities along common impact pathways…..

• Shift in geographic focus to Eastern India and Bangladesh

• More $ resources to support key activities in Bihar and new investments in Odisha, including flexible funds to be managed jointly with NARES through state-level ‘Advisory and Investment Committees’. These funds will support innovation and new thinking, and close gaps where other investments are lacking.

• Explicit focus on forming and supporting strategic partnerships

What’s new in Phase II?

Key challenges, priority geographies, strategic entry points • Rainfed / high-risk production systems

• Flash flooding, stagnate flooding

• Depleted / acidic soils

• Low cropping intensity

• Weak seed systems

• Poor market integration

• Limited mechanization

• Rural labor dynamics

POTENTIAL PARTNERS + PRORITY AREAS FOR COLLABORAITON

OPERATIONAL MODEL FOR GOING TO SCALE IN CSISA PHASE II

INNOVATION + DURABLE PRODUCTS + SUPPORT TO CHANGE AGENTS

Thank You

MANY ROADBLOCKS….

BUT PLENTY OF INGENUITY.MANY ROADBLOCKS….