No. 147117 June 2011

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Pathway to prosperity and sustainable food securityInclusive market-oriented development key to second Green Revolution“An inclusive market-oriented development approach will revolutionize agriculture and ensure food and nutritional security as well as income security of the smallholder farmers and the poor in the developing world,” said DG William Dar.

Addressing the global summit on Green Revolution II – Growth Engine for Transformation, Dr Dar

highlighted the need for an inclusive market-oriented development or IMOD to empower smallholder farmers in overcoming poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better and resilient farming, leading them to a dynamic state from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture.

He stressed that developing countries must give highest priority to agriculture, and must increase public investment that will enable smallholder farming to achieve greater productivity and profitability. Dr Dar also underscored that India can

become a global model in making smallholder agriculture a nation’s engine to transformation.

Organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) with ICRISAT as its knowledge partner, the summit was held on 15 June at Hotel Taj Deccan in Hyderabad. The event brought together multi-sectoral stakeholders to deliberate on sharing scientific innovations and services to propel India’s agricultural growth.

“The Indian agricultural sector needs to be revamped to meet future demand and the nutritional security of

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DG Dar (center, right) presents the ICRISAT Strategic Plan to 2020 to Mr Dilip Modi (center, left), President of ASSOCHAM during the summit. Also seen are Mr V Nagi Reddy (far left), Principal Secretary (Agriculture), Govt. of Andhra Pradesh and Anil B Jain (far right), Chairman, Agriculture & Food Security Committee, ASSOCHAM.

this huge population. A second Green Revolution with a focus on holistic development of the agriculture sector is imperative to support small, marginal farmers in sustaining their livelihoods,” said Mr Dilip Modi, President of ASSOCHAM. He added that provision for end-to-end services, solutions to problems faced by farmers and providing linkages to markets is significant to facilitate access to better technology and other resources.

One of the highlights of the summit was the launch of the ASSOCHAM-ICRISAT study on Second Green Revolution: Role in Transforming Indian Agriculture. Based on the study, the next Green Revolution in India should be focused on a convergence strategy for civil society and public and private sectors to devise a mechanism in sustaining enhanced productivity, providing opportunities for agricultural growth and boosting the economy.

Around 150 delegates participated in the conference which included farmer entrepreneurs. The Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) also participated in the conference exhibition by showcasing successful cases of ICRISAT’s Public-Private-People (PPP) partnership initiatives. g

Financing the agricultural value chainUnion Bank of Nigeria and ICRISAT host international conference on agricultural financing

Improved financial markets accelerate rural growth, leading to economic development and

prosperity. In this new global agricultural and economic order, however, what will make agricultural financing work?

Rising to this challenge, the Union Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with ICRISAT hosted a two-day International Conference on Agricultural Financing with the theme: Financing agricultural value chain in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in Abuja on 16-17 June.

The conference brought together actors along the agricultural value chain, namely researchers, farmers (small, medium and large), traders (retailers and wholesalers), processors (small, medium and large), exporters, consumers, bankers, cooperatives, regulators, industrialists, and research & development specialists from Nigeria and other countries in SSA.

Representing DG William Dar, Dr Farid Waliyar, Director - West & Central Africa delivered the

keynote address during the conference on the topic: Building sustainable livelihoods and transforming rural communities through agricultural financing.

Focusing on financing the agricultural value chain, the conference aimed to increase investment returns and enhance competitiveness at different points by different players of the chain. It also sought to identify bankable agricultural projects by financial institutions; improve risk identification and mitigation by lenders; foster greater understanding of lenders’ expectations by farmers and better policy alignment with sector realities by regulatory agencies. g

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Second annual review meetingHOPE project benefits sorghum farmers

The impacts of the HOPE-Dryland cereals project are now being enjoyed by thousands of

smallholder sorghum farmers in Maharashtra. The improved cultivars, crop management practices, and input and output market linkages provided by the project in the last two years have helped more than 17,000 participating sorghum farmers achieve an average 40% higher grain and 20% higher fodder yields in 2010-11. HOPE’s interventions also helped farmers overcome the high climatic variability during the last two years. Additionally, the higher

market price (over `34 per kg) in 2011 boosted farmers’ incomes from sorghum.

In his opening address at the second annual review and workplan meeting of the HOPE-Dryland cereals project on sorghum held on 14-16 June at Patancheru, DG William Dar expressed his appreciation to the dedicated ICRISAT partners and scientists on the success of the project. Stressing the impacts of climate change on agricultural production, he noted that the project is very much aligned with the Institute’s focus on yield improvement in postrainy sorghum in India, where terminal drought stress is a major constraint.

The HOPE-Dryland cereals project on sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and implemented in 11 countries including India. ICRISAT is the lead center for sorghum, with the Marathwada Agricultural University (MAU), Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), and Director of Sorghum Research (DSR) as project partners.

Oscar Riera-Lizarazu welcomed the participants during the meeting while George Okwach presented the overall progress of the HOPE project across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA). Belum VS Reddy presented the highlights of the sorghum research progress, Nagaraj on targeting, Parthasarathy Rao on marketing, and Ashok Kumar on delivery for adoption. g

George Okwach presents the HOPE project progress report during the meeting.

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Nestlé R&D team visits ICRISAT-Sadoré

A team from Nestlé’s recently re-established research & development center in Abidjan, Ivory

Coast, visited ICRISAT-Sadoré on 9 June.

The team included project and department heads for Agronomy (Dr Kam-Rigne Laossi), Product & Ingredients Development (Miss Elise Nsangou), and Pilot Plant and Process Development (Dr Souley Kalilou). The team interacted with ICRISAT’s Country representative Dr Mahamadou Gandah and scientists from ICRISAT and AVRDC.

The team described the company’s new focus on product development based on locally-produced

The Nestlé team with ICRISAT staff at Sadoré.

ingredients, and sought assistance from ICRISAT in identifying available sorghum and pearl millet varieties that have been characterized for nutritional content, so that these could be assessed for nutrient availability and processing characteristics.

ICRISAT provided the Nestlé team with seed samples of two pearl millet varieties, reported to have superior grain iron and zinc levels for agronomic and product quality evaluation. ICRISAT researchers and the team explored opportunities for future research-for-development collaboration. g

Nominations invited for ICRISAT science awardsIN CONTINuATION of ICRISAT’s tradition of recognizing and rewarding scientific excellence, nominations are invited for the following categories of awards in 2011:

< Doreen Margaret Mashler Award < Promising Young Scientist < Outstanding Scientist < Outstanding Partnership < Outstanding Scientific Support Team < Outstanding Scientific Article

For more information on these awards, visit the DDG-R Office page on ICRISAT’s intranet. In the awards section, click on ICRISAT Science Awards 2011. Staff at other locations can access this through the global intranet. In case of any difficulty, contact your local IT Officer or Pradyut Modi (p.modi@cgiar.org) at ICRISAT headquarters.

All nominations must be submitted online by 2 September. Following evaluation and awardee recommendations by the Research Committee, the Management Group’s approval will be sought. Winners will be announced during the ICRISAT Annual Day in Dec 2011. g

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Chickpea in rainfed rice fallow lands project reviewed

The annual review and work plan meeting of the project Enhancing

chickpea production in Rainfed Rice Fallow Lands (RRFL) of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh States of India was held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh on 9-10 June. Farmers in the RRFL regions have difficulty accessing newly developed high-yielding varieties of chickpea. Yet, they have shown great interest in cultivating these varieties in rice fallows as a second crop due to their adaptability and profitability in comparison to other crops.The meeting reviewed the progress and innovations by the project and the sustainability of models developed. Representatives from the consortium of institutions and farmers from the eight project districts of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh participated in the meeting.

A consolidated work plan for 2011-12 was developed by the project team, which was approved by the committee. Based on the proof of concept, the project was recommended for further expansion in similar environments in other states in India. g

Herbert L Thompson passes away HERBERT LEIGHTON THOMPSON, fondly known to ICRISAT staff as Herb, passed away on 30 May at Foxdale Village in State College, Pennsylvania, of complications from pneumonia. He was 89. Those who were in ICRISAT between 1978 and 1986 will fondly remember Herb’s

southern accent and gentle manners as the Institute’s Head of Information Services during that period.

Born in Elrod, North Carolina (NC), Herb earned his bachelor’s degrees in English and Journalism from Wake Forest College in NC, after three years in the Navy as a commissioned officer during World War II. After a year at the Shreveport LA Journal, he joined the Associated Press in 1948 and spent the next 18 years as an editor and reporter, interrupted by two additional years in the Navy during the

Korean War. From 1955 to 1967, he was in charge of the AP’s Annapolis bureau at the Maryland State House. In 1967, Herb became press secretary to Gov. Spiro T. Agnew of Mary land. When Mr. Agnew was elected US Vice President in 1968, Herb became assistant to Nixon Administration Communications Director Herb Klein, then press sec retary to the Vice President, and finally his chief speech writer.

Herb left the White House in 1972 to join the United States Agency for Internation al Development (USAID) as Deputy Director, in Tunis, Tunisia and at its headquarters in Washington until 1977, before joining ICRISAT.

We pray that he rests in peace and that God gives his family – wife Gloria Brocato Thompson; daughters Sheryl Thompson Lawrence and Sally Thompson Stephens; five grandchildren; one great grandchild; two stepsons, Eric Rosenberg and Seth Rosenberg and two step-grandchildren – the strength to overcome their grief. Memorial services were held on 4 June at Foxdale Village and will be held today in Annapolis. g

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ABI-ICRISAT showcased at 4th Global Forum on Innovation &Technology EntrepreneurshipICRISAT’S INNOVATIVE APPROACHES in improving the lives of the dryland poor were showcased at the 4th

Global Forum on Innovation & Technology Entrepreneurship organized by infoDev-World Bank in Helsinki, Finland, on 30 May to 3 June.

This biennial event meant to exchange know-how, establish partnerships and develop innovative approaches, was participated in by AIP’s Kiran Sharma and Karuppanchetty, along with the Agri-Business Incubation’s (ABI) co-business incubation partners from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (Dr Sivasubramaniam, Director; Dr SD Sivakumar, Co-PI; and Mr Bhubesh Kumar, Business Manager).

A case study on ICRISAT’s ABI program was presented, along with case studies from seven other

agribusiness incubators across the world. Karuppanchetty and Bhubesh also took part in a two-day program focusing on training incubator managers in innovation and technology entrepreneurship and best agribusiness management practices.

Karuppanchetty during the session on agribusiness incubation.

Kiran Sharma with the focus group on Community of Practice on Agribusiness.

A Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fair and discussions on the Community of Practice (CoP) forthcoming initiatives in scaling up agribusiness incubators in developing and underdeveloped countries and enhancing the ecosystem for agribusiness entrepreneurs were part of the event, in which about 500 delegates from 90 countries representing entrepreneurs, business incubator managers, policymakers and investors took part.

Incidentally, the Hyderabad-based Nandan BioMatrix, a former client of AIP-ICRISAT, was chosen among the Top 50 global firms for rapid commercialization support by the World Bank. g

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Village-level discussion in Gwarzo.

Community sensitization under HOPE project in Kano, NigeriaAN INCLuSIVE, participatory, people-centered approach that encourages self-help capabilities and creates a feeling of ownership goes a long way towards improving the livelihoods of poor farmers. The community mobilization initiative undertaken recently in Kano, Nigeria, by ICRISAT’s Kano Station under the auspices of the Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) project was meant to achieve this purpose. Led by ICRISAT’sNigeria Country Representative Hakeem Ajeigbe, the activity, a follow-up to the HOPE project Nigeria country planning and review meeting held in Kano last 29-30 March, included two villages each in four Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

Consultative meetings were held with Heads of the Department of Agriculture of LGAs to garner support for ICRISAT activities. As many as 223 farmers participate in the project in 2011, which includes four large-scale sorghum plot management demonstrations, 16 sorghum integrated Striga control demonstrations and 203 sorghum minipacks.

Dr Hakeem took the opportunity to explain the activities that would be of interest to ICRISAT in

the near future. The farmers, while sharing their problems on the challenges faced by climate change and pressure on land use, were enthusiastic about ICRISAT’s research on groundnut, millet and integrated genetic and natural resource management.

The Green Sahel Agricultural and Rural Development Initiative (an NGO based in Jigawa), which collaborated with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and Community-Based Agricultural and Rural Development Project (IFAD-CBARDP) in linking farmers to markets in 2010, will lead the activities in Jigawa state, concentrating on millet.

District Head of Gwarzo SK Bayero welcomed the project. He facilitated discussions and participation of village heads and promised to make his farm available to ICRISAT for demonstrations of any improved agricultural practices that benefit farmers.

In 2010, HOPE project activities were confined to six states of Nigeria. With the establishment of ICRISAT’s Kano station, two new states, Kano and Jigawa, have been included in 2011. g

New publicationAn Economic Assessment of the Potential Benefits of Breeding for Drought Tolerance in Crops: A Case of Groundnut in India. Research Bulletin no. 25. (Order Code RBE025).

Thought for the weekIf something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality.

-Norman Cousins

Visitors’ log14 June: Mr Nitesh Sharma, student from Delhi University.

16 June: Eighteen agricultural officers from Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. g

Agricultural officers from different states of India at the Ragnhild Sohlberg

visitors’ center.