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25) Sparking a Grey-to-Green Revolution for Dry Areas (28 April 2001)

28 Years of ICRISAT's Partnership-Based Research across the Semi-Arid Tropics

The dry tropics represent one of the harshest ecological zones of the world, where food production is an unpredictableenterprise. The region is home to hundreds of millions of desperately poor Africans and Asians. Most of the poor are in SouthAsia, where the population is expected to increase by about 1.4 billion over 1990-2020. Sometimes they are called the greyareas, because their thirsty soils look are dry and dusty, leaving their peoples grey with despair.

ICRISAT's research is targeted at the smallholders who scratch out a living from these dry areas. They have been mostlybypassed by the Green Revolution of the 1960s/70s that depended on reliable irrigation and high fertilizer applications todouble or triple production.

To help the poor of the dry areas from being left behind, ICRISAT adopted a different strategy, explains Dr. William D. Dar,Director General. Rather than adapting the environment to the crops, which would be beyond the means of the resource-

poor farmers of the dry tropics, ICRISAT and its partners are helping them adapt the crop to their environments. By makingmore efficient use of what they have, they can turn these grey areas green. They can conserve and use water moreefficiently, plant crops that make their own fertilizer, use modern varieties of crops that mature quickly before the droughtsets in, add new high-value crops or varieties into their farming systems, and use varieties that resist insects and diseasesso they don't have to spend so much of their small household incomes on dangerous pesticides, he said. And by reducingfarming costs, these methods make farmers more economically competitive in this day and age of free trade.

At a time when there is increasing concern about water scarcity and loss of arable land, ICRISAT's research has shown thatwith improved watershed management technology, soil loss can be reduced by 60-75%, and rainwater loss through runoffby 50-60% - while quadrupling food production. By managing these watersheds well, farmers can diversify the types ofcrops they grow, stretching out their income-earning activity to cover a larger part of the year and getting more cash fromhigher-value crops.

Similarly, by breeding crops that mature more quickly, ICRISAT and partners have given farmers new options to more fully

utilize the moisture left in the soil after the main crop putting two crops where once there was one. Extra-quick maturingchickpea (chana) varieties were introduced as a second crop planted immediately after rice in the Barind zone ofBangladesh. They grow during the nearly rainless season after their rice has been harvested. And village women are happyto be able to pluck the chickpea leaflets - consumed locally as a green vegetable and yielding hard cash. The potential forgrowing chickpea in fallows after rice in this manner across Asia is vast: about 14 million hectares are potentially suitable.

Soil fertility need not equate to costly fertilizer investments. In Vietnam, farmers are amazed that they can now obtaingroundnut or peanut (mungphali) yields up to 1.5 tons per hectare, compared to 10 years ago when they were getting onlyabout 700-800 kilograms. A new substitute fertilizer developed through scientific partnership is one of the key factors. And

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in Niger, Africa, farmers have found that they can increase millet production by 50 to 100 percent using tiny micro-doses offertilizer measured out with bottle caps! working out to application rates less than a tenth of those used in developedcountries.

Research is also finding local resources and indigenous knowledge that can empower farmers to be able to control pests anddiseases with greatly reduced or no pesticide applications, saving large amounts of money and protecting their health. Forexample, the Ashta village in Maharashtra has become a role model for IPM, because the entire village has adopted

integrated pest management (IPM) technology to eliminate their use of toxic, costly insecticides and have not used even asingle spray of chemical insecticide for the past three years.

Just yesterday, ICRISAT announced a major breakthrough that can help farmers reduce pesticide costs and risks over time.With the National Bureau of Plant and Genetic Resources (NBPGR) and Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU),ICRISAT researchers have discovered the cause of a major new disease that ravaged the world's largest groundnut-growingregion last year, the Ananthapur and Kurnool Districts of Andhra Pradesh. They have now proven that the new disease,called Peanut Stem Necrosis Disease' or PSND, is caused by the Tobacco Streak Virus' (TSV). This will pave the way for the

creation of resistant varieties.

Products of innovative partnership between ICRISAT, ICAR, and the private sector have greatly benefited farmers ofNizamabad District in Andhra Pradesh, the national hub for pearl millet (bajra) hybrid seed production of India, accountingfor about 80% of the total pearl millet hybrid seed requirement in the country. At least 80% of the hybrid seed produced inNizamabad is based on breeding lines that derive directly or indirectly from ICRISAT's breeding research. A recent survey

reported that about 40 000 acres, spread over 80 villages in the Nizamabad District are devoted to hybrid pearl millet seedproduction, with annual profits estimated at about US$ 8 million. Farmers in Ankapur village, which is today a thriving centerfor production of hybrid pearl millet seeds in the District had little hope of a bright future 10 years ago. Now they are earningnet profits of Rs 9000-10 000 (about US$ 200) per acre by producing seeds of pearl millet hybrids.Building on the past 28 years of partnership-based effort, ICRISAT has been quietly making such a difference to the lives ofrural poor in the dry tropics and a continuous stream of proven technologies is flowing from the Institute to farms in Asiaand Africa.

Dr. Dar said, So far, more than 400 improved varieties have been released by developing countries in the dry tropics based

on ICRISAT germplasm. These varieties are a result of intensive multi-year, multi-location selection for combinations ofhigher yield, earlier maturity, good environmental adaptation, pest and disease resistance, and good product quality. Theyare a vital component of the engine of rural development, helping farmers feed their families, enhance and stabilize theirincomes, and contribute to national development.

One of the most popular traits of these improved varieties for the farmers of the dry tropics has been early maturity,because the early-maturing varieties stabilize yields by avoiding drought, and enhance income by capturing peak pricesbefore the main crop hits the market. ICRISAT breeders, working jointly with partners, have been able to greatly compressthe life cycle of all five of the Institute's mandate crops.

Early maturity allows crops, especially legumes, to be able to be inserted into rotation patterns previously dominated by asingle cereal crop each year - magnifying land and labor use efficiency.

ICRISAT's work also helps build the global knowledge base and find solutions for major environmental worries such as globalwarming. A recent U.N. report on global warming highlighted that its consequences would especially hurt the poor of thedeveloping world, who have little means to cope. Long-term experiments by ICRISAT revealed that improved soilmanagement practices can increase carbon sequestration by an average of 335 kilograms of carbon per hectare per year,cleaning the atmosphere of this warming agent. Excited by these findings, the Government of India is now funding a 3-year

project on 'Identifying systems for carbon sequestration and increased productivity in semi-arid tropical environments',engaging ICRISAT and three member institutions of the Indian Council on Agricultural Research - the Central ResearchInstitute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), the Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISS), and the National Bureau of Soil Surveyand Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP).

With its new vision of Science with a Human Face, ICRISAT is tailoring its research to address and resolve real humanneeds: reduce poverty, hunger, and environmental degradation across the dry tropics of the world.

In Asia, ICRISAT's research impacts have spread through the Cereals and Legumes Asia Network (CLAN) coordinated from

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Research at ICRISAT has made significant advances in breeding high-yielding, early-maturing varieties of itsmandated crops and has identified solutions to many production management problems. It has developed manyimproved technologies that have been adapted to fit the needs of poor farmers in Asian countries. This is shownby the significant increases (10-100%) in yields of major cereals and grain legumes.

Acknowledging that such success was only possible because of steadfast long-term support from ICRISAT's developmentinvestors, ICRISAT Director General Dr William D. Dar, said, Benefits from this research reach millions of poor households

in terms of better nutrition, more cash for children's education, extra income to reinvest in the farm, and lower food pricesfor consumers. He added that these payoffs did not take into account the other benefits gained from increased scientificknowledge and the development of networks and partnerships.

by ICRISAT. All rights reserved.