ICRISAT 2013 Calendar2

Innovating Against Poverty and Hunger 2013 Calendar

Offices: ICRISAT-Patancheru India (Headquarters)

ICRISAT-Nairobi Kenya (Regional hub, Eastern and Southern Africa)

ICRISAT-Bamako Mali (Regional hub, West and Central Africa)

ICRISAT-Niamey Niger

ICRISAT-Bulawayo Zimbabwe

ICRISAT-Lilongwe Malawi

Science with a human face

www.icrisat.org

ICRISAT-Maputo Mozambique

ICRISAT-Kano Nigeria

Innovating Against Poverty and Hunger ICRISAT 2013 Calendar

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his calendar is an exhibition of images illustrating the impact of science-based agricultural innovations in improving livelihoods and attaining food and nutrition security of smallholder farmers in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Research for the poor The calendar covers the research for development (R4D) initiatives of ICRISAT and partners in ensuring successful solutions to help poor farmers in the drylands grow more and diverse food, sell surpluses at the market, have a harvest even when rainfall is unpredictable or scarce and resist pest attacks. The images take us from India to Mali, via the Ethiopian highlands, where farmers like Niruji, Temegnush and Bedilu, the faces of smallholder agriculture, show us what impact agricultural innovation has had on their farm and household food security.

Partnerships ICRISAT works closely with farmers, local governments, national research institutions, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), development agencies and the private sector to make innovations accessible even to remote farming communities. The farmer is firmly at the center of R4D initiatives which means that their feedback is integrated and successful solutions are more easily adopted by them. Best practices and tools are spread through communities using creative approaches such as small seed or fertilizer packets, farmerto-farmer videos and self-help group networks.

About ICRISAT The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a nonprofit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.

ICRISAT is headquartered in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, with two regional hubs and five country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the CGIAR Consortium.

Our Vision: A prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. Our Mission: To reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. Our Goal: Partnership-based international agricultural research-for-development that embodies Science with a human face. Our Approach: Inclusive Market-Oriented Development (IMOD).

Science with a human face

A member of the CGIAR Consortium

Photo: Alina Paul-Bossuet (ICRISAT)

Bounty harvest Having access to drought tolerant and high yielding chickpea varieties has led to bumper harvests for Ethiopian farmers. ICRISAT is working with national research and government partners to promote drought-tolerant chickpea varieties that also help diversify production and improve soil fertility.

Photo: Alina Paul-Bossuet (ICRISAT)

January 2013

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Better lives through better seeds Temegnush Dhabi, a widow with six children, took part in ICRISAT research trials to test how well the drought and pest resistant varieties of chickpea grew in her fields. She chose to cultivate the successful seeds and has had high yields over the last four years.

Photo: Alina Paul-Bossuet (ICRISAT)

February 2013

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Nutrition security from biofortified cereals In Southern Mali, the total energy intake of children and mothers mostly comes from cereals like sorghum.

ICRISAT and partners studied options to enhance grain iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in sorghum, and conducted test varieties by women farmers in the Mande and Dioila zones. Biofortified sorghum, with its drought resilience and suitability to a variety of product preparations, can contribute to the food and nutrient security of farming communities.

Photo: Vera Lugutuah (ICRISAT)

March 2013

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Meeting market demand Improved varieties (drought tolerant, high yielding, pest resistant) of leguminous crops are spread through local communities via farmers like Bedilu who has been trained by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIARS) and ICRISAT to produce certified seeds. He then works with neighboring farmers to demonstrate best farm management with these improved varieties.

Photo: Alina Paul-Bossuet (ICRISAT)

April 2013

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Orphan crops no more ‘Orphan’ or neglected crops like pearl millet can have a vital role in food security. ICRISAT and partners have developed and promoted the use of varieties of pearl millet resistant to downy mildew, minimizing losses if a crop is infected by the fungus. In India, downy mildew resistant pearl millet has a high social impact as the food security of thousands of families depends on its harvests.

Photo: PS Rao (ICRISAT)

May 2013

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Fighting aflatoxin Aflatoxin is a fungus that affects the health, harvests and incomes of smallholder groundnut (peanut) farmers.

ICRISAT supported the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) to use better and low-cost aflatoxin management techniques to supply high-quality peanuts to UK supermarkets and develop a booming fair trade business.

Photo: Swathi Sridharan (ICRISAT)

June 2013

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Empowering women Priscilla Mutie from Muuni village in Eastern Kenya shells pigeonpea to get a better price at the market. Women make up the majority of smallholder farmers. ICRISAT and partners focus on gender specific aspects of tropical legume production, marketing and consumption.

This is in recognition of the vital role women play in increasing incomes and improving food security in farming communities.

Photo: Swathi Sridharan (ICRISAT)

July 2013

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Small pack revolution ICRISAT and donors have supported seed entrepreneurs in developing and marketing small trial packs of improved seeds to help smallholder farmers access high-yielding and better-adapted varieties, such as women farmers in Dialakoroba near Bamako, Mali. The successful harvests farmers have had suggests that food security could be better achieved if quality seeds are made more available for them to grow.

Photo: Alina Paul-Bossuet (ICRISAT)

August 2013

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Saving and investing Boochetana – ICRISAT’s farmer participatory program on natural resource management in collaboration with local partners – has substantially reduced yield gaps and improved livelihoods of millions of farmers in India. The program’s self-help groups enable women to access credit and adopt innovations. Niruji, on the left, obtained a loan from her group savings scheme to set up a tree nursery and invest in her fields.

Photo: Alina Paul-Bossuet (ICRISAT)

September 2013

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Worm power Improving soil fertility through simple ecological methods such as vermicomposting, is an essential step to increase yields in a sustainable way.

Under the Bhoochetana program, ICRISAT is working with the government, local farm centers, NGOs and farmers in many Indian villages to improve soil and water management and increase yields.

Photo: Jerome Bossuet (ICRISAT)

October 2013

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Bringing science to life: farmers on film Farmer–to-farmer videos enable farmers to teach and learn from each other, increase their capacity to innovate through enhanced skills and knowledge, and improve extension services within rural communities. ICRISAT and partners in Niger, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali trained and assisted farmers in producing farmer-to-farmer videos on “Fighting Striga” (or witchweed, one of the world’s most troublesome weeds). Covering practical and profitable Striga and soil fertility practices for pearl millet and sorghum, the videos are now widely disseminated and used in farmer field schools and farmer exchange visits.

Photo: Marcella Vrolijks

November 2013

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Creating a better future The challenge is to ensure that agricultural innovations help the tropical dryland poor grow their way out of hunger and poverty through inclusive, market-oriented agriculture – linking farmers to markets and benefiting women and children and other less empowered members of rural communities. Making these innovations accessible and acceptable to all, and ensuring that the impact is sustainable will create better opportunities for the next generation.

Photo shows children in Sadore, Niger learning to grow vegetables under the “Farmers of the Future� (FoF) program for the long-term sustainability of the African Market Garden (AMG).

December 2013

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