ICRISAT Happenings by ICRISAT

2 December 2011

No. 1495

At the WAF 2011 Congress: (L to R) DG William Dar; Governing Board Chair Nigel Poole; ICAR Deputy Director General for Education, Arvind Kumar; Said Silim; and Peter Ninnes.

At the World Ag Forum 2011 in Brussels

ICRISAT shares solutions to better feed the world, leads session on South-South collaboration As demand for food grows across the world, so do opportunities for business expansion: how then should we re-think agricultural production? The 2011 Congress of the World Agricultural Forum (WAF) with the theme “Re-thinking agriculture to sustain a growing global population” held from 28 November to 1 December in Brussels addressed new ways of feeding the growing global population, and provoked the generation of ideas to solve real problems within a particular political environment.

t the WAF 2011 Congress this week, ICRISAT has been actively engaged in the deliberations on re-thinking the global agricultural systems to better serve the growing global population. The only CGIAR Center invited to the Congress, ICRISAT also organized and led one of the breakout sessions on the theme “The Role of South-South

Partnerships” held in the afternoon of 30 November. The session was moderated by Director General William Dar, with the support of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Deputy Director General for Education, Arvind Kumar. Governing Board Chair Nigel Poole, along with Peter Ninnes, Said Silim and Alina Paul also represented ICRISAT at the Congress. to page 2 ...4

World Ag Forum 2011.... from page 1 A number of key issues raised during the breakout session were particularly relevant to the overall theme of the Congress. At the plenary session, Dr Dar also stimulated some very interesting and lively discussions on the role of smallholder agriculture in producing food to sustain a growing population that will exceed 9 billion people, requiring a 70% increase in food production over the next 40 years. The plenary session concluded that with appropriate technologies and supportive policies that link farmers to markets, food production targets will be met. The critical role of agricultural research in underpinning productivity gains and environmental sustainability was highlighted repeatedly by a range of panelists. The dictum that agriculture in developing countries must be profitable for smallholder farmers and their families was supported by a number of speakers and there was considerable interest in the ICRISAT model of Inclusive MarketOriented Development (IMOD). In addition to the formal sessions of the Congress, ICRISAT was very active in engaging with CEOs and senior staff of a number of large multinational companies. Sandra Peterson, CEO of Bayer CropScience, singled out ICRISAT for further discussions on the subject of research collaboration and other joint activities. Ms Peterson also delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Congress and provided some very compelling reasons to support smallholder agriculture. A number of follow-up action items for further development with companies such as Bayer CropScience, BASF, Monsanto, Novozymes, Syngenta, and others, have been identified and will be pursued by senior management in the coming weeks.

Dr Dar with the CEO of Bayer CropScience, Sandra Peterson.

At the WAF breakout session on “The Role of South-South Partnerships.”

(L to R) Dr Dar; WAF Communication Consultant Evie Soames; 2011 Congress Organization Committee Chairman, Kenneth Baker; Gundumala Thippeswamy, Member of Legislative Council, Anantapur; Maddala Rajesh Kumar, Member of Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh; and N Poole.

Dr Dar, in his presentation at the plenary session, also announced the launch of a fellowship program that will facilitate learning and knowledge exchanges between the private sector and ICRISAT. The concept will be further developed in a few weeks but has already been enthusiastically received by a number of executives in the private sector.

With Andhra Pradesh Principal Secretary of Agriculture, Mr Naggi Reddy (2nd from left) and Prof Aldas Janaiah of ANGRAU (2nd from right).

ICRISAT Happenings 2 December 2011/1495

The next WAF will be held in 2013 and the State of Andhra Pradesh has expressed a strong interest in hosting the event. This week’s meeting in Brussels is the first time it has been held outside the USA. g

Agro-biodiversity for climate change resilience

CODE-WA project evaluation workshop held in Mali Thirty-two-year-old Safia Sena, a confident woman farmer from Ghana and a mother of five sees a better future for herself as a leader in her community, thanks to the CODE-WA (Community management of agrobiodiversity to improve resilience, yield stability and income generation in the West African climate change) project. “The project enabled us to test improved seed varieties adapted to our climate. Also, I can now confidently share my thoughts while attending meetings with men,” she says.

afia was speaking at the CODE-WA project partners’ final evaluation workshop on 21-25 November in Mali, where 26 participants (researchers, graduate students and representatives from farmer organizations) from Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana participated. Thanking the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for funding the project within the initiative “Adaptation of African Agriculture to Climate Change,” WCA Director Farid Waliyar said, “Our role as researchers is to understand and explore how to enrich the portfolio of tools for farmers with more options for managing genetic and natural resources.” The CODE-WA project has helped improve understanding of local climate variability and change in West Africa. It has characterized farmers’ agro-biodiversity management across heterogeneous communities and regions. It has also promoted new integrated genetic and natural resource management (IGNRM) options for enhanced and sustainable production systems diversification; modeling tools to improve varietal adaptation maps; and enhanced researcher-farmer and farmer-farmer linkages and knowledge exchange. Among the project’s innovations are the development of diagnostic climate charts for project sites; use of

Safia Sena (extreme right) and other farmer participants during a field visit in sorghum demonstration plots at Mali.

satellite images to map and understand farmer diversity management; opposite pyramid approach for the efficient introduction of new diversification options; and wood-ash microdosing and seed soaking as simple, farmer-affordable means to achieve better early-season plant establishment. Ali Maman Aminou of Fuma Gaskiya, a farmer organization in Niger said CODE-WA had enabled them to meet other farmer organizations in Mali, Fuma and Ghana, exposing them to new technologies and crops. “We have learned about processing methods like soja from the Ghana farmer organization. Our own farmer organization, on the other hand, has created a community radio which is now used to share information about agricultural innovations,” he said. The participants thanked ICRISAT and project coordinator Dr Ludger Herrmann, University of Hohenheim, Germany, for their cooperation during the last four years of project implementation. g

Annual Day to be held on 9 December ICRISAT’s 39th Anniversary will be celebrated on 9 December, Friday, with an Annual Day program at 2:00-4:00 pm. Dr Jian Wang, President of the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), Shenzen (China) will participate in the celebration as Guest and also receive the Most Outstanding Partner Award. Meanwhile, the Loyalty Awards ceremony will be held on 8 December, Thursday, 10:00-11:00 am. A total of 164 employees (122 from Patancheru, 23 from WCA and 19 from ESA) will be receiving Loyalty Awards, of which 62 are 35-year awardees from Patancheru. Other awards like the Doreen Mashler Award and the Science Awards will be presented during the Annual Day program. g ICRISAT Happenings 2 December 2011/1495

Stakeholders’ workshop on sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut value chain development held in Nigeria

three-day stakeholder workshop on sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut value chain development in Nigeria was organized by ICRISAT Kano, Nigeria on 23-25 November at the Tahir Guest Place Hotel, Kano. Organized under the auspices of ICRISATHOPE and WASA-SP projects, the workshop was led by ICRISAT Country Representative Hakeem A Ajeigbe, ICRISAT-HOPE Regional Coordinator (Objectives 1 and 5) Jupiter Ndjeunga, and WASA National Coordinator in Nigeria Lawrence Fadjana.

Kano State Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources,

Baraka Sani delivering her opening address during the stakeholders’ The workshop was attended by more than workshop. 75 value chain participants from the policy and institutional fields and business and enterprises; need for further research on highdevelopment services; direct value chain actors; yielding sorghum varieties suitable for malting and representatives of sorghum, pearl millet and poultry feed; and strategies for linking processors to groundnut farmers’ associations in Nigeria; supermarkets and potential large outlets. processors, biscuit manufacturers, oil millers, and Kano’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural machine fabricator; and representative of Dawanu Resources Baraka Sani gave the opening speech, market, the largest cereal market in West Africa. followed by Hakeem Ajeigbe’s welcome remarks. Also present were the Director of Lake Chad The workshop saw presentations on the Research Institute (LCRI); representatives of the opportunities and constraints facing value chain Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), Kano State actors and their roles and group sessions clustered Agricultural and Rural Development Authority by commodity to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, (KNARDA), Katsina State Agricultural and Rural opportunities and threats (SWOT) of each of the Development Authority (KTARDA), Jigawa State three commodity chains. Agricultural and Rural Development Authority Among the major issues raised at the workshop (JARDA); the Director of Commerce, Kano State were: lack of consistent and reliable supply of raw Ministry of Commerce Alh Kabir; Team Leader of the grains; low access to credit; limited knowledge of Nigeria Sorghum Transformation Program in Nigeria agribusiness and marketing skills; poor quality Prof Obilana; and the President of North West standards for processed products; difficulties in Agro-Input Dealer Association (NOWAIDA) Alh registration and accreditation of small agroSaidu Zakari. g

2011 EPaD briefings for scientists and managers A total of 39 scientists and managers attended the Employee Performance and Development (EPaD) briefing in Patancheru on 29 November, part of a series of sessions to ensure a smooth transition to the new competency-based performance review. During the session, HR&O Director Hector Hernandez explained the important steps to capture year-end achievements of individual work-plan targets for the year, and the rating process by the supervisor(s). More EPaD briefings are scheduled on 6 December at Patancheru and on 7 December in Nairobi for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA). g 4

ICRISAT Happenings 2 December 2011/1495

H Hernandez during the EPaD briefing.

Volunteers of the National Service of Participation visit ICRISAT-Sadoré

CRISAT-Sadoré played host to 33 volunteers and 15 trainers of the National Service of Participation on 24 November. The Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment prepares these youngsters to play an active role in agro-sylvopastoralism. The West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA) took this opportunity to explain seed production procedures and practices and impart training in agribusiness with the hope that these youngsters will return to their respective villages to advice producers and become seed sellers themselves. WASA intends to aid them in building seed distribution networks in their respective villages. g

Ignatius Angarawai (ICRISAT, Visiting scientist) briefing volunteers and trainees during a field visit at Sadoré.

Peace Corps future volunteers visit ICRISAT-Samanko

ixteen American citizens training to be Peace Corps volunteers visited ICRISAT Mali on 30 November. The visit aimed to expose the volunteers to the villages where they will undertake missions on health, nutrition and other development issues in the next two years. The volunteers were received by Bonny Ntare, Assistant Regional Director, WCA. They were taken to sorghum demonstration fields and briefed about ICRISAT’s missions and objectives, research on

groundnut, aflatoxin and methods of Striga control, and soil fertility management. There were also presentations on mini-packs of seed varieties and adaptation trials of cereal varieties developed by ICRISAT. Currently, 165 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in Mali, working in the areas of non-formal education, environmental and agricultural conservation, health and HIV/AIDS awareness, water sanitation and hygiene promotion, and business development. g

(Left photo) Peace Corps volunteers at ICRISAT-Samanko. (Right photo) Volunteers having a look at the demo on extraction of sweet sorghum at Mali.

ICRISAT Happenings 2 December 2011/1495

Risk and crisis management workshop

one-day workshop on “Risk and Crisis Management” was organized at ICRISAT-Patancheru on 30 November to sensitize senior scientists and managers about current and emerging security scenarios and preparedness and hands-on skills in effectively coping with challenging or life-threatening situations and incident responses. The workshop was conducted by FITCOMB, a professional protection consultant with international expertise led by Capt Jaipreet Joshi and Arun Kumar.

Participants of the workshop at Patancheru.

HR&O Director Hector Hernandez in his opening remarks emphasized the importance of the program and the need to be adequately aware, prepared, and trained to handle any challenging situation that may arise anytime. The interactive workshop exposed 36 participants to experiential learning with a mix of lectures, presentations, demonstrations, real-life simulations and hands-on practice. They especially appreciated the practical sessions on threat identification and ‘do or die’ techniques of self-protection and basic defense against sharp-edged weapons and firearms; kidnapping/abduction, holds, chokes, grabs and lifts; and neutralizing road rage. Other important areas

ICRISAT staff during training on self defense.

covered include understanding criminal psychology and overcoming fear, surviving terror attacks/bomb blasts, third party protection, and being proactive; and essential home security tips and solutions. g

Safety Awareness Program at Patancheru The Environment, Health and Safety Committee (EHSC) conducted a one-day Safety Awareness

ICRISAT staff during the hands-on training on extinguishing fire.

ICRISAT Happenings 2 December 2011/1495

Program for 36 new staff of ICRISAT and hosted organizations at ICRISAT-Patancheru on 28 November. The topics covered included risk mitigation and reduction measures and policies; fire safety and emergency response; farm, engineering and workshop safety; electrical, transportation, and chemicals/laboratory safety; and first aid and medical emergencies. According to HR&O Director Hector Hernandez, ICRISAT advocates a policy of Zero Tolerance to safety violations, and encourages each staff member to follow safety rules, procedures and practices meticulously. In his opening remarks, DDG-R Dave Hoisington stressed the Institute’s commitment to safety based on the two golden principles of Safety First and Safety is Everybody’s Business. g

Recent papers published by ICRISAT scientists ¡ Gopalakrishnan S, Rao GVR, Humayun P, Rao VR, Alekhya G, Jacob S, Deepthi K, Sree Vidya M, Srinivas V, Mamatha L and Rupela OP. 2011. Efficacy of botanical extracts and entomopathogens on control of Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura. African Journal of Biotechnology 10 (73):16667-16673. ISSN 1684-5315. ¡ Pathak P, Wani SP and Sudi R. 2011. Longterm effects of management systems on crop yield and soil physical properties of semi-arid tropics of Vertisols. Agricultural Sciences 2 (4): 435-442. ISSN 2156-8553. ¡ Harish BG, Nagaraj N, Chandrakanth MG, Srikantha Murthy PS, Chengappa PG and Basavaraj G. 2011. Impacts and implications of MGNREGA on labour supply and income generation for agriculture in Central Dry

Zone of Karnataka. Agricultural Economics Research Review 485-494. ISSN 0974-0279. ¡ Gautami B, Pandey MK, Vadez V, Nigam SN, Ratnakumar P, Krishnamurthy L, Radhakrishnan T, Gowda MVC, Narasu ML, Hoisington DA, Knapp SJ and Varshney RK. 2011. Quantitative trait locus analysis and construction of consensus genetic map for drought tolerance traits based on three recombinant inbred line populations in cultivated groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Molecular Breeding 1-16. ISSN 1572-9788. ¡ Varshney RK, Paulo MJ, Grando S, Eeuwijk FA van, Keizer LCP, Ceccarelli S, Kilian A, Baum M and Graner A. 2012. Genome wide association analyses for drought tolerance related traits in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Field Crops Research 126 (1):171-180.

World AIDS Day On the occasion of World AIDS Day, HeadMedical Services Dr CN Reddy, delivered a health awareness lecture to the Temporary Farm Labor (TFL), explaining the modes of transmission of HIV/ AIDS, the effect of the disease and preventive measures. He impressed upon them the need to insist on the use of a fresh syringe while being injected and also that men should ask for a new blade while visiting hair cutting saloons. Educational leaflets on HIV/AIDS were also distributed on the occasion. g Dr CN Reddy delivering a health awareness lecture to TFL.

New publication The Journal of SAT Agricultural Research, Vol. 9 (2011) is available online @ http://ejournal.icrisat.org

‘Tis Christmas again! Christmas is the time for joy and peace. Everyone is invited to join the Christmas Carols program on 8 December at the RW Auditorium from 1215 to 1315 hrs, to be followed by lunch. A special speaker and a musical team will be performing. g ICRISAT Happenings 2 December 2011/1495

New positions The following have been appointed to new positions (SMG cadre):

DVSSR Sastry (Lead Scientific Officer) – Manager, Genebank Seed Laboratory

K Narsimha Reddy (Lead Scientific Officer) – Manager, Germplasm Conservation

Shivali Sharma (Visiting Scientist) – Scientist, Genetic Resources

D Kumaracharyulu (Visiting Scientist, RP-MIP) – ScientistAgricultural Economics

Visitors’ log 28 November: One hundred and fifty students from St. Joseph’s high school, Patancheru. 29 November: Fifty-two biotechnology students from RRS College of Engineering and Technology, Patancheru; and 23 participants of the International Training Program on Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods from NIRD.

30 November: Hon. Senator Dansadau Saidu Muhammed, Chairman and Ibrahim Abdullah, Managing Director, Maslah Seeds, Nigeria; and 60 students from Vignan Junior college, Shadnagar. 01 December: A team of scientist from Rothamsted Experimental station, UK. 02 December: Forty-two office bearers of Pani Panchayat from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.

Thought for the week Neither can embellishments of language be found without arrangement and expression of thoughts, nor can thoughts be made to shine without the light of language. - Cicero