ICRISAT HappeningS

11 January 2013

No. 1553

Participants of the pre-planning meeting of consortium partners of the Water4Crops (India-EU) project at Patancheru.

Water, agriculture and rural livelihoods

ICRISAT ventures into recycling waste water for agricultural use The lack of adequate water is linked to poverty – and innovations to address the problem of rural poverty by improving water availability particularly for agricultural use can translate into significant economic and social benefits.

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ollowing successes with rainwater harvesting and management, ICRISAT’s watershed team is making inroads into recycling industrial and domestic waste water for agricultural use to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor in the semi-arid tropics.

– state agricultural universities, national institutes like The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and private industrial partners.

As part of this, a pre-planning meeting of consortium partners of the project “Integrating bio-treated wastewater reuse with enhanced water-use efficiency to support the green economy in EU and India”, also known as Water4Crops (India-EU Project), was held on 8-9 January at the ICRISAT headquarters in Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India.

The EU-Indian consortium comprises of 14 partners

The project will primarily aim to develop and demonstrate integrated treatment processes for agro-food industry effluents targeted at recovery of economically useful components; enhance wateruse efficiency through improved irrigation systems, agronomic practices and using validated simulation models; and assess impacts of treated wastewater. to page 2 ...4

ICRISAT ventures into recycling waste water....from page 1 The project will also look into increasing saline wastewater use efficiency; mapping and characterizing quantitative trait loci (QTL) for drought tolerance related traits in maize, sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea and tomato; improving drought adaptation using marker-assisted breeding and trait-based selection approaches in the said crops; and evaluating and optimizing the proposed combinations of bio-treatment and wastewater reuse to support green growth and to boost interaction between knowledge organizations and industries of the European and Indian parties.

(L-R) DL Savithramma, Professor & Head, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, UAS, Bengaluru; Pooran Gaur; Meenakshi Sharma, Vice President, Sustainability and Communications, SAB Miller India; and SP Wani at the meeting.

Detailed work plans being prepared will be used for discussions during the project’s formal kick-off

meeting of the India-EU consortium partners on 28-30 January. g

Training conducted on sustainability, marketing and policy in biofuel systems

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nder the Indo-US Joint Clean Energy Development Centre project “Development of sustainable advanced lignocellulosic biofuel systems,” scientists from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), ICRISAT, Virginia Tech and Abellon Clean Energy Ltd conducted a training program on “Sustainability, Marketing and Policy” in biofuel systems on 3-4 January at IICT, Hyderabad.

The activity was attended by 24 participants from 8 public sector organizations and 2 private companies.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr Ahmed Kamal, IICT Acting Director and the project’s Coordinator. Janaki Alvalapati (Virginia Tech, USA) spoke on work package challenges, profitability analysis, and energy scenario in the Americas; P Srinivasa Rao (ICRISAT) on project target ecologies; Pankaj Lal (Montclair University, USA) on profitability analysis and supply chain management;

Participants of the training program held at IICT, Hyderabad.

and Beena Patel (Abellon Clean Energy) on certification protocols and sustainability standards.

Also discussed were mechanics of life cycle analysis (LCA); LCA case study on energy and emissions estimations; regional impact analysis; and feedstock supply chain management. g

Cricket league matches begin

ISRC’s T-20 cricket league matches began on 5 January with the first match between Devil’s XI and Rider’s XI. Batting first, Rider’s XI scored 134 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to some steady batting by Suresh (31 runs) and Das (22 runs). KDV Prasad bowled well to claim 3 for 15. In reply, Devil’s XI Ramesh (33 runs) waged a lone battle, and the team lost the match by 7 runs. T Muralidhar (2 for 13 and Das 2 for 21) restricted the opponents.

In the afternoon, Charger’s XI confronted ISH XI. Charger’s XI Winners: The Charger’s XI team. comfortably won against ISH XI, with Ramesh Babu, Chavan and Yadi Reddy claiming 2 wickets each. Batting first, ISH were all out for a meager 68 runs. Charger’s XI finished the match in 7.3 overs, losing a lone wicket. Upender remained unbeaten on 46 runs.

Come cheer the players in the next round of matches on 19 January. g 2

ICRISAT Happenings 11 January 2013/1553

Building resilience against drought in Karnataka

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s part of the Government of Karnataka (GoK)-CGIAR Consortium initiative to help small and marginal farmers in the state build resilience against frequently occurring drought, a two-day workshop was held on 3-4 January at the Department of Agriculture (DoA), Bengaluru, to map out detailed plans for four benchmark locations in Tumkur, Raichur, Bijapur and Chikkmagalur.

Participants of the workshop held at the DoA, Karnataka, Bengaluru.

Under the GoK-CGIAR initiative, seven members of the CGIAR Consortium have joined hands to provide technical support in establishing the four benchmark sites in Karnataka, based on the success of the Bhoochetana program, as the state’s flagship initiative on science-based agricultural development.

In his inaugural address, Dr Kaushik Mukherjee, Additional Chief Secretary & Development Commissioner, GoK stressed the need for science innovations to benefit farmers. He also spoke on how the CGIAR centers could together contribute significantly through convergence of technologies.

Dr Sarvesh, Director of Agriculture, explained how the GoK-CGIAR initiative will increase the overall productivity of agriculture towards improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the state.

ICRISAT’s Dr SP Wani, the consortium coordinator, said that the main outputs of this partnership would be to increase agricultural productivity by 20% and

ICRISAT at the Indian Science Congress An invited lecture on “Unlocking the Potential of Rainfed Agriculture for Evergreen Revolution” was presented by Dr SP Wani at the centenary celebrations of the Indian Science Congress held in Kolkata, India, on 3-7 January. The lecture was presented in the session on Agriculture and Forestry featuring topics such as: innovating agriculture for shaping the future of India; and towards an evergreen revolution.

The Congress’ centenary theme on “Science for shaping the future of India” saw over 15,000 participants from across the globe. g

family incomes by 25% at the benchmark sites, which would be developed into micro-watersheds.

Highlighting Bhoochetana’s benefits, Dr KV Raju, Economic Advisor to the Karnataka Chief Minister acknowledged the ICRISAT-led CGIAR consortium for setting up the benchmark sites. The consortium partners identified the locations and potential interventions and will meet soon at ICRISAT to plan the detailed activities and logistical support.

Participants of the workshop included representatives from DoA line departments, the district administration, state agricultural universities, CGIAR Consortium Centers [International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) and ICRISAT], and AVRDC The World Vegetable Center. g

Visitors’ log 7 January: Twenty (20) trainees from the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) visited ICRISAT and the Adarsha Kothapally watershed.

8 January: Dr T Nagendra Rao and his colleagues from Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (NFCL); and 60 students from Sanga Reddy district.

9 January: Mr Chandrashekhar and 12 farmers from Block Development of Agriculture, Karnataka.

10 January: Thirty farmers from Raichur district, Karnataka.

ICRISAT Happenings 11 January 2013/1553

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Welcome!

Dr Stefania Grando, an Italian national, joined as Research Program Director – Dryland Cereals, ICRISAT-Patancheru, on 7 January. She has a PhD in Productivity of Crop Plants/ Plant Breeding from the University of Perugia, Italy. She worked as CGIAR Research Program (CRP) Program Officer, CGIAR Consortium, Montpellier, before joining ICRISAT. Stefania also worked at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) as Barley Breeder and Barley Program Manager before joining the CGIAR Consortium Office. She has several refereed journal articles, book chapters, conference papers and non-refereed journal articles to her credit.

Dr KAVS Krishna Mohan, an Indian national, joined as Special Project Scientist – Computational Genomics, Centre of Excellence in Genomics (CEG), ICRISAT- Patancheru, on 7 January. He has a PhD in Biotechnology from Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India.

He worked as Senior Scientist in Genotypic Technology Private Limited, Bengaluru, India, before joining ICRISAT. We welcome Stefania and Krishna Mohan to Team ICRISAT and wish them all success. g

Congratulations!

Dr Rachit Saxena, Scientist (Applied Genomics), has been awarded the Young Scientist Medal 2012 by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) based on his significant contribution to the Rachit Saxena receiving a development and certificate from Dr Krishan Lal, application of modern President, INSA. genomic tools for pigeonpea improvement. The award is conferred on scientists under 35 with notable research contribution to science and technology.

1 January 2013. Dr Mark A Brick, President of CSSA made this appointment in recognition of Dr Upadhyaya’s outstanding scientific achievements and contribution to international agricultural research.

Dr Hari D Upadhyaya, Assistant Research Program Director - Grain Legumes, has been appointed to the Seed Science Award Committee of the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) for two years starting

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.

– Albert Einstein

Dr Anjani Kumar, Principal Scientist, Research Program on Markets, Institutions and Policies (MIP) has been elected Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) of India effective January 2013. The fellowship was conferred on him in recognition of his research contribution in the social sciences. g

Thought for the week