ICRISAT Happenings (01-October-2014)

ICRISAT

Happenings Newsletter

1 October 2014 No. 1643

Photo: A Pal, ICRISAT

Dr William Dar receiving the Agriculture Leadership Award 2014 from Hon. PJ Kurien, the Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha, India, in the presence of Prof MS Swaminathan; Dr MJ Khan, Chief Editor, Agriculture Today (extreme right); Dr Harak Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand Minister (extreme left); and Mrs Betty Dar.

ICRISAT Director General honored with Life Time Achievement Award

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n recognition of his relentless efforts to improve the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, Dr William D Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, was conferred the prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award 2014 (Life Time Achievements) at the 7th Agriculture Leadership Summit, held in New Delhi on 27 September.

Under the Chairmanship of Prof MS Swaminathan, the Father of India’s Green Revolution, the National Organising Committee of the Agriculture Leadership Awards 2014, conferred the honor on Dr Dar for his exceptional service to society through science with a human face. His pioneering work in dryland agriculture spanning over four decades towards empowering farm and farmers through agricultural research, extension, technology development, partnerships and international cooperation,

positively impacted the lives of a large number of farmers in India and beyond.

“The survival of one billion people – the weakest and most vulnerable on the planet, the forgotten poor – will depend upon us finding answers to hunger, poverty and malnutrition. I humbly dedicate this Life Time Achievement Award to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa,” Dr Dar said after receiving the award.

Dr Dar, an accomplished researcher, science leader and administrator, now joins an illustrious list of past recipients of the award that includes Dr Verghese Kurien, the Father of India’s White Revolution; Dr RS Paroda, the former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Dr RB Singh, Chancellor of the Central Agriculture University; Dr Prem Lal Gautam, Chairperson, Protection of Plant to page 2 ...4

ICRISAT Director General honored... from page 1 Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority; and Dr Amrita Patel, Chair, National Dairy Development Board.

Dr Dar’s dynamic and visionary leadership of ICRISAT fostered science with a human face, and, with a global network of partners, the Institute is advancing Inclusive Market-Oriented Development (IMOD) for the smallholder farmers of the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. ICRISAT’s research agenda is now more focused, decentralized and regionally targeted; projects are more sharply formulated and implemented addressing smallholder farmers concerns, major crop and system issues and opportunities. Dr Dar’s transformational leadership has shaped ICRISAT into a forward looking institution.

“Our shared vision for smallholder farmers is: Empowered, Resilient, Productive and Prosperous,” Dr Dar said.

In April 2010, ICRISAT led by Dr Dar won the CGIAR’s Science Award for Outstanding Partnership together with the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC), for improving the lives of women and children in West

Africa. In 2008, it had won for the fifth time, the King Baudouin Award, the most prestigious in the CGIAR, along with eight other centers.

In his illustrious career, Dr Dar has received numerous awards and honors, including the Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) Special Award for Biotechnology and Life Sciences sector 2014, the Excellence in Agricultural Leadership Award by the Association of Agricultural Technology in Southeast Asia (AATSEA), Thailand in November 2013, and the prestigious MS Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture in June 2013.

The Agriculture Leadership Awards were started in 2008 to recognize the leadership roles played by individuals and institutions which are positively impacting the lives of farmers and rural masses. The Awards are presented in the areas of Policy, Research, Extension, Farming, Industry, Environment, Innovations, Entrepreneurship, CSR, Development, Life Time Achievements and State Leaderships. g

“Theme Park will be a showcase for modern-day agricultural technologies”

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he Agriculture Theme Park to be set up in Ramoji Film City in collaboration with ICRISAT will be a good opportunity for the public to experience modern-day agricultural technologies and farming practices, said Mr Ramoji Rao, head of Ramoji Group, thanking ICRISAT for its support.

Mr Rao, who was interacting with the ICRISAT team led by Director General Dr William Dar at Ramoji Film City on 28 September, reiterated his commitment to smallholder agriculture and acknowledged the efforts of the ICRISAT research community towards agriculture development in Asia and Africa.

“It is important to spread the message of sustainable agriculture. In this direction, this strategic collaboration aims to sensitize the masses on the benefits of nutritious dryland crops, effective irrigation facilities and sustainable development through various means,” Dr Dar said during the interaction.

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“The collaboration will serve as an important milestone,” he added, thanking Mr Rao. The Director General was accompanied to Ramoji Film City by incoming ICRISAT Director General Dr David Bergvinson; Hon Ruth R Padilla, Provincial Governor, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines; Hon Carlos Padilla, Congressman, House of Representatives, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines and senior ICRISAT staff. g

Photo: J Kane-Potaka, ICRISAT

Mr Ramoji Rao with Drs WD Dar and D Bergvinson.

Making data collection easier with Open Data Kit

Photo: ICRISAT

Participants and the facilitator during the workshop session.

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lectronic data collection using Android tablets or phones is rapidly gaining ground. Aiding this technology is the Open Data Kit (ODK) ( http:// opendatakit.org/), a suite of tools developed by computer scientists and engineers at the University of Washington. ODK usage is helping organizations and individuals cut costs and has improved data quality as restrictions in entry options and data validation are in-built in the collection tool. Beyond the immediate benefits within a survey, it supports synchronization of data collection across disciplines and research programs, through sharing of syntaxes.

The suite streamlines data collection in the field by replacing a traditional paper survey, camera, audio recorder, and GPS unit with Android mobile devices and leverages Google’s open source Android platform to allow a single device to capture and store a diverse array of reporting data such as text, video, audio, images, barcodes, and GPS coordinates.

Dr Esther Njuguna, Gender Scientist, Eastern and Southern Africa, ICRISAT. Dr Dieudonne Konan, one of the advanced users of ODK from ICRAF, Côte d’Ivoire, added, “Using modern devices for data collection saves a lot of time and effort on data entry and data cleaning and it also makes field research much more attractive to students”.

An online space for future interactions around ODK was set up. The participants noted the need to extend the training to regional hubs of both ICRISAT and ICRAF, to facilitate synchronization of data collection and processing across research locations.

The training was facilitated by Dr Andrew Pinney who has used ODK for large-scale surveys in multiple countries and regions across the world. g

ICRISAT together with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Research Methods Group, Nairobi recently organized a four-day training workshop on mobile data collection to kick start a new community of practice of mobile data collection techniques.

Participants had hands-on experience in developing smart data entry templates using ODK and related facilities like the formhub website https://formhub. org/ (which is used to aggregate the data).

“The training session helped us understand the use of gadgets to collect data; not only the numbers and the text statements, but also audio, video and pictures. As we roll out gender research in the two CGIAR Research Programs that ICRISAT leads, we see a lot of opportunities for the application,” said

Photo: ICRISAT

ICRISAT’s Drs Sabine Homann-Kee Tui, Esther Njuguna and Wenda Bauchspies during the training.

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Climate-smart agriculture takes center stage at CGIAR Development Dialogues 2014

Photo: C Bejosano, ICRISAT

Graphic facilitation on ‘Climate change-resilient agro-ecosystems’ by Ms Julie Stuart.

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o dialogue can be more important than on how to produce sufficient and quality food for nine billion people by 2050 under the threat of climate change – a daunting challenge for research and development towards a mission to help achieve food security and nutrition for all.

“There can be no sustainable development or halting the effects of climate change if we do not pay due attention to the billions of people engaged in agriculture that manage the world’s natural resources and produce the food our ever increasing population demands,” said Dr Frank Rijsberman, Chief Executive Officer of the CGIAR Consortium. “Agriculture research is the backbone of sustainable development.”

Over 200 experts, policymakers, and donor representatives gathered in New York on 25 September to draw global attention to agriculture’s vital roles in sustainable development. The all-day CGIAR Development Dialogues 2014 came close on the heels of the launch of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture two days earlier at the UN Climate Summit, with CGIAR announcing a commitment of at least 60% of its annual budget to climate-smart agriculture, benefiting half a billion farmers over 15 years.

The Development Dialogues was meant to convince the international community — policymakers in particular — on the need to get smarter about the way the world produces its food.

“We must remember, science on its own without social dimensions can never be science for development,” said Dr Kanayo F. Nwanze, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), one of the key speakers at the opening plenary session.

“Too many smallholder farmers who work to feed their nations are going hungry themselves. This is a tragic paradox. Poor rural people are not looking for handouts, they are looking for economic opportunities,” he continued.

Photo: C Bejosano, ICRISAT

Dr Frank Rijsberman speaking at the event.

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“We need research that contributes to sustainable agriculture by helping smallholders farmers lift themselves out of poverty. Science will never be a

silver bullet but by valuing the social dynamic, it can end poverty and hunger.”

Citing his recent visit to the ICRISAT global headquarters in India, Dr Nwanze highlighted: “ICRISAT’s fertilizer microdosing technology has tremendously impacted millions of smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa with dramatic improvements in yields, and without the risk of harming the environment. At its Center of Excellence in Genomics, the work on genome sequencing of crops like pigeonpea has the potential to revolutionize how we improve crops with disease resistance, tolerance to drought and a range of other stresses, and that are higher yielding – exciting tools that hold tremendous potential for the poor smallholder farmers.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina, delivered an impassioned plea to governments and the agriculture research community “not to abandon farmers to climate change,” emphasizing the need for research to tackle rural poverty and climate change.

The Minister urged greater support for smallholder and women farmers in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, in adapting to climate change.

“There is no doubt at all in my mind that investment in agricultural research has one of the highest rates of return you can think of,” he said in his address.

“This is the time for greater support of the CGIAR and its partners.”

H.E. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, High-Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union, also emphasized the importance of research.

“The agriculture future we want is a modern and productive agriculture anchored in a solid science and knowledge foundation,” she said.

change. I think it would lead to a loss of welfare for human society at large if we did not address this problem. I can’t think of an organization better than the CGIAR system to focus on this as an immediate and a long-term goal.”

Addressing challenges in integrated ways fundamental for the social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainable development, the parallel high-level discussions held focused on pressing issues covered under four themes:  Prosperous, food secure and resilient livelihoods: How can staple crops contribute to food security for 9.6 billion in 2050?  Healthier, innovative, capable and inclusive communities: Nutrition- and gender-sensitive agriculture and food systems: A foundation for sustainable development  New partnerships for development impact: Resilient systems and communities towards sustainable development: Fostering the capacity to innovate  Climate-change resilient agro-ecosystems: Integrated landscape approaches for agriculture, forestry and other land uses.

ICRISAT, a member of the CGIAR Consortium, took part in the event, represented by Dr Noel Ellis Director, CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes who actively participated in the high-level discussions, and Ms Cristina P Bejosano of the Strategic Marketing and Communication who was a member of the event’s social media reporting team.

ICRISAT’s key messages on the challenges and solutions to address sustainable development goals particularly in the drylands were prominently featured in the event’s poster exhibits and displays. g

“We call on the global agricultural science community in general, and the CGIAR in particular, to buy into this ambitious agenda and partner with Africa’s national, regional and continental research systems to deliver on the agriculture future Africa wants.”

Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, echoed these calls in his closing address: “Small farmers are going to be extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate

Photo: ICRISAT

Ms Cristina P Bejosano and Dr Noel Ellis at the CGIAR Development Dialogues 2014.

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Strengthening seed systems in grain legumes in Eastern and Southern Africa

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igeonpea and chickpea, the two legumes grown widely in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) have experienced good production gains in the past two decades. In Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda, which are major pigeonpea producers, the area (935,900 ha) and production (691,500 t) of pigeonpea has increased dramatically. Productivity, however, still hovers at 800 kg/ha, much lower than the realizable yield potential. Chickpea is grown on about Photo: G Mutai, ICRISAT 493,000 ha in the region, with Ethiopia Participants observing superior chickpea genotypes. and Tanzania taking away a chunk of 73% of the total area. Farmers in Malawi, Kenya, regulations, agronomic management, principles and Eritrea and Sudan and Uganda also cultivate the crop. standards of seed production and certification, and post-harvest handling of seeds, among other topics.

While the gains have largely been due to the introduction of new varieties, integrated crop Dr Moses Siambi, Regional director, ICRISAT-ESA in his management, and effective seed systems, the huge opening remarks, emphasized the need to foster gaps between realizable and actual yields are partly strategic partnerships among the stakeholders and due to limited availability of quality seed to farmers spoke on how sharing experiences and information and challenges posed at various levels of seed among those in the seed industry would lead to a production and delivery along the value chain. sustainable seed system in the region. He reiterated ICRISAT’s commitment to all the collaborating To address these issues and challenges, ICRISAT organizations to nurture seed systems operations in organized a training program on ‘Pigeonpea and various target countries and agro-ecologies.

Chickpea Seed Production and Delivery in ESA’ recently in Nairobi, aiming at enhancing the capacity Dr NVPR Ganga Rao, Senior scientist-Breeding (Grain of partners and private seed industry involved in legumes), ICRISAT, stressed the importance of quality seed production and delivery. enhancing knowledge and skills in quality seed production and effective seed delivery.

The training emphasized on seed systems in grain legumes, varietal release process and seed Dr Emmanuel Monyo, Project Coordinator - Tropical Legumes II project, led the discussion on seed systems in grain legumes, and duly emphasized on partnerships, production of quality seed in sufficient volumes and technology dissemination for greater impact with farmers. The successful model employed for maize seed research, technical support to partners and field management of maize seed production as elucidated by Dr Regasa Mosisa, maize Seed Systems Specialist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), exposed the participants to a different system that could be employed for legumes seed production.

Photo: G Mutai, ICRISAT

Examining chickpea varietal attributes.

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Dr Evans Sikinyi, Director, Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK), explained the harmonization of seed to page 7 ...4

Farewell Dr Farid Waliyar concludes his assignment with ICRISAT on 30 September, after over 28 years of valuable and dedicated service to ICRISAT. Dr Waliyar, a French national, joined ICRISAT on 22 August 1986 as Assistant Principal Scientist (Pathology), at Patancheru to work on the management of Foliar diseases of Groundnut.

In 1989 he was appointed as Principal Scientist (Pathology) at the ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Niamey.

He moved to Bamako as part of Groundnut Improvement program and was designated as Country Representative in 1997.

He moved back to ICRISAT-India, in 2001 to work on

Welcome

Dr MC Sarathjith, an Indian national, joined ICRISAT on 29 September, as Post-Doctoral Fellow to work on the ICRISATCIRAD Collaborative project on ‘Sorghum Breeding in West and Central Africa (WCA) for development of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy

management of Groundnut diseases with major emphasis on management of Aflatoxin contamination in full chain of food and feed. He was also the Acting Global Theme Leader (Biotechnology) during 20042005. In 2006 he also held additional responsibilities of Managing Director-Agri Science Park at ICRISATIndia. As part of the new vision and strategy to make an impact and strengthen the management structure in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), he was appointed as Director, West and Central Africa (WCA) region, from 1 January 2008 to 30 April 2014. From 1 May he was at the ICRISAT headquarters to work on his past years’ datasets of research and publish his work. Dr Waliyar’s professional knowledge, experience, and commitment to the Institute will always be remembered and cherished.

Team ICRISAT wishes Dr Waliyar a very happy retired life.

(NIRS) calibration’ in the Research Program–Dryland Cereals. He will be based at ICRISAT-Mali and is currently at ICRISAT-India for an orientation.

Dr Sarathjith has a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India, on ‘Spectral Characterization of Alfisols and Vertisols by Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy’.

We welcome Dr Sarathjith to Team ICRISAT and wish him all success.

Strengthening seed systems in grain legumes...from page 6 The training also included a field visit to ICRISAT regulations in COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) member countries and their chickpea and pigeonpea fields in Nairobi. Participants efforts to reduce varietal testing time from three years were exposed to on-station field management and were allowed to select good chickpea lines for their to only two seasons, if these varieties are tested and released in other member countries. Mr David Karanja, respective cropping systems.

Beans coordinator- Kenya Agriculture and Livestock “The chickpea varieties I have seen in your breeding Research Organization (KALRO), shared experiences pipeline outperform the current released varieties in and lessons from beans seed system in ESA. the region. I see a window of opportunity to register and release more high-yielding chickpea varieties Participants from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia which are fairly tolerant to both biotic and abiotic and Ethiopia, representatives from East African Seed Company Ltd and Dryland seed, deliberated on stresses,” said Mr Bernard Towett, Agronomist, Egerton University. achievements, challenges and opportunities to develop most effective pigeonpea and chickpea seed Dr NVPR Ganga Rao presented an overview of the systems in their respective countries. Resource research and development efforts in pigeonpea and persons included experts from ICRISAT’s Research chickpea in ESA. Program on Grain Legumes, STAK, Kenyan certifying agency, KALRO, CIMMYT and East African Seed The activity was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Company.

Research Program on Grain Legumes. g ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 1 OCTOBER 1643 7

MG+ Retreat

A one-day workshop was held for Management Group (MG) and Research Committee (RC) at the Ramoji Film City on 28 September. The workshop was a mix of discussions, demonstrations and experiential learning, which focused on building cohesion and teamwork among the MG and RC members. Incoming ICRISAT Director General Dr David Bergvinson was also invited to bond with the team.

Photo: ICRISAT

Sad News

Dr Robert JK Myers (Bob) former ICRISAT soil scientist, passed away peacefully on 23 September in his home country Australia.

Dr Myers joined ICRISAT in January 1996 as Principal Scientist (Soils) in the Natural Resources Management Program. He was stationed at ICRISATIndia until May 1999 before being transferred to ICRISAT-Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, where he worked until his retirement in 2002. Dr Myers led the Soil

Chemistry department at ICRISAT, and was also part of the team exploring application of the APSIM model to dryland conditions.

Staff members of the Soil chemistry laboratory remember Dr Myers as the perfect team leader who had an excellent knowledge of staff responsibilities.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife Ms Margaret, and their sons Andrew and Steve and families at this sad time. Ms Margaret can be contacted at rjkmyers@ bigpond.net.au

Director General Dr William Dar wishes all staff members and their families a very happy Dussehra and Eid al-Adha!

ICRISAT-India (Headquarters) Patancheru 502 324 Telangana, India Tel +91 40 30713071

ICRISAT-Liaison Office CG Centers Block NASC Complex Dev Prakash Shastri Marg New Delhi 110 012, India Tel +91 11 32472306 to 08

ICRISAT-Niger BP 12404 Niamey, Niger (Via Paris) Tel +227 20722529

ICRISAT-Ethiopia C/o ILRI Campus, PO Box 5689 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel: +251-11 617 2541

ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium

ICRISAT-Kenya (Regional hub ESA) PO Box 39063, Nairobi, Kenya Tel +254 20 7224550

ICRISAT-Mali (Regional hub WCA) BP 320 Bamako, Mali Tel +223 20 709200

ICRISAT-Malawi Chitedze Agricultural Research Station PO Box 1096 Lilongwe, Malawi Tel +265 1 707297, 071, 067, 057

ICRISAT-Nigeria PMB 3491, Sabo Bakin Zuwo Road Tarauni, Kano, Nigeria Tel: + 234 7034889836 ICRISAT-Zimbabwe Matopos Research Station PO Box 776 Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Tel +263 383 311 to 15

ICRISAT’s scientific information: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org

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Science with a human face