ICRISAT Happenings (05 Dec 2014)

ICRISAT

Happenings Newsletter

5 December 2014 No. 1652

Photo: ICRISAT

Farmers sampling finger millet products at a national field day in Western Kenya. (File photo)

HOPE project survey in western Kenya

Survey reveals effectiveness of field days

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ore than 80% of the farmers who took part in the field days organized by ICRISAT and partners in Western Kenya, successfully applied the knowledge on their farms, a survey has revealed.

Another surprising finding of the survey was that women walked longer distances than men did to attend the finger millet field days. While no male participants travelled farther than 5 km, 32% of female participants travelled more than 5 km to field day sites. Women seemed more willing to take part in field days and were ready to walk longer distances if required.

The Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) project team recently conducted a survey in Kenya to evaluate the effectiveness of field days as communication channels

for technology dissemination to finger millet farmers in Western Kenya.

Most women farmers who attended the field days applied seed selection technologies learnt during training. This is attributed to the role women traditionally play in finger millet seed selection and storage. “Future trainings in finger millet seed selection should focus more on women,� the survey team observed.

On the other hand, a significantly smaller proportion of women than men reported trying out technologies on fertilizer and manure use.

This indicates an underlying constraint that limits women more than men in applying fertilizer or to page 2 ...4

HOPE project survey in western Kenya... from page 1 manure to their finger millet production. This constraint has to be overcome for women farmers to substantially increase their finger millet productivity.

Technology uptake was highest for application of row planting method. The field day messages were highly effective in creating farmer awareness in row planting, fertilizer or manure use and use of suitable improved varieties. They were, however, low in creating awareness on disease and weed control; and better postharvest handling and value addition techniques.

Labor for weeding and lack of money to procure fertilizers were highlighted as the two main constraints for improving finger millet production and productivity in the region.

Since 2011, five farmer field days have been held each year in western Kenya to disseminate information on improved finger millet technologies as well as demonstrate their superiority over the traditional practices. More than 1,500 farmers have participated in these events.

The project team, led by Mr Patrick Audi, Socioeconomist at ICRISAT, randomly selected 100 farmer participants of the five finger millet field days held in 2014 (20 farmers from each field day) for the survey and used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect the data. “The farmers’ level of satisfaction with the use of various technologies was highest for row planting (83%), fertilizer use (61%), suitable varieties (26%) and weed control (8%),” he said.

Farmers were generally satisfied with the grain yield enhancing attributes of the following:  Fertilizer and/or manure use – 3 bags per acre  The use of suitable varieties – 1.5 bags per acre  Row planting in combination with above – 5 additional bags per acre The survey report also made the following recommendations:  Field day sites be selected closer to farmers for better participation especially by women  Financial credit should be made available for fertilizer purchase especially for women farmers  Future project activities should encourage farmers to adopt row planting, use of fertilizer and manure, use of suitable varieties and weed control  Mechanical row planting and weeding technology be promoted to reduce demand for labor  Linking Community-based Seed Production (CBSP) to agro-vets will improve and sustain use of high quality seed of improved finger millet varieties.  More research inputs to identify/develop varieties resistance to blast disease.

In western Kenya, the objective of the HOPE project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is to improve productivity of finger millet and household incomes by enabling farmers to adopt improved varieties and associated agronomic practices and to link the producers to both input and product markets. This activity was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Cereals. g

Gender Diversity Workshop held in Mali A Gender Diversity Workshop was recently held at ICRISAT-Mali. It was conducted by Dr Surya Kant Sharma Head-HR & Operations where all aspects of gender diversity at the work place were covered. Participants included scientists from Niamey, Bamako and Kano as well as scientific officers, Unit heads and Administrative Assistants. It was quite interactive with the active participation of the attendees.

Considering the usefulness it is proposed to have similar sessions for all staff members at the other ICRISAT WCA locations including Niamey and Kano. g 2 ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 5 DECEMBER 2014 1652

Photo: ICRISAT

Dr Sharma interacting with participants.

Sorghum hybrid parents’ research consortium: India success story to be replicated in ESA

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ollowing the success of the three Hybrid Parents Research Consortiums (HPRCs) set up by ICRISAT in India namely – sorghum, pearl millet and pigeonpea – a similar success story is now set to be created in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region.

Addressing the participants at a meeting convened to kick-start the formation of a Photo: ICRISAT sorghum HPRC in ESA Representatives of partner organizations with ICRISAT senior staff.

ICRISAT Director General Dr William Dar cited ICRISAT’s successful experience Dr Eric Manyasa, Scientist - Cereals Breeding (Dryland in India and said the same could be replicated in ESA. Cereals) ICRISAT, gave a summary of the sorghum hybrid research work in ESA that started in the 1980s Dr Dar observed, “In India 50% of the 18 million with the introduction of hybrids and hybrid parents acres under sorghum is covered by hybrids and of for evaluation. The work resulted in the release of the 50 hybrids released, 35 have parents originating several hybrids starting with one in Sudan in 1983 up from ICRISAT. This experience can be replicated in to the recent releases of two in Tanzania and one in ESA.” He said that the idea of the HPRC can enhance Zimbabwe in 2013. The slow uptake of sorghum the welfare of the small-scale farmers. hybrids in the region has largely been attributed to Dr Dar pointed out that although maize plays a major poor seed systems and a low sorghum grain demand role as a food crop in ESA, the advantages of sorghum due to limited end uses. However with the growing population, climate change and emerging value in terms of water use efficiency and high level of chains eg brewing, the demand for sorghum grain is nutrients like iron and zinc makes it a smarter crop. bound to increase. This calls for increased production “Synergetic partnership efforts can help small farmers and productivity; and sorghum hybrids will play a to be resilient, productive and prosperous. The major role to meet this demand. partnership approach can help the seed industry ICRISAT-ESA Regional Director, Dr Moses Siambi supply higher performing hybrids to smallholder farmers,” said Dr Dar while thanking Dr Evans Sikinyi, noted that the meeting had brought together a well-balanced team that needs to work together to CEO, Seed Traders Association of Kenya (STAK), for organizing the meeting and the stakeholders present move the sorghum sub-sector to higher levels. for their effort in sorghum improvement in the region.

Taking the participants through the steps in formation of a sorghum hybrid parents’ consortium, Dr Sikinyi said that Kenya has an active seed system ICRISAT Deputy Director General-Research, with maize as the main crop. However, with the devastation caused by Maize Lethal Necrotic Disease, Dr CLL Gowda stated that so far three consortiums have been formed in India namely sorghum (2000), sorghum and millets have emerged as the key pearl millet (2000) and pigeonpea (2003). alternative food crops.

Prof. Kaburu M’Ribu Chief Executive, Meru County Agricultural Committee pointed out that sorghum should not be classified among the marginal group as it plays a major role in the diets of many in Kenya.

Dr Gowda explained that:  Funds from the consortium augment ICRISAT core resources for hybrid parents’ research to page 6 ...4 ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 5 DECEMBER 1652 3

Groundnut in Ghana and Nigeria

Technology dissemination and seed ecosystem for enhancing productivity

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mproved groundnut varieties that are high-yielding, disease-resistant and farmer as well as marketpreferred will be promoted on a large scale to enhance the production and productivity of the crop in Ghana and Nigeria.

“In Nigeria groundnut is considered as cash, food, fodder and industrial crop,” said Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe, ICRISAT Country Representative, Nigeria, as he gave an overview of the sector to participants of the planning workshop.

The West and Central Africa (WCA) region accounts for more than 70% of the groundnut production in Africa. Ghana, Mali and Nigeria are among the main groundnut producing countries in the region. The crop also plays a crucial economic role in the lives of smallholder farmers as it is a major cash crop.

Recently separate planning workshops for Ghana and Nigeria were held under the ‘Increasing Groundnut Productivity of Smallholder Farmers in Ghana, Mali and Nigeria’ project in Accra, Ghana.

“The goal of the project is to increase groundnut productivity and production of smallholder farmers in Ghana, Mali and Nigeria, thereby improve their income, nutrition and health,” said Dr Hailemichael Desmae, Groundnut Breeder, ICRISAT, and Leader of the project.

With financial support from the USAID Feed the Future, the first year work plan is being developed for a Technology Dissemination Scale-up initiative in three countries (Mali, Nigeria and Ghana). The

Photo: A Diama, ICRISAT

Working group during the Nigeria Planning workshop

project is aimed at enhancing the technology dissemination efforts by reaching more smallholder farmers with large-scale diffusion strategies for larger impacts mainly in USAID Feed the Future target areas.

Diffusion of technologies for aflatoxin management will be an important focus of the project activities and enhanced seed system will be critical for the success of the technology diffusion efforts.

The project stakeholders also recognized the importance of engaging women and youth in the project activities and to sustainably increase the role of groundnut in reducing poverty, increasing incomes and enhancing nutrition.

Capacity building at various levels will be important focus to enhance sustainability of the project gains.

The participants also suggested that additional households be reached through various means including on-farm demonstration, field days, radio, video and other media campaigns.

Photo: A Diama, ICRISAT

Participants of the planning workshop in Ghana.

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The outcomes of the project will contribute to the achievement of the two Feed the Future goals: ‘Reduce the prevalence of poverty and Reduce the prevalence of stunting in children under 5 years old’ in the target areas. The project will focus on three important areas: diffusion of improved varieties with Integrated Crop Management (ICM), improved seed systems and capacity building. to page 5 ...4

Exploring partnership opportunities in Mali As part of an exploratory mission and to meet keys stakeholders of agricultural sector development in Mali, Mr Jonathan Boudreau (Project Manager) at ‘La Financière agricole du Québec’ and Mr Francois Bussières, (Credit Advisor) at ‘Desjardins Développement international’ visited ICRISAT Mali recently. “The objective of the visit is to update our knowledge of the Malian context with regards to agricultural and credit system and to obtain relevant information on financing and crop insurance systems. Therefore it is an Photo: ICRISAT exploratory mission which aims to identify (L-R) Mr Francois Bussières and Mr Jonathan Boudreau with and assess institutions needs and capacities Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Director, ICRISAT-West and Central Africa. in 3 regions of Mali (Koulikoro, Ségou and scientists is to get information on seeds productions Sikasso), seek information on agricultural sector and aspects and adoption level of agricultural practices,” supports available to producers in term of credit system. And the purpose of our meeting with ICRISAT said Jonathan Boudreau and François Bussières. g Groundnut in Ghana and Nigeria...from page 4 In partnership with national research institutes, government extension offices, NGOs, private sector and community based organizations in the target areas, ICRISAT will implement project activities using the organizational structure and implementation networks of each partner on the ground.

Building the seed ecosystem Participants also agreed to produce over 8,500 tons of certified seed of improved varieties to benefit over 540,000 households in the three countries.

“For a breeder, it is important to have material and we look for opportunities to engage with seed companies and private sector. We look for opportunities to promote technologies to make the groundnut seed technologies grow out and that farmers have access to markets and make money from their production” said Nicholas Dewar, a plant breeder from The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), Tamale, Ghana.

“I have been producing groundnut seed for the last three years. We were able to get breeder seed for five varieties that are doing well. But we expect quality seeds to be up scaled at the farmers’ fields as the demand is very high where we are operating,” said Mr Zackariah Iddrisu, Heritage Seeds, a private seed production firm based in Tamale.

The working group on dissemination during the Nigeria Groundnut project planning meeting said: “We need to create awareness and build partnerships beyond our traditional partners to ensure scaling-up of improved production and processing technologies.

More emphasis needs to be placed on sustainable seed production and distribution (systems) using both formal and informal sectors.”

“We now have a sense of direction to where this project wants to go. ICRISAT has a strong relationship with institutes in Ghana and in Nigeria. As we develop the Tropical Legumes III project, we look forward to synergies,” said Dr George Okwach, representing Dr Ramadjita Tabo, ICRISAT Director, West and Central Africa.

The workshops were attended by Dr H Desmae, Dr Okwach and Ms Agathe Diama from ICRISAT, Drs Laura Schreeg, Hailu Tefera and Louise Sperling from USAID; government extension offices, national agricultural research institutes, NGOs and private seed companies from the two countries. Dr Ajeigbe, ICRISAT Country Representative, Nigeria, and Dr Babu Motagi, Groundnut Breeder, ICRISAT, joined the workshop in Nigeria.

The workshops were organized with support from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ICRISAT (Mali and Nigeria). Dr Adom Baisie Ghartey, Executive Director, Ghartey Associates Ltd. facilitated both planning workshop discussions. g ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 5 DECEMBER 1652 5

Yilma Kebede reviews HOPE project activities in Mali

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t is important to pro-actively anticipate future needs, and begin to address them. But in doing so, we must not forget what is the most urgent and immediate need of the farmer, Dr Yilma Kebede, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said as he interacted with ICRISAT scientists in Mali.

Dr Kebede reviewed the activities carried out by scientists from ICRISAT and the Institut d'Economie Rurale (IER), Mali, under the Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) of sorghum and millets project.

Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Director-West and Central Africa, ICRISAT, briefed Dr Kebede on the progress of the project and urged for greater collaboration between ICRISAT and the Foundation to address the needs of the poor subsistence farmers of sub-Saharan Africa.

In her statement, Dr Stefania Grando, Research Program Director-Dryland Cereals, ICRISAT, gave an update on the efforts being made by ICRISAT to strengthen its capacity in Africa with respect to dryland cereals research.

Dr Kebede also met Dr. Moussa Traoré, the Interim Director General of IER. IER is the lead national research institution in Mali, which is also one of the key partners in HOPE project. He toured the research fields and demonstration plots at ICRISAT’s Samanko station, and IER’s Sotuba, Kolombada, Cinzana stations.

At IER’s Cinzana Station, Dr George Okwach, HOPE Project Coordinator, presented a summary of points and questions raised by Dr Kebede during his field visits. Dr Grando then invited IER scientists to express

Photo: ICRISAT

Drs Stefania Grando (extreme right) and Yilma Kebede (2nd from right) at a farmer’s sorghum field at Siby, Mali.

their views on how to better manage or improve the effectiveness of the ICRISAT-IER collaboration.

IER scientists raised issues relating to increased transparency in relation to budgetary allocation to the national programs, need for greater respect for national scientists by ICRISAT scientists, and speedy disbursement of agreed funds by ICRISAT. In his remarks, the Cinzana Station Director, Dr Mamadou Touré, made a plea for greater support for the station, especially in relation to irrigation capacity for off-season seed production, as well as seed storage facilities. Dr Tom Hash, Principal Scientist - Breeding (Dryland Cereals) at ICRISATSadore station in Niamey, stressed on the need to plan for enhanced facilities at Cinzana, to support the good work that IER scientists at the station were doing in collaboration with ICRISAT. g

Sorghum hybrid parents’ research consortium...from page 3  Consortium partners will have access to breeding materials developed at ICRISAT  No preferential status for any consortium partner  Public sector institutions have access to all materials  A road map was developed for the formation of the consortium:  A committee will work on modalities of fees to be charged, number of lines to be provided, quantity of seed, governance structure, etc. The committee members will be Moses Siambi and Eric Manyasa (ICRISAT), Captain James Karanja (Fressco Seed), Sammeer Ambaykar (EA Seeds), Taylor Mburu (Africa Harvest) and Evans Sikinyi (STAK).

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 Meeting of interested companies to deliberate and ratify the draft above will be held on 15 Jan 2015  Signing and launch of the consortium to be done late Feb 2015, to coincide with the Hybrid Parents’ Field Day at ICRISAT-Kiboko field station.

The meeting was co-convened by STAK and ICRISATKenya and chaired by Dr Stefania Grando, Research Program Director, Dryland Cereals. In attendance were eight regional and multinational seed companies and seven small and medium scale seed companies operating in Kenya, universities, county governments’ extension heads, sorghum grain marketers and processors. g

Farmer organizations help adoption of improved varieties

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he ‘Sustaining Farmer-Managed Seed Initiatives for Sorghum and Pearl Millet in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso’ project has demonstrated that seed production and commercialization managed by farmer organizations is possible, and can improve the adoption of improved varieties and thus impact on development.

A case study of the McKnight Foundation funded project (Phases 1 and 2) concluded that the project was very relevant because it provided innovative solutions to key problems of the agricultural, food and seed systems of the region.

The objective of the case study was to understand how the funding and support provided to seed systems by the McKnight Foundation have specifically contributed to capacity building of the organizations involved and to identify lessons for the strategic direction of the program.

The study recommended the following: ‘In the seed chain, linkages where farmer organizations directly depend on other actors should be improved. Three critical junctions were identified: 1) provisioning of source seed, 2) seed certification, and 3) coordination of complementary dissemination pathways. Not only knowledge and capacity building but also a material resource base and risk-reducing measures may be necessary to make farmer-managed seed production more sustainable. To address the seed sector as a whole, conducting a policy and a stakeholder analysis is suggested. Such analysis would identify entry points for a science-policy dialogue and establish multi-stakeholder platforms, facilitating the development of shared visions and coordinated action toward the integrated development of more sustainable, equitable, and resilient seed systems in the three countries.’

"In order to increase the availability of seed, production plots were established in different localities of Mali by farmers. From year to year, there is an increase in the amount of hybrid seeds and open pollinated varieties produced by farmers,” summarized Dr Abdoulaye Gaoussou Diallo from the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), Mali.

During the past year the project has improved the marketing system through the development of promotional tools. “There is an increase in the number of demonstration plots, diversification of

Photo: ICRISAT

Dr Eva Weltzien-Rattunde, Principal Scientist, ICRISAT, presenting tablets to one of the workshop participants.

sales points, accountability of local actors in the project management of the seed production process, collection and diffusion of seed, a capacity building of seed management committees at the local level,” said Daouda Traoré, President of ULPC-Dioïla, a union of 43 cooperatives in 7 communes of Dioïla district with 1,569 producer members (1253 men and 316 women).

In Burkina Faso, with the efforts of the project, the seed activities of UGCPA have experienced considerable growth, positioning the farmers’ organization as a leader in seed production sector in this country,” said Nonyeza Bonzi, President of UGCPA in Dedougou, Boucle de Mouhoun in Burkina Faso.

“For the third phase of the McKnight Foundation seed project we envision contributing to improved sustainability of farmers’ seed businesses, in order to benefit of the small-holder farmers with improved seed of sorghum and associated legumes,” concludes Dr Hamado Tapsoba, McKnight Foundation.

Dr Ramadjita Tabo, ICRISAT Director West and Central Africa chaired the opening session of the workshop and Dr Eva Weltzien facilitated the sessions. The case study was conducted by consultants Anja Christinck, Marthe Diarra and Gottfried Horneber.

The workshop held at ICRISAT-Mali had participants from four farmer organizations, national research programs on sorghum and legume crops from Mali and Burkina Faso, the regional Representative of the McKnight Foundation in West and Central Africa and ICRISAT scientists working on sorghum and groundnut. g ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 5 DECEMBER 1652 7

Innovative machines for better crop-livestock farming

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obile choppers and grinders for processing fodder were the main attraction at a week-long training program organized by ICRISAT West and Central Africa along with Centre for Dryland Agriculture, Bayero University at Kano, Nigeria. These machines, which reduce the drudgery of farmers and facilitate efficient use and storage of crop residue, caught the interest of the participants.

Crop-residue has multiple uses. It can be used as livestock feed, Photo: S Jarial, ICRISAT mulch, fuel, and for thatching Mr A Bayoko testing the mobile chopping machine. houses. However, crop residue is often treated as trash. In places so as to address seasonality, producing better quality like Katsina-Kano (in Nigeria), Maradi (Niger) and and more quantity of grain and fodder, improving soil Sikasso (Mali), crop residues are usually burnt. fertility and efficient use of locally available materials Moreover green and dry fodder is offered in an as livestock feed for increase in income of inefficient way to cattle, leading to wastage and high stakeholders. costs. In addition, crop residue occupies a lot of storage space and attracts rodents. There is also the ICRISAT has sent us a similar chopper problem of livestock selectively eating the dry leaves machine. Upon return we will soon start to of sorghum, pearl millet and maize, leaving the stems build awareness and train farmers of 21 and other weeds. farmer organizations of Koutiala involved in crop-livestock activities to cut the green and dry fodder for increasing productivity I did not know that green fodder can also be and reducing wastage. chopped using a machine. We have seen it here for the first time! Even women farmers Mr Arouna Bayoko and Mr Ousmane can use this machine as it is easy and mobile.

Dembele of NGO AMEDD. It can be easily pulled using a donkey in our context here.

The key take-home messages of the participants were: Ms Victoria, trainee from National Agricultural  Demand for poultry products is fairly inelastic, Extension Research and Liaison services. and local production should be enhanced;

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All the above problems can be overcome with the help of a chopper machine, which can cut both green and dry fodder into small pieces including stems and weeds, which can be easily consumed by animals.

Apart from that, feed grinders can grind dry weeds such as Sida codafolia and thick-stemmed stovers, which are otherwise unused, so as to make blocks for feeding livestock.

 Sorghum should be promoted as a substitute for maize because of its availability, accessibility and reduced cost during some periods of the year;

At a recently held training program, stakeholders were trained in use of food-feed crop combinations

 Research findings should be disseminated through innovation platform;

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 Crop residue storage and processing should be encouraged to address seasonality issues of feeds;  Mobile choppers and grinders should be used to reduce drudgery and for efficient utilization of crop residue and forage;

Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria; national and international institutes like – Institute for Agricultural Research, International Livestock Research Institute, Mercy Corps International, non-governmental organization – AMEDD Mali, SHARE-USAID Sokoto, Women Farmers Advancement Network; public departments like Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kano State Photo: S Jarial, ICRISAT Agricultural and Rural Development Authority and National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services; and private farms like Rahama Integrated Farms, Kano, participated and contributed to the training. g

 Need for trainings of extension agents and encouraging women to engage in extension activities in crop-livestock activities.

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About 41 participants (11 women, 30 men) from five countries representing six universities from Benin,

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I liked the grinder machine which grinds pods, straw, stover and salt into a fine powder, which can be made into blocks to feed animals.

Pierre Gbènoukpo Tovihoudji, a trainee, from University of Parakou, Benin.

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In this training we learnt formulas for poultry feeding with sorghum. Normally, farmers feed maize. We never knew sorghum is a cheap substitute with comparable quality.

Interestingly, poultry manure is equally important as it replenishes the soil.

Trainee from Women Farmers Advancement Network.

Integrating communications into research Incorporating communications as an integral part of research projects continued to be recognized as a need – both as a component of a broader uptake strategy to achieve adoption of technologies with targeted audiences, as well as for broader benefits to build awareness of the issues and lessons learnt. This was the key message emerging from the review and brainstorming session where ICRISAT staff involved in communications interacted with a panel of scientists from different programs to share both challenges and opportunities for integrating science and communications.

Communications staff from headquarters, African locations, and from the CGIAR Research Programs led

by ICRISAT came together for three days to share

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Participants at the training sessions.

their work and approaches, look for alignments, brainstorm new ideas and set some priorities.

Scientists who provided feedback included Drs Stefania Grando, Noel Ellis, Anthony Whitbread, HC Sharma, and Mr Girish Chander.

Some initiatives prioritized for 2015 included starting ‘Science Updates’ and ‘Partners’ Voices’ columns for the ICRISAT website. Opportunities were identified to maximize the communications of good stories and information through more sharing and use of all communications channels. Aligning, building and managing contacts lists will be important along with further use of social media, the new ICRISAT website, and continued developments of EXPLOREit. g ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 5 DECEMBER 1652 9

Philippine agriculture sector needs ‘radical reshaping’

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hilippine agriculture is confronted with several daunting and overwhelming challenges, and while the causes are many, the underlying resolve is clear: Under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) platform, we must help radically reshape Philippine agriculture to become inclusive, science-based, resilient and market-oriented in order to address the key challenges hampering its growth, ICRISAT Director General, Dr William D Dar said.

Photo: ICRISAT

Dr Dar receiving the plaque of appreciation from the distinguished guests.

Dr Dar, while making the keynote Seen in the picture are Dr Gil Magsino, President of the Philippine Association presentation at the 2nd National of Agriculturists (2nd from left), Mr Proceso J Alcala, Agriculture Secretary Congress of the Philippine (1st from left), and Dr Fortunato Battad, Chair, Board of Agriculture, Association of Agriculturists, Inc. Professional Regulation Commission (1st from right). urged the country’s government to implement market-oriented and holistic reforms in  Enhanced role of the youth in agriculture and the agriculture sector to make the Philippines economic integration competitive in the full integration of Southeast Asian  Championing appropriate policies economies in 2015. His address focused on ‘ReThe Director General also stressed that smallholder energizing Philippine agriculture for the ASEAN farmers need to increase their capacities and become economic integration’. active players in the supply chain, as larger agroExplaining how Philippine agriculture can be business continues to dominate this domain. competitive, inclusive, science-based, resilient and “Given the right enabling conditions and targeted market-oriented under the AEC regime, Dr Dar said support, the often-neglected smallholder farmers in areas that need special focus include: the Philippines can transform the rural landscape and  Balance between self-sufficiency in rice unleash a new and sustainable agricultural production and crop diversification for exports revolution,” Dr Dar added.  Resource management inclusive of land use Under the AEC, meeting the growing concern for food plan, soil and commodity mapping, and water security through regional trade in agricultural products management and cross country cooperation to raise productivity  Inclusive Market-Oriented Development must be the top priority, Dr Dar mentioned.  Developing climate-smart agriculture  GAP standards, sanitary and phyto-sanitary “Feeding the hungry is not a need, but a moral standards, and HACCP compliance imperative,” he concluded.  Innovative use of ICT in knowledge and The Congress was held on 26 November in Tagaytay information sharing City, Philippines. g  Increase public investment to attract private sector participation

Annual Day sports events The Annual Day sports events will be held on 10 December at the cricket ground (opposite 303 Crop Work Area) from 1330 hrs. All interested staff members are requested to actively participate and compete in the games. g 10 ICRISAT HAPPENINGS 5 DECEMBER 2014 1652

Australian horticulture sector to collaborate with ICRISAT in genomics research

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he Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA) and ICRISAT, have joined hands to undertake joint research and development (R&D) in plant genomics. This will allow researchers from ICRISAT and Australian agencies to work in frontier areas of genomic sciences. The collaboration will also open up opportunities for young students to get overseas exposure and experience.

Photo: PS Rao, ICRISAT

Senior ICRISAT staff and officials of the HIA at the MoU signing.

“HIA is excited about this collaboration with ICRISAT in the area of modern genome science including sequencing, genotyping and functional genomics, that will help advance the horticulture industry in Australia and worldwide,” Mr David Cliffe, Director, HIA, said.

“India is advanced in its science in a number of crops. We are keen on going overseas for the R&D facilities and expertise not available in Australia.

We see a strategic link in the genomics research area to start with. How we can do genomics for breeders/breeding is a challenge and we can work together on taking this from the lab,” Mr Cliffe added.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between HIA and ICRISAT at the ICRISAT headquarters on 2 December. Both ICRISAT and HIA have also committed to explore other areas of research in a number of horticultural crops.

“We are excited that through this collaboration with HIA, ICRISAT and Australia will be doing not only high-quality but also high-impact research that is expected to reach and benefit millions of farmers

and consumers globally,” said Dr Dar of the agreement.

Dr Rajeev Varshney, Director of ICRISAT’s Center of Excellence in Genomics and the Research Program on Grain Legumes said: “We have completed the genome sequencing of reference genomes of leading legume crops such as chickpea and pigeonpea, having sequenced the genomes of more than 1,000 lines of these legumes. We are very keen to work with HIA to accelerate their efforts in the area of genome sequencing and analysis.”

Dr Alok Kumar from HIA, who negotiated for the research partnership between ICRISAT and HIA, stated that the application of genomic tools has tremendous potential in reducing the breeding cycle in horticultural crops for the benefit of the Australian industries.

Dr David Moore, General Manager, HIA and several researchers from the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the University of Queensland; and the Queensland University of Agriculture & Technology (QUT) are visiting India as part of the HIA-led delegation. g

Congratulations Dr CL Laxmipathi Gowda, ICRISAT Deputy Director General-Research, has been invited by Dr S Ayyappan, President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences to be a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences from 1 January 2015.

Dr Malick Niango Ba, Senior Scientist-Entomology, ICRISAT, Niamey has been designated as Country Representative, ICRISAT, Niger, effective 4 December.

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Welcome Dr Pauline Chivenge, a Zimbabwean national, joined on 1 December, as Senior Scientist–Agro-ecosystems and Watershed Management, in Research Program–Resilient Dryland Systems, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She has PhD in Soils and Biogeochemistry from the University of California at Davis.

Agronomy, Purdue University, United States of America, on investigating carbon and nitrogen cycling under candidate biofuel cropping systems.

Prior to joining ICRISAT, she worked as Lecturer, Soil Science, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Dr Chivenge conducted research on sustainable management of soils in South Africa and other countries in the region. She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of

Readers’ comments I hope the soil nutrient mapping would be done for all soils (including alfisols, vertisols, inceptisols, entisols, and aridisols) and for all agro-climatic conditions in the country (arid, dry semi-arid, wet semi-arid, dry sub-humid, wet sub-humid, and per humid).

– Mr Maruthi Sankar It is important to popularize foods from millet, they are truly health foods, and we should encourage our collaborators to join hands in the awareness campaign.

– Mr DS Bisht, ex-ICRISAT

Dr Tapas Bhattacharyya, an Indian national, joined as Visiting Scientist on 2 December, in the ICRISAT Development Center. He is Principal Scientist and Head, Soil Resource Studies Division, National Bureau Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur, India. He has a PhD in Soil Science and expertise and experience in natural resources survey for land use planning, crop modeling, and climate change.

We welcome Drs Chivenge and Bhattacharyya to Team ICRISAT. I am quite impressed with the new focus of ICRISAT on creating a demand pull for smart foods. I observed that the millet crops including finger millet and foxtail millet could tolerate/withstand cyclones in 2013 and 2014. These millet crops are true game changers in the event of climate change. I appreciate the efforts of ICRISAT. Funding of governments particularly in developing countries like India for R&D in millets is extremely low compared to other crops and is primarily directed towards developing the supply system. The funding available for supporting initiatives to create a demand-side pull is meagre. It is high time to sensitize the issue.

– Dr P Gurumurthy, Senior Scientist, DAATT Centre, Vizianagaram

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www.icrisat.org

Science with a human face

ICRISAT Loyalty Awardees – 2014 The following is the list of all the Loyalty Awardees of 2014, among staff from ICRISAT Headquarters (Asia) including ICRISAT-hosted organizations, West and Central Africa (WCA) and East and Southern Africa (ESA) locations.

The Loyalty Day will be celebrated on Thursday, 11 December from 0930-1115 hrs in the Ralph W Cummings auditorium at ICRISAT-India. The presence of the recipients of the award is requested at the auditorium by 0920.

A. HEADQUARTERS (ASIA) 40-Year D S Prasada Rao L Krishnamurthy S Ratnam P V Gopiramanan Mohd Khan P Sathianarayanan Mohd Ghousuddin K Hareendranath N John P Jagan Mohan Rao V Eshwar Rao R Muralidharan Pillai O Murali M Pentaiah P Balvantha Reddy Kenneth Muir Inder Kumar G Krishna Reddy E Narayana J Kalamma G Pakiramma A Narsamma N Laxma Reddy K Malla Reddy D Chandraiah Y Narasimha D Lakshmi E Kishtamma B Eswaraiah A Anjamma R Ranga Reddy (ILRI)

Science with a human face

35-Year H C Sharma D Yadagiri L S Jangawad S Raghavendra Rao Arthur Abraham B Balaiah Mohd Ameenuddin R M Gopi A Madhusudhan Reddy A Sathaiah 30-Year K N V Satyanarayana Y Prabhakara Rao Dalip Chand Vanodhia S Sundaram N G Ramakrishna Rao K V S S S Sarma S V Prasada Rao C R Mohana Rao 25-Year D Lakshmana Rao G Trimurthulu P V N Murthy G Uma Devi G H R K Prasad G Bhagwan Das 20-Year S Ahmed V Nageswara Rao

D Krishnaiah M Jagadishwer 15-Year Dr William D Dar A Bhasker Kishan Kumar Joshi (Bioversity) Kishan B Tamang (Bioversity) 10-Year Vincent Vadez K Krishnappa S M Karuppan Chetty K S George P V N S Prasad T Praveen Reddy B Rekha Pradyut J Modi E Srinivasa Reddy N Ravinder Reddy P Humayun Sanjay Singh Bisht (IWMI-Delhi) Judith Christiana (IWMI) Mohd Qadir (IWMI) 5-Year Ch Ravinder Reddy Hari Kishan Sudini Kaushal Kishor Garg K H Anantha Jana Kholova Takeshi Watanabe Saikat Datta Mazumdar

D Srinivas Reddy K Srikanth B Sudha Mayuri G Suresh T Bharathi B Venkata Rao Edward Joseph T Arun Kiran Roma Rani Das Bal Krishna Shaik Khajapeer Saheb K Lakshmana A Sadasiva Reddy Y Srinivas Reddy D Prasad G R D Reddy B Venugopal M Sivanandan G Sarveshwar V Srinivas N Shakthi Meyyappan K Avinash T S S Deepti Rajan P V Satish M Bikshapathi Prem Ratan Pandey Alkesh B Bhatt B L Mohana P Swapna John Bosco Pankaj S Makanwar Sravanthi Naveen M Sri Swathi Chhavi Srivastava Badar Unnisa Abedi K Srinivas Rao Suraj P Sharma A Babu P Sridhar Reddy P Srihari J Dilip Kumar Ch Balaswamy C Shyam Sunder Rao V K Nimmi Maninder Kaur (Bioversity)

Partha Sarathy Adhya (ICARDA) Kameshwar Kumar Rai (ICARDA) Sudesh Thapa (ICARDA) V Padmakumar (ILRI) B. WEST & CENTRAL AFRICA (WCA) MALI 25-Year Eva W Rattunde Boubacara M Camara Ibrahima Sissoko Diarra Abibata Ouattara 5-Year Amadou Bila Belemgoabga NIGER 30-Year Anthony Laure 25-Year Laouali Abdou Moustapha Souleymane Hassane Seyni Ibrahim El-Hamidine Adamou Issaka Abdou Saidou Diabala Maimouna Atto Ressy Hadjara Issoufou 20-Year Boureima Halimatou Djibo 10-Year Hamadou Almoukoutar 5-Year Fatondji Dougbedji Mahamadou Gandah Boulama Katzelma Taya C. EAST & SOUTHERN AFRICA (ESA) KENYA 25-Year Lyenette Bwire Joseph Gichuki Kibuka

Eric Manyasa 10-Year Anthony Gakinya 5-Year Kai Mausch MALAWI 20-Year Emmanuel Mkuwamba 15-Year Oswin M M Madzonga Lorent Gondwe Teddy Chirwa 10-Year Hazel Warren Baleke Kachale Mathias Bello Harold Namkwenya 5-Year Felix Sichali Jane Banda Daniel Kadengu

ZIMBABWE 25-Year Juliet Ndlovu 20-Year Christopher Mabika 15-Year Sakile Kudita 10-Year Kizito Mazvimavi Timothy Mpofu 5-Year Cain Sibanda Allan Majuru