A delegation of senior officials from the Karnataka Government’s Watershed Development Department, led by Commissioner Mr Upendra Pratap Singh (IFS) and Director Dr Parvez Banthnal, visited Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district to study ICRISAT’s water conservation initiatives on 11 September 2025. The visit aimed to assess the potential for replicating the […]
On 9 September 2025, ICRISAT hosted a high-level delegation from Syngenta Technical Market Development (Global & India) at its headquarters in Hyderabad. The visit focused on fostering strategic collaborations in climate-smart agriculture (CSA), regenerative practices, and integrated soil–plant health innovations. The delegation engaged with ICRISAT scientists from key programs, Resilient […]
On 6 October 2023, ICRISAT hosted Mr Hargovind Kushwaha, Minister of State, Government of Uttar Pradesh, India, and a group of farmers. Minister Kushwaha welcomed the opportunity to engage members of ICRISAT’s leadership team, which included Dr Arvind Kumar, Deputy Director General-Research; Dr ML Jat, Research Program Director for Resilient […]
On 13 September, 2023, Dr Adarsh Singh, IAS, Commissioner of Jhansi Division, led a delegation of department officers to witness the ongoing work under the ICRISAT- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana(RKVY) – Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) Project in Bhadokhar village in Jhansi district. Dr Ramesh Singh, Principal Scientist and […]
ICRISAT clinched the ‘UNDP Mahatma Award for Biodiversity’ for its remarkable contributions to humanity, its unwavering commitment to positive change, and its transformative impact on society. The award-winning submission highlighted community-led innovations in landscape management in Central India’s Bundelkhand region. Through a combination of rainwater harvesting structures and agroforestry measures, […]
Development initiatives implemented at the watershed site in Wanaparthy district, Telangana, India, drew appreciation from the state’s Agriculture Minister Mr S Niranjan Reddy. The minister lauded the holistic and integrated approach that focused on improving livelihoods of women, the self-sustaining model of farm-machinery renting centers and farm-level water conservation measures. […]
A survey carried out in the finger millet (ragi)-growing Koraput district of Odisha, India, showed a large unmet demand for value-added millet products owing to absence of millet processing units in the area. ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) took this as an opportunity to propose the establishment of millet […]
A group of policymakers and officials from across India recently experienced ICRISAT’s sustainable research-for-development practices being implemented in the country’s Bundelkhand region which are benefitting 30,000 families reliant on farming. A travel workshop-cum-exposure visit was organised for the group during 9-11 October 2021 where the knowledge generated was shared. Participants […]
One of the ways in which ICRISAT is helping smallholder and marginal farmers in Odisha, India, is through collaboration with the Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM), to restore and improve livelihoods in six districts of the state. Part of this effort is the revival of coconut plantations and dependent livelihoods in […]
A recently commissioned decentralized wastewater treatment unit is now ready to provide supplemental irrigation during the post-rainy season for up to 4 ha of agricultural land, benefiting the 3,250 residents of Buchinelli village, Telangana, India. Developed in partnership between ICRISAT Development Center and Mahindra & Mahindra as part of its […]
A farm machine-hiring center set up in two villages in South India is showing how research-led interventions, based on a clear understanding of on the ground realities, can result in saving time, cost and labor for dryland farmers while creating jobs for rurally-based youth. ICRISAT studies show that besides improving […]
A case study about a watershed management initiative by UltraTech Cements Ltd (UTCL) and ICRISAT was recently named as one of the best case studies at a unit-level contest by the Aditya Birla Group (ABG). This initiative of UltraTech in partnership with ICRISAT is reviving livelihoods of more than 500 […]
Highlights 200-year-old traditional rainwater harvesting system brought back into practice Construction of haveli structures enhanced surface and groundwater availability Migration from villages stopped; villagers return home from cities This story was first published by Dainik Jagran Talbehat (Lalitpur): Water is the basis of life. It is difficult to think of […]
Watershed interventions have led to 1-2.5 meters higher groundwater levels, providing lifesaving irrigation to the farmers. This was achieved in a challenging environment in two villages in the drylands of Andhra Pradesh, India, which were facing a change in rainfall for the last five years. The steady monsoon showers were […]
A holistic watershed approach that not just conserves water and soil for better crop production but touches people’s lives through science-led interventions has once again delivered significant impacts in a Corporate Social Responsibility project in Telangana state of India. A participatory approach knit the community as they learned to maintain […]
A training program on analyzing soil using Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MP-AES) was recently conducted in Odisha, India, for staff of referral soil testing laboratories. Analysts from the referral labs were trained on standard preparations, calibration of high-end equipment and SOPs of micronutrient analysis using MPAES. Under the Odisha […]
ICRISAT will use its decades of experience and expertise in soil health management to help Indian farmers grow higher-yielding crops for greater income benefits, according to a recently launched partnership with the Naandi Foundation. Among the objectives of this association are monitoring soil health and plant nutrient status; suggesting measures […]
Originally published on In the semi-arid tropics water is a precious resource that often does not trickle down to small farms. Farmers who can afford borewells, save their crops during dry spells in the cropping season whilst others watch crops and investment dry up. Now, a CSR project led by […]
As one of the key activities undertaken by our watershed projects to improve household nutrition in rural Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India, encouraging women farmers to start small vegetable gardens in their backyards has been very successful. These ‘nutri-gardens’ also help augment household incomes, especially during times of job losses […]
Continued efforts, via public-private partnerships, to build resilience in dryland farmers are yielding multi-faceted benefits – about 100 farm ponds with 20,000 cubic meter capacity for better access to water, 21-44% higher crop yields, better nutrition and incomes through fruit and vegetable gardens, and greater awareness of technologies – for […]
