A series of capacity-building programs, including the use of Plantix – a mobile app to detect pests/diseases in crops, best practices in chickpea and mustard farming, and demonstrations of micronutrient addition to soil, was recently conducted in four districts in Odisha state, India. Despite the prevailing conditions, officials successfully carried […]
The soil movement started in the Indian state of Odisha two-and-half years ago through the ICRISAT-led Bhoochetana project crossed an important milestone with the launch of a soil atlas and two modern soil testing laboratories of international standard. Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo, the State Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, […]
Kolar district, in India’s southern state of Karnataka, has been known for centuries as a district of tanks: its landscape is dotted with nearly 3,000 surface reservoirs excavated by successive ancient kingdoms to secure water for household use, livestock, irrigation and groundwater recharge. These tanks, together with shallow open wells, […]
Impressed with the rapid pace and impact of the Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI) initiative and other interventions in Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Mr Hargovind Kushwaha, Minister of State, UP Government, expressed satisfaction and willingness to scale up this approach to other parts of the Bundelkhand region with ICRISAT and […]
Mr Chowdappa, a farmer from Ramkuppam village in southern India, increased yield of bottle gourd by a third by simply planting a grafted variety of the vegetable. The switch to grafted vegetables helped him and over 400 farmers significantly increase income without much effort. “Last year, I cultivated 1500 seedlings […]
A water tank’s renovation in one of India’s most drought-prone regions benefited as many as 200 farm families last year and opened up aquaculture opportunities for an entire village. It also helped create a storage capacity of about 25,000 m3. The tank filled multiple times during last year’s monsoon and […]
Mr Surya Pratap Shahi, Minister of Agriculture in Uttar Pradesh state’s government, reviewed the progress of the Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI) project in the state’s Bundelkhand region. The minister praised the concept of renovating traditional water tanks (Havelis) renovation and appreciated efforts of all partners and project team members. Mr […]
Investments in CGIAR research generate returns of 10 times the amount invested, a new report has found. The report, commissioned by the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation, found a 10 to 1 benefit-cost ratio on CGIAR investments of $60 billion in present value terms over almost five decades. Titled […]
To improve agricultural productivity by detecting soil nutrient deficiencies and remedying them, two state-of-the-art soil testing laboratories in Bhubaneshwar and Sambalpur are being set up and have begun dry runs. The referral laboratories are being set up in a convergence mode, with ICRISAT supporting the government laboratory staff for a […]
Low cost drought proofing strategies for windfall gains in drylands Technologies developed in a national CSR award-winning watershed project in India have helped over 20,000 farmers in southern India conserve 200,000 m3 of water and earn higher incomes through alternate livelihood options. The project has a scale-out potential of more […]
500,000 farmers in 640,000 ha increased their yields by 15% to 40% and generated benefits worth US$ 15 million in six years Farmer Anji Reddy had no idea what mulching or covering the soil surface could do. When he attempted it, he was pleasantly surprised to see reduced weed growth. […]
The Coconut-Based Livelihood Program in Odisha, India, under the Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) in collaboration with ICRISAT, recently converged with a national employment scheme. As a key partner, ICRISAT will be involved in mass-scale plantation of coconut saplings following improved practices using a farmer-participatory approach. It is hoped that this […]
Reviving traditional rainwater harvesting structures in regions with degraded land leads to increased groundwater levels, more arable land, and higher crop productivity and incomes. A recently published scientific research paper offers a case study of Bundelkhand, Central India, where groundwater levels were boosted by 2-5 m by renovating water structures […]
World Coconut Day was observed on 2 September in Odisha to highlight the importance of coconut cultivation for livelihoods in coastal communities. With its partners in the Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM), ICRISAT marked the occasion with demonstrations of planting, intercropping and multi-cropping coconut. A booklet, ‘Scientific management of coconut’ in […]
Plummeting groundwater levels and adverse rainfall patterns forced farmers in Buchinelli village in Telangana to abandon agriculture but a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative implemented by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. adopting a climate-smart approach equipped farmers to return to farming. So far, more than 400 households in the watershed have benefited […]
This cropping season, observing all safety measures amidst the COVID pandemic (see box), more than a 1,000 farmers will be participating in demonstrations on growing improved groundnut, pigeonpea and vegetables with balanced application of fertilizers and planting orchards at two learning sites of a successful watershed initiative in southern India. […]
Farm ponds, revived soils and improved crop varieties lead to a more productive rural Odisha Kalahandi district in Odisha, India, has suffered from repeated droughts and famines for several decades, causing great hardships to the local farmers. A holistic intervention is helping 8,500 farmers in 10 villages boost farm yields […]
Under an extensive soil health mapping program in Odisha state, India, over 40,200 soil samples from farmers’ fields across 309 blocks in 30 districts were collected and analyzed, and recommendations made in response to the micronutrient deficiencies in the soil. Also, best management practices for increasing crop productivity were shared […]
Yields are up and fewer farmers in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh are migrating to cities, following a project that almost tripled their agricultural incomes. The initiative in Jhansi district introduced an array of practical methods, including water-harvesting structures, effective land-management practices and improved cultivars. These interventions made more […]
Strategies to harvest rainwater in drought-prone regions, through the collaborative Doubling Farmers’ Income project, received a boost with inputs from the state Agriculture Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India, recently. Focusing on the renovation of the ‘Haveli’ water structures in Chitrakoot, Mr Surya Pratap Shahi, Minister of Agriculture, Uttar Pradesh, discussed […]
