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 […]
Collaborative project with Power Grid Corp of India has significant scale-out potential 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 […]
As a key partner in the Odisha Livelihood Mission, ICRISAT recently initiated a Coconut Plantation Drive in Odisha, India, in bid to provide more livelihood options in the state, which was battered by a cyclone last year and the COVID-19 pandemic this year, witnessing extreme loss of crops and vegetation […]
A village in North India sets an example 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 the village. This helped create a storage capacity of about 25,000 cubic meters. The tank filled […]
Eight water harvesting structures were completed during May while following social distancing. The timing was critical to capture monsoon rains and benefit 2,000 smallholder farmers. The structures are part of a recently initiated watershed project in Telangana by Trident Sugars, a wholly owned subsidiary of Natem Sugar, and ICRISAT. The […]
A consortium approach of different partners can revolutionize dairy sector in India through promoting scientific dairy development activities and resource use efficiency. In this Good Practice Note, Drs. Prakashkumar Rathod, Sreenath Dixit, Kaushal Garg and Raviraj Jadhav share their experiences of improving the livelihood of farmers through multiple technical interventions […]
What are locusts? Locusts are short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. There are 19 locust species in the world and among them the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is the most dangerous. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and […]
The President of India recognized the Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) with the highest CSR award for bettering the lives of nearly 30,000 farmers through an integrated watershed management project executed in partnership with ICRISAT. Read more
Farm-dependent households in Ukkali now have an added source of income, thanks to the village’s enterprising women who availed of the POWER GRID-ICRISAT watershed project. Read more
Female calves birthed in Bundelkhand, following sexed sorted insemination, could herald the end of rampant abandoning of livestock in the region, thereby increasing farmers’ returns. Read more
Have you ever heard of a dual-purpose farm that is a reservoir in the monsoon and a fertile farm in the next season? If you did, it might have been about the ancient Indian haveli system – a 200-300-year-old rainwater harvesting system that once greened the Bundelkhand region, one of the most drought-prone areas in India. Read more
Migration is making a U-turn out of Bundelkhand region in India where a project is underway to double farmers’ incomes. Water harvesting efforts initiated earlier this year have helped families in a remote village return to their homes and farms after decades of migration. Read more
Covid-19 could not have caught India at a more vulnerable moment. Starting April, Indian farms go into mission mode to be able to feed a billion plus people within and millions more outside for rest of the year. That Covid may compromise the mission warrants strategies extraordinaire. Read more
While forming farmers’ collectives to promote the most relevant technologies and to engage in collective marketing are important, farmers do need immediate support for marketing their produce during pandemics and disasters. Providing such support is critical to ensure sustainability of such initiatives, and is also a moral responsibility for change […]
More than 400 vegetable producers in India’s Andhra Pradesh state have taken to cultivating grafted vegetables in an attempt to double their incomes through increased yields. Farmers are reporting around 30-50% increase in yields from use of grafted varieties over traditional varieties. The farmers, from villages around Kuppam town of […]
Twenty-five agriculture extension officers and trainers from nine African and Asian countries learnt about the latest in agriculture practices, agribusiness, food safety and Smart Food during the recently concluded 42nd Feed the Future India Triangular Training program (FTFITT). Following multiple sessions covering about 36 topics over two weeks, the participants […]
ICRISAT’s soil laboratory has recently been accredited by the FAO Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN), becoming only the second lab in India to achieve this distinction. The laboratory can now serve as a focal point for all soil laboratories in India and help develop a regional laboratory network in the […]
ICRISAT collaborated with Akshaya Patra to trial millets in the school feeding program. Nutritionists and chefs designed menus combining millets, legumes and vegetables. While undertaking the feeding program with 1,500 children, the growth of children was measured and compared to a control group being fed the standard fortified rice Read more..
A massive capacity building initiative involving elaborate logistical arrangements covering all the 30 districts in the Indian state of Odisha successfully concluded in November 2019. Teams of government agricultural officers and ICRISAT staff in less than three months reached over 2,500 agriculture officers and extension workers. This exercise was a […]
The means to help farmers improve their livelihoods are not developed in offices and laboratories alone, but rather on the fields with indigenous innovative ideas and implements, as was demonstrated during a recent Farmers’ Field Day in Manhalli village, Bidar district, Karnataka. Project Bhoosamruddhi conducted a field visit to update […]
