NICRA Technology Demonstrations for

Climate Resilient Agriculture

Y.G. Prasad, Coordinator ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad

ygprasad@gmail.com

WOTR National Workshop 27Oct 2014

• To enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture (including crops, livestock and fisheries) to climatic variability and climate change through strategic research on adaptation and mitigation

• To demonstrate site specific technology packages on farmers’ fields to cope with current climatic variability

• To enhance the capacity of scientists and other stakeholders in climate resilient agricultural research and awareness of impacts

Project Components

1. Strategic Research

2. Technology Demonstrations

3. Capacity Building

4. Sponsored / Competitive research grants

2011

Strategic Research Component

At CRIDA

Technology Demonstration Component : Rationale

• Availability of technologies

• Availability of indigenous practices

• Inherent resilience with the community for coping with disasters

• Long experience of NARS in evolving drought/flood resilient technologies

Institutional Framework for Implementation

Zone States No. of KVKS

I Haryana, HP, J&K, Punjab 12 II Bihar, Jarkhand, West Bengal, A&N Islands 15 III Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland

Sikkim, Tripura 17

IV UP, Uttarakhand 13 V AP, Maharashtra 13 VI Rajasthan, Gujarat 7 VII Chhattisgarh, MP, Orissa 14 VIII Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala 9

No. of NICRA KVKs implementing TDC 100

TOT Divisions of Core NICRA institutes 7

NICRA sites under AICRP for Dryland Agriculture 33

New KVKs in XII Plan : 21 New NGOs in XII Plan : 10

N

Map not to scale

Cold waveCold wave & DroughtCold wave, Drought & FrostCycloneCyclone & FloodDroughtDrought & Cold waveDrought & FloodDrought & Heat waveDrought & SalinityFloodFlood & CycloneFlood & SalinityFrostFrost & Cold waveHeat wave & Cold waveHeavy rainfallHigh temperatureSalinity & Water loggingScanty rainfall & SalinityWater stressWater stress, Soil erosion & Soil acidity

NICRA Technology Demonstration Sites

Climate vulnerabilities addressed

Drought :36 sites Floods: 12 Heat wave/ High temp:15 Frost/Cold wave: 10 Multiple stresses: 27

Baseline Information for NICRA Villages - Established

MaxT, MinT & RF monthly normals

Temperature deviations from normal

RF monthly departures (June to Sep)

TDC NICRA

NRM

Livestock & Fisheries

Institutional Interventions

Crop Prod.

Technology Demonstration Modules

In-situ Ex-situ RWHS

Tolerant cultivars

Planting time

Crop diversification

Contingency interventions

CHC Seed/

Fodder bank

Tolerant Breeds

Shelter Mngmt

Health

Feed/ Fodder

Rationale: Demonstration of proven agricultural practices sourced from the NARS

Productivity

Resilience

Sustainability

Resilience - Key to Sustainability in Agriculture

Capacity to adapt to unforeseen changes

An attribute of dynamic, adaptive systems to face of uncertainty & constant change

Twin Aims of Technology Demonstrations

Resilience

Stated aim in all production systems

Interventions to cope with current climatic variability

Main focus is on adaptation to unforeseen changes – contingency situations

Sustainability

Goal in production systems limited by natural resource degradation

Interventions related to improvement in natural resource quality and use efficiency – build inherent resilience

Adaptations to address both unforeseen & constant change

Source of technologies: NARS & ITKs

Unfolding of Agricultural Drought

Drought in rainfed areas Delay in onset of monsoon Breaks in monsoon and erratic distribution (early,

mid-season and terminal)

Drought in irrigated areas Insufficient rains in catchment areas Insufficient rains leading to poor inflows into tanks Insufficient rains for groundwater recharge

Rainfall analyses Deviation in monthly RF in drought years vs normal

Resilience to Drought Module Intervention End user Impact Critical concerns

NRM Farm ponds Individual Productivity, Diversified enterprises, Cropping intensity

Lifting & efficient use

Tanks Community High cost, User rights Check dams Community

RCTs Individual / Community

Resource conservation, Productivity, Livelihood

Maintenance

Recharging of wells Individual Resilience Maintenance

Production systems

Contingency crop planning

Individual / Community

Resilience Seed availability

Planting methods Individual Resilience Availability of farm implements / machinery

Biomass / residue recycling

Individual Resilience, Productivity

Adjustment in planting time of rabi crops

Individual Water saving, Productivity

NICRA

Resilience to Flood/ Cyclone / Excess & Unseasonal rains

Module Intervention End user Critical concerns

NRM Land shaping Individual Cropping intensity

Drainage/ Conveyance efficiency

Community Cost & maintenance

Production systems

Flood tolerant varieties

Individual Productivity

Integrated farming system

Individual Inputs, employment, Returns

Planting methods (BBF, FIRB, R/F)

Individual Availability of farm implements / machinery

Rainout shelters / alternate enterprises

Individual Marketing

NICRA

Institutional / Community interventions

Intervention Requirements Critical concerns

Custom hiring centre for farm machinery

Capital costs, Type of implements & number, capacity building, housing

Management & sustainability

Seed bank Infrastructure

Fodder bank Infrastructure

Capacity building / Training of end users

Climate focus, Expertise

Quality

NICRA

Before land shaping treatment in Bhongeri village

Dugout pond for rainwater harvesting and preventing inundation of main field

Cultivation of paddy on raised main field and vegetables on embankment during kharif season

Cultivation of vegetables in main field and on embankments during rabi season

Scope for upscaling Coastal region of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu

Landshaping & Ail cultivation in cyclone prone coastal villages

#1

First Nursery Second Nursery Third Nursery

Bihar & Jharkhand

Community paddy nursery as a contingency measure for delayed planting

#3

Most Popular Implements in CHCs • Zero till drill • Drum seeder • Rotavator • Happy seeder • Ridge & furrow planter • Multi crop planter • Multi crop thresher • Power tiller

Small Farm Mechanization through Custom Hiring Centers

• Facilitates timely sowing operations in narrow windows of moisture availability

• Precision planting, good germination and better crop stand

• Access to small & marginal farmers of costly machinery

• Crop residue recycling • Water saving, in situ moisture conservation • Increase in crop productivity • Labor saving • Multiple operations e.g. planter & rotavator

Revenue generated: Rs. 26,00,000 Sustainability fund: 25% of revenue

#22

Improved planting methods to increase rainwater use efficience & crop productivity

Crop stand in BBF Drainage in furrows Making of BBFs

Soybean at Datia, MP BC ratio: 3.51 vs 2.41

Onion atTumkur Additional gross returns: Rs.1,50,000/-

Cotton at Aurangabad

#22

Documented 27 climate resilient practices/ technologies

Climate vulnerability

addressed Description of resilient

practice Costs & Impact Scale of demonstration Scope for up-scaling

Towards upscaling

Towards upscaling

Thank you