Telangana and ICRISAT

Science with a human face

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development. ICRISAT’s work is focused in the dryland areas of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and is carried out with a world-wide network of partners.

With its headquarters in Hyderabad, ICRISAT is proud of its association with the region since 1972. The institute also has two regional hubs and six country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food secure future.

ICRISAT also supports policies and institutional innovations for improving livelihoods of the smallholder farmers, and in achieving food, nutrition and health security while protecting the environment in the dryland areas.

The Institute has always enjoyed the hospitality and steadfast support in the region. Most of ICRISAT-Patancheru’s national staff, and all of the Regular Work Force, hail from Telangana.

About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org ICRISAT’s scientific information: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org

Science-led approach for agricultural development in Telangana>

ICRISAT will assist the Government of Telangana, India, to map the soil health of 4 million hectares of agricultural land in the state; issue soil health cards to farmers; and transform the state to be the country’s seed bowl. With directions from Mr K Chandrashekar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana, ICRISAT will develop a time-bound plan and strategy to be implemented over the coming years, to help the state achieve its vision for agriculture.

“ICRISAT welcomes the opportunity to work with the government of Telangana in raising rural prosperity and turning Telangana into the Seed Bowl of India,” ICRISAT Director General Dr William Dar said.

Soil health mapping for increased agricultural productivity

The initiative in Telangana state is aimed at achieving sustainable intensification of agriculture in the state through enhanced water and nutrient use efficiency with increased production and improved incomes of the farmers. A soil health atlas for the state will be prepared following stratified soil sampling and using GIS techniques. Soil test-based nutrient management recommendations for major crops will be developed for different sub-regions.

integral components of various cropping systems. Hence enhancing the productivity and net income under these crops assumes significance in improving the status of agriculture in Telangana. During interactions with the Telangana Chief Minister, Dr Dar stressed on systematic research efforts for developing new early-maturing cultivars with farmer-preferred traits, the need to expand cultivation of pigeonpea hybrids in Telangana state to improve productivity, and the large potential of sorghum to contribute to fodder/ forage requirement and enable Telangana to become a hub of dairy industry.

ICT-mediated knowledge platform for improving profitability

ICRISAT’s ‘GreenPHABLET’, a customized low-cost device that integrates phone and tablet computer powered by the Green SIM, has been attracting keen interest from state governments and departments across the country. It is to be launched soon, is water resistant, shock-, dust- and drop-proof (up to 1.5 meters), is available in seven and 10-inch screen, can be read under bright sunlight and operate in temperatures up to 60°C.

Improved cultivars and innovative integrated seed systems

ICRISAT can provide the necessary inputs to help strengthen the seed production system in Telangana. The Institute can provide improved high-yielding cultivars of chickpea, groundnut, pigeonpea, pearl millet and sorghum which are the major crops cultivated by smallholder farmers in the state. These crops are

Developed by the ICRISAT Center of Excellence in ICT Innovations for Agriculture in collaboration with NUNC Systems of Hyderabad, the ‘GreenPHABLET’ Phablet includes 3G connectivity, a 8 megapixel back camera and a 2 megapixel front camera.

Forging new partnerships for creating a sustainable environment

The surge of global warming and more recently the drought witnessed in some parts of the country and abroad calls for immediate steps to mitigate the effects of drought and create a more sustainable future. To achieve this ICRISAT and Ramoji Film City signed a MoA (Memorandum of Agreement) on Sustainable Management of Water Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Development through the establishment of an Agriculture Theme Park at Ramoji Film City.

The collaboration will aim at developing sites of learning for farmers by sharing the experiences of ICRISAT and providing technical guidance through a multi-disciplinary team of scientists. ICRISAT will provide technical support for planning the agriculture theme park and develop the plan to be undertaken in a phased manner to address various facets of science and agriculture. g

Oct 2014

ICRISAT is a memberof the CGIAR ConsortiumScience with a human face

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The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid tropics have over 2 billion people, of whom 644 million are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT innovations help the dryland poor move from poverty to prosperity by harnessing markets while managing risks – a strategy called Inclusive Market-Oriented Development (IMOD).

ICRISAT is headquartered in Patancheru near Hyderabad, Telangana, India, with two regional hubs and six country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food secure future.

ICRISAT-India (Headquarters)Patancheru 502 324; Telangana, India. Tel +91 40 30713071; Fax +91 40 30713074. E-mail icrisat@cgiar.org

About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org ICRISAT’s scientific information: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org

ICRISAT Director General Dr William D Dar interacting with Telangana Chief Minister Mr K Chandrashekar Rao.

Science with a human face

Starting a Pigeonpea Revolution Pigeonpea is a leading kharif pulse crop of the Telangana state, grown in nearly 300,000 ha in Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Adilabad, Warangal and Khammam districts. ICRISAT together with the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) released pigeonpea varieties Maruti (1986) and Asha (1993), which occupy more than 50% of pigeonpea cultivation area in the state. ANGRAU is a major partner of ICRISAT in the state. ICRISAT is currently working in collaboration with Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Palem (Southern Telangana Zone) RARS, Warangal (Central Telangana Zone) and RARS, Jagityal (Northern Telangana Zone) for the past seven years.

Thousands of farmers have benefitted from the collaborations, with access to improved seed varieties, training on improved crop production technologies and awareness creation on aspects of crop production technology through different extension methodologies. Sustainable seed system models and seed road maps have been developed in different districts enabling the transformation of farmers to seed entrepreneurs.

ICRISAT has also developed hybrids in pigeonpea (first in any grain legume in the world). These hybrids were extensively tested in all the districts of the state with promising results. ICRISAT with the support of RARSs, District Agricultural Advisory and Transfer of Technology Centers, State Seed Development Corporation and Department of Agriculture, is on a mission to enhance the cultivation of these hybrids in Telangana. In this direction, seed production was taken up in 2013 kharif and it is expected to cover about 60,000 ha of pigeonpea cultivation area with hybrids.

Our ‘Hybrid Seed Road Map’ aims to bring nearly 200,000 ha under hybrid pigeonpea cultivation by 2017.

Major impacts of ICRISAT’s activities in Telangana

Farmer-Participatory Integrated Watershed ManagementRecognizing and building on social capital in rural communities has been a key intervention of ICRISAT in addressing rural poverty. Adarsha watershed at Kothapally in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, is a classic example. Today, Kothapally is a prosperous village on the path to long-term sustainability and has become a beacon for science-based rural development.

ICRISAT’s soil and water conservation interventions, integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, wasteland development activities and livestock improvement measures have helped build resilience in the community. The site is constantly monitored and evaluated for biophysical, meteorological, hydrological and socio-economic data using high-end tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, and modeling and water balance studies.

Sorghum for Food, Fodder and BiofuelSorghum is a major food and fodder crop in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak, Ranga Reddy, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Khammam districts of Telangana. Sorghum rotis are popular in all these districts. Over the years, ICRISAT and ANGRAU worked together and released cultivars, such as PSV1, PSV16, ASH1 and PSH1 for rainy season adaptation and cultivars like NTJ2 for postrainy season adaptation. Sorghum cultivation is increasing, particularly in the ‘Maghi’ belt and in black soils of western Ranga Reddy district in Telangana.

Telangana also has the potential to become a hub of dairy industry and sorghum being a dual-purpose crop can contribute to the fodder/forage requirement of the industry.

ICRISAT is also providing technical support on the production of syrup from sweet sorghum to Jamikunta Krishi Vignana Kendra (KVK) located in Karimnagar district.

Transferring technology to smallholder farmersTo meet the challenge of providing smallholders with the right information at the right time, ICRISAT has set up an experimental Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Rural Hub in Addakal, Mahabubnagar district. The Hub aims to develop and test many information systems linking research, extension and markets. Together with partners, ICRISAT has developed many ICT platforms, which were tested by partnering with a local community-based NGO called the Adarsha Mahila Samaikhya (AMS), which is a federation of village-level micro-credit groups in the Addakal Mandal.

The Green SIM project of ICRISAT and its partners is helping over 40,000 farmers in 171 villages of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka build a resilient and food secure future. Green SIM provides personalized and generic advisory services on soil health deficiencies, fertilizer and pesticide recommendations, credit and insurance advice, information on availability of quality agricultural inputs, weather, market and nutrition advisories, livestock and 16 other categories in local dialects. The project is unique, as it is a sustainable ICT business model for agriculture and rural development, which has gained enormous success in less than one year. It recently received the Flame Award 2013 for ‘showcasing innovative use of technology’ of the decade from the Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI).

High-Iron Pearl Millet Cultivars for Nutritional SecurityAbout 60% of about 100 pearl millet hybrids developed since 2000 by the NARS and seed companies in India are based on ICRISAT-bred material. ICRISAT also bred the first biofortified cultivar of pearl millet ‘Dhanshakti’ with high iron content. It has been notified for release for all India cultivation in April 2014, and another biofortified pearl millet hybrid ICMH 1201 is being marketed in north Indian states starting 2014.

Promoting Entrepreneurship in AgricultureICRISAT’s Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) program is a pioneer in promoting entrepreneurship in agriculture globally for over

a decade. It provides comprehensive support to agribusinesses startups through technology transfer, business consultancy, capacity building, access to infrastructure facilities, funding and networking. It has won both national and international awards for promoting over 200 ventures. Currently, it is incubating 22 clients in Telangana. Some of the star ventures that graduated from the program include Gamma Agro-medical processing, Sresta Natural bioproducts, and Ava Biotech. The current star startups in the region include Green Fire Agro Tech, Eruvaka Technologies, Vennela Society, Sneha Green Products, Ind-millet foods, Mozo bamboo, Vipco and Aduri Agro products.

ABI is mentoring and handholding 22 agri incubators in State agricultural universities and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes across the country.

Village Level Studies in TelanganaVillage studies are one of the most efficient ways to understand the farming systems in rural areas and also help in identifying the socio-economic and institutional constraints faced by the farming community. The ICRISAT Village Level Studies (VLS) now called the Village Dynamics Studies in South Asia, offer an unique opportunity to examine the gender implications of changes in production systems over time, especially focusing on nutrition. The program is underway in two villages, Aurepalle and Dokur in Mahabubnagar district.

Scholarships for Students

ICRISAT recently launched the J Raghotham Reddy - William D Dar Student Scholarship Program. The program that will benefit 15 students every year and has been named in honor of the former Vice-Chancellor of ANGRAU, Dr J Raghotham Reddy and the Director General of ICRISAT, Dr William D Dar.

A holistic approach to research for development

Developing on-farm

practices and technologies

Diversifying farms

Introducing processing

CropImprovement

& seedaccess

Drivingmarket

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Facilitating market accessSu

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Intensif cati on

Analyzing key problems

and opportunities

Managing soil and water

Inte

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g Social Dimension

Building Agribusinesses