cereal systems initiative for south asia: project overview
DESCRIPTION
Presented by Alwin Keil, CIMMYT at the Africa RISING–CSISA Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Meeting, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 11-13 November 2013TRANSCRIPT
Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia: Project Overview
Alwin Keil
Africa RISING–CSISA Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Meeting, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 11-13 November 2013
Project Goal… To increase food, nutrition, and income security in South Asia through sustainable intensification of cereal-based systems
CSISA’s geographyInnovation ‘hubs’ across South Asia
Focus on the IGP: soilsand water resources to feed South Asia
Watergroundwater
surface water
Insects-DiseasesYellow/ Stem rustsAphids and Stem borers
Nutrients-Soilsfertilizer cost depleted soils
Energydiesel cost
biofuels
Climate Changeheat, drought, extreme events
Demandpopulation growth
changing diets
Converging Challenges
CSISA: A ‘big tent’ initiativeIntegrates disciplines and organizations
• Development of agricultural technologies + support services
• Future-oriented cropping systems research
• Breeding for high-yielding and stress-tolerant cereal varieties
• Relevant policy analysis
• Strategic partnerships (public + private sectors) to increase the scale and longevity of interventions
• Strengthen markets and enterprise development
• Capacity development through trainings and demonstrations
Implementing Partners
● International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
● International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
● International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
● International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
● World Fish (involved in Bangladesh only)
CSISA’s Objectives● Objective 1: Widespread dissemination of
production and postharvest technologies to increase cereal production, resource efficiency, and income. Innovation hubs
● Objective 2: Crop and resource management practices for future cereal-based systems. Research platforms
● Objective 3: High-yielding, heat- and water-stress-tolerant rice varieties for current and future cereal and mixed crop-livestock systems. Rice breeding led by IRRI
CSISA’s Objectives (cont.)● Objective 4: High-yielding, heat- and water-stress
tolerant, and disease-resistant wheat varieties for current and future cereal and mixed crop-livestock systems. Wheat breeding led by CIMMYT
● Objective 5: Improved policies and institutions for inclusive agricultural growth. Policy research led by IFPRI
● Objective 6: Project management, data management, communication, and monitoring & evaluation.
Phase I vs. Phase II● Phase I: 2009-2011
India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan
Lead centre was IRRI
● Phase II: 2012-2015 India, Bangladesh, Nepal
Lead centre is CIMMYT
● Transition from Phase I to Phase II: Donor-driven shift in priorities in India to Bihar/EUP and
Odisha, and in Bangladesh from the North to the South
Transition support for Phase I hubs in Punjab, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu
Top-down focus on research + technologies ( little impact)
What distinguishes CSISA: ‘Messy middle’ btw science-led + outcomes oriented
Bottom-up focus on community engagement ( don’t scale + often inappropriate tech.)
CSISA works to bridge the best of both approaches
Achieving impact at scale
● Research-for-development Led by research organizations, but still accountable for
achieving impact on the ground CIMMYT acts as lead convening centre of a consortium of
research institutions and public and private partner organizations
● CSISA endeavors to reach 2 million farm hhs by the end of Phase II (Sept 30, 2015)
● Works through partners and change agents, not only directly with farmers
Operational Model for Going to Scale in CSISA Phase II
INNOVATION + DURABLE PRODUCTS + SUPPORT TO CHANGE AGENTS
• Areas united by similar agricultural systems, production opportunities and challenges
• Provide a geographic focus for collaborative innovation, learning, and dissemination
• Brings together regional partners – private sector, GOs & NGOs, universities, farmer groups
• Provide a basis for local identification and participatory testing of improved seed and appropriate management technologies
Underlying the CSISA approach is the ‘Hub’
•There is no universal template for agricultural development
•Blending scientific rigor with participatory, demand-led approaches to technology development is a must
•Technologies alone are typically insufficient (markets, capital, risk, communications …)
Axioms for success with innovation hubs
CSISA technical entry points
Water productivity
Labor productivity
Soil fertility
Climate resilience
Yield Profitability
Conservationagriculture (CA)
*** ** *** *** * ***
Site-specific nutrient management
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Scale-appropriate mechanization
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Laser land leveling *** * * ***
Elite germplasm ** ** *** **
System intensification(more crops/yr)
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Post-harvest storage ***
Improved livestock feeding
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Strengthened seed systems
* * ** ** **
Bihar and Eastern UP
● Early wheat sowing● Zero-till wheat● Direct-seeded rice
Odisha● Site-specific nutrient mgmt● Integrated weed mgmt● Varietal demonstrations
● Mechanical rice transplanting● Rice nurseries● Maize seeding techniques
● Maize intensification● Laser land levelling● Zero-till pulse sowing
All hubs are working in conjunction with national partners, such as the State Departments and Bringing the Green Revolution to Eastern India
Research Platforms
● Karnal, Haryana: Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI)
● Patna, Bihar: Indian Council for Agricultural Research – Research Complex for the Eastern Region (ICAR-RCER)
● Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute
● Gazipur, Bangladesh
All conduct research on crop establishment methods, alternative cropping systems, economics of production, environmental impacts, etc.