and 2011 workplan development
meeting, 14 June 2011,
ICRISAT-Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh
502 324, India.
Together with our partners, we believe that far stronger efforts are urgently needed to address key challenges afflicting the drylands and their agricultural production systems, which are vital to creating a better tomorrow for hundreds of millions of the most vulnerable people in the world. In many places, population pressure and the need for agricultural intensification have brought key dryland cereal production systems under increasing stress. Poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation in the drylands are clearly exacerbating the situation.
Dryland cereals now have substantial economic value and the demand for these crops is driven by a common set of factors. For example, about 50% of the demand for dryland cereals is related to sustaining livestock (feed and fodder) in integrated crop/livestock systems, while at least 40% of what is produced is consumed directly by the poor as food in various forms. Moreover, a growing portion of dryland crops is being marketed for various industrial uses, such as malting, sweet syrups, ethanol and dairy, which is providing increasing amounts of cash income to smallholder farmers.
Given the above, we are now further intensifying our R&D and advocacy efforts to take dryland cereals to the next level of commercialization to benefit millions of smallholder farmers worldwide. We are anchoring this on our CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Dryland Cereals, which focuses on postrainy sorghum, micronutrient-rich sorghum and sweet sorghum improvement. As you know, in the past, most of our efforts went into rainy season sorghum improvement. Nowadays, the approach is a total shift of research portfolio in a way that reflects the present needs of smallholder farmers as well as the resource-poor people globally.
For smallholder farmers to be more productive and efficient in their farming operations and manage to make a profit, investment in appropriate research and ensuring farmers’ access to new innovations are essential.
Sorghum is an important crop in India in particular and in the semi-arid tropics of the world, in general, for its multipurpose uses. It is the dietary staple of more than 500 million people in more than 30 countries of the SAT. Majority of subsistence farmers who cultivate sorghum are unable to take advantage of its high yield potential. The situation can be rectified by growing varieties/hybrids with improved tolerance to drought and low soil fertility, and resistance to pests and diseases.
This is the first time that ICRISAT and its partners have received substantial funding support to pursue R&D on postrainy season sorghum, which is crucial for food and fodder security in this part of the world.
Hence, I take this opportunity to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for its support to the cause of small and marginal farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA). My thanks also go to all our partners in this undertaking for their commitment and support.
This project gives us an opportunity to push proven seed-embedded high-yielding technologies in farmers’ fields while developing sound backup material on production intensification methods, and markets for future use.
At this point, let me briefly mention some of the changes that are taking place around us. To overcome the challenges and exploit opportunities surrounding global agricultural research, the CGIAR’s reform process is on track, and a new Strategy and Results Framework (SRF) has been approved that defines and addresses global issues in a more focused manner. All research priorities and activities of the CGIAR are now guided by their potential contributions to reduce poverty and hunger, improve human health and nutrition, and enhance ecosystem resilience through high-quality international agricultural research, augmented by partnerships.
ICRISAT strongly believes that poor people will change their futures for the better given an opportunity. We developed a Strategic Plan to 2020 to give us direction to achieve six institutional outcomes – food sufficiency, crop intensification, crop diversification, system resilience, nutrition & health and women empowerment.
We are developing two CGIAR Research Programs, one on Dryland Cereals and another on Grain Legumes, to address food, nutrition security and environmental sustainability in partnership with NARS, ARIs, CSOs and the private sector.
To ensure the transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, the conceptual framework of this plan includes Inclusive Market-Oriented Development in addition to yield enhancement and this, ICRISAT will apply in a systems perspective to agricultural research-for-development.
Keeping in view climate change impacts on agricultural production, ICRISAT’s Governing Board has laid special emphasis on research on heat tolerance while strengthening its work on drought tolerance.
I am happy that this project is aligned with our own focus on yield improvement in postrainy sorghum in India, where terminal drought stress is a major constraint.
In line with ICRISAT’s regional research focus, postrainy sorghum improvement will be a major area of the work that needs to be carried forward to ensure greater productivity, from the current 600 kg ha-1 to about 850 kg ha-1, an over 40%
increase, as set out in the project target.
Two years of the HOPE project’s implementation have gone by. I learnt that scientists from all disciplines from different partner organizations have been diligently involved in fulfilling various objectives of the project.
I was told that in all the 10,000 fields we worked in under this project, in Maharashtra, there has been a considerable increase in sorghum grain and fodder yields in both the years, giving farmers additional incomes.
It is time to take stock of the situation and move forward in our approach to consolidate and sustain these gains in the years ahead. I look forward to your inputs in shaping, sharpening and carrying out our current and future sorghum research agenda.
Let me reiterate that the science we do should have meaning for the poor in the semi-arid tropics, and science and development should go hand in hand to win the war against hunger and poverty. I am confident that the outcomes of your deliberations will speed up this process.
Thank you and have a good day!