The test kit launched officially on July 26 by Dr Allan Chilimba, Deputy Director, Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS), Lilongwe at ICRISAT-Malawi, requires limited technical knowledge or training and can be done on location by farmers, agro-dealers and food processors. For example it can be used by traders to check for contamination before concluding a sale. The rapid detection is useful for public health authorities to help identify suspected samples in cases of an outbreak of aflatoxin poisoning.

The new test is simple to perform and can detect contamination at levels of 10 parts per billion (ppb) in less than 15 minutes. While the competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (cELISA) test, developed in 2000 by ICRISAT, which has to be done in a laboratory by trained technicians, and other analytical tests can take up to two days.

Dr S Anitha explaining about the aflatoxin test.

The compact portable device is based on the lateral flow immunoassay test (popularly known as the strip test like that used to detect glucose in human blood). If aflatoxin is present in the sample, then one pink line appears on the strip, whereas if the sample doesn’t have any aflatoxin, two pink lines will appear.

“The device will contribute to manage and reduce the entry of aflatoxins in the food value chains, improve diagnosis for local and export trade and support the food processing industry to maintain low exposure levels in food products in our local markets as well as for export markets,” said Dr Anitha Seetha, Scientist, ICRISAT, Malawi.

Aflatoxin is carcinogenic. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 25% of all crops in the world are affected by aflatoxins. The WHO recently estimated that in 2010 around 20,000 people died globally from aflatoxin poisoning and an equal number fell ill.

Groundnut, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, chilies, pistachios, cassava and other food products are contaminated by aflatoxin each year. They not only affect human and livestock health but can also affect the marketability of food products. Many countries reject imports of agricultural products that exceed certain levels of aflatoxin, costing farmers millions of dollars every year.

“ICRISAT has been working with smallholder farmers in Africa to combat the aflatoxin problem. This kit will enable rapid and cost-effective deployment by the government and private sector to protect public health and also improve the export prospects for African countries,” said Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT.

Around 90 countries have regulations that establish maximum aflatoxin limits in food and feed products. The limits range from 4 ppb in the EU to 15 ppb in the USA.

Aflatoxin contaminated food can pose a serious health risk. Symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning include: liver cancer, fluid retention, increased incidence of Hepatitis B infection, and stunting in children. In poultry and livestock, aflatoxin can cause feed refusal, loss of weight, reduced egg production and contamination of milk. Tropical countries are primarily affected, which includes the majority of Africa, India and other south Asian countries.

The development of the sample extraction kit is currently underway and will be ready in two months so that the whole process can be carried out in the field or anywhere else. The kit has been developed by Dr Anitha Seetha.

Timeline (40+ years) on ICRISAT’s research on Aflatoxin: https://icrisat.org/aflatoxin-timeline

Media release: First portable low-cost device developed for rapid detection of aflatoxins

Some other major findings of the study are:

• For an adolescent girl the relative calorie allocation is less by nearly 18%.
• Gender bias against females was strongest for vitamin A at 89%.
• Occupation of the male head of the household was more important than age or education in influencing allocation. When the head was involved in non-farm work, there was considerably less bias in food allocation compared to when the head worked on his own farm.
• Being part of Other Backward Classes (OBC) or Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes (SC/ST), decreases the adolescents’ food allocation by 50% and 85% respectively, when compared to Forward Caste (FC).
• There was no evidence for the role of female decision making in intra household allocation – no matter what her education level.
• Undernourishment was positively linked to biased allocation in the case of vitamin A, calcium, iron and calorie intakes.
• Both adolescents and the households as whole consumed more diverse diets on market days than normal days.
• Limited access to certain food groups in the market (meat, eggs, milk) may be impacting household access to certain nutrients.

The 2-week study covered 58 households (21 in Kalman village and 37 in Shirapur village) in Maharashtra, comprising 81 adolescents (10-19 yrs), of which 35 were girls and 46 boys. The villages are part of the Village Dynamics in South Asia project led by ICRISAT.

Ms Archer (L), interacting with vegetable vendors. Photo: TCI

Ms Bae (R), collecting the food and nutrition data at the household level. Photo: TCI

Ms Archer (L), collecting anthropometry data of adolescents. Photo: TCI

The study on understanding the existing patterns of intra household allocation of food and nutrition dynamics was conducted by four students from Cornell University as part of their seven-week internship.

The interns interacted with key informants at the village level, on the various government policies and programs on nutrition, their availability and access at the village level. The programs discussed included the Public Distribution System (PDS), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Kishori Shakthi Yojana (KSY) under ICDS and the mid-day meal. One of the key objectives of the KSY is to improve the nutritional and health status of adolescent girls aged 11-18 years.

The four interns from Cornell University are, Ms Cairo Maria Archer, Ms Irene Bae and Ms Rachel Murro, undergraduate students in nutritional sciences, and Ms Dieynab Diatta, a Masters student in economics and management.

This Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) summer internship research project, supported by TCI, is a collaborative research activity between TCI and the Market, Institutions, Nutrition and Diversity unit, ICRISAT, and structured to provide an opportunity to all interns to conduct field-based research.

Ms Diatta (L), collecting policy information from village officials. Photo: TCI

This was the outcome of a research collaboration between International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and ICRISAT. The breeding lines for these varieties were provided by ICRISAT and ICARDA. Chickpea crop improvement research collaboration among the three institutes has led to the release and promotion of more than 20 varieties in Ethiopia so far.

The released varieties are:
DIMTU (DZ-2012 CK-031/ICCV-10107)
DIMTU variety gave higher yield compared to the standard check, Minjar and the local check by 15.34% and 29.71% and had 100-seed weight advantage of about 78.92% and 144.71% over the standard check (Minjar) and local check respectively.

HORA (DZ-2012 CK-001/FLIP 04-9C)
The HORA variety is mainly proposed for its reasonably good grain yield in potential chickpea growing areas. Its seed yield advantage as compared to the standard check (Ejere) is 22.9% and local check (DZ 10-4) is 70.39% higher.

DHERA (DZ-2012 CK-009/FLIP 0163)
DHERA’s better seed yield advantage over standard check Ejere (10.7%) and local check (53.51%) along with very erect growth makes it suitable for mechanical harvesting.

No fertilizers, irrigation or pesticides were used on any of these varieties to achieve the increased grain yield during the trails. When compared to standard and local checks, all three varieties showed promising results on disease resistance.

The trials were conducted by researchers from the Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center (DZARC), EIAR. Main contributors from DZARC, EIAR, were national chickpea breeders Dr Million Eshete, Mr Dagnachew Bekele, Mr Ridwan Mohammed and Mr Nigussie Girma.

The National Chickpea and Lentil Research Program,DZARC, will maintain 50 kg breeder seed of these varieties every year and plans are underway to get these varieties into sustainable seed systems and promotion under Tropical Legumes-III and USAID scaling projects.

“Tropical Legumes Phase III (TL-III) project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation presents an opportunity for different CGIAR centers to synergize their comparative advantage and expertise for the benefit of the smallholder farmer. Apart from ICARDA and ICRISAT, others like International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) were also involved in working together with their respective mandate legumes while exchanging experiences and lessons for the benefit of smallholder farmers in the dryland tropics,” said Dr Emmanuel Monyo, Theme Leader- Seed Systems & Project Coordinator, TL-III, ICRISAT.

Ethiopia supplies more than 60% of Africa’s global chickpea exports. In Ethiopia, 80% of the chickpea is marketed locally while 20% is exported mainly to Asia and Middle East. With this, the net
household income from chickpea trade is estimated at US$1,500-2,000 per ha.

The Smart Food team in Kenya will support the initiative, by disseminating nutrition knowledge with a focus on the first 1000 days of life. Various communication channels will be used specific to the community needs. As reported in the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) 2014, stunting stands at 26% and is highest in children aged 18-23 months (36%). This indicates that to avert malnutrition there is a need for awareness building on complementary feeding and the need to fully utilize the 1000-day window.

The Smart Food campaign aims at

• Increasing the levels of awareness and utilization of millets and pulses;
• Promoting proper infant and young child feeding practices and dietary diversity of women of reproductive age; and
• Changing attitudes and practices that contribute to malnutrition in the selected communities.
• To raise political and social leadership commitment to the Smart Food agenda, a task force has been formed with representatives from the ministries of Health, Agriculture and Education and ICRISAT. The objective of the task force is to develop a joint roadmap for the Smart Food campaign which includes the following activities:
• Train focal persons in the ministries and leaders of social organizations in the counties to sensitize communities (using existing structures) with key MIYCN (maternal, infant and young child nutrition) messages and educate them on the nutrition value and health benefits of smart foods.
• Hold a food and nutrition fair to create awareness about MIYCN and health benefits of smart foods
• Sensitize communities using local radio programs and jingles.
• Engage the First Ladies of the counties to drive the smart food nutrition agenda within their communities.
• Work with existing social structures to train women and youth on Smart Food recipes for diversification of diets.
• Ride on existing school events and competitions (drama, science congress, music festivals, athletics) to educate youth on nutrition and promote smart foods.
• Sensitize early childhood development teachers and decision makers from hospitals, orphanages, local schools and restaurants on the nutritional benefits of smart foods (including Board of Directors/Management).
• Train chefs/cooks of local institutions – restaurants, schools, hospitals, orphanages on Smart Food recipes and on appropriate technologies.
• Organize a sensitization workshop for small and micro enterprises in the county on opportunities in product development using smart foods, training on food safety, quality standards and quality assurance, and initiate linkage with other influential players.
• Educate urban consumers on nutrition and smart foods through social media.
• Develop a cooking show that educates people on nutrition and promote smart foods.
• Enlist support from the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Mrs. Margaret Kenyatta, to promote nutrition through the Smart Food campaign

The strategic approaches adopted to improve the nutritional status are to improve access (physical and economic) to diverse quality food and support improved utilization of maternal and child health, and nutrition services. These will be realized alongside other objectives of increasing productivity of value chains and improving markets and expanded trade for the value chains.

Recently, 3-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops were conducted at Makueni, Elgeyo, Marakwet and Siaya. The trainings focused on agri-nutrition, MIYCN and on appropriate social behavior change approaches to be used during the cascade training down to the communities.

The strategy is to use existing government structures to transfer nutrition education by training various actors including agricultural extensions, health workers, teachers, community health volunteers, etc. The cascade trainings will also include other influencers like grandmothers, men, religious leaders, community elders and pupils/students.

Some topics covered during the training included: proper food choices and combinations, applied nutrition (selecting, preparing, cooking and distributing within households), classification of nutrients and their functions, definitions of malnutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight, overweight/obesity and micronutrient deficiencies), examples of diet related non-communicable diseases (signs and symptoms, dietary management), nutrition in the lifespan (pregnancy, newborn, infancy,  etc.), food hygiene, meal planning, and energy efficient cooking.

Prior to the ToT, a formative study was carried out in 5 of the 6 counties during April 2016, to seek inputs from mothers with children below 5 years through focused group discussions. About 244 mothers participated in the formative study and were sensitized on agri-nutrition with a special focus on smart foods. The process helped the team identify and understand the characteristics of the target communities’ (their interests, behaviors and needs) that influence their eating habits.

The Nutrition Pathways map below depicts how ICRISAT is working to improve nutrition status of women and children in Kenya.

With funding of £10 million (GBP) (US$13,084,500) through the Newton Bhabha Fund, UK; Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC), UK; and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Government of India, four new Virtual Joint Centers in Agricultural Nitrogen will be created.  These are delivered in partnership with BBSRC, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), UK and the DBT. The Centers comprise of multiple research organizations in India and the UK, with each center receiving a co-investment of approximately £2.5 million (UD$3,271,125).

The Cambridge-India Network for Translational Research in Nitrogen (CINTRIN), one of the four centres, is led by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), UK and ICRISAT – India. It also brings together the Department of Plant Sciences and Sainsbury laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK; the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), India; the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), India; ADAS UK Ltd., UK; and the agri-IT specialist KisanHub, located in Cambridge, UK and Pune, India.

The launch meeting of CINTRIN was held during end of June at Cambridge and attended by all partners of the consortium. Following this, the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed between ICRISAT and DBT on 8 July for this research.

“The overarching aim of CINTRIN is to improve not only the income and livelihood of farmers by reducing the inputs cost, but also to save the environment by minimizing the negative impacts of excessive use of fertilizers,” emphasized Dr Rajeev Gupta, Principal Scientist, ICRISAT, who is leading the Indian team of CINTRIN.

“The natural variation for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) will be studied in diverse germplasm of wheat, sorghum, pearl millet and foxtail millet. The findings will be applied to develop new breeding lines with enhanced NUE. CINTRIN will also use model plants such as Arabidopsis and Brachypodium for basic research which will be translated into crops in the future,” added Dr Gupta.

Dr Alison Bentley, Director of Genetics and Breeding, NIAB explains, “The CINTRIN partners will translate developmental biology research into innovation in nitrogen use by Indian farmers, by connecting developmental research, crop breeding, agritechnology and extension work. This will be enhanced by easily accessible data-driven methods of technology transfer, developed by the India and UK-based company, KisanHub.”

“We want to promote a new understanding of the science associated with optimization of crop nitrogen use, built on exciting discoveries in model plant species which have the potential to revolutionize the way we think about the nitrogen requirement of crops,” said Dr Bentley.

Professor Ottoline Leyser, Director, The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge said, “We are excited to be participating in CINTRIN as this sort of collaboration is essential for our research to contribute to solving the pressing problems facing agriculture.”

The initiative will build on established research links between NIAB, the University of Cambridge and research institutes in India. Exchanges in personnel between India and the UK via CINTRIN will enhance the skills of the next generation of plant technologists and provide a standard for building capacity in fundamental plant sciences and translation into germplasm and agronomic outputs in
both countries.

The objectives of this initiative are to:

• Improve Mali Meteo’s historical climate (rainfall and temperature) data through development of gridded data sets created by combining quality-controlled station data with satellite retrievals and other proxies;
• Improve seasonal prediction as well as physical understanding of current trends related to the sub-seasonal distribution of rainfall;
• Build the capacity of Mali Meteo to provide high quality climate services and explore options for leveraging its capabilities to provide climate information to the public and private sectors in Mali.
• The availability of climate data will be improved by combining quality controlled data from the national observation network, which is very sparse over many parts of the country, with satellite estimates for rainfall and elevation maps, and reanalysis products for temperature.

As part of the JAMSI launch, six automatic weather stations were offered to Mali Meteo. “Implementation of the incubator activities will strengthen the capabilities of Mali Meteo, in the analysis and interpretation of weather forecasts at different levels, in relation to historical climate data, to provide climate services to help growers in their decision making. Establishment of a joint agro meteorological services incubator, will enable us to provide different users with reliable weather and climate information,” said Mr Djibrillah A Maïga, Director General, Mali Meteo. He thanked ICRISAT and other partners for the automatic weather stations and computers, saying that they will support the modernization of meteorological data collection in Mali.

JAMSI is a unique partnership between a national weather and hydrology agency and a CGIAR center. For Dr Mathieu Ouédraogo, representing the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Africa, “JAMSI is a great opportunity to capacitate the emerging national climate services, which closely reflects the philosophy of ‘Capacitating African Smallholders with Climate Advisories and Insurance Development (CASCAID)’ project and that of the overall theme of CCAFS on climate management. It will not only strengthen Mali Meteo’s network of terrestrial observations, but also catalyze synergies between public sector, private operators and non-governmental organizations who provide value added services towards intensified and sustainable agriculture.”

According to Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Regional Director, West and Central Africa, ICRISAT, public and private agro-meteorological services are an important component in the provision of advisory support services to smallholders and agricultural enterprises. “For a long time we have witnessed the capacity and know-how of farmers. When supported with scientific innovations, favorable policies and strong partnerships, it can enhance their productivity and revenues while improving the resilience of their lands and livelihoods.”

JAMSI was launched on 10 June as part of the CASCAID project.

The objectives were to:

• Strengthen and stimulate linkages and information sharing among farmers on high yielding, drought and disease tolerant varieties;
• Distribute small package of seeds of the improved varieties to farmers;
• Create awareness of alternative seed sources and varieties;
• Create forum for knowledge exchange on seed production systems among researchers, farmers and seed experts; and
• Create working contacts between farmers, extension staff, researchers and agro-dealers on sustainable seed systems to support climate resilience for farmers.

The fairs included plenary sessions, group discussions and exhibition stands where 65 partners, including government agencies and private sector, exhibited their products and services to about 400 participants. The fairs offered an opportunity to create linkages that will help promote processing and value addition in Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire.

“The seed fairs have helped create partnerships among stakeholders for a better dissemination of new varieties,” said Mr Siaka Dembélé, Representative of the Regional Agriculture Directorate, Mr Dembélé also stressed on the continuity of such events as it provides training to extension agents, so they can advise more producers.

Around 300 farmers received mini-packs of improved groundnut varieties from ICRISAT through a voucher system. Along with the seeds farmers were exposed to appropriate agronomic practices and market links.

“I came to learn more about the new improved seed varieties. But more importantly I learnt about new practices. For example, I keep my seed with the rest of the crop that is highly vulnerable to insect attack. I do not measure the extent of damage caused by these insects on my seed. Now I am aware of that,” said Mr Seydou Diallo from Nangola village, rural commune of Niéna in Sikasso region.

Farmers discussed the challenges, constraints and opportunities in the seed production systems in West Africa. The dangers associated with aflatoxin contamination and how to mitigate it was stressed. Farmers were made aware of diet diversification and climate change resilience strategies. Commercial seed producers and processors were able to understand farmers’ needs, tastes and concerns.

“I learned that you can turn groundnuts into nutritious food. This encourages us to embrace this cultural advantage in Cote d’Ivoire. During the exchanges, we also learned that market access is a transboundary challenge for all stakeholders, including producers of all countries,” said Mr Diedhiou Augustin, a farmer from Korhogo in Côte d’Ivoire.

Ms Mariam Sissoko from the village of Same in Kayes region appreciated the participation of women during the fair and said “Women have spoken and expressed their views on important issues such as production, processing and marketing of seeds.”

The farmers were interviewed using structured questionnaires to evaluate the impact of the seed fair. Farmers were also willing to be part of the after-fair impact assessment study, intended in August 2016, after the planting period.

The fairs in the Sikasso and Kayes regions were declared open by the Governors of the respective regions, in brief opening ceremonies. Delegations from Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), Direction Regional de l’Agriculture (DRA), Conseil Regional and various stakeholders including farmers, representatives of farmer associations  and cooperatives, seed companies, seed processors, local and international NGOs and other Mali agricultural professionals attended the events. The participants expressed that the program should be conducted annually.

The seed fairs were organized on 20-21 June at Sikasso and on 24-25 June at Kayes by ICRISAT.

Developing farmer field laboratory and sites of learning to pilot new technologies, ICRISAT has introduced machine transplanting on a pilot basis under the Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode in 16 ha under the Rythu Kosam program. ICRISAT and the pilot site farmers entered into a PPP agreement with KUBOTA India, a Japanese farm machinery company.

Several awareness programmes were conducted in the pilot village of Lingumparthy in Yeleswaram mandal, regarding the benefits from cost reduction and increased yields the farmers would obtain by adopting machine transplanting. These programmes were conducted by Dr Rajesh Nune, Visiting Scientist, ICRISAT, Mr Bharat Chandra, Scientific Officer, ICRISAT and Ms T Sangeeta, Research Technician, ICRISAT Development Centre, along with Nature Volunteer Organization, a local NGO.

Nearly 120 farmers showed interest in being part of the pilot initiative. Data such as preferred seed variety, date of sowing, proposed area of machine transplantation, etc., was collected from the interested farmers. KUBOTA procured seeds of the farmer preferred varieties, raised the nursery of different varieties of paddy at the Maruteru Research Station (West Godavari), transported the saplings to the farmers’ fields and transplanted them using the machine, in the first week of August 2015.

The cost incurred by the farmer for this was ` 7,500 (US$ 112) per ha, which was half of what a farmer usually spends, ` 15,000 (US$ 223), for the above work. Another issue addressed through this intervention is the labour shortage, which is a major problem in this village.

Through crop cutting experiments in machine transplanted fields and control fields, it was demonstrated that on an average, the machine transplanted fields showed increased yield of around 3-5 bags (approximately 750 kg per ha) compared to the control fields.

In rabi (post rainy) 2015-16, farmers from Siripuram village, located adjacent to Lingumparthy village, have also come forward and joined the PPP mode. The area under machine transplantation has now expanded to 80 ha.

Under the Rythu Kosam program, KUBOTA India will set up a “Custom Hiring Centre” in the pilot village, where  farmers will have access to all farm equipment of the company and can hire them for their fields on a first-come-first-serve basis. Additional farmer support will also be made available at the centre.

At the fair, nearly 70% (4,500 kg) of assorted improved varieties of seeds brought to the fair by different seed companies were sold to farmers, amounting to NGN 903,600 (US$3,204).

The three-day programme was attended by around 1,800 farmers of which 484 were women. This overwhelming response has enthused the organizers to hold such input fairs on an annual basis to provide the necessary platform for interaction with farmers and agricultural inputs companies for higher productivity and income to farmers.

Invitees to the opening ceremony included Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Executive Governor of Kano State, and Prof Hafiz Abubakar, Deputy Executive Governor of Kano State;Dr Muhammad Sanusi II CON, Emir of Kano represented by Hakimin Kura, Alhaji Bello Ado Bayero; Nasiru Gawuna, Hon. Commissioner of Agriculture; Ahmad Rabi’u Bako,Hon. Commissioner of Natural Resources, Commerce & Industry and Murtala Sule Garo, Hon. Commissioner of Ministry for Local Government Affairs.

Under the auspices of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase 1 (ATASP-1) and USAID Groundnut Upscaling Project, ICRISAT Nigeria in partnership with Fadama Development project Additional Finance (Fadama III AF), organized the agricultural inputs fair, hosted at Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority premises Kura, Kura LGA, Kano State from 26 to 28 May.

Farmers studying their Soil Health Cards

The next steps will be to conduct on-farm trials to show the yield gains and net profits.Recently ICRISAT coordinated soil testing right down to individual farm level, identified by Geographic Information System (GIS) coordinates, including micronutrient deficiencies. This level of detailing has rarely been undertaken. Based on the above exercise, the first set of soil health cards were delivered to 79 farmers of the Naganpally village on 19 June. They were trained on collecting soil samples from their fields and nutrient deficiencies in these samples were then identified at ICRISAT laboratories and fertilizer recommendations given separately for 16 different crops (ranging from paddy to millets) to each farmer. As a result, every farmer has a Soil Heath Card, which saves them money by not over fertilizing, as well as maximizing yields.

This was part of the CSR of Ramoji Foundation in two villages. Other villages have also benefited through CSRs of SABMiller (10 villages) and Asian Paints (6 villages), and with the Medak Collector (20 villages).

Karnataka is the first state to have achieved soil micronutrient mapping at farm level across the whole state and this has been published as a Soil Fertility Atlas by the Government of Karnataka and ICRISAT five years ago. Currently Karnataka is the only state to have achieved this, as in many areas information of only macronutrients are collected at the district level. The precision of collecting soil micronutrient details will mean more accurate recommendations to the farmers. The initiative with farmers was monitored and recorded, showing up to 20 to 66% productivity gain across districts.

“Soil heath cards are one key step in a holistic approach. ICRISAT has a strong belief in a holistic approach, as any one intervention will only deliver its full advantage when all part of the value chain are also developed. Typically this includes watershed management, access to seeds of improved crop varieties,  integration with livestock, on-farm practices including water use efficiency, links to markets, processing and agribusiness,” said Dr Suhas P Wani, Director ICRISAT Development Center.