ICRISAT Development Center: Building capacities of partners for efficient collaborations
Trainees learning about composting of agri wastes.
The ICRISAT Development Center (IDC) recently organized two training programs to equip members of ICRISAT’s partner organizations with skills and technologies that would help ensure seamless collaborations in projects.
Training for NGO partners
One of the programs was for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with ICRISAT in the groundbreaking Bhoochetana project in Odisha. The main topics covered during the training session were agricultural climatology, soil health, cropping systems and integrated pest and disease management. Yield estimation, use of ICT in knowledge management and principles of laying out demonstrations were also discussed, with the last day being focused on participatory capacity-building protocols, and designing and delivery of training programs. The trainees visited ICRISAT farms, heritage watersheds, vermicomposting units, shredder machines and the meteorology laboratory; they were also provided with training manuals for reference while in the field. Explaining the importance of this three-day training session (16-18 August, 2018) to the 32 participants,Dr Sreenath Dixit, Theme Leader, IDC, emphasized the need for all Bhoochetana partners to have a common vision and work as a team to transform Odisha’s agriculture sector. Dr SK Dasgupta, Consultant (Capacity Building), coordinated the training program.
Officials from Odisha get trained on soil testing technology
Towards the end of the month, IDC conducted another training session, this time for the staff of two soil-testing laboratories in Odisha, as well as two Associate Professors from the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT). The participants got hands-on training for operating sophisticated analytical equipment at the Charles Renard Analytical Laboratory (CRAL), ICRISAT, during 27-31 August 2018.
Hands-on training on sophisticated soil-testing equipment at CRAL, ICRISAT. Photo: S Punna
Dr Sreenath Dixit, Theme Leader, IDC, briefing the trainees. Photo: IDC, ICRISAT
This initiative by ICRISAT is expected to improve analytical standards of Odisha’s district-level soil labs and ultimately help to address nutrient deficiency in the soil. Dr Pushpajeet Chaudhari, Manager-CRAL, and Mr G Pardhasaradhy, Consultant, coordinated the program.
