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1. Do relief programs really
relieve? |
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 Zimbabwe’s smallholder farm sector faces many
problems – droughts, inflation, unemployment, AIDS... The
government and NGOs have launched large-scale relief programs,
distributing free seed and fertilizer to assist the rural
poor. ICRISAT was asked by several donors to help assess the
impact of these programs – and ultimately, suggest ways to
make relief programs more efficient.
The
study surveyed over 3200 farm households in 19 districts
across Zimbabwe. The results were then discussed at a series
of meetings with national and district authorities, extension
staff, NGOs, and donors. The study and the subsequent
discussions highlighted several key
issues.
First,
relief seed was welcome but not essential. Despite two
consecutive droughts, most farmers did have seed for planting,
either saved from their own harvest or obtained through
informal markets or social networks. In contrast to common
perceptions, relief seed did not lead to an increase in
planted area. Some of the relief seed was of poor quality,
failing to meet national standards for germination, physical
purity, or genetic purity. Some seed was poorly labeled, or
consisted of varieties unknown to farmers. Some farmers
received seed of crops they would not normally
grow.
Again
contrary to common perceptions, fertilizer distribution can give very high payoffs even in drought-prone areas,
provided farmers know how and when to apply it. In 2003/04,
about 160,000 farmers received 25 kg each of nitrogen
fertilizer, along with specific advice on its application.
Average yield gains were 30-50%; and remarkably, almost every
recipient achieved significant gains.
To
improve efficiency, two additional issues need to be
addressed. One is targeting. In theory, relief assistance is
targeted at the poorest or most vulnerable households. But the
selection criteria are often impractical to implement; so
beneficiaries are not necessarily the poorest in the
community. Another issue is duplication of effort. Multiple
NGOs often operate in the same area, leading to the delivery
of multiple input packages to the same
households.
The
study developed a set of guidelines for designing and
implementing NGO relief programs. The guidelines discuss the
nuts and bolts of relief distribution, as well as the
background development issues. They discuss various
innovations such as seed fairs and seed/input vouchers, more
practical criteria for selecting beneficiaries, planning and
implementation, monitoring methods; and even more fundamental
questions, such as whether relief investments in other inputs
(fertilizer, draft power) can generate better returns than
investments in seed distribution.
For
more information contact David
Rohrbach, Principal Scientist (Economics), email: d.rohrbach@cgiar.org
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2. Micro-dose d’ engrais pour
la prospérité des petits paysans du Sahel |
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La
production du mil et du sorgho,principales cultures
des populations du Sahel,est faible due aux
contraintes biophysiques et socio-economiques. Des
tests au Niger ont montré que la productivité de ces céréales
s’ améliore par la fertilisation par micro-dose ( application
de petites doses d’ engrais au poquet). Avec la micro-dose, la
quantité optimale d’ engrais par hectare n’ est que de 20 kg DAP
(18-46-0) ou 60 kg
NPK (15-15-15), correspondant respectivement à 2 g DAP
par poquet et 6 g NPK par poquet. D’ autres mesures d’ accompagnement
consistent à faciliter l’ accés des producteurs au crédit et
aux engrais et à mieux valoriser leur production. Ce système
appélé le « warrantage »est développé par le
Projet Intrants FAO..
C’
est à partir de ces expériences que le projet USAID TARGET
fertilisation par micro-dose est développé parl’ ICRISAT et ses
partenaires, TSBF-CIAT,IFDC, Projet Intrants FAO,les ONGs,INERA, Burkina Faso,
IER, Mali, et
INRAN, Niger. Ce projet est financé par l’ USAID. Dans
ces trois pays où la technologiea été testée , l’
augmentation des rendements du sorgho et du mil a varié entre
43 à 120 % et les
revenus des producteurs ont augmenté de 52 à 134 %. De 2002 à
2003, le projet a atteint près de 15000
menages.
Poursuivant
les efforts de dissemination de cette technologie de
micro-dose, des champs écoles d’ un hectare chaque ont été
installés sur 4 sites, à Fada Zeno et Konkorido dans la région de Dosso et
Guidan Idder et Doguerawa dans la région de Tahoua, Niger. Un
groupe de 20 producteurs stagiaires par site a conduit les
activités des champs écoles avec l’ appui technique du
projet.
Des
Journées Portes Ouvertes (JPO) ont été organisées du 27 - 30 septembre
2004. Le nombre des participants a varié entre 100 et 550. Des
visites des champs et des magasins de « warrantage »
ont été faites sous le guide des producteurs stagiaires. Ces
JPO ont permis aux villages environnants de se rapprocher des
organisations des producteurs des sites où les JPO ont été
organisées et de s’ initier à la démarche de création des
groupements et des organisations des producteurs en vue de
pratiquer la micro-dose, le « warrantage » et les
activités génératrices de revenus. L’approche des champs
écoles est efficace pour exposer les producteurs aux
technologies prometteuses et ainsi accelerer l’ adoption des
ces technologies. Contacter :
Dr Ramadjita Tabo, chercheur principal, ICRISAT ; Niamey,
Niger email : r.tabo@cgiar.org | |
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Nitrogen
(N) and phosphorus (P) are two major nutrients required for a
high crop yield. When managed inappropriately N becomes a
source of pollution and concern. Offshore oxygen depletion in
the Atlantic Ocean adjoining Europe and USA has been linked to
nitrates (NO3) from agricultural sources (nitrates
feed algae which in turn deplete the N in water, making it
unsafe for fish). It is also highly likely that N from sewage
and related sources is added to the total N pool. The presence
of high levels of NO3 (>45 ppm unsafe for
humans) in the wells near villages are very likely due to
mismanagement of solid (excrements of animal and humans, crop
biomass stored/used as fuel and fodder) and liquid (animal
urine, sewage water) wastes.
Phosphorus
is a globally scarce element and its supply is dwindling. It
is estimated that between 1950 and 2000 about 250 megatones of
P reached global water bodies, much of it through agricultural
products (Gumbo et al. 2002).
Both
N and P can potentially be recovered and brought back to
croplands by addressing the existing anomalies in the N and P
cycles. This will require recycling of solid and liquid
wastes. Microbiologically safe and low-cost technologies for
recycling exist, but will require application research for
different situations. Dry composting toilets, modified septic
tanks, biogas production using cattle and human excrements and
constructed wet lands (root-zone cleaning system) are some of
the proven sanitation technologies that can be employed. These
would also provide significant quantities of crop nutrients.
Research to develop nutrient efficient crop varieties that can
meet their N and P needs through organic sources will also be
required to reduce fertilizer use.
In
a hypothetical case study in the Adarsha Watershed of village
Kothapally in Andhra Pradesh, application of the sanitation
technologies was assessed to produce biogas for 100 of the 274
households, provide compost for 10% of the 465 ha village
area, generate additional water for the village fish-pond and
an additional 1 t of fish (an item of nutritional security).
If part of the recovered water is used for composting herbs,
it will provide biopesticides to protect 40% of the crops in
the village. Input cost of these technologies could be
recovered within first two years of implementation.
Additionally, the improved sanitation and health would be a
bonus. The same model could apply to urban and peri-urban
areas, wherever land area is not a constraint.
For
more information contact o.rupela@cgiar.org | |
4. Testing seed health:
Getting the numbers right |
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Assessment
of seed health requires laboratory testing of a sample of
seeds for the presence of known pathogens. Since any chosen
sample of seeds is only a fraction of the parent seed lot,
there will always be some degree of uncertainty in sample
estimates of inherent pathogen incidence. Choosing too small a
sample can lead to highly uncertain, hence practically
unusable, estimates. Choosing too large a sample is a waste of
costly resources. It is therefore important that the optimal
sample size be chosen. Using available pathogen incidence data
from five sorghum accessions, each accession tested for
incidence of 15 pathogens on a lot of 1050 seeds, parametric
and Monte Carlo simulation approaches were used to
determine/confirm the optimal sample size. The parametric
approaches were based on binomial distribution for pathogen
incidence.
Parametric
approaches require an a priori specification of levels
of tolerable uncertainty. With uncertainty defined in terms of
Type-1-error-probability of 0.05 (Type-1 error refers to
rejecting something that is true) for the sample estimate
of pathogen incidence to differ from population value by not
more than 0.05, a sample of 400 seeds is found to be optimal.
This is in line with the recommendations of the International
Seed Testing Association (ISTA). Investigations further
revealed that a sample of 400 seeds delivers sample estimates
with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 15%. Another
parametric approach we used was based on statistical power
considerations. Power is the probability of not accepting what
is false. Setting power at 0.80, and specifying uncertainty as
before, requires 1050 seeds to be tested. To achieve 90%
power, one needs 1300 seeds. These are expected results – less
is the uncertainty we seek in our inferences, more is the
effort we need to invest. These parametric approaches do not
use actual data but are solely based on the a priori assumption of binomial distribution.
Extensive
Monte Carlo simulations were performed using the actual
pathogen incidence data to confirm the above
parametric-approach results. Five thousand random samples
(without replacement) of sizes n=50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175,
200, 300, 400, 500, 600 were drawn from the (parent) lot of
N=1050 seeds. For each such sample, pathogen incidence was
estimated and compared with that obtained from N seeds using a
c2
test of goodness of fit. A sample of 200 seeds was found
optimal as this provided the closest fit, with median error in
pathogen incidence estimation never exceeding 0.022 over the
5000 samples. Use of 200 randomly selected seeds
therefore seems adequate. This represents a 50% reduction in
cost compared to the ISTA recommended sample of 400 seeds.
For
more information please contact s.chandra@cgiar.org |
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5. Formation of a
Biopesticides Research Consortium |
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Mighty
Microbes Manage Pests
In
the last three decades, many countries benefited from the use
of chemical pesticides to
increase food production, but associatedproblems are now surfacing – insecticide resistance, resurgence of secondary
pests, environmental pollution, and their residues in food,
drinking water and even in milk. The solution seems to
lie with biopesticides, which have the potential to replace
chemical pesticides. This potential is being fully harnessed
by organic farmers, who are now known globally for not just
effectively managing insect pests, but for obtaining yields
higher than those of conventional farmers. Although such
claims need scientific scrutiny, the fact remains that
biopesticides can help us manage insect-pests more
efficiently.
ICRISAT
and national partners have been working on managing
inset-pests and diseases with microorganisms.Realizing the power of
partnerships, a dialogue with the private sector (PS)
Biopesticide Industry in India was initiated through two
brainstorming meetings (04 May and 08 July 2004), resulting in
the endorsement of the ICRISAT-Private Sector Biopesticides
Research Consortium (BRC)
The
BRC will enhance the use of biopesticides by farmers. The
partnership research will validate protocols for low-cost,
commercial-scale production of microbial biopesticides
developed at ICRISAT, and will promote agricultural practices
that enable protection of crops at a low cost.
ICRISAT
will transfer to the members of the consortium, the
technologies for the preparation of biopesticides found to be
successful. It will also share the agricultural practices that
can prevent pest attack on crops.
Picture:
IPM-Consortium
Over
the last five years, ICRISAT has developed a protocol to
prevent the attack of the pod borer, Helicoverpa
armigera, on pigeonpea and cotton. Up-scaled technologies
for the production of two biopesticides that kill the larvae
of Helicoverpa (legume pod borer or cotton bollworm)
are being fine-tuned. While one uses the
bacterium Bacillus subtilis (strain BCB-19), the other
uses the fungus Metarrhizium anisopliae, both developed
at ICRISAT. HNPV (Helicoverpa Nuclear
Polyhedrosis Virus), another biopesticide which kills
Helicoverpa, will also be available to
partners.
These
biopesticides are eco-friendly and are pro-poor. ICRISAT’s
trials usingthe two biopesticides in the fields of 17 farmers
from the Kothapally village, Andhra Pradesh, India during
2003-04 have shown that total cost of pesticide application
can be reduced to US$ 58 per ha per season, compared to over
US$ 172 spent on chemical pesticides by cotton farmers.
Womens’ self-help groups at Kothapally have been trained to produce
and supply a wash of Glyricidia and neem leaves which
could be sprayed on the crops as additional protection.
Another practice to control Helicoverpa is the growing
of trap crops
Caption: Biopesticides kill pests the eco-friendly
way.
The
response of the private sector to the BRC is encouraging, and
to date, fourteen established or start-up biopesticide
manufacturers have agreed to become members.
For
further information contact o.rupela@cgiar.org |
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6. ICRISAT names its
Cytoplasmic Male-Sterility system |
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The
Barwale CMS System in Pigeonpea
Pigeonpea
[Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp] is an important food legume
of the tropics and semi-arid tropics. It is annually grown on
over 4 million ha under subsistence agriculture by
resource-poor farmers.The crop is multipurpose, providing not only food,
fodder and fuel wood, but also improved soil fertility and
structure.Due to
changing rural social and environmental factors, the
importance of pigeonpea in rainfed dry land agriculture is on
the increase.According to one estimate, the pigeonpea area and
production are recording an annual growth rate of 2% in recent
years.However,
inspite of serious breeding efforts, the genetic improvement
through pure line breeding has not effectively increased
productivity of the crop, which has remained unchanged at
around 600-700 kg ha-1.
Unlike
other legumes, pigeonpea is often cross-pollinated, exhibiting
25-30% natural out-crossing.Pigeonpea breeders at
ICRISAT developed a genetic male-sterility-based (GMS)
technology to exploit hybrid vigor. Using this technology
ICRISAT developed the world’s first pigeonpea hybrid, ICPH 8,
which recorded 25-30% yield advantage in farmers’ fields.
However, this technology could not become popular due to
difficulties associated with the genetic nature of
male-sterility, which restricts large-scale seed production of
female parents and hybrids.To overcome the
constraint, ICRISAT and its partners initiated research to
develop a cytoplasmic-nuclear male-sterility (CMS)
system. In the
past 10 years three CMS systems have been developed using
three different wild relatives of pigeonpea. Among these the CMS
derived from a cross involving Cajanus cajanifolius (a
wild relative of pigeonpea) and a cultivated line was perfect
and stable. The
female-fertility was normal with good pod set from cross
pollination.
 Dr
Barwale, center, in a CMS field.
The
fertility restoration systems, a pre-requisite for producing
fertile hybrids, are also excellent in these male-sterile
sources.The
pollen production and pod set are similar to those of the
existing cultivars.In a short period of two seasons, over 200
fertility-restoring lines with diverse agronomic traits have
been selected. Overall, this is a perfect CMS system with all
necessary qualities and it has a great potential for
developing commercial hybrids in
pigeonpea.
 Dr
Barwale receiving a memento from Dr Dar.
Dr
BR Barwale, Founder Chairman of Maharastra Hybrid Seed Company
(MAHYCO), Jalna, India, is a World Food Prize winner, a great
friend of ICRISAT, and the biggest supporter of the CMS system
derived from C. cajanifolius. On 15 December, Dr
William D Dar, Director General, ICRISAT, proudly named this
system the ‘Barwale CMS System in
Pigeonpea’.
For
further information contact k.saxena@cgiar.org |
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