Accelerating Technology Adoption (Gangetic Plains).pdf

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AcceleratingTechnologyAdoptiontoImproveRural

LivelihoodsintheRainfedEasternGangeticPlains(IRRIRef.DPPC200227)

TechnicalReport

submittedtothe

InternationalFundforAgriculturalDevelopment

(IFAD)

July2005

Contact:

Dr.MichaelT.Jackson

DirectorforProgramPlanningandCoordination(DPPC)

Telephone:+63(2)5805600ext.2747or2513; Direct:+63(2)5805621;Fax:+63(2)8127689or5805699

Emailaddress:[email protected]:DAPO7777,MetroManila,Philippines


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ACCELERATINGTECHNOLOGYADOPTIONTOIMPROVERURALLIVELIHOODS

INTHERAINFEDEASTERNGANGETICPLAINS(TAG634)

IMPLEMENTATIONPROGRESSREPORT(IPR)FORTHEYEAR2004

PARTI:ProgramOutlineandReportDescription

Titleofprogram:AcceleratingTechnologyAdoptiontoImproveRuralLivelihoodsinthe

RainfedEasternGangeticPlains

IFADtaskmanager: ShantanuMathur

Implementinginstitutionandgrantrecipient:IRRI

ProjectLeader: MahabubHossain

Collaboratinginstitutes:

InternationalRiceResearchInstitute(IRRI);InternationalMaizeandWheat

ImprovementCenter(CIMMYT);InternationalCenterforResearchinAgroforestry(ICRAF);InternationalCenterforResearchintheSemiAridTropics(ICRISAT)

Bangladesh

BangladeshRiceResearchInstitute(BRRI);BangladeshAgriculturalResearchInstitute

(BARI);DepartmentofAgriculturalExtension(DAE);WAVEFoundation(NGO)

India

IndianCouncilofAgriculturalResearch(ICAR);AssamAgriculturalUniversity

(AAU),

Assam;RajendraAgriculturalUniversity(RAU),Bihar;CentralRainfedUplandRiceResearchStation(CRURRS,ICAR),Hazaribagh,Jharkhand;CentralRiceResearch

Institute(CRRI,

ICAR),Orissa;NarendraDevaUniversityofAgricultureandTechnology(NDUAT),

UttarPradesh;NandaEducationalFoundationforRuralDevelopment(NEFRD;

NGO),Uttar

Pradesh;HolyCrossKrsihiVigyanKendra,Hazaribagh,Jharkhand;BirsaAgricultural

University,Ranchi,Bihar;IndiraGandhiAgriculturalUniversity(IGAU),Raipur,

Chattisgarh;RamaKrishnaMission(NGO),WestBengal;VidhanChandraKrishi

Vishwavidyalaya,WestBengal;ChinsurahRiceResearchStation,WestBengal;Central

AgriculturalUniversity,Manipur

Nepal

NepalAgriculturalResearchCouncil(NARC),Kathmandu

Benefitingcountries:Bangladesh,India,Nepal


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Startingdateandduration:September2003,3years

AmountofgrantapprovedbyIFAD:US$1,500,000

Reportingperiod:January2004toDecember2004

Completed by: M. Zainul Abedin, Thelma Paris, and Olaf Erenstein

Date:July 2005


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TABLEOFCONTENTS

Page

Executivesummary 1

Introduction

Projectbackground 4

Goals,objectives,andoutputs 4

Managementofprojectactivities 5

Activitiesinitiatedin2004

Projectstartup 8

Assessingfarmersneedsandmatchingneedswithpotentialtechnologies 8

Benchmarkdatabase 10Approachandmethodologyforestablishingthebenchmarkdatabase 10

Datecollectiontools 11

Technologyvalidationandscalingup 12

Methodologicalapproachinfasttrackingtechnologyadoption 12

Raipur,Chattisgarh,India 13

WestBengal,India 18

CentralRainfedUplandRiceResearchStation,Hazaribagh,Jharkhand,

India

19

CentralRice

Research

Institute,

Cuttack,

Orissa,

India

21

AssamAgriculturalUniversity,Jorhat,Assam,India 23

Chuadangasite,Bangladesh 23

PusasiteinNorthBihar,India 27

Manipur,India 27

DinajpurRangpusite,Bangladesh 29

Patnasite,Bihar,India 32

Mausite,UttarPradesh,India 35

Parwanipur

site,

Nepal

35

Strengtheningphysicalfacilitiesofimplementingpartners 38

ICTbasedinformationmanagement 38

TargetingRCTsusingsatellitedate 38

Spatiallyreferenceddatabase 39

ProjectandResearchInformationSystemsModule(PRISM) 39


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Lessonslearned,issues,andproblemsencountered 40

FromIRRImanagedsites 40

LessonslearnedandproblemsencounteredatCIMMYTmanagedsites 42

Documents,

reference

materials,

and

publications

42

Workshopsandtrainingcoursesorganized 43

Proposedactivitiesfor2005 44

Socioeconomicandpolicy analysis 44

Technologyvalidationandscalingup 44

ICTbasedinformationmanagement 44

Appendices

Implementationguidelinesfortechnologyvalidationandscalingup

usingthecommunityparticipatoryapproachtoresearch(CPAR)inthe

projectIFADTAG634

45

Suggestedtoolsandmethodsintheparticipatoryapproach 52

Methodologicalframeworkforonfarmresearchusingfarmer

participatoryapproach

53

SummaryofactivitiesatsitesmanagedbyCIMMYTduring2004 54

FarmersopinionsaboutdemonstratedtechnologiesinDinajpur,

Bangladesh,2004

56

Farmeridentifiedproblemsandtechnologiestobevalidated 57

ProposedactivitiesforprojectsitesmanagedbyCIMMYTin2005. 61


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EXECUTIVESUMMARY

TheIFADsupportedprojectentitledAcceleratingTechnologyAdoptiontoImproveRural

Livelihoods in the Rainfed Eastern Gangetic Plains was launched in September 2003. The

goaloftheprojectistocontributetopovertyreductionthroughasustainableincreaseinthe

productivity and conservation of resources, and through diversification of the ricebasedcroppingsystemsintherainfedenvironmentsintheIndoGangeticPlains.Theobjectivesof

the project are(1) to identify policyand institutionalchanges that enablecommunitylevel

participatory research and enhanced uptake of sustainable agricultural technologies for

improving farmers livelihoods, (2) to demonstrate and verify at the community level

promisingsustainableagriculturaltechnologiesandpromotetheiracceleratedadoption,and

(3) to formulate and recommend policies and strategies for accelerating the adoption of

validated incomeenhancing and resourceconserving technologies in similar rainfed

environments of the eastern Gangetic plains. The project is jointly managed by IRRI,

CIMMYT,andICRAF,withtechnicalinputsfromICRISAT.

Participatory rural assessment, key informant surveys, focusgroup discussions, and

participatory needs and opportunity assessment (PNOA) techniques were used to select afewbestbet star technologies suitable to different agroecological and climatic conditions.

Benchmark information was gathered through sample householdbaseline surveys at all

sites. Various technologies arebeing studied at each of the sitesbased on the PNOA and

matching of the technologies with farmers needs. At two locations, technologies were

specificallytargetedforwomenfarmerstodiversifyhouseholdincome.

The community participatory approach involving various stakeholders from early on is

facilitating adoption of most of the technologies at an accelerated speed. Handing over of

ownershipthroughcommunityleveldecisionmakingandallowingcommunitiesorgroups

todecidewho would participate inthevalidationexperimentsoftheselectedtechnologies

wereimportantaspectsoftheapproach.Sharingofexperiencesamongexperiencedfarmersand the use of experienced farmers in training fellow farmers were found very useful.

Trainingofextensionworkersandfarmerswasalsofoundtobecriticalineffectivescaling

upoftechnologies.Alargenumberoftrainingcourseswereorganizedatdifferentsites.

Support from policymakers was of equal importance. Exposing the performance of the

technologiesatthefarmerslevelproactivelytothepolicymakerswasessentialtowintheir

support. This resulted in active support from ministers and senior policymakers in

Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, to finance the scaling up of improved crop

establishmentmethodsusingaplasticdrumseederadaptedinVietnam(fromatechnology

originally developed at IRRI) and the leaf color chart for reducing the use of nitrogen

fertilizer.

In Dinajpur, Bangladesh, direct seeding of rice, various soil and nutrient management

technologiessuchaslimingforamendmentofacidicsoils,solarizedseedbeds,andleafcolor

charts(LCC)arebeingintroduced.Intherabiseason,anewwheatvarietywasintroduced

aswellastheuseofapowertilleroperatedseeder,zerotilldrill,andbedplanterforwheat

sowing.

In Chuadanga, Bangladesh, one new rice genotype (BR61101012) than can potentially

replace the old BR11 in the wet season and costsaving technologies such as direct wet


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seeding using a plastic drum seeder and the LCC for realtime N management were

identified tobe potential technologies in the region. Nationwide scalingup of the plastic

drumseederinBangladeshisbeingundertakenwiththehelpofthemedia,theDepartment

of Agricultural Extension, different NGOs, and privatesector companies interested in

domesticproductionand/orimportationofthedrumseederfromVietnam.

In Patna, Bihar, a new rice variety was introduced and zerotill directseeded rice withchemicalweedcontrol,SesbaniatosupplementN,andtheLCCforrealtimeNmanagement

wereusedinthekharifseason.Intherabiseason,thezerotilldrillandrotarydiscseeddrill

wereusedtosowthewheatcrop,andtheeconomicviabilityofcropdiversificationthrough

theintroductionofthemaize+potatocroppingsystemwasexamined.

In Mau, eastern Uttar Pradesh, zerotilldrill directseeded rice was demonstrated in one

project village. Training on LCCbased N management was conducted and a new wheat

variety tolerant of sodic soil was introduced in the rabi season with the use of a zerotill

machine.

InAssam,thefollowingtechnologieswereinitiated:participatoryvarietalevaluation,abio

fertilizerbased

integrated

plant

nutrient

supply

(IPNS)

system

for

boro

rice,

and

integration

ofboro rice with deepwater (bao) rice. In a participatory varietal evaluation,boro rice

varietiessuchasJyotiprasad,Kanaklata,andJoymotiwereevaluated.

In North Bihar, activitiesbeing scaled up were timely sowing of wheat in the ricewheat

systemthroughzerotillageusingtactordrawnseeddrills,theuseofqualityproteinmaize

(QPM) varieties (Shaktiman 1 and Shaktiman 2) to improve maize + potato intercropping,

and mushroom cultivation to provide opportunities for income diversification among

women.

InRaipur,Chattisgarh,directseedinginlinesusingatractordrawnseeddrillwasidentified

to perform better than the beushening or biasi system. Crop establishment of medium

duration

chickpea

in

ricelathyrus

or

rice

fallow

was

identified

to

increase

cropping

intensityunderthelowlandricebasedcroppingsystem.

In Hazaribagh,Jharkhand, sequence cropping of chickpea (KAK 2, Radehe)/toria (Baruna)

after rice (Anjali) was evaluated to improve cropping intensity in bunded uplands. To

improve farm income, use of a ricebased twotier agroforestry system in rainfed uplands

andpaddystrawmushroomcultivationbegan.

In Cuttack, Orissa, activities begun during the wet season were the replacement of

traditionallowyieldingvarietieswithimprovedricevarieties(Saral,Durga,andGayatri)in

the floodprone ecosystem. Varieties of green gram with resistance to yellow mosaic virus

werealsointroducedtoreplacelocalgreengram.AsinJharkhandandNorthBihar,women

farmersweretrainedonpaddystrawmushroomcultivationforincomegeneration.

InWestBengal,activitiesbegansuchastheevaluationofimprovedvarietiesofkharifrice,

potato, sesame, mungbean, lathyrus, lentil, sunflower, and green gram, the plastic drum

seeder for direct seeding of rice in the boro season, and the LCC for realtime N

managementofriceinthekharifandboroseason.

Lastly,atParwanipurinNepal,technologiesinitiatedweretheintroductionofmungbean,

directseededrice,soilsolarizationfortransplantedrice(TPR),newaromaticrice,andLCC

basedNmanagementinthemonsoonseason.Inthewinterseason,wheatestablishment


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usingafurrowirrigatedraisedbed(FIRB),zerotilldrill,powertillerseeddrill,andreduced

tillagebyanimaldrawnharrow(ADH)werethemajoractivitiesinitiated.

Acrosssites,initialresultsfromthemonsoonseasonwereencouraging,whereasrabicrops

arestillinthefield.Mostofthetechnologiesinitiatedin2004willbecontinuedin2005but

inamorefocusedmanner.


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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Projectbackground

Background

Hundreds of millions of rural poor in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal derive their foodsecurity and livelihoods from the 25 million hectares of the Gangetic plains devoted to

farmingsystemsbased mainlyonrainfedrice.Previousresearch onthesefarmingsystems

has identified and developed improved cultivars and agronomic practices useful to poor

farmers in the study areas in eastern India and in similar agroecologies in the region. The

key to their success hasbeen conversion from a commoditybased approach to a systems

based one in which farmer participatory research generates locationspecific

recommendations.IFADsupportedthesestudiesthroughTAGs148and263,andtheywere

conductedbyavarietyofresearch networks,combining internationalagriculturalresearch

centers (IARCs), national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES),

nongovernmentalorganizations(NGOs),privateenterprise,andfarmergroups.

The IFADsupported project entitled MultiStakeholder Program to Accelerate Technology

AdoptiontoImproveRuralLivelihoodsintheRainfedEasternGangeticPlains(IFADTAG634)is

being implementedat 12 sites in the eastern Gangetic plains in parts ofBangladesh,India,

andNepaltovalidateandtransferthesetechnologiesthroughlargescalecommunitybased

participatoryresearchanddevelopmentactivities.

1.2 Goals,objectives,andoutputs

The overall goal of the project is to reduce rural povertyby improving farmer livelihoods

throughsustainable gains inthe productivity anddiversity ofrainfed environments inthe

easternGangeticplains.

Theobjectivesoftheprojectare

1) To identify policy and institutional changes that enable communitylevel

participatoryresearchandenhanceduptakeofsustainableagriculturaltechnologies

forimprovingfarmerslivelihoods.

2) Todemonstrateandverifyatthecommunitylevelpromisingsustainableagricultural

technologiesandpromotetheiracceleratedadoption.

3) To formulate and recommend new policies and strategies for accelerating the

adoptionofsustainableagriculturaltechnologies insimilarrainfedenvironmentsof

theeasternGangeticplains.

Theexpected

outputs

from

the

project

are

1) An environment for validation of technologies through communitybased

decentralizedfarmerparticipatoryresearchfacilitated.

2) Farmers demandfortechnologiesatthesystemslevelassessedforeachsiteanda

packageofavailabletechnologiesrecommendedforvalidation.

3) Uptakeofimprovedtechnologiesfasttracked.

4) Capacity of selected stakeholders in ICTbased information management on

improvedagriculturaltechnologiesenhanced.


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1.3 Managementofprojectactivities

IRRI is responsible for overall implementation of the project. However, IRRI manages the

project in partnership with CIMMYT, ICRAF, and ICRISAT, and sitelevel activities are

implemented in partnership with the NARES and NGOs in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal,

using a community participatory research approach. The sites managedby CIMMYT arebasically those in the ricewheat production system and the one in Manipur managedby

ICRAF focuses on the agroforestry system. ICRISAT provides technical assistance to other

centers and sites in planning and evaluation of the technologies related to pulses and

oilseeds. CIMMYT has particular responsibility for the expected fourth output:

strengthening capacity of selected stakeholders in ICTbased information management.

Table1andFigures13providealistofthesites.

Table1.Listofprojectsites.

Site

no.

Country Projectsite Productionsystem Principalpartner

SitesmanagedbyCIMMYT

1 Bangladesh Dinajpur Ricewheat WheatResearch

Center(WRC),BARI,

BRRIRangpur

Station,RDRS

2 Bihar,India Patna Ricewheat Councilfor

Agricultural

ResearchResearch

ComplexforEastern

Region(ICARRCER),

Patna

3 EasternUttarPradesh,India

Mau Ricewheat NarendraDevaUniversityof

Agriculture&

Technology

(NDUAT),Faizabad

4 Nepal Parwanipur Ricewheat NepalAgricultural

ResearchCouncil

(NARC),Kathmandu

SitesmanagedbyIRRI

5 Chattisgarh,

India

Raipur Ricefallow,rice

legumes

IndiraGandhi

Agricultural

University

6 Jharkhand,India

Hazaribagh Ricefallow,ricelegumes

CRURRS;HolyCross

7 Chuadanga,

Bangladesh

Chuadanga Ricerice,rice

legumes/vegetables

BRRI,DAE,WAVE

Foundation

8 NorthBihar,

India

Pusa Ricewheat RajendraAgricultural

University;KVK,

Jhargram

9 WestBengal,

India

Chinsurah,

Narendrapur,

Ricerice,rice

vegetables

Departmentof

Agriculture,


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Ranaghat,

andNadia

ChinsurahRice

ResearchStation,

BCKV,NDZFDO,

RKMAsrama

10 Assam,India Jorhat Ricerice AssamAgricultural

University

11 Orissa,India Cuttack Ricepulses CentralRiceResearchInstitute

SitemanagedbyICRAF

12 Manipur,India Manipur Agroforestry,rice

fallow

CentralAgricultural

University,Manipur

Figure1.LocationofprojectsitesinBangladesh.

Figure2.LocationofprojectsitesinIndia.


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Figure3.LocationofprojectsitesinNepal.


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2. ACTIVITIESINITIATEDIN2004

2.1 Projectstartup

TheprojectstartedthroughaninceptionandplanningmeetingheldatNewDelhion1617

February 2004. Senior research leaders and managers from the key sites, identified in the

stakeholders meeting held in 2003, participated. This workshop reviewed the work plansandbudgetsofindividualsites.Itwasagreedthattheworkplanswouldbefinalizedaftera

visitofsocialscientiststotheprojectsitestoassessfarmerneedsandmatchthosewithbest

bet technologies to address those needs using a participatory approach. The approach to

farmerparticipatoryresearch,opportunitiesforandconstraintstotechnologyvalidationand

upscaling through farmer participatory experiments, and the method of monitoring the

experiments and assessing impact were discussed at the workshop. It was decided to

strengthentheskillsofthesocialscientistsontheuseofparticipatoryapproaches.

2.2 Assessingfarmersneedsandmatchingneedswithpotentialtechnologies

Socialscientists playavital role in achieving the project objectives. Their activities include

(a)

diagnosis

of

constraints,

(b)

evaluating

the

prototype

technologies,

(c)

targeting

the

technologies, (d) accelerating diffusion, (e) monitoring and evaluation, and (f) assessing

impact.

The project emphasized understanding the needs, preferences, and problems of farmers in

improving their livelihoodby increasing production and productivity from their limited

land resources. Contributions of the social science component were recognized to provide

the guidance in implementing project activitiesbased on a problemsolving community

participatory approach. The site teams therefore conducted a participatory needs and

opportunity assessment (PNOA) and developed a work plan to scale up star technologies

based on the PNOA. Details of the methodology followed in conducting the PNOA are

providedinthesectionsbelow.

MethodologyusedforPNOA

(a) IRRImanagedsites

Process. A multidisciplinary team of scientists and local development partners (GOs and

NGOs) was first formed, followedby a planning meeting. Districtlevel and villagelevel

information was collected from secondary sources (published and unpublished) to

characterize the wide recommendation domains of the target environment. The team

selected the research sites/villages through reconnaissance surveys. After selecting the

villages,theteammetwithfarmersandconductedaseriesofmeetingstodeveloprapport

and mutual trust and to explain the objectives of the project, planned activities, roles,

responsibilities, and expectations of farmers and team members. Social scientists and

biologicalscientistsparticipatedinahandsontrainingworkshoponthePNOAtobetter

identify farmers needs and identify prototype technologies for validation at the selected

research sites/villages. A guideline on how to do the PNOA was developed at IRRI. In

preparationforthePNOA,theteamconductedplanningmeetings.Afocusgroupmeeting

with 1015 farmers (men and women) representing different socioeconomic groups was

held to conduct the PNOA. The participatory research tools used to collect socioeconomic

andbiophysical characteristics and resources of the farming households were the village

transect,resourcemapping,seasonalcalendar,cropmanagementandproductionflowchart,


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preference/matrix ranking, changing trend analysis, gender analysis, Venn diagrams, pie

charts, mobility map, and triangulation/validations. The team used problem

prioritization/ranking and causal diagrams in identifying farmers needs and matching

prioritizedproblemswithtwotothreeprototypeinterventionsorstartechnologies.

AfterconductingthePNOA, socialscientists cametoIRRItoanalyze andwrite reports on

thePNOAintheTrainingCenter.ThisworkshopprovidedtheNARESwithanalyticalskillsaswellaswritingskills.Manyoftheparticipantswhodonothavedirectaccesstodesktop

computers learned for the first time how to make their own Power Point presentations.

Moreover, the participants were trained on how to improve the quality of their oral

presentations.

ResultsofPNOA:Socioeconomiccharacteristicsoffarmers

Ingeneral,themajorityofthefarminghouseholdsareresourcepoorownercultivators,with

small and marginal landholdings (less than 1 hectare) that are highly fragmented. An

average farm consists of a number of parcels with heterogeneous soils and topography

(lowland,mediumland,uplandorhighland).Ahighproportionofthefarminghouseholds

belongto

the

lower

social

class

(scheduled

tribes,

backward

castes,

scheduled

castes),

with

limited access to resources (seeds of improved varieties and new knowledge on crop

resource management). A majority of the adult male members of the farming households

hadschooling onlythroughthe primary level.Amajority of the women,particularlyfrom

the lower castes, are illiterate. Thebetter educated, including highschool dropouts, are

mainlyengagedinruralnonfarmactivities.

Farming households are engaged in crop diversification to spread risks in farming. Aside

fromrice,theygrowwheat,wheat+mustard,oilseeds,pulses,sugarcane,andotherfodder

crops. In areas that suffer from submergence and floods, farmers grow vegetables as an

alternativecropontheriverside.Althoughahighproportionoffarmersgrowimprovedrice

varieties,fewfarmersstillgrowtraditionalricevarietiesthatwithstandabioticstressessuch

asdrought,floods,andsubmergencemuchbetterthanmodernvarieties.

Farminghouseholdsrelyheavilyonfamily labor. Landpreparation,applyingofchemicals

(fertilizer, pesticide), broadcasting/direct seeding, and machine threshing are tasks

exclusively doneby male family members. On the other hand, pulling of seedlings from

seedbeds, transplanting, weeding, and postharvest activities are primarily doneby female

members. Men and women share in harvesting and threshing paddy. In general, women

from the lower castes provide labor in farm activities, particularly in rice production and

postharvest activities. They also participate in making decisions related to farming. In

contrast,womenfromtheuppercastesarenotengagedinfarmactivities.

Croplivestock integration is integral at almost all of the sites. Crop byproducts are

importantsourcesoffeedforlivestock,whereasanimalbyproductsareusedmostlyasfuel(suchasdriedcowdungcakes)forthehouseholdandinafewcasesasorganicfertilizerfor

thesoil.Thus,farmersrelynotonlyonricebutalsoonnonrice,livestock,andagroforestry.

Thefindingssuggestthatasystemsapproachratherthanacomponenttechnologyapproach

(riceonlyorwheatonly)shouldbeusedinimprovingthelivelihoodoffarminghouseholds.


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(b) CIMMYTmanagedsites

Teams of professionals including agricultural economists, agronomists, agricultural

engineers, and related field experts were formed in May 2004 to implement the project

smoothlyateachofthefoursites.Thoseteamsofprofessionalsfirstidentifiedpotentialsites

with the help of officials in local agricultural extension offices of the government.

Reconnaissancevisitsweremadetothepotentialsitestoidentifythefarmertypes,cropsandcropping patterns, and level of adoption of modern technologies in the area. Based on the

findings, two to three villages, among the potential sites, were selected for project

implementationsuchthatthemajorityoftheselectedcommunityconsistedofpoorfarmers.

Appendix1presentsasummaryofactivitiescarriedoutateachsite.

Once the project villages were identified, a meeting of farmers was organized for rapport

building. Objectives of the project, tentative timing, and the possible role of farmers were

explained and their feedback sought during the meeting. A detailed participatory rural

appraisalwasconductedtounderstandthesocioeconomicandbiophysicalcharacteristicsof

the farmers. To maintain a database for future reference, villagelevelbaseline data were

collectedthroughkeyinformantsurveys(KISs).

2.3 Benchmarkdatabase

It is important to understand the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors that

influence the varietal diversity, cultivation practices (including the use of resource

conserving technologies), productivity, and longterm sustainability of different crop

productionsystemsintheprojectareas.Impactwillbeevaluatedtoexaminetowhatextent

theprojecthasbeenabletoachieveitsstatedobjectivesattheendofprojectimplementation.

Therefore, we need to establish a soundbenchmark database for use in evaluating the

impactoftheprojectinterventioninthefuture.Thepresentsurveyworkwillfulfillbothof

theaboveobjectives.

2.3.1

Approach

and

methodology

for

establishing

the

benchmark

database

A comprehensive list of farmers in the project village was first prepared. Another list was

preparedby including the farmers that are already cooperating with the project. Then, a

thirdlistincludedallthefarmersinthevillageminusthefarmersthatarecooperatingwith

theproject.Asample of10farmers each from the secondandthird listwas selected using

thestratifiedrandomtechniqueforinterviewstoestablishbenchmarkdatasets.

To keep track ofthechanges madeby project effortsand compare themwiththe without

projectscenario,acontrolvillagewasselectedforeachofthesites.Selectionofavillageasa

controlvillagewasbasedonthesocioeconomicandbiophysicalsimilarityofthevillagewith

thatoftheprojectvillage.Alistofallthefarmersinthecontrolvillagewaspreparedand10

farmers were selected from the list for interview using the stratified random sampling

technique.Villagelevelbaselinedataforthecontrolvillageswerecollectedusingthesame

toolsasfortheprojectvillage.Box1summarizesthesamplingprocess.


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Theselectedsamplefarmerswereinterviewedusingastructuredquestionnaire.Theheadof

theselectedhouseholdwasinterviewedasfaraspossible.Insomecasesinwhichthe

householdheadwasnotavailableforaninterview,thenextmostseniormemberofthe

householdwasinterviewed.Priorarrangementwiththeconcernedpersonwasmadeforthe

timeanddateofinterviewtominimizetimelostforthepersonintermsofhisdeparturefromhisregularworkforaninterview.

2.3.2Datacollectiontools

Twosetsofquestionnaireswereusedtocollecthouseholddata.Thefirstonewasfordetails

ofhouseholdcharacteristicsincludinglandandlivestockholdings,cropproduction,income,

expenditures,debt,andshareofeachmemberinhouseholdworkanddecisionmaking.One

questionnairewascompletedpersamplehousehold.Thesecondsetwasforcollectingcosts

ofproduction(COP)data.InformationonCOPwascollectedfromallofthesamplefarmers

plusothersifsomeofthemajorcrops/technologies/practicesinthevillagewerenotcovered

amongthesamplefarmers.

As each farmer cultivates more than one crop, it was not possible to collect COP for eachcropfromeverysamplefarmer.Therefore,wecollectedCOPforonecropfromeachfarmer.

The COP were collected for a plot for which the farmer could remember the inputs and

outputs. Doing so, however, we made sure that COP for all of the crops were collected

within each group of samples. Conversion factors from local to standard units were

gatheredthroughinteractionwithkeyinformantsinthevillages.

Box 1. Sampling process for benchmark data1. Survey sites

1.2 Project villages: villages where we are working.1.3Control: Select a village that has similar socioeconomic and

biophysical conditions and is also not very far from the project village.2. Sampling frame

2.1 For project villagesList 1 Prepare a complete list of households in the project village.List 2 Prepare a list of households that are participating in the project

(in the project village).List 3 Remove households in list 2 from list 1 and you have a thirdlist.

2.2For control villagesList 4 Prepare a complete list of households in the control village.

3. Sample size3.1 Select 10 households using the stratified random sampling technique

from list 2 number of villages =3.2 Select 10 households using the stratified random sampling technique

from list 3 number of villages =3.3 Select 10 households using the stratified random sampling technique

from list 4 number of villages =


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2.4 Technologyvalidationandscalingup

Thetechnologyvalidationrelatedactivitiesvariedpersiteandarepresentedbysite.Across

sites,initialresultsfromthemonsoonseasonwereencouraging,whereasrabi(winter)crops

werestillinthefieldatthetimeofthisreporting.

2.4.1Methodologicalapproachinfasttrackingtechnologyadoption

Acommunityparticipatoryapproachtoresearch(CPAR)wasusedinvalidatingandscaling

up the technologies to facilitate adoption. CPAR isbuilt on the guiding principle that an

active partnership with farming communities that transforms ownership of technology

development and transfer can effectively facilitate and foster reaching out to a larger

number of farmers faster in a costeffective way (Box 2). One of the fundamental

considerations in CPAR was that research and extension should have a positive attitude

toward farmers since the latter possess a reservoir of technical knowledge about their

circumstances, and have skills in experimenting. The combination of knowledge and skills

of farmers and researchers was expected to produce a synergistic effect on technology

developmentandtransfer.

Box 2. Important principles and assumptions in the communityparticipatory approach to research

* Farmers make decisions usually based on their experiences from testing thetechnologies in a way they can manage them.

* Technologies must solve one or more of farmers problems.* Effective and active partnership to establish a community-driven approach with

researchers and other stakeholders requires a decision-making role of thecommunities and other stakeholders.

* A positive attitude toward, and respect for, the farmers knowledge, skills, andcapabilities enhances the establishment of active partnership.

* Existence of a social vision is essential to understand technologies in a broader

context.* Developing a sense of ownership at the community level facilitates decision-

making.* Strengthening of local capacities to innovate and manage innovations fosters

technology generation and transfer.* Involving multiple stakeholders, building consensus among stakeholders, and

forging strategic alliances are essential prerequisites in participatory research.* A sense of accountability to farming communities drives researchers in fulfilling

commitments.* Invest in social capitalcreate a common space among stakeholders.* Transparency about interests helps in attaining a convergence of interests.* Like any other process, the participatory approach needs to be managed effectively

at all levels.* Start small and build on success.

The identification of willing participants to try new technologies, evaluate, adapt, andadopt through community or cohesive group meetings transfers ownership to thecommunity or group of farmers.


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13

Theotherimportantissuewasdecidingonwhoparticipates.Themethodologyemphasized

that, instead of the traditional way of researchers and extension officials selecting farmers,

willingfarmerswereidentifiedthroughcommunityorgroupmeetings.Theidentificationof

participatingfarmersthroughgrouporcommunitymeetingsessentiallyinvolvedthegroup

orcommunityinevaluatingthetechnologyasthetestingprogressed.Abuiltincommunity

ledmonitoringandevaluationprocesswasestablished.

Good understanding of the objectives and principles of the approach and of various tools

andmethodshelpsmanageCPARwell.Theapproachwasflexibleinallowinginnovationof

new tools and methods. A stepbystep guideline was prepared for useby the NARES

partners(Appendix13).

Whereappliedproperly,CPARfacilitatedacommunityroleintestingtechnologiestogether

and evaluating them using the communitys own criteria, which led tobetter decision

making and faster adoption. This facilitated, at the early stages of development, the

identification of policy, market, and other support that wouldbe needed for adoption.

Transition from research to extension for technology transfer alsobecame easier. CPAR

facilitated the creation of a visible effect on farmers, extension workers, policymakers, and

donors.

2.4.2 Raipur,Chattisgarh,India

About74%ofthericearea inthestateofChattisgarh inIndia israinfedand83% isdirect

seeded.Riceisthemaincrop,whichcanbeaffectedbydroughtatanystageofthecropslife

cycle.Foradirectseededcrop,farmerspracticebeushening(orbiasi)tocontrolweeds.But

beusheningrequiresplentyofrainfall,whichisuncertainintheregion,tohaveimpounded

waterinthericefields.Yieldisthereforelow(


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14

Instead of demonstrating the technology, the research team facilitated bringing the

communitiestogetherandallowedthemtoestablishtherulesofbusinessfortractorowners

toprocureseeddrills,establishprovisionofserviceasabusiness,rentalarrangements,etc.

The research teams also trained the farmers willing to participate on the details of the

technology. It was also discussed whether farmers using an earlymaturing variety could

possibly grow a modern variety of chickpea under residual soil moisture, which would

ensureabettercrop.Thiswouldreplacethetraditionalunprofitablepracticeofutera.The

communities discussed this and most farmers decided to use one variety (MTU1010). This

alsohelpedthemtoharvestearlyandplantchickpea.

Originally, it was planned to have the farmers test on ablock of 104 ha. As the level of

confidence grew through repeated discussions within the communities and with the

researchteam,farmerstestedonabout1,040hainAkolivillageandabout360hainKapsada

village. As they used the tractordrawn seed drill, some farmers even adapted the

technology using theirbullockdrawn ploughs. Farmers from neighboring villages started

making regular visits and have shown interest in adopting the technology. Participating

farmersbelievedthatthistechnologywasallowingthemtodoweedingwhenitwasneeded

and when labor was available as weeding was no more dependent on raindependentbeushening.

Figure4.Biasi/beusheningsystem.


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15

Figure5.Directseedinginlinesusingatractor.

MTU1010, Mahamaya, Swarna, and ISD1 were the major varieties used in the farmerparticipatory trial. Among these, Swarna performedbest,having an average grainyield of

about4.65t/ha.However,farmerspreferredMTU1010(3.75t/ha)because itmaturesearly

(110days),makingitpossibletoescapedroughtattheterminalstage.

Average yield in Kapsada was 3.90 t/ha from line seeding and 3.56 t/ha from the local

practice,beushening (Figure 6). On the other hand, average yield in Akoli village for the

linesowncropwas3.95t/haand3.57frombroadcastbeushening.Ingeneral,directseeded

linesowingperformedbetterthandirectseededbroadcastbeaushening.Averageyieldwas

higherby10%forlinesowing(3.93t/ha)thanforbeushening(3.56t/ha).

Figure6.

Grain

yield

comparison

between

direct

seeded

beushening

and

line

sowing

in

AkoliandKapsada,Chattisgarh,India.

Moreover,linesowing(Rs10,893/ha)gavehighernetreturnsthanbroadcastbeushening(Rs

7,594/ha) inKapsada.Similarly, linesowing(Rs10,226/ha)inAkoligavebetternet returns

thanbeushening(Rs7,041/ha)(Figures7and8).

3.95 3.903.563.57

0

10

20

30

40

50

Akoli Kapsada

t/ha

DS line

sowing

DS

beushening

3.95 3.903.563.57

0

10

20

30

40

50

Akoli Kapsada

t/ha

DS line

sowing

DS

beushening


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16

Figure7.Comparisonofnetreturnsandtotalvariablecostsbetweendirectseededline

sowinganddirectseededbeusheninginAkoli,Chattisgarh,India.

Figure8.Comparisonofnetreturnsandtotalvariablecostsbetweendirectseededline

sowinganddirectseededbeusheninginKapsada,Chattisgarh,India.

Activity2:Increasingcroppingintensityunderthelowlandricebasedcroppingsystem

Mediumduration rice varieties during wetseason and dryseason crop (chickpea)

establishment under conserved soil moisture usingbasal application of fertilizers could

increasecroppingintensityandproductivity.

Some67farmersinKapsadaand35farmersinAkolidecidedtotesttheimprovedvarieties

of chickpea against the traditional lathyrus crop under utera (Table 2). The improved

chickpea varieties tested were Vaibhav, Vijay, andJG74 and recommended varieties were

usedforlathyrus(Pratik),lentil(JL),andmustard(PusaBold).Theseseedsweredistributed

among farmer participants and area coveredby these varieties in Kapsada and Akoli was

15.01haand6.94ha,respectively.Theadoptionofchickpeaonotherwisefallowlandandon

lands replacing lathyrus as an utera crop has increased cropping intensityby 7% in Akoli

and9%inKapsada(Figure9).

13,079 14,004

10,2267,041

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Line

sowing

Beushening

Rs/ha Net returns

Total variable costs

13,079 14,004

10,2267,041

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Line

sowing

Beushening

Rs/ha Net returns


12,129 13,354

10,893 7,594

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Line

sowing

Beushening

Rs/ha Net returns


12,129 13,354

10,893 7,594

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Line

sowing

Beushening

Rs/ha Net returns



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17

Table2.Numberoffarmersandlandareacoveredbyimprovedvarietiesofpostricecrops

inKapsadaandAkoli,Chattisgarh,India.

Kapsada

Akoli

Figure9.Croppingintensityin2003and2004inthelowlandricebasedcroppingsystemin

Akoliand Kapsada,Chattisgarh,India.

To ensure the availability of seeds of preferred varieties next season, the concept of

establishing a seed village was developed. Each of the communities established a five

memberseedcommittee.Theyagreedthateachparticipatingfarmerwouldreturnthesame

amountofseedtakenandtheseedcommitteewouldmaintaintheseeds.Theyalsoagreedto

establishaseedexchangemechanismsothatthefarmersofthesameorneighboringvillages

wouldhaveaccesstotheseedsofthenewimprovedvarieties.

174167

126135

0

30

60

90

120

150

180

210

Akoli Kapsada

Croppingintensity(%)

2003

2004

174167

126135

0

30

60

90

120

150

180

210

Akoli Kapsada

Croppingintensity(%)

2003

2004

Crop No. of farmers Area (ha)

Chickpea (Vaibhav) 9 1.82

Chickpea (J G 74) 16 3.10

Chickpea (Vijay) 10 2.02

Total 35 6.94



Chickpea (J G 74) 16 3.10


Total 35 6.94



Chickpea (J G74) 25 4.93


Total chickpea 50 9.71

Lathyrus (Pratik) 10 2.00

Lentil (J L 3) 4 0.80

Mustard (Pusa Bold) 3 2.50

Total67 15.01



Chickpea (J G74) 25 4.93


Total chickpea 50 9.71

Lathyrus (Pratik) 10 2.00

Lentil (J L 3) 4 0.80

Mustard (Pusa Bold) 3 2.50

Total67 15.01


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18

Thelevelofadoptionandperformanceofthesetechnologieshavegeneratedinterestamong

seniormanagers,policymakers,farmers,andmedia.

2.4.3WestBengal,India

In West Bengal, three subteams are working with farmers at three different sites. The

ChinsurahRiceResearchStationisworkinginHooghlyDistricttoimprovetheproductivity

of theexistingcropping systemsunder intensive areaswherericeandpotatoesaregrown.Rama Krishna Mission Ashrama is working in South 24 Parganas District where rice and

pulsecrops(relaycropping)aregrown.BidhanChandraAgriculturalUniversity(BCKV),in

partnership with anNGO (NadiaZilla Farmers Development Organization), is working in

riceandvegetablebasedintensiveareas.

a. Hooghlydistrict

Atthissite,severaltechnologiesarebeingtestedbythreecommunitiesoffarmersto

improvetheproductivityandprofitabilityofthefollowingcroppingsystems(Tables3and

4):

Table3.TargetedcroppingsystemsandnumberofparticipatingfarmersinRuprajpur,2004.

Croppingpattern Farmersinvolved

Kharifricebororice 19

KharifricepotatoDt.bororice 12

Kharifricepotato(processing)mung/kalai 11

Kharifricepotato(shortduration)sesame 6

Totalofparticipatingfarmers 48

Kharifrice(rainfedbororice(irrigated)croppingsystem

Kharif rice varieties Sashi and IET15848 were compared with the local check variety,

Swarna,inthericericecroppingpattern.TheaverageyieldofSashi(4.35t/ha)andIET15848

(4.72 t/ha) was comparable with that of Swarna (4.58 t/ha). However, as grain and straw

qualities of the two introduced varieties were found superior to Swarna, they fetched a

highermarketpriceandthereforefarmerslikethesevarieties.

Duringthekharifseason,aplasticdrumseederwasintroducedfordirectseedingofriceto

reducecostsandfacilitateearlyharvesting.Initialfarmerresponseswerenotveryfavorable.

However, seeing the successes with some of the participating farmers, more farmers are

tryingthedrumseederduringthebororiceseason.

The leaf colorchart (LCC)has alsobeen introduced tomanage nitrogen fertilizer.Farmers

arestillassessingthetechnologyduringthebororiceseason.

Ricepotatorice/ricepotatosesame/ricepotatomung/kalai

Inthisintensivesystem,lateharvestofkharifricedelaysplantingofpotato,themaincash

crop of the area. The performance of shorterduration rice varieties PNR519 and Triguna


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19

was compared with that of the local check variety, Swarna, in the threecropping systems.

PNR519 (4.34 t/ha) produced grain yield comparable with that of Swarna (4.40 t/ha) and

yieldofTrigunawas lower(3.62t/ha). However,growthdurationwasshorterforPNR519

(115120days)andTriguna(125130days)thanforSwarna(145days),whichallowedearly

establishment of potato, the second crop. Also, grain quality and disease tolerance were

betterthanthoseofSwarna.

Table4.Yieldofimprovedricevarietiesindifferentcroppingpatterns.

Croppingpattern Ricevarieties Yieldrange(t/ha) Averageyield(t/ha)

Ricebororice Sashi 3.25.6 4.35+/ 0.60

IET15848 4.05.3 4.72+/ 0.42

Swarna 3.85.8 4.58+/ 0.71

RicepotatoDt.bororice PNR519 3.25.4 4.34+/ 0.83

Triguna 2.74.5 3.62+/ 0.55

Swarna

3.85.0

4.40+/

0.60

Ricepotatosesame PNR519 3.03.6 3.35+/ 0.23

Swarna 3.85.0 4.40+/ 0.60

Ricepotato(processing)mung PNR519 2.64.9 3.80+/ 0.86

Swarna 3.54.8 4.11+/ 0.55

HighernetreturnswereobtainedfromPNR519(Rs13,220/ha),Triguna(Rs13,220/ha),Sashi

(Rs 17,670/ha), and IET15848 (Rs 16,170/ha) than from the local variety, Swarna (Rs

10,770/ha). This isbecause of the varieties tolerance of pests and diseases and the good

qualitygrainstheyproduce.

2.4.4

Central

Rainfed

Upland

Rice

Research

Station,

Hazaribagh,

Jharkhand,

India

The site is characterizedby low and erratic rainfall; consequently, the crop suffers from

droughtatvariousstagesofgrowth.Farmerspracticebeusheningtocontrolweedsindirect

seededcrops.Farmersmainlygrowonericecrop.Themainobjectivesofthesiteworkare

To increase cropping intensitythrough diversification andto ensuresustainablecrop

production;

To increase family income through diversification of income opportunities using the

availablecropbyproducts.

Communityparticipatoryvalidationoftechnologiesstartedinthreevillages:

a. Kuchu,RanchiDistrictb. Gidhore,ChatraDistrict

c. Amnari,HazaribagDistrict

Results:

Activity 1: Improving cropping intensity of bunded uplands through sequence cropping

(lentil/Bengalgram/safflower/toria)


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InafarmerparticipatorytrialforchickpeainGiddhore,asequencecropofgramwassown

afterharvestingofadirectseededcropofAnjali.Ontheotherhand,inAmnari,asequence

crop was sown after harvesting of a transplanted rice crop. Among the different varieties

triedinthisactivity,farmerspreferredICCV2andKAK2becauseoftheirearliness(Table

5).Yieldandotheryieldattributeswillberecordedatcropmaturity.

Table5.FarmerevaluationofpigeonpeavarietiestestedinHazaribaghduring2004.

VillageSeeding

date

Area

(ha)Variety

No.of

farmers

Farmers

preference

Giddhore

(Chatra)

30 Oct. 1.3 Radhe, ICCV, JG11, JGK1,ICC37, KAK2, and ICCV 10(farmers participatoryvarietal trial)

6 ICCV2and

KAK 2

(becauseof

their

earliness)

Kucchu

(Ranchi)

14Nov. 0.65 Radhe 2 We hopethat next

year morefarmers willadopt.

Amnari

(Hazaribag)

11Nov. 0.65 Radhe,ICCV,JG11,JGK1,

ICC37,KAK2,andICCV10

(farmersparticipatoryvarietal

trial)

3 ICCV2and

KAK2

Among the 15 lines of pigeonpea received from ICRISAT, ICPL85063, ICPL99044, and

ICPL87119 were found suitable for rainfed situations with less wilt and sterility mosaic

infection. In the wet season of 2004, 25 wilt and sterilitymosaicresistant and susceptible

linesfromICRISATwerescreened.ResultsrevealedthatICP7870,ICP12759,ICP12749,andICPL93179 were wilt and sterilitymosaicresistant and suitable for rainfed situations in

Jharkhand.

Activity2:Useofpaddystrawforoystermushroomcultivation

Trainingforpaddystrawmushroomcultivationwasgiventowomensgroupsinthethree

villages.Farmers inGiddhorewereabletoharvest2kgofmushroomusing6kgofpaddy

straw.

Activity3:Improvingfarmincomethrougharicebasedthreetieragroforestrysysteminrainfed

uplands

CultivablewastelandinJharkhandcanbeusedproductivelybygrowingfruitcrops/timber

along with rice and other crops following the threetier system of agroforestry. Three

hundredplantsofmangooraowla,themaincrop,wereplantedin111mpitswhile200

plantsoflemon,thecompanioncrop,wereplantedin606060cmpits.Plantingtimefor

the main and companion crops was the first week of August. Plants were healthy and

growingfastbut,becauseofthedelayedplantingofmango/lemon,ricecouldnotbeplanted

thisyear.


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2.4.5 CentralRiceResearchInstitute,Cuttack,Orissa,India

Riceproductionatthissiteislowbecauseofsubmergenceanddrought,whoseoccurrenceis

veryuncertain.Thecroppingintensityoftherainfedricebasedsystemisalsolow.Thesite

team therefore tried to validate technologies for submergenceprone rainfed lowland rice

and ricebased cropping systems so that significant improvement in farm productivity,

sustainability,andeconomicwellbeingofthefarmers,especiallyprovidingagoodqualitydiet to the people, couldbebrought about. This included offering technologies that could

generateadditionalincomebyusingricebyproducts.

Project activities havebegun with three communities at Paikarapur, Bidyadharpur, and

BrahmanbastainCuttackDistrict.

Results:

Intervention I: Replacement of traditional lowyielding varieties with improved varieties

(Saral/Durga/Gayatri)inthefloodproneecosystem

Thisactivitywasimplementedduringthewetseasonof2004toaddresstheproblemoflow

productivityofrice.

Gayatriisanimprovedvarietyfortheintermediatelowland(upto50cmofflooding)witha

yieldpotentialofupto6t/ha.Growthdurationisabout155daysandthevarietyistolerant

ofbacterialleafblight(BLB)andblast.Basedonafarmerparticipatoryonfarmtrial,theuse

ofGayatri(4.55t/ha)resulted inanincrease in grainyieldofabout 110%,or2.38t/ha,and

additionalreturnsofRs10,348/ha(Table6).

Durga is an improved photosensitive variety for the semideep, waterlogged ecosystem. It

has long straw and kneeing capacity and responds to a low level of N. Also, Durga is

tolerantofBLB,ricetungrovirus(RTV),blast,andbrownplanthopper(BPH)andissuitable

forlatesowingwithagedseedlingsof5060days.Yieldpotentialisabout4.5t/ha.Basedon

a farm trial, grain yield and net returns increasedby about 103%, or 1.95 t/ha, and Rs

8,395/ha,respectively,usingthisimprovedvariety(3.85t/ha).

Saralaisaphotosensitivevarietyfortheintermediateandsemideeplandtype.Itisresistant

tolodgingandstagnantfloodingandtolerantofBLB,RTV,blast,andBPH.Ithasfinegrains

anditsyieldpotentialisabout4t/ha.OnfarmtrialsrevealedthatSarala(3.25t/ha)increased

grainyieldbyabout76%,or1.4t/ha,andnetreturnsbyRs5,350/ha.

Table6.Comparisonofyieldsandreturnsbetweenfarmersricevarietiesandimproved

varieties.

Technicalobservations Economicindicators

Yield(t/ha) Yieldincrease

(%)

Treatments

Grain Straw Grain Straw

Costof

interven

tion

(Rs/ha)

Costof

cultiva

tion

(Rs/ha)

Gross

returns

(Rs/ha)

Net

returns

(Rs/ha)

BC

ratio

Localvariety 2.17 5.85 10,000 12,822 2,822 1.28

Gayatri 4.55 6.55 109.7 11.97 2,000 12,000 25,170 13,170 2.10

Localvariety 1.90 5.50 10,000 11,340 1,340 1.13

Durga 3.85 7.00 102.6 27.27 2,000 12,000 21,735 9,735 1.81


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Localvariety 1.85 4.85 10000 10890 890 1.09

Sarala 3.25 5.55 75.68 14.43 2000 12000 18240 6240 1.52

Farmerspreferredtocultivatethesevarietiesintherainfedlowlandbecausetheygiveboth

betteryieldsandgoodqualitystraw.

Intervention2:

Increasing

the

productivity

of

pulses

(green

gram)

after

rice

through

YMV

resistant

varieties

ThefarmerstriedgreengramvarietyPDM11,whoseseedsweretreatedwithcarbendazim

toprotectthemfromtheyellowmosaicvirus(YMV).Comparedwiththelocalgreengram

varieties,PDM11increasedgrainyieldby4050%.

Intervention3:Introductionofpaddystrawmushroomforincomegeneration

About 60 farm women were trained from selfhelp groups in Paikarapur and

Brahmanabasta on cultivating paddy straw mushroom. The production of mushroom was

veryencouraging(Figure10).Fromeachbed,participantswereabletoproduce1.53.0kgof

mushroomand

generate

income

of

about

Rs

75150.

AtrainingmanualonmushroomcultivationinOriyahasbeenproduced.

Figure 10. Women farmers harvesting mushrooms, Cuttack, 2004.


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2.4.6AssamAgriculturalUniversity,Jorhat,Assam,India

Flash flood, terminal drought, and poor socioeconomic conditions of farmers are major

concernsinimprovingproductionandprofitabilityfromriceproduction.Workbeganwith

threefarmingcommunitiesatDisangmukh,Ganakbari,andJoraguri.

Results:

Activity1:CommunityparticipatorytestingoflateSaliricevarieties

AcommunityparticipatorytestingoflateSaliricevarietiesLuitandKopileebeganin

Disangmukh.However,thecropsweretotallydamagedbyflood.

Activity2:Testingofbororicevarieties

CommunityparticipatorytestingofbororicevarietiesJoymati,Jyotiprasad,andKonaklata

wasdoneon4haoflandinDisangmukh.Varietalperformanceunderthreedifferent

treatments(biofertilizerbasedintegratednutrientmanagement),recommendedfertilizer

doseandthelocalpractice)wascompared.Trainingonbororiceproductiontechnologywas

giventofarmerparticipants.ThesametrialwasalsocarriedoutinGanakabariandJoraguri.

2.4.7Bangladesh:

Chuadanga

site

A vast land area of the rainfed eastern Gangetic floodplains is situated in Bangladesh.

Targeting the improvement of rural livelihoods, researchers have been working on

developingtechnologysuitablefortheregion.Researchersidentifiedalargenumberofrice

based technologies developed by agricultural research organizations ready for

dissemination and adoption at the farm level. Accelerated adoption of the potential

technologieshasreceivedhighprioritynationally.

Improved rice varieties or genotypes of BR61101012 and BR4828544149 and lowcost

resourceconserving technologies such as direct wetseeding using a plastic drum seeder

andleafcolorchartforrealtimeNmanagementwereidentifiedaspotentialtechnologiesin

the region. Some 128 farmers in four villages in Chuadanga and two villages in Pabnadistrictsparticipatedintestingthetechnologiesfullyundertheirmanagement(Table7).

Table7.Numberofparticipatingfarmerstovalidatethetechnology.

Village1 Village2 Village3 Village4 Village5 Village6Items

Karpashdanga Modna Shakharia Kultola Goeshpur SreepurTotal

Technology

Variety 9 8 7 8 32

DWS 9 9 6 16 3 3 46

LCC 10 10 10 20 50

Upazilla Damurhuda

Damurhud

a Jibonnagar Jibonnagar

Ataikula/

Sadar

Sujanagar

District Chuadanga Chuadanga Chuadanga Chuadanga Pabna Pabna


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24

Directwetseedingusingaplasticdrumseeder

Directwetseeding(DWS)usingtheplasticdrumseederwasofferedtogroupsoffarmersin

fivevillagestotryalongsidetraditionaltransplanting(TP).Ownersofirrigationequipment

(shallowtubewells)wereentrypointsinorganizingthefarmergroups.

About40kg/haofBR61101012weresownusingaplasticdrumseeder.Theseedingdate

was1530July2004.Resultsoftheexperimentshowedthatgrainyieldwas34.6%higherinDWS (4.98 t/ha) than in TP (3.70 t/ha) during the transplanted aman season of 2004. In

addition,totalvariablecostwaslowerby10%inDWSthaninTP(Table8).

Table8.Grainyield,costs,andreturnsfromDWSandTP(T.aman,2004)rice.

Item DWS TP

Grainyield(t/ha) 4.98 3.7

Grossreturns(Tk/ha) 44,174 33,006

Totalvariablecosts(Tk/ha) 24,380 27,088

Grossmargin(Tk/ha) 19,793 5,918Benefitcostratio 1.81 1.21

The participating farmers evaluated the technology using their own criteria and identified

the advantages and weaknesses of using a plastic drum seeder (Tables 9 and 10). As was

expected,weedmanagementwasfoundtobeacriticalfactorinadoptionofthetechnology.

Herbicidewasfoundtobemostusefulincontrollingweeds.However,theresearchteamis

encouraging farmers to use a rotary weeder because of the possible harmful effect of

herbicideontheenvironment.

Table9.Farmersperceptionsoftheadvantagesofdirectwetseededriceusingaplastic

drumseeder.

Attributes No.offarmers %

Lesscostlymethod 19 100

Lesslaborrequired 19 100

Lesstimerequired 19 100

Needsnoseedbed 19 100

Needsnotransplanting 19 100

Fewerseedsrequired 19 100

Earlymaturity/harvest 19 100

Higheryield 7 37

Earlyestablishmentmayhelp

escapesubmergence 5 25


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Table10.Farmersperceptionsoftheweaknessesofdirectwetseededriceusingaplastic

drumseeder.

Attributes No.offarmers %

Excessiveweeds 3 15

Raindisruptslineestablishment 3 15Difficultgermination 2 11

Requiresherbicides 1 5

The farmers learned that direct wetseeding using a plastic drum seeder, a costeffective

technology, could give a more substantial increase in grain yield than transplanted rice.

Farmerswhowouldadoptthetechnologywouldbeexpectedtoearnanadditionalprofitof

Tk13,000(US$210)perha.However,theDWSisnotsuitableforallsituationsand,during

thewetseason,caremustbetakensothatraindoesnotdisruptthenewlyseededricecrop.

FarmersperceptionsofBR6110werealsoobtained.FarmerspreferredBR6110becauseofits

highyieldingcharacteristicsandtoleranceofinsectpests(Table11).

Table11.Farmersperceptionsoftheidentifiedprototypetechnologies,T.aman2004.

Perception No.offarmers %

FarmersperceptionsofBR6110

Highyield 10 52.6

Moderateyield 9 47.4

Lowyield

ReasonforpreferringBR6110

Highyield 9 47.4

Noinsects/disease 9 47.4

Scaling up of direct wetseeding using a plastic drum seeder in different parts of

Bangladesh

Based on the previous experiences, direct wetseeding using the plastic drum seeder was

scaledupthroughtheDepartmentofAgriculturalExtension(DAE);NGOs,includingRDRS,

SOPAN,andWAVE;andtheRegionalResearchStationsofBRRI.Duringtheboro season,

the technology was testedby farmer groups at 56 locations across the country. Seeing the

successesirrespectiveofthelocationsfortheborocrop(Tables12and13),severalroundsof

discussionwereorganizedatDAEheadquarterstoplanforanationwidescalingup.Seniormanagers of DAE and potential entrepreneurs to manufacture and/or market the plastic

drum seeder were also invited tojoin in the discussions. Policymakers (the Minister and

State Minister of Agriculture, GOB) were exposed to the performance of the technology

throughfieldvisits.TheMinistryofAgriculturedecidedtofundthenationwidescalingup

andprovidedthefundstodoso.IRRIfacilitatedimportationof2,500plasticdrumseeders

fromVietnam. The projectfacilitatedtraining of about 265 DAEdistrictlevel officials/crop

production specialists, 404 upazilla officials, 2,357 fieldlevelblock supervisors, and about


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26

2,000farmersontheuseofthedrumseeder.Theprojectfacilitatedprintingofabookleton

the drum seeder, posters, andbrochures to help with the scaling up. The TV channels of

Bangladesh,BTVandChanneli,wereinvitedtojoinintheeffortandthesechannelscovered

successes of the technology through repeatedbroadcasts. More than 4,000 farmers/farmer

groups in 212 upazillas havebeen testing the technology during the 200405boro season.

Theresultsofthescalingupwillbereportednextyear.

Table12.Performanceofdirectwetseededbororiceusingaplasticdrumseederin

Bangladesh,2004(averageof56locations).

Variety Method Yield(t/ha) Duration(days)

BRRIdhan28 DWS 6.0(20%) 130

TP 5.02 141

BRRIdhan29 DWS 7.14(18%) 152

TP 6.03 168

BRRIdhan36 DWS 6.51(19%) 129

TP 5.46 141

Table13.Economicanalysisofdirectseededbororicewithadrumseeder(DSDR),2004,in

Bangladesh(averageof56locations).

Indicators DSDR TP Difference(%)

Costofproduction(Tk/ha) 25,832 29,904 13.16

Grossreturns(Tk/ha) 42,265 39,472 7.98

Grossmargin(Tk/ha) 16,792 9,567 75.52

Benefitcostratio 1.65 1.32

Duringtheamanseason,RDRS,anNGOworkinginthenorthernpartofBangladesh,tried

thetechnologywithfarmersandobservedthatthehigheryieldandearlyharvestcouldhelp

farmers offset to a certain extent the negative effects of Mongathe food scarcity that

leads to starvationbefore the aman harvest in midOctober to November. They have also

begunalargescalevalidationofthetechnologythroughfarmergroups.

Farmerparticipatoryworkshop:integratelessonslearnedfromfarmersinfutureplanning

AfarmerparticipatoryworkshopwasorganizedinJune2004atBRRI,Bangladesh,tolearn

lessonsfromthefarmerswhotriedthetechnologyduringtheboroseasonof200304andto

integratethelessonsinplanningfutureactivities.Thefarmersfromeachofthe56locations

sharedtheirexperiencesandjointlysummarizedtheirexperiencestoidentifythelandtype,soiltype,cropvarieties,etc.,suitableforthistechnology.Duringtheworkshop,thefirstday

wasdevotedentirelytolisteningtothefarmersandfacilitatingtheexchangeofexperiences.

Onthesecondday,researchersandextensionofficialsalsosharedtheirexperiencesgained

fromonstationandonfarmtrials.Inthemeeting,farmerswereencouragedtoinnovate.A

fewofthemsuggestedthattheywouldtrythetechnologyunderzerotillageconditionsafter

the recession of floodwater from lowlying areas. In fact, a few farmers have established


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boro crops under zerotillage conditions in Pabna District. The results of this innovative

experimentwillbereportednextyear.

2.4.8 PusasiteinnorthBihar,India

Work at this site started late for various reasons. The site has high rainfall during the wet

season fromJuly to September and drought during the rest of the year. Supplementary

irrigation is often provided to rainfed crops. Landlessness is very high (about 55%) andagricultureisofteninfluencedbythecastesystem.Ricemaize+potato,vegetablesmaize+

potato, and ricewheat are major cropping patterns in the area. Maize + potato is gaining

popularitybecauseofitshigheconomicreturns.Cropyieldsaregenerallylow.

Theprojecthasbegunactivitiestoscaleup(i)thetimelysowingofwheatinthericewheat

system through zero tillage using tractordrawn seed drills, (ii) improving maize + potato

intercropping through the use of quality protein maize (QPM) varieties Shaktiman 1 and

Shaktiman2,and(iii)providinganopportunitytodiversifysourcesofincomeformarginal

and landless farmers through production and marketing of mushroomsby rural women.

ThesetechnologieswerealreadyvalidatedearlierundertheRiceWheatConsortium,butthe

resultsare

not

available

yet.

2.4.9 Manipur,India

TheManipursiteatKairembikhokAwangintheSaramHillrangeofThoubalDistrictisin

the partially hilly regions of eastern India. The rainfed upland hill agroecosystem with an

altitude range of 8001,000 m was targeted. The site receives about 1,500 mm of rainfall

annuallydistributedmostlyduringthemonsoonseason.ThesoilismostlylateriticwithpH

ranging from 5.0 to 6.0. Slashandburn jhum is the main system of cultivation, which

degradessoilfertilityandreduceslandproductivity.Growingpopulationdensityisputting

pressureonthejhumcycle,therebyreducingthefallowperiod.Cropssufferfromdrought

duringthedryseason.

The site attempted to improve the productivity and profitability of the agrohortisilvicultural systemby integrating intercroppingof suitable cropspecies withhorticultural

and silvicultural plants. The project has alsobegun activities to improve the ricewheat

croppingsysteminthefoothillareas.Riceisgrownpredominantlyonasubsistencebasis.

Pigeonpea, groundnut, and highyielding rice and wheat were tested with the agrohorti

silvicultural system (Box 3). Results (Table 14) showed that rice yielded about 4.1 ha1.

Pigeonpeaandgroundnutyieldswereencouraging.Farmersarewillingtotrythecropsnext

season.


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Table 14. Intercropping of pulses or oilseeds with fruit/tree crops and the rice-wheat croppingsystem during 2004.

Site

no.Cropdetails Area

(ha)

Production

(kg)

Productivity

(kg/ha)Remarks

1 Pigeonpeavar.DEB4101 1.80 1,200 665

2 Groundnutvar.JL24 2.05 1,390 678

3 Rice(highyielding) 5.00 20,628 4,126

4 Wheatvar.Kalyansana 4.63

I.Riceyieldisinterms

ofpaddy

II.Wheatisnotyetharvested

Box 3. Agro-horti-silvicultural farming system introduced

Tree crops1. Teak (Tectonia grandis)2. Champa (Michelia champaka)

3. Wang (Gmelina arboria)

Fruit crops1.Citrussp. (Citrus raticulata, C.aurantifolia, C.macrotera)2. Pineapple(Ananus comosus)3. Jackfruit (Autocarpus heterophyllus)

Field Crops1. Pigeonpeavar.DEB 41012. Groundnut var.JL-243. Rice (high-yielding) var. Leimaphou, Sanaphou, Tamphaphou4. Wheat (high-yielding) var. Kalyansona


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2.5.9 DinajpurRangpursite,Bangladesh

AsummaryofallactivitiesconductedinCIMMYTmanagedsitesappearsinAppendix4.

(a) Directseedingofrice

Theintroductionofwetdirectseeding(DS)ofriceby adrumseederreducedsowingtime

andincreased

the

grain

yield

of

BR11

(by

16%)

and

BRRI

dhan33

(by

15%)

more

than

with

the transplanting (TP) method of crop establishment in the aman season (Table 12).

Moreover, wet DS rice with a drum seeder reduced growth durationby 910 days (78%)

more than TP rice in the aman (monsoon) season. This reduced growth duration of high

yieldingLDVBR11 maderoomfor theestablishmentofwheat within anoptimumtime in

therabi(dry)season.ThehighestproductivityofBRRIdhan33(40.7kg/ha/day),followedby

BR11(39.9kg/ha/day),wasobservedinwetDSricewithadrumseeder,whichwas16%and

25% higher than with the TP method of crop establishment, respectively, in the aman

(monsoon)season(Table15).

Table15.AgronomicperformanceofT.amanriceunderdifferentpracticesatSouth

Mominpur,Rangpur,

2004.

BR11 BRRdhan33Parameters

DS TP Increase(%)

duetoDS

DS TP Increase(%)due

toDS

Grainyield

(t/ha)

5.55 4.77 16.4 4.44 3.86 15.0

Panicles

(no./m2)

442* 191 131.4 511** 168 204

Growth

duration(days)

139 149 6.7 109 118 7.6

Productivity

(kg/ha/day)

39.9 32.0 24.7 40.7 35.1 15.9

* Sowingat7daysafterincubation,seedrate43kg/ha.** Sowingat3daysafterincubation,seedrate74kg/ha.

(b) Introductionofpromisingnewricevarieties

The introduction of BRRI dhan32 showed higher grain yield (4.27 t/ha) than that of the

farmers varieties Swarna (3.10 t/ha) and Chalaki (2.33 t/ha). BR11 gave the highest grain

yield(4.77t/ha)inSouthMominpur(Table16).Thedatashowedthattheimprovedpractice

such as use of healthy seedlings (raised in solarized soil) in limed soils with balanced

fertilizersincreasedgrainyieldofBR11,(4.77t/ha),BRRIdhan32(4.37t/ha)thantheexisting

farmers practice (Non solarized poor seedling, nonlime plot, imbalanced fertilizer) with

BR11(2.5t/ha),Swarna(3.1t/ha),andChalaki(2.33t/ha)intheT.amanseason.


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Table16.ComparativeagronomicperformanceofT.amanriceindemonstrationplotsover

existingfarmerspracticeatSouthMominpur,Bangladesh,2004.1

BR11/Swarna BRRIdhan32/Localvariety

Improved

practice

Farmerspractice Increase(%) Improved

practice

Farmers

practice

Parameters

BR11(f=4)

BR11(f=7)

Swarna(f=1)

BR11 Swarna BRRIdhan32

Chalaki

In

crease

(%)

Grainyield

(t/ha)

4.77 2.50 3.10 90.8 53.9 4.27 2.33 83.3

Panicles

(no./m2)

191 172

Growth

duration

(days)

149 149 153 136* 121 12.4

Productivity

(kg/ha/day)

32.0 16.8 20.3 90.5 57.6 31.4 19.3 62.7

*Cropsufferedfromwaterstressattillering.

BRRIdhan33wasusedfordemonstrationatBrahmanvitavillagecovering26farmersplots

incomparisonwithSwarna,BR11,andPajam.BRRIdhan33yieldedhigher(3.52t/ha)than

BR11(2.7t/ha),Swarna(3.14t/ha),andPajam(2.8t/ha)(Table14).TheT.amancropsuffered

fromwaterstressattillering.However,BRRIdhan33increasedgrainyield30.4%overBR11,

12% over Swarna, and 26% over Pajam under farmers management. The highest

productivity (30.4 kg/ha/day) was found with the improved practice with BRRI dhan33,

followedby Pajam (22.6 kg/ha/day), Swarna (20.3 kg/ha/day), and BR11 (17.9 kg/ha/day)

(Table17).

1 Tables 2 to 19 presented in this report are as reported by the NARES partners.


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Table17.ComparativeagronomicperformanceofT.amanriceindemonstrationplots

versustheexistingfarmerspracticeatBrahmanvita,Birganj,Bangladesh,2004.

Improved

practice

Farmerspractice Increase(%)Parameters

BR33

(f=26)

BR11

(f=8)

Swarna

(f=9)

Pajam

(f=1)

BR11

(f=8)

Swarna

(f=9)

Pajam

(f=1)

Grainyield

(t/ha)*

3.52 2.70 3.14 2.80 30.4 12 26

Growth

duration(days)

116 151 155 124 23 25 6

Productivity

(kg/ha/day)

30.4 17.9 20.3 22.6 70 50 35

*Cropsufferedfromwaterstressaftertransplanting andattillering.

(c) Soilandnutrientmanagementforrice

Limingforsoilamendment:SoilsfromthreedifferentdepthswerecollectedfromtherepresentativesamplesandsoilpHwasmeasuredbyaprototypepHmeter.Basedon the pH levels, lime at 0.50 and 1 t/ha at Rangpur and Dinajpur was applied,

respectively,toreducesoilacidity.The limewas appliedafterthefirstploughing

intheT.aman(monsoon)season.Then,asecondploughingwasdonetoproperly

mixthelimewithsoil.

Soilsolarization:Asolarizedseedbed(drybed) waspreparedinfarmersfieldsforgrowing healthy seedlings of BRRI dhan33 at Brahmanvita and BR11, BRRI dhan

32,and33atRangpurduringJuly2004.After25daysofsolarization,dryseedsof

BR11, BRRI dhan32, and BRRI dhan33 were sown at 80 g/m2 on a dry bed.

Solarized seedlings were more vigorous, taller, healthier, and more deeply green

coloredthanfarmersseedlings.

LCCbasednitrogenmanagement:UreawasappliedtoT.amanfieldsbasedonLCC

readings. The LCC suggested that only two topdressings were needed: one at 15

days after transplanting (DAT) and another at 25 DAT in Brahmanvita village,

Dinajpur.Threetopdressings were requiredforBRRIdhan32 and33andfour for

BR11atSouthMominpur,Rangpur.Eachtime,ureawasappliedat55kg/ha.Using

the LCC saved about 107 kg/ha of urea at Brahmanvita and 52 kg/ha of urea at

Mominpurcomparedtotherecommendeddose.

(d) Interactionswithfarmers,monsoonseason2004

Different formal and informal training programs were organized for the participating

farmers to discuss different new technologies and management practices. Weekly

discussionswithparticipatingfarmerswereheldtohelpthemovercomeproblemsrelatedto

cropmanagement.Inputdealers(especiallyfertilizerandpesticide)andlocalNGOworkers

were also included in the farmers training on modern ricewheat production and other

technologies such as the use of lime for soil amendment, use of the LCC for urea

managementforrice,useofborontomitigatesterilityproblemsofwheat,etc.

To disseminate the demonstrated technology among a large group of farmers, a field day

wasarrangedineachvillageduringthematuritystageofamanriceinOctober.About200


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32

farmersineachvillageattendedandobservedtheperformanceofthe newvarietyandthe

effectofothertechnologiessuchaslimingandtheLCC.Allofthefarmersreactedpositively

about the early T. aman variety and other technologies such as the LCC for urea

management, liming for increasing soil fertility, and raising healthy seedlings through soil

solarization. Theother farmers(beyond demonstration plot owners) requested a supplyof

seedsofnewT.amanvarietiesBRRIdhan32and33,theLCCandtrainingforLCCuse,and

informationaboutsoilsolarizationmethods.

FarmersopinionsonthetechnologiesdemonstratedintheprojectvillagesatDinajpurare

presentedinAppendix5.

(e) Rabi(winter200405)technologies

The technologies selected for adoption and dissemination for wheat at Dinajpur are (i)

introduction and dissemination of highyielding wheat variety Shatabdi and (ii)

introductionofminimumtillagewheatcultivationthroughthepowertilleroperatedseeder

(PTOS)andwheatcultivationonabed.

One hundred percent of the area in Brahmanvita villageblocks and 50% of the area in

Mominpur blocks were sown by the PTOS as a minimumtillage practice. The PTOSperformed three functions at a time in one pass: plowing, sowing seeds in a line, and

levelingthesoil.

FiftypercentoftheareainsouthMominpurblockswassownonabed(2linesper20cm)by

a powertillerattachedtoabedplanteron 22 November 2004. Waterwas suppliedfroma

shallowtubewellduringthecrownrootinitiationstageat17DASandagainat5560DAS

usingaplastichosepipe.

2.4.11 Patnasite,Bihar,India

(a) Zerotilldirectseededrice

OneofthetechnologiestakentofarmersfieldsatthePatnasiteinkharif2004waszerotilldirectseeded rice (ZTDSR) with component technologies. Though 38 farmers agreed to

cooperatewiththecenterfortechnologyvalidation,only9finallydid(Table18).Othersdid

not adopt or were forced to transplant their field because of delayed sowing and/or

unfavorableclimate.

The yield and input data presented in Table 19 provide some crucial information. It is

understood that farmers have saved costs in terms of seedbed preparation, uprooting,

transportation,mainfieldpreparation,andtransplantingbutthedetaileddataareyettobe

analyzed.


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Table18.Numberoffarmerswhoagreedtoadoptandactuallyadopteddirectseededzero

tillriceandpuddlingofZTricefieldsduringkharif2004atPatna,India.

Agreedtoadopt

ZT

directseededrice

Actualadoption

ofZTdirect

seededrice

PuddlingofZT

ricefields

Finaladoptionof

ZTdirectseeded

rice

Site

no.

Village

No.offarmers

Area(ha)

No.offarmers

Area(ha)

No.offarmers

Area(ha)

No.offarmers

Area(ha)

1. Taret 19 4.23 9 3.17 7 1.13 2 2.11

2. Naharpura 8 1.98 7 1.53 4 0.81 3 1.18

3. Azad

Nagar

11 2.11 9 1.52 5 0.46 4 0.79

Table19.Detailsofzerotilldirectseededriceduringkharif2004atPatna,India.

Fertilizerdose

(inkg/ha)

Nameof

herbicide

Grain

yield

(t/ha)

Site

no.

Farmersname Area

(ha)

Variety

N P K

Taret

1. ShaileshKumar 0.225 MTU7029,

Rajendra1

86.4 38.4 Pretilachlor 4.2

2. Sudarshanacharya 1.15 Rajendra1,

BPT5204,Sita

101.6 25.6 36.8 Pendimethalin 5.9

3. Control MTU7029 88 36.8 5.1

Naharpura

1. RamPravesh 0.125 MTU7029 57.5 29.4 12.0 5.8

2. SatyendraSingh 0.125 MTU7029 57.5 29.4 12.0 5.4

3. ChhoteSharma 0.10 MTU7029 55.2 23.9 12.0 5.6

Azadnagar

1. ArunKumar 0.206 Rajendra1 152.4 36.8 12 Pendimethalin,

pretilachlor

4.3

2. RamChandra 0.062 MTU7029 49.3 46.0 12 Pendimethalin Crop

failed

3. SudheshwarPd. 0.044 MTU7029 143.2 36.8 12 Pendimethalin 6.6

4. Control 0.25 MTU7029 110.4 5.6

(b) Greenmanure

Green manuring in rice fields to supplement nitrogen fertilizer was the other technology

tested at the Patna site.Sesbania was sown in ZTDSR in seven farmers fields. Herbicides

wereused

to

kill

Sesbania

at

a

specific

height

that

provided

nutrient

to

rice

plants.

Table

20

providesasummaryoftheexperiments.


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Table20.Useofbasaldoseof80%nitrogenandSesbaniasowingduringkharif2004,in

Patna,India.

Basalfertilizerdose

(kg/ha)

Subsequent

fertilizerdose

(kg/ha)

Fertilizer

saving

(kg/ha)

Nameoffarmer Nameof

village

Area

(ha)

N

P

K

N

P

K

N

P

K

Grain

yield

(t/ha)

Surdarshanachary Taret 0.050 41.4 32.0 16.0 55.2 18.9 5.57

Surdarshanachary Taret 0.050 41.4 32.0 16.0

ArunKumar Azadnagar 0.044 45.4 46.0 29.4 40.7 5.81

YogendraVerma Azadnagar 0.037 41.4 32.0 16.0

Dwarikanath Naharpura 0.037 41.4 32.0 16.0

Dwarikanath Naharpura 0.037 41.4 32.0 16.0

Dwarikanath Naharpura 0.037 37.8 29.4 36.8 41.0 6.07

Control Taret 0.250 42.0 36.9 73.6 5.61

(c) Training

TworoundsofhandsontrainingwereconductedtoshowfarmershowtousetheLCCasameansofsavingnitrogenfertilizerwithoutlosingproduction.LCCsetsweredistributedto

thefarmersattendingthetraining.ConcernedscientistsfollowedupontheuseoftheLCC.

Theresultsareyettobereported.Similarly,trainingwasorganizedtoshowfarmershowto

makebedsandcultivatemaize+potatoonbeds.

(d) RCTuseinrabi(winter200405)crops

Wheatisestablishedon7.72haoflandthatbelongsto32farmersinthreeprojectvillagesat

thePatnasiteusingazerotilldrillandrotarydiscseeddrill/doublediscplanterinthefield

withandwithoutriceresidue.Similarly,potato+maizeareplantedonaraisedbedon1.69

haoflandthatbelongsto20farmers.DetailsappearinTable21.

Table21.UseofRCTsonwinter/rabi2004cropsatPatna,India.

Site

no.

Village No.offarmers Area(katha,0.0125ha)

Rotarydiscseeddrill/doublediscplanterinresiduefields

1. Taret 3 75

2. Naharpura 4 55

3. Azadnagar 5 53Pairedrowplantingofwheat

1. Taret 1 40

2. Naharpura 4 453. Azadnagar 2 15

Equallyspacedrowsofwheatwith11tinezerotilldrill

1. Taret 10 300

2. Naharpura 2 20

3. Azadnagar 1 15

Diversificationpotato+maizeonraisedbed

1. Taret 7 85


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2. Naharpura 5 25

3. Azadnagar 8 25

2.4.12 MauSite,UttarPradesh,India

(a) Nitrogenmanagementinpaddy

Training was conducted on how to use the LCC and on the method of nitrogenbroadcasting.Altogether,23farmers,8eachinHaldharpurandThalaipurand7inGulauri,

weretrainedonuseoftheLCCandgivenoneseteachoftheLCC.

(b) ZTricefielddemonstration

Zerotilldirectsowingofrice(variety:MTU1001)wasdemonstratedinfourfarmersfields

in Gulauri village. Crop failure occurred in some plotsbecause of excessive weed and

waterlogging problems. But the ones that survived demonstrated good results. Details on

oneoftheplotsappearinTable22.Althoughpaddyyieldisless,netprofitperunitofland

ismorewithZT.

Table22.CostsandreturnsfromZTDSofriceinkharif2004,Patna,India.

Item

no.

Item Rate/unit ZTrice Farmerspractice

1 Seed Rs/ha 560 560

2 Tractor Rs/ha 1,250 3,125

3 Fertilizer Rs/ha 2,024 2,024

4 Irrigation Rs/ha 1,150 1,372

5 Farmlabor Rs/ha 3,070 7,250

6 Totalinputs Rs/ha 8,054 14,331

7 Paddyyield t/ha 2.83 3.19

8

Grossincome

Rs/ha

14,150

15,950

9 Grossmargin(86) Rs/ha 6,096 1,619

10 Inputperkg Rs/kg 2.85 4.49

(c) RCTuseinrabi(winter200405)crops

A new sodictolerant wheat variety was introduced together with RCTs such as reduced

and/orzerotillagetechniques.Afrontlinedemonstrationonwheatestablishmentwasdone

using a zerotill machine, starwheel punch planter, and raisedbed planter. Selected

herbicideswereusedforweedcontrol,includingP.minor,whichisaseriousprobleminthe

area.FarmershavebecomeawareandthereisgrowingdemandforRCTmachinesbyfellow

farmers.

2.5.13 Parwanipursite,Nepal

(a) Introduction of mung bean in the rice-wheat system

For a sustainable ricewheat system, mung bean variety C5 from Bangladesh was

introducedattheParwanipursiteandothervillagesofParsa,Bara,andRautahatdistricts.

Thecropwasgooddespite lateplantingcausedbylatearrivalofseed.Somefarmershave

savedseedandareveryenthusiasticaboutplantingnextseason.


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(b) Directseededriceexperiment

Farmers participatory research on directseeded rice (DSR) technologies was conducted at

TrivenivillageinBaraDistrict.RicevarietyBG1442wasused.Fourtreatmentswereused:

T1: DSRby powertiller drill (PTD), T2: DSRby zerotill drill (ZTD), T3: DSRby furrow

irrigatedraisedbed(FIRB),andT4:farmerspractice.

The highest grain yield of 5,541 kg/ha was found with DSRby PTD, followedby DSRbyFIRB(4,682kg/ha).DSRbyZTDyielded4,210kg/ha,buttherewasasavingsofRs2,487per

hacomparedtothefarmerspractice(Table23).

Table23.Influenceofdirectseededrice(DSR)ongrainandstrawyieldsinkharif2004,

Parwanipur,Nepal.

Treatment

Grainyieldat

14%moisture

content(kg/ha)

Strawyield

(kg/ha)

Landprep.,sowing,

transplantingcosts

Total

returns

(Rs)

T1:DSRbypower

tillerdrill5,541 5,809 3,396 51,323

T2:DSRbyzerotilldrill

4,210 4,343 3,634 38,974

T3:DSRonbedsby

furrowirrigated

raisedbed

4,682 9,638 3,910 44,545

T4:farmerspractice 4,461 7,496 6,121 42,026

(c) Soilsolarization

SoilsolarizationforthericenurserywasdoneinLipnibirtavillage.Soiltillingwitha9tine

cultivator,followedbyplanking,wasdonetohavegoodsoilpulverization.Bedsof10m1

m0.15mwereformedmanuallyandwerecoveredwithtransparentpolythenesheetfor1

monthforsoilsolarization.Afteramonth,seedofricevarietyBG1442wasmanuallysown

inlinesonbeds.Theresultsshowthatsolarizationproduceshealthyseedlings,resultingin

betteryields.

(d) Aromaticricevarietalexperiment

The experiment on aromatic rice varieties selectedby the Regional Agricultural Research

Station, Parwanipur, was conducted at Lipnibirta village in two farmers fields. The rice

varietieswereNP49,Saket,andPusa1176(PusaBasmati).

TheyieldlevelsdidnotdiffermuchfromthatoflocalBasmati.Thecomparativeadvantage

ofthisvarietyvisvisthelocalvarietyshouldbeclearonce informationoneatingquality

andmarket

prices

becomes

available.

(e) Evaluationoftheleafcolorchart(LCC)forNmanagementinfarmersfields

A oneday farmers training on the LCC and weed management in rice was organized at

projectvillages.ExperimentsonLCCbasedNmanagementwereconductedatTriveniand

Parwanipur villages in Bara and Parsa districts, respectively, during the kharif season of

2004.TheresultsshowedthatuseoftheLCCforNmanagementproduced6%highergrain

yieldwith25%lessnitrogenthanthefarmerspractice.


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AmongthetechnologiesdemonstratedintheprojectvillagesatParwanipurinkharif2004,

thefollowingwerejudgedtobesuccessfulbyparticipatingfarmers:

DirectseededricebyPTD/ZTD/DS

MinimumtillagebyPTDforwheat

Zero

tillage

by

ZTD

MungbeanC5forthericewheatsystem

(f) Rabi(winter200405)seasonactivities

WheatisestablishedusingdifferentRCTsintheprojectvillages.Detailsbytechnologyand

farmerarepresentedinTables24and25.Manyotherfarmershaveobservedandfollowed

the RCTs. AIRC, the project implementation office located at Birgunj, provided technical

supportandmachinestofarmersasfarasresourcesallowedittodoso.

Table24.WheatestablishmentmethodsatTriveni,Bara,Parwanipursite,Nepal.

FarmersName Treatment Area(m2) Sowingdate

(2004)Mr.ParasThakur FIRB

FP

ADH

1,082

837

1,667

3Dec

3Dec

5Dec

Mr.MukhLalThakur ZTD

FIRB

PTD

FP

806

1,020

867

323

3Dec

3Dec

4Dec

4Dec

Mr.RamPraveshGiri ZTD

PTD

865

718

4Dec

4Dec

Mr.RamEkwalSah ZTD

PTD

356

323

4Dec

4Dec

Mr.GauriShankarSah* PTDZTD

2,0661,116

4Dec4Dec

Mr.RamIs