Climate Smart Extension Services

Preliminary Lessons from Bangladesh and India

Suresh Babu and Raiz Khan

Background Issues

• How to make Extension revamped for CSA?

• Inventory of extension programs and policies that are address climate change – reviewed and integrated

• Analyze the extension programs from the Context of CC

• Several programs need to be reevaluated make them work together for CSA

• What do we find from the field in the context of CSA entry points?

• What lessons can be learned for developing countries in South Asia and beyond?

Need for Climate Smart Extension

• Climate Smart Agriculture

• Climate smart villages

• Climate smart Farmers

• Climate Smart extension

• How to develop programmatic responses with knowledge base?

• How to develop institutional responses with institutional innovation?

• How to develop community responses with Collective Action?

• How to overcome implementation Challenges at various levels?

Methodology

• Literature review

• Look for CC and CSA opportunities in plans and policies

• How CC is addressed for extension point of view

• Consultative meetings with Extension officials

• Consultation with the farmer groups

• Interviews with middle level officials – state level and national levels

• Policy maker consultation (Swaminathan foundation)

• Scientist consultation (New Delhi)

Review of policies and programs related to CC- Bangladesh • Country investment plan- 2011

• National Agricultural Policy – 2012

• National Food Policy

• National Water policy – 1999

• Perspective plans

• 6th - 5 year plan

• Sustainable Agricultural Development strategy for Chittagong hills 2013

• National sustainable development plan 2013

Bangladesh National level Strategies

• Climate budget

• Climate Change policy

• Pilot project on climate change

• Implementation of Local Adaptation plan of Action

• Ecosystem based adaptation

• National Biodiversity strategy and Action plan

• National Strategic Framework for Sustainable development

• National low carbon development strategy

What role organizations play - Bangladesh

What should happen in Bangladesh for extension opportunities for CSA? • Multisector approach needed at all levels – Water, agriculture, environment and forestry, fisheries

and livestock need to come together

• Agricultural adaptation requires convergence of plans and activities at all levels to avoid cross disciplinary conflict - BCCSAP – NAPA – environmental and forestry and MOA – Extension, fisheries, livestock – extension could converge – no action currently jointly

• Sustainable practices for Agricultural and water management – implementation of NSDS – MOA, MoWR and MOL through taskforce

• Cultivation od low water consuming crops – Integrated teams needed from – MOA, MOWR, LGED

• Arsenic problems and climate change

• Technology promotion – salt tolerant and flood tolerant

• Planning commission reports provide opportunities for multisector approach but institutionally challenging

Strategy of CSA – Extension involvement - Bangladesh • Create awareness and create contextual opportunities

• Slowing onslaught of CC impact requires - monitoring and evaluation

• Adaptation – requires improving the forecasting approaches and start planning early-on

• Long term CC impact need to be analyzed for specific areas and communities and make part of extension messages

• Building resilience farming – varietal development, institution a development and keep policy and panning CSA friendly

• 7th five year plan – An opportunity to incorporate CSA extension

Review of Initiatives In India

• National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) which is being implemented at large number of Research Institutes of ICAR, State Agricultural Universities and 100 KVKs.

• ICAR-CRIDA organized 8-day capacity development program for KVK Staff in four batches during 19-31 January, 2015

• 205 participants including Program Coordinators, Subject Mater Specialists and research fellows from 100 NICRA-KVKs in eight Zonal Project Directorates (ZPDs)

• implementing Technology Demonstration Component (TDC) under the National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)

Organizational Opportunities - India

• Organization important from the perspective of Climate Readiness Agriculture

• Ministries:

1. Ministry of Agriculture

2. Ministry of Environment and Forest

3. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (Biogas, Biomass energy)

4. Ministry of Water Resources (National Water Mission)

Academic Institutions:

1. Indian council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

2. National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) which includes all the research and academic institutions involved in climate change and agriculture

3. The Energy Research Institute (TERI)

Financial institutions for CSA - India

Banking sector involved in development of sustainable agriculture

1. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

Insurance Sector

1. Agricultural Insurance Company of India Ltd.

Farmers Organisations

1. Organic Farming Association of India

2. Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd (IFFCO) involved in fertilizer sector

3. Krishak Bharati Co-operative Ltd (KRIBCO) involved in fertilizer sector

Industrial consortium

1. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

2. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Areas for concentration for extension system – Tamil Nadu • Varieties of crops

• Breeds for livestock

• Diversification of crops depending on the vulnerability of food system

• Improved pasture management

• System of Rice intensification

• green manure production and use for nutrient preservation

• Conservation tillage practices – zero tillage – direct seeded rice

• Micro irrigation – drip irrigation

• Rain Water Harvesting

• Landscape management

• Advisory information system

Climate Smart Extension system – ATMA entry points • Farmers friends trained – community level

• Block Development Officers – trained in strategies for predicting and developing resilient strategies – incorporating CSA messages in training and extension programs

• District Level ATMA – the convergence needed - but with a focus on the CSA

• State to give special attention and develop strategy depending on the nature of the CC problems – coastal – mountains – drylands, wetlands, irrigated lands – ecosystem perspectives

Some preliminary Lessons

• Agriculture seems to be taken seriously but strategy to be developed

• Coordination among the National ministries seems to at the

• Local levels authorities waiting for the guidance and directions

• Capacity levels are low in terms of understanding the implications of the CC for agriculture

• Extension system is just beginning to recognize, but needs institutional innovations

• Not all areas will need CSA – mapping of information needs and will help in better investment and learning

• Current Extension system and ATMA can paly a role in promotion of CSA in India