Patancheru, India
November 26, 2008
Farmers in eastern and southern
Africa (ESA) were growing pigeonpea that gave low yields, took
very long to mature, were susceptible to wilt and often suffered
from terminal drought stress. But this situation was reversed
when scientists from the
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT) adapted pigeonpea in ESA, screened for resistance to
wilt and incorporated bold white grain preferred by farmers and
markets in the medium- and long-duration varieties.
After evaluation, a large number of these varieties were
released in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique. In
eastern Kenya, over 10,000 hectares of medium-duration varieties
resistant to wilt and cropped two times a year are being grown
by farmers. Likewise, in northern Tanzania, two long-duration
varieties, which are high yielding, having white bold grain and
resistant to wilt are being grown in over 50,000 hectares. In
Malawi two long-duration varieties have been released and
pigeonpea seed is now included in the country's subsidy program.
Interventions specially designed for Africa According to Dr
William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, the Institute's
scientific innovations in sub-Saharan Africa are designed
considering the difficult conditions faced by dryland farmers of
the continent.
"The drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is home to more than
300 million people, the majority of whom have been left at the
margins of global development. They continuously struggle to
maintain and improve their livelihoods and ensure community
survival in hostile natural environments. The contributions they
make to the preservation of critical habitats, the maintenance
of dryland biodiversity and its resilience, the enrichment of
global culture, as well as their quest for progress and a better
life deserve the strongest international support," Dr Dar said.
As the only international agriculture research institute working
for improved agricultural productivity in the semi-arid tropics,
ICRISAT is well placed to provide international public goods
support in dryland agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, Dr Dar
added. In this regard, ICRISAT has steadily increased its
investments and pursued its commitments to SSA, which include
strategic partnerships, capacity building and impact-oriented
innovations for the continent's poorest of the poor. ICRISAT's
interventions are focused on enhancement and management of
genetic resources, agricultural diversification, agro-ecosystem
sustainability and improving markets, policies and institutions.
Pan-African initiatives
It was not only the breeding and promotion of farmer-preferred
varieties of pigeonpea in ESA that endeared ICRISAT to the
communities; the Institute has also successfully implemented two
interventions in many countries across SSA, which are fertilizer
microdosing and the improvement of seed systems.
The fertilizer microdosing technique allows resource poor
farmers to apply small, affordable and effective amounts of
fertilizer to their impoverished land for improved soil health
and crop production. It has the potential to end widespread
hunger in drought prone areas of Africa, where soils are
depleted and smallholder farmers rarely produce enough to feed
even their own families.
Farmers who use microdosing apply 6 gram doses of fertilizer -
about a full bottle cap or a three-finger pinch - in the hole
where the plant is placed (at the time of planting). That
translates to about 67 pounds of fertilizer for every 2.5 acres.
The African crops are so starved of nutrients such as
phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen that addition of even this
micro amount often doubles crop yields.
The other project addresses the availability of quality seeds to
farmers at reasonable and affordable cost. ICRISAT teamed up
with a number of partners including the private sector to
implement initiatives that encompass a number of critical
activities such as the maintenance of breeder seeds, the
production of foundation seeds and regional harmonization of
seed policies. The initial activities started in Malawi, and are
currently being scaled-up in several countries in West Africa
through the West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA), and in eastern and
southern Africa through the Eastern and Southern Africa Seed
Alliance (ESASA) initiatives.
Promotion of other improved crops
Ethiopia has long been a producer of chickpea. However, the
chickpea it produced were of the small-seeded varieties, thus
limiting commercialization to local markets as international
buyers sought larger-seeded varieties.
Working with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
(EIAR), ICRISAT introduced a range of large-seeded varieties
from its germplasm collection and the breeding program at its
global headquarters in Patancheru, India. The outcome was that
Ethiopia became a chickpea exporting country and its farmers
benefited from an improved income. Following the Ethiopian
success, the production of chickpea has now spread to Mozambique
and Malawi in southern Africa and to Tanzania and Kenya in
eastern Africa.
If it was chickpea that improved farmers' incomes in eastern and
southern Africa, it was the development of farmer-preferred
varieties and hybrids of pearl millet and sorghum that has led
to more money in farmers' pockets in Nigeria in West and Central
Africa. ICRISAT in partnership with the Nigerian national
agricultural research system developed a wide range of pearl
millet and sorghum varieties and hybrids that are preferred by
farmers, and some of these varieties also have the traits
required by the markets.
Pearl millet farmers gave the highest priority to early
maturity. With drought as the major constraint to pearl millet
production in the north-eastern part of Nigeria, the smallholder
farmers who grow pearl millet needed early maturing varieties to
ensure an early end to the annual hunger period and food
security for their families. For sorghum, high yield was ranked
of highest importance.
Another success story is the production and release over the
last eight years of rosette-resistant groundnut varieties in
Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. Adoption studies
in Uganda show that the new varieties have been adopted by up to
50% of the groundnut farmers in the major growing areas.
It's all in the genes
Through gene-flow studies and follow-up research ICRISAT
scientists transferred the genes of desirable traits from
experimental lines into farmer-preferred varieties to increase
zinc and iron content in pearl millet and sorghum. Further,
ICRISAT scientists identified and transferred genes that confer
resistance to Africa's most deadly weed, Striga, to
farmer-preferred varieties of sorghum using marker assisted
selection techniques, giving farmers the option to raise
Striga-free sorghum.
Low-cost aflatoxin testing takes Malawian groundnut to Europe
Improvement, in collaboration with the National Smallholder
Farmers' Association of Malawi, of a food quality control system
was through the development of a low-cost aflatoxin testing kit
using the ELISA technique. The ability to accurately detect and
quantify aflatoxin contamination at an affordable cost, allowed
farmers in Malawi to re-establish groundnut exports to the
quality-conscious European market, and stimulated interest in
the approach in Mozambique and Zambia. Many other African
countries are benefiting from this technology and appropriate
management practices that reduce the initial aflatoxin
contamination are being employed.
Agroecosystems development
The concept of the African Market Garden based on low-pressure
drip irrigation systems was tested first on-station and around
Niamey, then in several Sahelian (adjacent to the Sahara)
countries. To date, ICRISAT's partners have replicated this
model in eight countries, significantly adding to the intensity
of work done worldwide. In the next three years, a generic
strategy by which Sahelian farmers, with access to either river
or groundwater, can substantially enhance their livelihoods by
producing heat-tolerant vegetables will be established.
ICRISAT will continue to support efforts made by resource poor
farmers and their communities to better adapt themselves to
their changing environment in order to maintain and improve this
environment, ensure adequate food security, and generate
substantial income for an improved livelihood. |
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