Icrisat's 'small is beautiful' approach and partnership methodology have sown the seeds of agrarian renewal in many semi-arid regions in India and elsewhere

Govardhanpura is a typical Rajput village in Rajasthan. The fort on the nearby hillside is in ruins and the houses are close-set, enclosed and made of sandstone slabs. Children run around in the dust as peacocks preen themselves at the edge of bajra fields. The stifling heat scorches all. There's not a breath of breeze, and the red rag on a stick over the pir's dargah hangs limp. Just as good, since summer winds blow unbearably hot — the dreaded looh. But this is a village with a difference, in more ways than one.

Govardhanpura has been invaded by farmers from the neighbouring areas, all here to participate in the 'farmers' day' function organised by the International Crops Research Institute of the Semi-Arid Tropics, or Icrisat, an apolitical, international non-profit organisation involved in science-based agricultural development. It is funded, among others, by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and works with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Besides these two states, Icrisat operates in other parts of India as well as in sundry countries in Asia and Africa.

"We've come to see what the villages here have done to improve water resources," says Sureshchand Mandovera, who has about 60 bighas (a bigha is one-third of an acre or about 14,520 square feet) of land in Bikran village, and is part of an 18-member group of farmers from the Bhilwada district. "If we have water in our village we could get better crop yields. We hear they are using vermin-composting here."

Downstream from a bund in a village called Devji ka Thana, rich green paddy grows in flooded fields, a minor miracle in a water-starved region. This is the result of a rainwater conservation initiative backed by Icrisat in conjunction with a local NGO called Bharatiya Agro-Industries Foundation (BAIF).

"The water level in the well over there has risen," says local farmer Narayan Singh, gesturing towards a nearby grove. "It used to be completely dry. After the bund was built the entire village of about 2,200 people uses the water for drinking." Nearby is an 18-hectare stretch of common land where trenches have been dug on contour lines to prevent rainwater from flowing out. Cattle-grazing grasses such as stylosanthus, haemata and cenchrus stegarus, and plants such as cyliviadia, lleucaena, gliricidia, neem and castor grow here, along with pongamia and jatropha, both bio-fuel seed trees. Clearly, the land is being regenerated. "These days we sometimes spot neelgai here," says Narayan Singh.

The innovations do not stop here. Superior strains of sorghum, bajra and chickpea, developed by Icrisat, sway in Bhawarlal's fields. He is one of Govardhanpura's more dynamic farmers. A four-chambered brick vermin-composting pit, another Icrisat initiative, is in a corner that also houses a Sirohi goat and two high-yielding cows.

"This vermin-compost is very good for plants," Bhawarlal explains. "At first I did it the old way — in a pit — but when I saw that the new process was effective I built this. Now we have vermin-compost all the year round; when the worms finish the garbage in one chamber they move into the next. It is a continuous cycle." Bhawarlal uses vermin-compost in his corn and wheat fields and even intends to market it soon.

The outstanding innovation, though, has to be the ingenious, bullock-drawn tropicultor, with different attachments for ploughing, sowing, harrowing and applying fertilisers. "Earlier we used to clear the land, plough it and scatter the seeds at random," says Bhawarlal. "The tropicultor allows us to plough and plant in neat rows. This cuts down wastage and improves our yield."

"We believe the farmer doesn't need crutches," says Dr Suhas Wani, principal scientist (watersheds) and regional theme coordinator (water, soil and agro-biodiversity management), Icrisat. "We supply him — through village-based seed banks and self-help groups - with back-end essentials such as seeds and know-how. We also encourage vermin composting, bio-control agents, etc and help establish environment clubs in villages. As a result, common lands that were totally degraded are slowly coming back to life. In the first year itself, in many areas castor has been planted on common lands. The yields go to the panchayat which, at the end of three years, takes the project forward on its own,"

A 'small is beautiful' approach and effective networking with many institutions has made Icrisat extremely effective in many endeavours. Its plant-breeding initiatives have seen over 400 improved crop varieties being promoted by national authorities across semi-arid zones in Asia and Africa. The organisation has developed the world's first-ever hybrid variety of the pigeon pea, and a number of crop varieties resistant to disease and pests and tolerant of drought and heat. Its 'germplasm bank' has about 113,500 varieties of staple food crops and it has also found ways to reduce the costly and dangerous overuse of pesticides, through integrated pest-management programmes.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification [UNCCD], 1996, estimated that 40 per cent of the earth's surface is degraded, affecting the livelihood of every sixth human being. India, which ratified the UNCCD code in December 1996, has a desertification rate of 33 per cent. Though there are centrally planned and sponsored projects to fight desertification, a report by the central government argues that existing resources are inadequate. At a conference held in Geneva in October 2001, lack of funding was identified as the most common reason for the delay in preparing national action plans.

The Tata-Icrisat collaborative project is an initiative to supplement ongoing efforts against desertification. Icrisat's work benefits some of the world's poorest people in the semi-arid tropics. These areas account for 38 per cent of the developing world's poor, over 45 per cent of the world's hungry and some 70 per cent of the world's malnourished people. Farming is at subsistence level and people have limited access even to basic nutrition and health facilities.

Icrisat, one of 16 centres established by the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organisation for international agricultural research and development, hopes that a collaborative approach can help farmers from the semi-arid tropics generate surplus production, which can be re-invested, leading to higher productivity, economic growth and higher standards of living.

In February 2002 the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust sanctioned a grant of Rs 5 crore, spread over five years, to Icrisat. The organisation, headquartered at Patancheru in Andhra Pradesh, was given the grant on condition that it dedicate a matching amount, and work through a consortium which included the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Both conditions have been met: Icrisat raised a $2.8-million grant from the Asian Development Bank and the National Agricultural Research System for agricultural development in India, Vietnam, Thailand and China. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from the government - including those from state agricultural universities, national research institutions such as the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, the National Remote Sensing Agency, and the Indian Institute of Soil Science — is working closely with local NGOs and farmers at Bundi in Rajasthan as well as Guna and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh. Icrisat pitches in with technology and international experience.

The first year's reports from the project are encouraging. Integrated nutrient management has boosted the production of soya bean, chickpea and wheat. Icrisat's tropicultor — produced by a private entrepreneur and priced at Rs 40,000 — has been an outstanding success. Traditional agricultural practices have been revived. Even corporate houses are getting interested. BAIF, Icrisat's NGO partner in watershed projects in Madhya Pradesh, recently forged a collaboration with the ITC group for its soya bean and chickpea initiatives.

Little wonder that Govardhanpura's farmers' day celebrations have been so enthusiastically received. Stalls on biodiversity conservation and natural pesticides mill with farmers returning from field trips. Scientists field numerous questions about soil quality and crops. There is a stampede for the precious giveaways — packets of Icrisat's improved seeds with detailed planting and care instructions. Sure seems like some strong seeds of success have been sown in India's semi-arid tropics.

Uploaded on March 2005