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| SATrends Issue 10 | September 2001 |
NEWS FROM THE DRY TROPICS:
1 .Don’t Get Left on the Shelf
To most of us, research is what scientists do in a laboratory, and technology is what they produce at the end of their research. The technology then sits “on a laboratory shelf”, waiting for another agency to carry it to the target users, while the scientists go back to their research to produce new technologies.
This concept looks real neat. It makes clear distinctions between technology developers, disseminators, and users. It makes us believe that this linear process is the only way to generate and disseminate technology. Not only us, but governments and policy-makers too.
“Most public agricultural research institutions have been built around the idea that technologies can be developed as a separate, isolated task. Private sector companies know differently, finding it best to integrate scientific expertise into the wider profit-making operation. This has important implications, suggesting partnerships between the public and the private sectors need to be more intimate than simple transfers of technology,” says Andy Hall, ICRISAT Special Project Scientist.
Dr. Hall is part of a research team conducting policy studies of different institutional frameworks and their effects on the research process. The team is building evidence that suggests that the most productive arrangements are those where the different institutional actors associated with the creation and use of new knowledge operate collectively together as an “innovation system” .
The study, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), is conducted jointly by scientists from Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and University of Strathclyde, UK, National Center for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NCAP), India, and ICRISAT.
As part of the study, the team is discovering
some of the fascinating ways in which relationships between the public and private R&D
sectors are evolving. The recent funding of ICRISAT projects by a consortium of private
seed companies is one such example. This innovative partnership is offering new
opportunities to share skills, knowledge, and costs, while supporting the objectives of
both ICRISAT (development of public goods) and the seed companies (development of improved
hybrid seeds). (Left, an Indian farmer growing seeds of millet hybrid).
To learn from this novel approach to research, a workshop was held at ICRISAT to share perspectives from scientists and industry representatives. The shared learning suggested some new directions that research institutions can take in the brave new world of public-private interaction and how this can make a real impact on the lives of the farmers.
The workshop proceedings “Sharing perspectives on public-private sector interaction” have been jointly published by the project partners and are available with ICRISAT.
For more information, contact a.hall@cgiar.org
2.Nigeria Targets ‘Groundnut Leprosy’
Rosette – to many, the name conjures images of the rose, the famous flower symbolizing beauty, love, and everything good in life. Not so for groundnut farmers in Nigeria. Theirs was not a rosy life in 1975 when a rosette epidemic wiped out the entire groundnut crop in the country. The huge economic loss combined with emotional trauma that this caused led many Nigerian farmers to abandon groundnut cultivation for several years.
Groundnut rosette is a viral disease
transmitted by aphids. Plants affected by the disease become stunted. According to Dr.
C.A. Echekwu, Groundnut Breeder at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of Ahmadou Bello University (ABU) in Zaria,
Nigeria, “the plant loses all its photosynthetic capacity” in the process. The
result is a mass of yellowish leaves crumpled together in a ball, somewhat like the
layering of rose leaves. The haoussa people of northern Nigeria call the disease
‘groundnut leprosy’ (Kurturtan Djeda). (Right, compare the diseased
plants on top to the healthy ones below).
Groundnut is the main cash crop in northern Nigeria. Its cultivation is embedded in the local culture. It is grown in a belt that spans from north to south, covering two-thirds of the country. Seed traders at the Dawanau seed market outside of Kano City sell between 30 to 35 tons of unshelled groundnuts everyday. The Nigerian Oil Mills Company in Kano crushes between 100 and 120 tons of groundnut seeds a day during their oil production season.
Nigeria began groundnut breeding research in the 1950s, but the 1975 rosette epidemic convinced researchers to breed for rosette resistance rather than yield. This year three rosette-resistant groundnut varieties have been released in Nigeria, a major breakthrough in the area. Dr. Echekwu credits Dr. B. Ntare from ICRISAT and Dr. P.E. Olorunju from IAR for helping to make the effort successful, “ICRISAT had a focus, IAR had a target: our joint efforts sustained with funds from the National Agricultural Project gave these remarkable results.” These results promise to eliminate 30 to 100% groundnut yield loss caused by rosette in West Africa.
The crop’s magical comeback is the result of a sustained effort at breeding short-duration rosette-resistant groundnut varieties through a partnership between ICRISAT, IAR, the Federally-funded Agricultural Development Project (agricultural extension), and the Groundnut Germplasm Project (GGP) funded by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC).
To ensure that farmers regain confidence in growing groundnut, scientists are working closely with farmers and extension agencies to popularize the new varieties. Seed multiplication has already begun with funds from the GGP, and funding to establish community-based seed distribution systems is being sought.
For more information, contact: b.ntare@cgiar.org
3.Two Heads Are Better Than One
A refreshing novelty in the art of training is what is called “participatory”. The top-down (or teacher-student) approach is not evident; the teachers are also the students; and every student contributes to the shared pool of knowledge and ideas. The result? All participants go away much richer for the experience.
The On-farm Participatory Research Methodology Workshop, organized in Thailand, chiefly by ICRISAT’s Natural Resource Management staff in July, was one such example. The workshop was jointly conducted by ICRISAT; Department of Agriculture, Thailand; International Water Management Institute (IWMI), SE Region, Thailand; Drought Prone Area Program, Andhra Pradesh, India, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, India; and Khon Kaen University, Thailand. All twelve participants are also the partners of two projects assisted by the Asian Development Bank: ICRISAT’s Improving Management of Natural Resources for Sustainable Rainfed Agriculture, and IWMI’s Catchment Approach to Managing Soil Erosion in Asia.On-farm participatory research methodology training should normally have been conducted directly on the farmers’ fields, co-opting the farmers participation, learning first-hand about their constraints and hopes, and ensuring that available knowledge reaches the farmer. Being new to the game, the participants of this workshop used the same technique to cull methods and strategies prior to the actual field trials. Their objectives were simple:
To put into practice some of the ideas gleaned at the workshop, the participants visited a benchmark watershed site at Tad Fa (left), and interacted with the farmers.
Pre- and post-Workshop Evaluations demonstrated the effectiveness of the workshop. For many participants, this approach to training was new, and more importantly, the knowledge is timely, and will certainly help to plan and conduct future participatory on-farm trials.
For more information, contact s.wani@cgiar.org
Smallholder farmers in Mozambique are keen to plant new improved varieties, but seed is rarely available. As a result, the country loses up to US$ 77 million in productivity gains (US$ 14 million in sorghum and pearl millet alone) every year. Losses are even higher when you add the costs of continuing food insecurity and poverty. What is wrong, and how to put it right? A recent study by ICRISAT, the national Ministério da Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural, and Michigan State University, USA, suggested several ways to strengthen the national seed system.
First,
simplify the procedures for variety registration and release, e.g., easier registration
for varieties that have already been extensively tested and released in neighboring
counties. Allocate a budget specifically to produce breeder seed of all released
varieties, and recover costs by selling foundation seed to seed companies and
non-governmental projects. Instead of relying on free seed distribution, encourage the
private sector to invest in seed production and trade. For example, national breeders can
work with the private sector to promote experimental sales of small packages of new
varieties. (Right, seeds sold in small packets). Research and extension services
can methodically relay the results of demonstration trials to private seed companies. Seed
purchased for drought relief can be disseminated through rural retail outlets.
Emergency seed requirements are commonly over-estimated, even in areas with severe drought. Clearly, more accurate methods of estimation are needed. Better advance planning of likely seed needs in areas prone to drought can facilitate a speedier response to the next emergency. The study initiated this process by identifying particularly vulnerable areas, and estimating seed requirements in these zones. A more detailed study of emergency seed supply in Mozambique has just been launched, funded by USAID.
Community seed production should be encouraged, particularly for food crops and in outlying areas, where commercial interest is limited. Regulations on quality should be made more practical -- cheap seed of acceptable quality is usually more appropriate than expensive, high-quality seed. The study recommended that sale of quality declared seed be permitted, backed up with better enforcement of truth in labeling.
Ultimately, seed policy should not simply be viewed as a series of regulations to protect the seed producer or consumer. Instead, policy should encourage investment with a view to distributing better seed to more farmers. The strength of the seed system should be assessed in terms of higher rates of adoption of a large and continuously evolving set of varieties.
These findings were presented to a national seed workshop in early March 2001. Many of the recommendations were accepted for implementation.
For more information, contact d.rohrbach@cgiar.org
Highlights of Previous Issues:
August 2001: Finding Chinks in the Armour • Brazilian Farmers get a Boost from the Sahel • Sahelian Partners Smash the Ivory Tower • What You See is What You Get - Simulation Modeling for Successful Farming
July 2001: Balaji Makes IT Waves • A Hot Date in the Sahel • It All Adds Up • More from Less • That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
June 2001: Space-Age Partnership in West Africa • Bad Taste is Good • Out of Africa • Seed Priming: Rhapsody in Simplicity
May 2001: Dodging Drought in Kenya • Vietnam and ICRISAT Save Watersheds • Farmers Enrich Malawi's Soils • Groundnut Mystery Disease Identified
April 2001:Women Farmers Guide Scientists in Namibia • Ashta Puts it Faith in IPM • Sahelian Farmers Place Their Bets • China and Pigeonpea: Love at Second Sight
March 2001: Agriculture: an Ally Against Global Warming? • Breaking the Spell of Witchweed • Groundnut Taking Root in Central Asia and the Caucasus • Zimbabwean Smallholders Drive the Research Agenda
February 2001: Somalia: Seeds Deliver Hope Amidst Chaos • The CGIAR Fights Desertification in Africa • Creating the World's First Molecular Marker Map of Chickpea • Aflatoxin and Cancer: Cracking a Hard Nut in Developing Countries
January 2001: Things Grow Better with CokeŽ: Micro-fertilizer System Sparks 50-100 Percent Millet Yield Increases in the Sahel • Groundnut (Peanut) Production Accelerates in Vietnam • Pigeonpea Broadens Farmer's Options in Sudan • Private Sector Invests in Public Plant Breeding Research at ICRISAT.
December 2000: International Symposium on SAT Futures • Centers Team Up to Help East Timor • Spatial Variability in Watersheds • World's First Cytoplasmic Male-Sterile Hybrid Pigeonpea • Groundnut (Peanut) Variety Boosts Malawian Agriculture • National Researchers Persevere in El Salvador • ICRISAT Celebrates India-ICRISAT Day • ICRISAT and World Vision International Work Together in Southern Africa.
