Annex 2.12 : Research initiatives for addressing the technology gaps in primary processing of small millets

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Benchmark design features are provided to guide new designs of hulling machines for small millets. This Annex is part of a larger project “Scaling Up Small Millet Post-Harvest and Nutritious Food Products.” Details of the development of new hullers are given in this report. Trials were conducted on several varieties of millets. More trials with different specific gravity separators are necessary, so that suitable models can be recommended to small millet processors. Prototypes and methods of grain processing are described and discussed, illustrated with clear photographs. Machine performance and efficiencies are presented, as well as improved storage innovations

Weaving indigenous agricultural knowledge with formal education to enhance community food security : school competition as a pedagogical space in rural Anchetty, India

In communities from the remote rural regions of Anchetty, young learners’ informal learning experiences often come through interactions with local agriculture and the environment in which they and their families work and learn. These informal learning experiences are essential to what are otherwise called ‘indigenous knowledge systems’. For primary school students in Anchetty, the ways in which they engage in learning community-based agricultural knowledge are challenged by school-based formal education processes. Using a school competition as a pedagogical strategy for integrative space, this paper supports and explores the meaning and characteristics of indigenous agricultural knowledge (IAK)

Guidelines for setting up a small millet processing unit : scaling up small millet post-harvest and nutritious food products project

Development of Humane Action (DHAN) Foundation in India has prepared this booklet of Guidelines as part of the “Scaling Up Small Millet Post-Harvest and Nutritious Food Products Project,” keeping in mind the needs of new entrants into the small millets processing sector. The booklet covers: 1) Processing of small millets; 2) Choosing equipment based on planned scale of operation; 3) Accessories and tools; 4) Testing equipment at the manufacturers site; and 5) Installation of equipment. It also shares support offered by the DHAN Foundation for new entrants

Revalorising Small Millets in Rainfed Regions of South Asia : final technical report (March 2011 - August 2014)

Annexes not includedProjects build on farmers’ indigenous knowledge and innovations, including women’s roles in dryland agriculture. To promote small millets in towns and other villages around project sites, food festivals, walkathons and radio talks were organized, reaching around 134,000 persons during the project period. Based on in-depth analysis of small millets market chain, an initiative to connect urban consumers with local producers made available 127 tonnes of hulled grains of various small millets to around 61,000 consumers, including women’s group members and farmers in three provinces. Details of major activities and outputs, engaging 2709 male and 2657 female farmers are given

Report on compendium of released varieties in small millets, India (annex 2.2 of final technical report)

Finger, Foxtail, Little, Kodo, Proso, and Barnyard small millets are vital to the economy due to their suitability to local agro-ecology and socio-economic conditions. Millets are truly miracle grains as they seldom attract any biotic stress, be it disease or pest. They can grow on the most marginalized soils - without irrigation and with very little or sometimes no external inputs due to their very high resilience. This report provides distinguishing features of varietal pedigrees and recommendations for regional use

Report on participatory varietal selection in small millets in South Asia (annex 2.3 of final technical report)

A set of promising small millet varieties were short listed from among the collected traditional as well as improved varieties of each of the four focused small millet crops. Varying numbers of farmers’ preferred varieties were identified in the four small millet crops for each site, namely, Anchetty (4), Bero (4), Semilguda (3), Jawadhu Hills (3 in finger millet and 5 in little millet), Dumbriguda (2), Nepal (6), Sri Lanka (3), and Peraiyur (3 in barnyard millet and 1 in kodo millet). Experimental trials were conducted with analysis of agronomic performance and farmer assessments for preference. Feedback charts are provided

Report on characterization of land races and local varieties of finger millet and other small millets (annex 2.1 of final technical report)

The varietal diversity study undertaken as part of Revalorising Small Millets in Rainfed Regions of South Asia (RESMISA) project indicated that there are many well performing millet varieties in terms of adaptation to the local environment, cooking properties and yield. However, many of these local varieties are losing their character due to loss of purity. Purification and morphological characterisation of these local varieties are needed, in terms of human nutritional benefit from the available rich varietal diversity both in the short and long term

Report on on-farm research for addressing production constraints of small millets in South Asia (annex 2.4 of final technical report)

The project took efforts to revive the culture of farmer experimentation, engaging them in research activities to adapt and improve available technologies and following two strategies: on-farm research for adapting existing technologies and agronomic practices available for small millets and, identifying location-specific natural resource management measures, including soil and water conservation. Both strategies were built on farmers’ indigenous knowledge and their active participation in the research process. The project formed 292 experimental farmer groups of various forms across all the sites in South Asia and organised training programs on recommended package of practices for small millets

Mapping of tank silt application using Sentinel-2 images over the Berambadi catchment (India)

International audienceMapping soil properties is becoming more and more challenging due to the increase in anthropogenic modification of the landscape, calling for new methods to identify these changes. A striking example of anthropogenic modifications of soil properties is the widespread practice in South India of applying large quantities of silt from dry river dams (or “tanks”) to agricultural fields. Whereas several studies have demonstrated the interest of tank silt for soil fertility, no assessment of the actual extent of this age-old traditional practice exists. Over South-Indian pedological context, this practice is characterized by an application of black-colored tank silt to red-colored soils such as Ferralsols. The objective of this work was to evaluate the usefulness of Sentinel-2 images for mapping tank silt applications, hypothesizing that observed changes in soil surface color can be a proxy for tank silt application. We used data collected in a cultivated watershed in South India including 217 soil surface samples characterized in terms of Munsell color. We used two Sentinel-2 images acquired on February and April 2017. The surface soil color over each Sentinel-2 image was classified into two soil types (“Black” and “Red” soils). A change of soil color from “Red” in February 2017 to “Black” in April 2017 was attributed to tank silt application. Soil color changes were analyzed accounting for possible surface soil moisture changes. The proposed methodology was based on a well-balanced Calibration data created from the initial imbalanced Calibration dataset thanks to the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE) methodology, coupled to the Cost-Sensitive Classification And Regression Trees (Cost-Sensitive CART) algorithm. To estimate the uncertainties of i) the two-class classification at each date and ii) the change of soil color from “Red” to “Black”, a bootstrap procedure was used providing fifty two-class classifications for each Sentinel-2 image. The results showed that 1) the CART method allowed to classify the “Red” and “Black” soil with correct overall accuracy from both Sentinel-2 images, 2) the tank silt application was identified over 202 fields and 3) the soil color changes were not related to a surface soil moisture change between both dates. With the actual availability of the Sentinel-2 and the past availability of the LANDSAT satellite imageries, this study may open a way toward a simple and accurate method for delivering tank silt application mapping and so to study and possibly quantify retroactively this farmer practic