Outcome Evaluation of the work of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) on soil and water management in Ethiopia

In 2019, the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) Leadership chose to evaluate WLE’s work in Ethiopia as one of its countries where it has had most success. The objectives of the evaluation are: To determine how and in what ways WLE contributed to the achievement of intended/unintended outcomes; Based on the findings of the evaluation, make recommendations of how WLE (and its partners) can become more effective in supporting soil and water management in Ethiopia; To serve as a participatory learning experience for WLE and its partners. This report describes the evaluation process, findings, conclusions and recommendations

Report on the Desertification Convention

Report by ICRISAT on its participation on behalf of the CGIAR in the negotiations between May 1993 and June 1994 leading to the International Convention to Combat Desertification, itself an outgrowth of UNCED. ICRISAT cited the Desert Margins Initiative, a CGIAR ecoregional initiative which ICRISAT itself headed, as a CGIAR response to the Convention.The statement of James Ryan, ICRISAT Director General, at the signing ceremony, and relevant portions of the Convention are annexed.Agenda document, CGIAR International Centers Week, October 1994

Strengthening Climate-Resilient Agricultural Systems in South Asia: CCAFS South Asia Regional Meeting Report

State of the art discourse on agriculture and climate change, lays emphasis on the dual role of agriculture in adapting to and mitigating climate change. Recognising the same, many countries are laying emphasis on agriculture while preparing their national adaptation plans (NAPs). In congruence with the world’s agenda to facilitate sustainable agricultural practices, while reducing poverty and hunger, CCAFS has been working for last 10 years to generate innovative solutions to promote more adaptable and resilient agriculture and food systems. South Asia regional office of Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has been: generating research based knowledge, mainstreaming climate variability and climate change issues into development strategies and institutional agendas; enhancing people's understanding of climate change issues; and facilitating informed decisions on policies and actions based on the best available information and data in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, with extended research and knowledge based services extended onto Bhutan and Sri Lanka. With the vision of drawing learnings from the work done so far to elucidate the strategy of the coming years, a regional meeting titled “Strengthening Climate-Resilient Agricultural Systems in South Asia” was organised by CCAFS- South Asia in Bali- Indonesia from 6th to 7th Oct 2019. The meeting also aspired to build as well as further strengthen already existing institutional partnership. The two-day agenda included thematic sessions on topics such as developing and evaluating alternative policy and institutional models for scaling-up climate smart food system in South Asia, big-data analytics to identify and overcome scaling limitations to climate-smart agricultural practices in South Asia, capacity building for scaling up CSA via South- South collaboration among others. The meeting culminated with an agreement on the need for revisiting CCAFS research approach to build science based evidence, to facilitate formulation of better policies and programs, for a food secure world

Gender and Social Capital Mediated Technology Adoption

This study explores gender-differentiated benefits from the social capital buildup in technology uptake, and the decision-making patterns of men and women with respect to production, consumption and household task; and allocation of resources. The background research examined women’s role in developing social capital, and research developed a case study of the groundnut producing areas of Maharashtra in western India, and compared ‘with’ and ‘without’ technology situations, and ‘before’ and ‘after’ situations in relation to the package of groundnut production technology introduced in the region in 1987. The paper addresses three aspects: (1) social networks in technology adoption, (2) the gender-based activity pattern, and (3) build-up of social capital leading to improvements in the welfare of farmers and the farming community with a gender perspective. Available evidence suggests substantial differences in networks of men and women, particularly in composition. The evidence suggests that men belong to more formal networks reflecting their employment or occupation status, while women have more informal networks that are centered on family and kin. Findings show that women who are engaged in agriculture and allied activities develop bonding social capital characterized by strong bonds such as that found among family members or among members of an ethnic group. Men who are engaged in agriculture, on the other hand, develop bridging social capital characterized by weaker, less dense but more crosscutting ties such as with farmers, acquaintances, friends from different ethnic groups and friends of friends. Women’s employment opportunities significantly improved with the introduction of technology. Finally, the study concludes that while technology development and exchange can build upon social capital as a means of empowering women, much more needs to be learned about the approaches that foster build-up of social capital.

Capacity Building Workshop on Genetic Resources for CGIAR Scientists and Partners from Near East and Neighbouring Countries, 17 - 20 September 2018, ICARDA, Beirut, Lebanon

In September 2018, the CGIAR Genebank Platform Policy Module joined the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA) to organize a capacity-building workshop on genetic resource policies for CGIAR scientists and partners from Near East and neighbouring countries. The workshop was held from 17 - 20 September 2018, hosted by ICARDA, Beirut, Lebanon. This event brought together 20 staff members from 6 CGIAR Centres (including genebank managers and technical staff, plant breeders, senior scientists, legal counselor and genetic resources policy specialists), 16 representatives of national agricultural research organizations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, and representatives of the Secretariats of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the coordination team of the Global Project on Access and Benefit Sharing of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The workshop was designed to increase participants’ understanding of the CGIAR Centres’ obligations vis-à-vis international treaties and conventions dealing with access and benefit-sharing, and how these international instruments influence the day-to-day management of scientists, researchers and support staff involved in the management of plant germplasm collections and plant breeding prorgammes at national and international levels. The workshop included participatory analyses of practical case studies and hypothetical scenarios where the interface between the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing and the ITPGRFA (Plant Treaty) can raise legal and procedural issues. It also addressed improving genebank operations and communications and as such, enhancing availability and accessibility of ex situ collections and promoting farmers’ rights

Capacity Building Workshop on Genetic Resource Policies for CGIAR Scientists and Partners in East Africa, 4 - 7 June 2019, ILRI Campus, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The CGIAR Genebank Platform Policy Module, in coordination with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), organized the ‘Capacity building workshop on genetic resource policies for CGIAR scientists and partners in East Africa’. The workshop was held from 4 - 7 June 2019, at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This event brought together 30 staff members from 6 CGIAR Centres and 10 participants from national agricultural research organizations in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The workshop was designed to increase participants’ understanding of the CGIAR Centres’ and national research organizations’ obligations vis-à-vis international treaties and conventions dealing with access and benefit-sharing, and how these international instruments influence the day-to-day management of the collections. The workshop included participatory analyses of practical case studies and hypothetical scenarios where the interface between the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing and the ITPGRFA (Plant Treaty) can raise legal and procedural issues. It also addressed the management of information associated with genetic resources including digital sequence information

Impact of ICRISAT Research on Australian Agriculture

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Pearl millet and sorghum improvement in India:

millions fed, food security, Pearl millet, Sorghum,

Improving cereal productivity and farmers’ income using a strategic application of fertilizers in West Africa

In the past two years, ICRISAT, in collaboration with other International Agricultural Research Centres, National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems, has been evaluating and promoting point or hill application of fertilizer along with “Warrantage” in three West African countries, namely, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The hill application of fertilizers consists of applying small doses of fertilizer in the planting hills of millet and sorghum. The combination of strategic hill application of fertilizer with complementary institutional and market linkages, through an inventory credit system (known as “Warrantage”) offers a good opportunity to improve crop productivity and farmers’ incomes. Results from the two year on-farm trials showed that, on average, in all the three countries, grain yields of millet and sorghum were greater by 44 to 120% while incomes of farmers increased by 52 to 134% when using hill application of fertilizer than with the earlier recommended fertilizer broadcasting methods and farmers’ practice. Substantial net profits were obtained by farmers using “Warrantage”. Farmers’ access to credit and inputs was improved substantially through the “Warrantage” system. The technology has reached up to 12650 farm households in the three countries and efforts are in progress to further scale-up and out the technology to wider geographical area