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Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has signed a
three-year research agreement (2006-08) with Hyderabad
based International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to step up the research
activities focusing on dry land areas of the country.
Signing the agreement along with ICRISAT Chief Dr.
William Dar in New Delhi on the 25th May, Dr.
Mangala Rai, DG, ICAR said that this pact would benefit
the dryland farmers of the country by improving
productivity of rainfed crops and improving livelihood
security of people. In India, about 84% of the rural poor
live in rainfed areas where food scarcity is a major
problem.
The
partnership between two premier research organisations of
the Indian subcontinent includes both strategic and
applied research. The project deals with 5 crops namely
Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Chickpea, Pigeon pea and Ground
nut. Dr. Rai said that about 38 million ha area is
cultivated in the country under these crops and this
partnership would help the country in effectively tackling
the effects of drought.
The thematic areas of the
projects under this agreement includes genetic resources
conservation, evaluation and utilization; enhancing crop
productivity and sustainability under both favourable and
dryland stress environments; improving system productivity
and livelihood for fragile and dry environment including
socio-economic and policy options, and strengthening
linkage between research and development including
training.
One of the
major projects under this agreement is sulphur and
micronutrient fertilization of crops for increasing
productivity of drylands. Soil characterisation of these
areas would be diagnosed and effects of improved nutrient
management practises on crop productivity, crop quality
and economic returns to farmers would be evaluated under
this project.
Another
project aims at improving rural livelihoods in selected
states through bio-diesel plantations. This is proposed to
be achieved through rehabilitating degraded lands through
integrated soil and water management options and
establishment of bio-diesel plantations. It also includes
identifying most profitable inter-crops with Jatropa and
Pongamia for increasing productivity and income and
training NGOs and farmers in nursery raising and
cultivation of these plants.
Adapting to
climate change in semi-arid areas of the country by
studying development pathways and coping mechanisms for
survival would be another focus area. Thus, climate change
impact on cropping patterns, income and employment
structures, migration trends and investment decisions of
rural household would be studied under this project.
The
agreement focuses on participatory integrated watershed
management for increasing productivity and improving
livelihoods in rainfed areas of the country. The objective
of this project is to minimize land degradation and
improve food security of rural people.
“The research partnership
between ICAR and ICRISAT has been highly productive,” said
Dr Rai. A pearl millet variety WC-C75, was tested by the
All India Coordinated Pearl Millet Improvement Project (AICPMIP)
and released in 1982 and cultivated on about one million
ha. Two more pearl millet cultivars (ICMH 451 released in
1986 and ICTP 8203 released in 1998) became very
successful.
Release of early-maturing
and wilt resistant desi (ICCC 37) and Kabuli (ICCV 2)
chickpeas, and their adoption led to increased
productivity (from 400 kg/ha in 1990 to 1200 kg/ha in
2004), leading to a nearly 10-fold increase in total
production in Andhra Pradesh. Pigeonpea and groundnut
varieties that were released have also been adopted by
farmers in many states. Pigeonpea ICPL 88039 is becoming
popular in the rice-wheat cropping systems of the Indo-Gangetic
Plains for cultivation before wheat. “Greater successes
have come from the development and releases of cultivars
of these crops developed by the Indian program scientists
using improved germplasm supplied by ICRISAT,” said Dr
Dar.
Indian Council of
Agricultural Research/Department of Agricultural Research
and Education, Govt. of India support ICRISAT core
programmes by annual contribution of US $ 150,000 and also
additional support of 0.5 million US $ for development of
transgenics against Helicoverpa in chickpea and pigeon pea
and disease management through transgenics in ground nut.
Support of additional US $ 20,500 has also been provided
to ICRISAT for undertaking biotechnology research in
chickpea and pigeonpea.
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