Author: rpuri

BISA has been an exemplary partner in building and supporting a strong ACASA team  and establishing strong, financially supported partnerships with NARS

By Tess Russo

The  Atlas of Climate Adaptation in South Asian Agriculture (ACASA) project is different from many projects supported by our team. I would love to dive into the promising features of the ACASA platform and the exciting technical advances being made, but I want to focus here on how the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) has organized this program for greater and longer-term impact.

BISA is a strong regional partner and is the lead institution for the ACASA program. In fact, we could have simply asked BISA to build the ACASA platform and known they would make a great technical product. However, our goal is not just to have great technical products, but also to improve the lives of small-scale producers. For any great technical product to deliver impact, it must be used.

From day one, the ACASA program has not just kept the users’ needs in mind, indeed they have kept the users themselves engaged on the project. By establishing strong, financially supported partnerships with the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, they are achieving four key outcomes, among many others:

1. Benefit from local expertise regarding national agricultural practices, climate risks, and solutions
2. Leverage NARS connections to national and subnational decision makers to inform product requirements
3. Establish national ownership with a partner mandated to support users of the product
4. Strengthen climate adaptation analytics across South Asia through peer-to-peer learning.

These outcomes lead to more accurate and appropriate products, user trust, and the long-term capacity to maintain and update the ACASA platform. The latter being essential given the constantly improving nature of our understanding of and predictions around climate and agriculture.

If this model of working has such advantages over “if you build it, they will come”, you might wonder why we do not use it in all cases. This approach requires divergence from business-as-usual for most researchers and is not without a cost. The BISA team are not only putting deep emphasis on the technical development of this product, but they are also spending considerable time, effort, and budget to create a program structure where the NARS are catalytic partners. The NARS teams are empowered on the project to contribute to methodologies used beyond their national boundaries, they have the task of making the best data available and validating the outputs, the responsibility of understanding and representing stakeholder requirements, and the ownership of their national platform for long-term use. BISA has developed a structure of accountability, provided funding, facilitated team-wide and theme-specific workshops, and shared decision-making power, which all presents additional work.

In the end, we encouraged this approach because we see too many decision support tools and platforms developed by international researchers who merely consult with users a few times during a project. These efforts may result in building captivating products, meeting all the needs brainstormed by the research team, but their future is sitting in a dusty (and unfortunately crowded) corner of the internet. While this this approach seems fast and efficient, the efficiency is zero if there is no value gained from the output. So, we look for other ways to operate and engage with partners, to work within existing systems, and to move beyond theoretically useful products to ones that are used to address needs and can be evolved as those needs change. BISA has been an exemplary partner in building and supporting a strong ACASA team, and we are eager to see how each NARS partner leverages the ACASA product to generate impact for small-scale producers.

Tess Russo is a Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Seattle, USA

By

BISA Team

Every year in March CIMMYT-BISA organizes Wheat Field Day as an annual event to celebrate and honor the hard work that goes into producing quality seed at BISA farms. It is the annual celebration of research, productiveness, and perseverance. It’s an effort to accelerate the global breeding process and serve humanity with the best in Wheat. This event allows wheat breeders to evaluate/select new, improved advanced breeding lines for possible use. It’s an amalgamation of farmers, researchers, and young students from the agricultural field, as it opens a platform for co-creation, knowledge exchange and experience sharing.

It is organized on a large scale to showcase the breeding process, new breeding tools, mainstreaming of enhanced grain quality traits and integrating the traits needed for future wheat. This year also, BISA research farms in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Samastipur (Bihar) and Ludhiana (Punjab) invited scientists from different parts of the country to have a firsthand look at the ongoing variety of trials. It’s been a premier event where researchers interact and learn about CIMMYT’s newest advanced wheat lines: heat, drought and disease resistant.  

This year in Ludhiana, more than 75 scientists from the national system (public & private sector) joined the wheat field day.

Wheat nurseries at BISA farm, Ludhiana during the 2023-24 cycle.

A total of 20105 entries and 22531 plots were planted at the BISA research farm, Ludhiana during the 2023-24 season. This includes ~6500 standard yield trial plots and ~16,000 small plots with two rows for stripe rust screening and germplasm maintenance.

Advanced wheat breeding lines from CIMMYT and international nurseries are available for selection by public and private sector national partners, some of which are described below:

• Stage-1 Trial:  Total Entries: 4971 entries
• Elite Parcela Chica (EPC): 1458 entries
• South Asia Bread Wheat Genomic Prediction Yield Trial (SABWGPYT): 540 entries
• High Zinc Wheat Yield Trial (HZWYT):100 entries
• Elite Spring Wheat Yield Trial (ESWYT): 50 entries
• Semi-Arid Wheat Yield Trial (SAWYT):50 entries
• Heat Tolerant Wheat Yield Trial (HTWYT): 50 entries
• Wheat Yield Collaboration Yield Trial (WYCYT): 45 entries
• Stress Adapted Trait Yield Nurseries (SATYN): 45 entries
• High Zinc Advanced Nursery (HZAN): 23 entries
• Elite Late Heat Tolerance Trial (7thELHT): 60 entries
• 15th HLBSN: 50 entries
• Station Trial: 15 entries

Almost the same pattern was followed at the other two farms of BISA where a similar pattern was used to display the trials.

BISA, in the last decade, has focused on mechanization to improve efficiency, and yield production with the lowest cost of production. Thus, having a significant positive impact on Indian agriculture. On Wheat Field Day, BISA also displayed innovative farm machinery, digital tools and equipment used in farming with the latest technology.      

By

Raj Kumar Jat

On 24^th February 2024, the honorable Deputy Chief Minister Shri. Vijay Kumar Sinha visited the BISA research farm in Samastipur, Bihar. BISA, being an implementing partner in the Bihar Govt’s CRA program offers new and innovative farming techniques for the farmers of Bihar. Thus, for the deputy Chief Minister, this visit was particularly focused on having a firsthand experience of BISA’s state-of-the-art farm in Samastipur. He was given a comprehensive tour of the BISA farm by Dr. Raj Kumar Jat, a senior scientist, at BISA. Dr. Jat highlighted the role of BISA in Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) program of the Bihar Govt and shared the updates of the program with Mr. Sinha.   

He gave a detailed analysis on Climate Resilient Agriculture and provided a comprehensive understanding of the challenges posed by climate change and the imperative need for adaptive agricultural practices. The discussion encompassed strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of fluctuating weather patterns, emphasizing the importance of sustainable approaches. 

Mr. Sinha also visited the experimental plots dedicated to Conservation Agriculture & Organic Farming at BISA farm underscoring the significance of sustainable farming methodologies. Dr. Jat also talked about the utilization of drones in agriculture and the way precision farming techniques offer valuable insights into leveraging technology to enhance agricultural productivity. The discussion highlighted the potential of these advancements in mitigating losses attributed to climatic variability and pest infestation, thereby empowering farmers with effective solutions. 

As a symbolic gesture, Mr. Sinha actively participated in transplanting a mango seedling at the BISA farm. This act not only symbolized collective efforts against climate change but also underlined the government’s commitment to environmental conservation and sustainable agriculture.

His visit to the BISA farm in Samstipur, served as a testament to the collaborative efforts meant for  fostering agricultural resilience. Through insightful discussions, commendations, and symbolic gestures, the visit reaffirmed the commitment towards promoting sustainable agricultural practices and combating the challenges posed by climate change.

Moving forward, it is imperative to translate the insights gained from this visit into actionable initiatives. Strengthening research and extension efforts, facilitating technology adoption among farmers, and fostering partnerships between government bodies, research institutions, and the agricultural community are essential steps towards achieving agricultural resilience and sustainability.

By

Manish Vishwakarma

On April 11, 2022, ICAR-BISA-JICA started working on a new initiative called “Project for the Establishment of Nitrogen-Efficient Wheat Production Systems in Indo-Gangetic Plains by the Development of BNI Technology”. Three ICAR institutions (IIWBR and CSSRI in Karnal, IARI at New Delhi) are involved in this project to breed BNI wheat varieties in India. A full-fledged breeding program has been initiated by the three ICAR institutions and BISA at the three BISA research farms in India (Ludhiana, Jabalpur & Samastipur). For identifying wheat lines carrying BNI trait it is necessary to use GISH (Genomic In Situ Hybridization) technology. Therefore, taking a step forward and considering the capacity-building needs of the teams involved, a hands-on training was organised by the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), and Tsukuba Ibaraki, JAPAN, a renowned institute revered for its contributions to agricultural sciences. The training organised for eight days (17th Feb to 25th Feb) aimed at providing hands-on training to scientists from India on GISH technology to validate BNI translocation.

Dr. Manish K Vishwakarma, BISA, Dr. Ajay Bhardwaj, Principal Scientist, CSSRI, Dr. C N Mishra Senior Scientist, IIWBR and Dr. Harikrishna, Scientist, IARI, participated in the training.

During the visit, scientists visited JIRCAS’s state-of-the-art facilities, where cutting-edge research is conducted on various agricultural challenges. From climate-resilient crop varieties to sustainable farming practices, the breadth of research undertaken at JIRCAS was truly impressive for the scientists.

The team was welcomed by Dr. SUBBARAO Guntur Venkata’s (Group Leader for BNI Research Crop) informative talk on BNI technology. Later, Dr. KISHII Masahiro, a distinguished researcher at JIRCAS, adeptly navigated scientists through GISH’s theoretical and practical aspects. He elucidated the principles behind GISH and its application in identifying chromosomal translocations with clarity and enthusiasm. Each concept was meticulously explained, from the fundamentals of probe design to the intricacies of hybridization techniques, laying a solid foundation for a hands-on experience. They examined the samples under the fluorescence microscope and observed the signs of translocation, charting new frontiers in genetic analysis.

Scientists not only deepened their understanding of GISH technology but also fostered a sense of camaraderie. “As we reflect on our time at this esteemed institute, we are grateful for the opportunity to learn from the best in the field and contribute to the ever-expanding tapestry of scientific knowledge. We had the honor of meeting with the president JIRCAS Mr. Osamu KOYAMA, who graciously shared their vision for the future of agricultural science” said Dr. Manish Vishwakarma.

Scientists also had an opportunity to visit Tokyo and witness the awe-inspiring beauty of Mount Fuji and Mt. Tsukuba leaving a deeper appreciation for Japanese culture, discipline, and tradition.