ICRISAT Happenings

25 November 2011

No. 1494

Participants of the training program on “Strengthening the capacity of UniBRAIN – Agribusiness Innovation Incubation Consortia (AIIC) members” at ICRISAT-Patancheru.

Pursuing IMOD through agribusiness incubation

ICRISAT leads training program on agribusiness incubation for SSA Agricultural entrepreneurship has a vast potential to improve the productivity and income of the farm sector, leading to improved livelihoods, enhanced food and nutritional security, and inclusive and sustainable agricultural development. The promotion of entrepreneurship through agribusiness incubation facilitates job creation and helps share technological innovations from the research and development (R&D) sector with smallholder farming communities.

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iming to promote agribusiness ventures in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through value-chain based agribusiness incubators, ICRISAT’s AgriBusiness Incubation (ABI) program under its Agribusiness Innovation Platform (AIP) organized a training program on “Strengthening the capacity of UniBRAIN – Agribusiness Innovation Incubation Consortia (AIIC) members” on 21-24 November at ICRISAT-Patancheru.

and management, in view of UniBRAIN’s plan to set up an African Business Incubators Network (AFBIN) similar to the Network of Indian Agri Business Incubators (NIABI) of India. The training was focused on incubator management, planning for incubation operations, client selection, setting up systems and processes, and other key aspects of setting up successful business incubators to promote entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa.

The training program primarily aimed to strengthen the capacity of AIIC members in incubator planning

In his keynote address, Director General William Dar highlighted the need for entrepreneurship to page 2 ...4

ICRISAT leads training program .... from page 1 development through small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the agricultural sector which can be addressed through agribusiness incubation. “Agribusiness incubation plays a direct role in ensuring food security and poverty reduction,” he stressed. As most agribusiness incubators operate in rural areas, there is a direct impact on creating employment opportunities and income generation for the rural poor, he added.

Dr Dar also chaired the session on “Discussion on leadership and host institute integration” during the training.

Twenty six participants from Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Universities, Business and Research in Agricultural Innovation (UniBRAIN), Pan African Agribusiness and Agro Industry Consortium (PanAAC), Agro forestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE), Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA), Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles (CORAF) and SADC joined the training program at Patancheru, which had 30 resource persons from infoDev, ISBA, STC, Trec-STEP, Technopark, Villgro, etc. who provided and shared their vast and rich experiences in agriculture and agribusiness. The training will continue at the Business Planning and Development (BPD) units of the Tamil Nadu

Dr Ralph von Kaufmann, Technical Coordinator, UniBRAIN-FARA, in a discussion with Dr Dar and others.

Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore and Ooty.

UniBRAIN is a program of FARA supported by the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA).

It is facilitated by a team of partner institutions comprising FARA Networking Support Function for Capacity Strengthening (FARA-NSF4) and its associated sub-regional organizations – ASARECA, CORAF, Centre for Coordinating Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa (CCARDESA), African Network for Agriculture, ANAFE, PanAAC, and ICRISAT Agri-Business Incubator (ABI). g

Dr Dar delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of the training program.

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Creating opportunities through partnerships

ICRISAT at the Food 360° international conference

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Smallholder farmers need to be exposed to experiential learning processes that will tap into the innate entrepreneurial spirit existing in the agricultural community. Modernizing the agro-food system can be a strong engine for direct and indirect growth and poverty reduction in the drylands,” said Director General William Dar speaking at the Food 360°, a two-day international conference-cumexhibition on agribusiness and food processing. organized in Hyderabad by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Andhra Pradesh on 21-22 November.

With the theme “Feeding opportunities through partnerships,” ICRISAT was one of the knowledge partners at the event. ICRISAT also actively participated in the technical sessions and panel discussions. Kiran Sharma, CEO, Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP), served as a panelist during the session on “Pooling the talent for agribusiness and food processing industries: Challenges ahead.”

He gave an overview of the mission and the activities of AIP in promoting the cause of smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs. He highlighted the need for skills development and providing handholding support to entrepreneurs in the food and agribusiness, through food and agribusiness incubators.

Saikat Datta Mazumdar, COO, NutriPlus Knowledge (NPK) Program, chaired the session on “Legal framework and food safety and management systems.” During the discussion, he elucidated on the new food safety challenges and opportunities

Dr Dar lighting the inaugural lamp at the Food 360° organized by FICCI in Hyderabad.

facing the Indian food and agro processing industry, in the context of implementing the regulations of the new Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA).

A number of aspiring entrepreneurs visited the ICRISAT exhibition stall and showed keen interest in AIP’s on-going activities. The Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) program of AIP also facilitated the visit of a delegation from FARA and officials from research and educational institutions, industry and other agencies from five countries of sub-Saharan Africa to the conference with the primary aim of exploring partnerships and future collaborations with their Indian counterparts in the agribusiness incubation industry. g

Dignitaries releasing the agribusiness roadmap at the conference.

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South-South partnership key to overcoming poverty in the drylands

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t the World Agricultural Forum (WAF) 2011 congress in Brussels on 28 November – 1 December, ICRISAT will lead representatives from world agriculture organizations in a discussion on South-South collaboration to fight poverty in the drylands tropics.

Through a session on “The Role of South-South Partnerships,” ICRISAT will address opportunities to boost collaboration between India and Africa. It will focus on finding new ways to feed the growing global population and in improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers particularly in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

“We believe that South-South partnership is the key to solving hunger and poverty and in stimulating a greener, more productive drylands,” says Director General William Dar, moderator of the WAF session on South-South partnerships in the afternoon of 30 November.

Dr Dar adds, “We intend to explore the synergy and leverage of India and Africa working together and putting greater investment and involvement in agricultural development. Small farmers need more attention and resources to succeed.”

Dr Nigel Poole, ICRISAT Governing Board Chair and lead organizer/ panelist of the session, stresses that “South-South collaboration will build upon the already strong and successful India-Africa partnership to scale up their respective roles as driver of prosperity and economic opportunities in the dryland tropics.”

“India shares similar poverty and infrastructure issues with Africa, so when successful solutions are found they need to be transferred if we really want to implement change. Reaching out to the rural poor of India and Africa with our research and technologies is a key challenge,” adds Dr Poole.

During the session, Dr Arvind Kumar, Deputy Director General for Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will speak on success and innovation in Indian agriculture that may be applied to developing countries in Africa. On the other hand, Dr Said Silim, Director of ICRISATEastern and Southern Africa (ESA) will highlight agricultural research-for-development success stories such as improved pigeonpea varieties, meeting markets for sorghum, groundnuts for export, integrated watershed management, and PPP to improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. g

The 5+5 of Cultural Change For several months this year, the Change Management Team (CMT) composed of Dave Hoisington, Hector Hernandez, Peter Ninnes, Rex Navarro, Rajesh Agrawal, Farid Waliyar and Said Silim has been working on the Cultural Change Plan of Action. Following the team’s discussions, five shared values and five key cultural change areas were identified as main drivers of ICRISAT’s Cultural Change. The five shared values are: practicing strategic and systematic thinking; showing the way; working for results; respecting everyone; and communicating for understanding. Meanwhile, the five key cultural change areas are: impact orientation; learning and knowledge sharing; innovation; partnership and networking; and gender and diversity. g 4

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Workshop on developing water-enabled sustainable agricultural growth in Karnataka

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s a follow up to the India Economic Summit at Mumbai, a brainstorming workshop to discuss waterenabled sustainable agricultural growth of Karnataka was held on 18-19 November at ICRISAT-Patancheru. Nearly 55 participants representing Dr Dar addressing participants during the brainstorming workshop at Patancheru. the Water Resource Group (WRG) of the World Economic Forum, International our natural resources as 65% of the people in Finance Corporation (IFC), Government of Karnataka derive their livelihood from natural Karnataka, state agricultural universities, private resources while their contribution to the state’s GDP companies, IWMI and ICRISAT scientists took part in is merely 17%. the workshop.

The two-day deliberations saw discussions on the Addressing the participants, Director General potential public-private partnership (PPP) pilots in William Dar emphasized that while securing water two command areas in Karnataka covering 100,000 for sustainable development, it is necessary to hectare each, for which ICRISAT and IWMI will simultaneously achieve the multiple goals of food, prepare a detailed action plan and strategies to nutrition, economic and environment security for operationalize the pilots with the help of WRG, IFC the rural poor.“ The second Green Revolution or the and private companies such as Jain Irrigation Evergreen revolution, as Dr Swaminathan calls it, System, SAB Miller and others. will be natural resource-based unlike the first one The pilots will concentrate on approaches to which was seed-based,” he added. enhance water use efficiency (WUE) by reducing Dr KV Raju, Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister transmission losses, crop diversification, improved of Karnataka, lauded ICRISAT for the help it was seeds and balanced nutrient management practices rendering to poor dryland farmers through the along with productivity improvement of livestock Bhoochetana and Suvarna Bhoomi Yojane projects. with the help of the International Livestock Research He stressed “the need to change the way we manage Institute (ILRI). g

ICRISAT at the India Economic Summit The India Economic Summit 2011 with the theme “Sustainable Growth Summit” organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Mumbai on 12 November provided ICRISAT with a forum to network with industries working in watershed management, leaders of industry and representatives from the International Finance Corporation and Water Resources Group (WRG). Dr SP Wani represented ICRISAT at the summit.

The plenary was attended by industry leaders from Godrej and Boyce India, Alcatel-Lucent France, Pepsico India, Intellecap, SELCO Solar Light, Jain Irrigation Systems, United Phosphorus, Shree Cement, Suzlon Energy and representatives from the Governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

A private session on “Implementing India’s Water Vision 2030” and a special session on Karnataka Water were also organized by WRG on the occasion. Prior to this and as part of the initiative with the Government of Karnataka, a preliminary workshop was held in Bengaluru to discuss water-enabled sustainable agricultural growth in Karnataka. These deliberations were scaled up and discussed with industry partners during the India Economic Summit.

The Minister of Water Resources Mr BS Bommai represented the Government of Karnataka along with Mr D Satya Murty, Principal Secretary, Water Resources, GoK. A follow-up of the initiatives of GoK and WRG, based on the report submitted by McKinsey, the pilot initiatives are proposed for Karnataka to manage agricultural water sustainably. g ICRISAT Happenings 25 November 2011/1494

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HR&O Director visits Mali

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rom 14-18 November, Director for Human Resources & Operations (HR&O) Hector Hernandez visited ICRISAT’s regional office for West and Central Africa (WCA) in Bamako, Mali. With ICRISAT-WCA Director Farid Waliyar, he briefed the staff on the developments in ICRISAT, and held discussions on IMOD, the CRPs that ICRISAT is leading within the CGIAR, the New Strategic Plan to 2020, cultural change and shared values of the Institute. He also met with ICRISAT scientists based in Mali, Niger and Nigeria.

While in Mali, he led the conduct of the workshop on “Positive Life/Work Fulfillment” held on17-18 November. According to Director Hernandez, the training was in response to a need of researchers in the region to strike a life-work balance.

Twenty three scientists and managers attended the workshop. In his opening remarks, Dr F Waliyar provided insights on the importance of life-work fulfillment at ICRISAT. Participants were enlightened about appreciative inquiry, working as a team, positive thinking, having a purpose in life, better time management, handling conflict management, and understanding Meaning, Authenticity, Connection (MAC) to people. The training was conducted by Philip Merry of the Global Leadership Academy. The next workshop is planned in Kenya. g

PCS Traore receives his certificate from Farid Waliyar and Hector Hernandez.

Participants during a group session.

Participants of the “Positive Life/Work Fulfillment” workshop at Mali.

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ICRISAT Happenings 25 November 2011/1494

Bayer Bioscience hands over contribution to the Pearl Millet Consortium

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ayer Bioscience Pvt Ltd, a leading seed company in India and one of the 25 members (24 in India and 1 overseas) of ICRISAT’s Pearl Millet Hybrid Parents Research Consortium, made an additional voluntary contribution of Rs 500,000 (about US$ 10,000) to the consortium this year. The company has made use of ICRISAT-bred materials in developing hybrids for various agro-ecoregions, the most impressive of which is hybrid 9444.

Bayer Bioscience provides annual grants to ICRISAT’s pearl millet improvement program and participates in field evaluation of trials and nurseries and impact assessment.

Hybrid 9444 was developed on an ICRISATbred male-sterile line and is widely cultivated as a dual-purpose rainy season crop in northern India. It is the most popular hybrid for summer season cultivation in parts of Gujarat and Haryana where air temperatures during flowering can often exceed

Satish Patil (Country Head, Bayer Bioscience, India) presents a cheque to Dr Dar. Also seen are Ms AK Jayalekha (Lead Breeder, Pearl Millet, Bayer Bioscience) and CLL Gowda.

42oC. It continues to maintain its very high level of resistance to downy mildew, despite being cultivated for over 10 years and is perhaps one of the very few hybrids also resistant to smut and less susceptible to leaf blast. g

11th Asian Maize Conference held in China Nearly 375 scientists from 22 maize-growing countries worldwide participated in the 11th Asian Maize Conference (11th AMC) with the theme Addressing climate change effects and meeting maize demand for Asia held in Nanning, Guangxi Province of China, on 7-11 November. The Conference was jointly organized by the International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), and hosted by the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GXAAS) and the Guangxi Maize Research Institute (GMRI).

Research and development specialists from public

and private institutions, scientists, resource persons and representatives of seed companies in Asia, and non-governmental and sub-regional institutions attended the conference.

The sessions dealt with abiotic stress tolerant and biotic stress resistance, enhancing yield potential of tropical maize, novel tools/technologies for enhancing productivity, nutritionally enriched and specialty maize, sustainable intensification, value chains and post-harvest management, seed system, and participatory plant breeding and public-private partnerships. g

Happy retirement!

R Bhaskar, Senior Farm and Engineering Associate (A/c & Refrigeration), FETS – Engineering Services, will retire on 30 November. He served ICRISAT for over 32 years.

Y Mohan Rao, Lead Scientific Officer, Research Program on Markets, Institutions & Policies retired on 31 October after serving the Institute for over 32 years.

Team ICRISAT wishes them a very happy retired life. g ICRISAT Happenings 25 November 2011/1494

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ICRISAT-Philippine NARES partnership

As part of the active collaboration between ICRISAT and the Philippine national agricultural research and extension system (NARES), an 11-member delegation representing state colleges and universities and research institutions visited ICRISATPatancheru on 21-25 November (left photo). Later joined by Ms. Maria Lourdes P Orijola, Assistant

Secretary for Technology Transfer, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) (right photo), the team’s primary goal was to learn from ICRISAT’s sweet sorghum research and commercialization program as a key part of making bio-energy and livelihood opportunities work for the poor, and the Institute’s agribusiness incubation program. g

Visitors’ log 21 November: Eleven sorghum scientists from PHIRARDEP, Philippines (photo above); 18 post-graduate students in Environmental Science from Gulbarga University; 80 MBA students from Kerala; 65 BSc (Agriculture) students from UAS, Dharwad; and 41 BSc (Agriculture) students from the College of Agriculture, Mandya, Karnataka.

22 November: One hundred botany students of Madina Degree College for Women,

Himayathnagar; and 75 students from Sri Swaminarayan Gurukul International School, Hyderabad.

23 November: Sixteen students of agricultural economics from the University of Hyderabad; and 30 officials from southern India on a biodiversity program at ANGRAU.

Thought for the week There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed.

- Lao-tzu, in The Way of Lao-tzu