For Mahadevappa and Gauramma, life was a struggle farming their two-hectare plot in Karnataka state, India. Here, in the country’s second biggest dryland area, soil is poor and droughts frequent, making crop production difficult and harvests meager. Some parts of Karnataka have suffered drought in six out of the past ten years.
But now a holistic approach to natural resource management is helping farmers like this couple to produce results that they could only have dreamed of. In 2011, despite the region having been gripped by serious drought, three million farmers saw their yields rise by up to 66%, generating extra profits of US$130 million. Subsequent harvests have also shown significant increases in the state, whose farmers rely heavily on rainfed agriculture.
Behind the turnaround is a multi-pronged strategy pioneered by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT, a member of the CGIAR Consortium), which was called in by local authorities after Karnataka suffered stagnant agricultural growth rates for four years running, largely due to depleted soils and water deficiency.
Dubbed the Bhoochetana initiative – borrowing a term which means land rejuvenation in ancient Sanskrit – the solution developed by ICRISAT scientists is based on targeted delivery of micronutrients to soil. A blog by ICRISAT Director General William D. Dar explains how better distribution of soil nutrients where they are really needed can have dramatic impacts on the soil fertility and resilience of small-scale farms.
Missing micronutrients
The strategy also involves other approaches, all of them sustainable, including diversification, water conservation, agroforestry and the use of organic compost. Farmers are encouraged to grow a variety of crops which are nutritious to both humans and the soil. These include finger millet, rich in iron, calcium and protein and pigeon pea, which is high in protein and has nitrogen-fixing properties that nourish the soil.
Accurate soil sampling is crucial to the process of pinpointing which micronutrients are needed, to ensure maximum efficiency and minimum waste. In an ambitious undertaking, spanning 4,700 villages in 30 districts, ICRISAT scientists have involved farmers in collecting soil samples before taking them for analysis to CGIAR laboratories.
“It’s the first time soil sampling has been done on this scale in a developing country,” said Suhas Wani, principal scientist at ICRISAT, interviewed in an article for the UK Guardian newspaper. The initiative has also been featured in a BBC photo essay. “If we found the soil in one area has enough potash, there is no need to apply it, as it will end up in the water. The farmer saves money as well, while increasing yield through the use of micronutrients.”
Higher yields and incomes
It was a team led by Wani who gave the Bhoochetana initiative its name, though the project is a collaborative one, involving the government at state, district and local levels, as well as various agricultural research institutions, universities, community organizations and lead farmers.
In the first three years following its launch in 2008, Bhoochetana raised crop yields by an average 30% across 3 million hectares, benefiting 2.2 million smallholder farmers, a result that Dar describes as “an enormous and rapid impact”. An assessment of 22 cases over four districts in the state found that the adoption of improved land management practices increased farmer’s net incomes by US$200-$550 per hectare.
“Farmers used the extra money to buy small-scale farm implements (threshing machines, bullock carts, motorbikes, etc.), to clear their bank loans, pay school fees, and meet social needs,” reported the ICRISAT blog.
Encouraged by Bhoochetana’s success, Karnataka state has pledged to continue the project, with a target of boosting crop yields by a further 20% and farmer incomes by 25% over the next five years. The initiative has already attracted interest from the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh and further afield, from the Philippines.
Alongside this, ICRISAT leads a consortium of international centers working in India to bring CGIAR expertise on crops, livestock and ecosystems to smallholder farmers. This programme will establish four benchmark sites to develop a scalable model for development of systems in different agroecosystems and it is referred as Bhoochetana plus.
Among those involved are scientists from members of the CGIAR Consortium, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), as well as from the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC).
Pass it on
Farm facilitators have played a crucial role in spreading the word about the Bhoochetana approach. Farmers Mahadevappa and Gauramma learned how to collect soil samples and submit them for testing from one of 10,000 facilitators. These are trained by local government and ICRISAT scientists and are paid to teach smallholders about the technique and its benefits. Convincing sometimes skeptical farmers can be a challenge, and the facilitators use a range of methods to get their message across, including video and theater.
For Mahadevappa and Gauramma, testing revealed that, in common with many smallholder farms in the area, their soils were low in levels of zinc, boron and sulphur. An important component of this wide-ranging strategy is to make soil supplements available at affordable prices. The couple purchased the micronutrients from one of 747 farm centers across the state at a 50% subsidized rate, and soon saw their yields soar.
Acting on the Bhoochetana principle, Mahadevappa and Gauramma have also diversified their crops, acquired more livestock and started growing nitrogen-rich azolla ferns in a pond to add to animal feed, which has increased the fat content of their cows’ milk. A combination of compost from worms, manure and fertilizer has provided an added boost to crop yields, while ridge-and-furrow tillage has reduced runoff of precious rainwater. Microenterprises such as vermicomposting have also become vital to the Bhoochetana initiative, providing income opportunities especially to women.
Scientists say that the Bhoochetana experience shows that low-cost methods which combine science-based solutions with traditional techniques can provide high returns on investment.
“Our scientists estimate that Karnataka gains US$14 dollars for every dollar that it invests in Bhoochetana,” reports Dar.
For more information:
Bhoochetana: Mission to Boost Productivity of Rainfed Agriculture through Science-led Interventions in Karnataka (ICRISAT)
Land renews lives (ICRISAT)
India farmers think big but grow micro to enrich their soil (Guardian)
PHOTO: Alina Paul-Bossuet, ICRISAT