1. ICRISAT developed improved varieties of several key crops including chickpea, sorghum, groundnut and pigeonpea. Several new varieties were released in Malawi that increased yields compared to local varieties. Nutrition and health messaging reached over 22,000 households in Malawi. 2. The program deployed integrated watershed management in Ethiopia, increasing cultivated and vegetated lands while decreasing bare lands between 2010-2020. 3. Projects in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe increased crop yields and household incomes through smart water management and agricultural innovation platforms.

1. East & Southern Africa Research and Regional
Program
Presentation at the
98th Governing Board
meeting
Program Committee
20 April 2021

2. Presentation at the 98th ICRISAT Governing Board Meeting
Program Committee 20 April 2020
Finger Millet
Sorghum
Groundnut
Pigeonpea
Pearl Millet
Chickpea
53 Fe dense (> 60 ppm) lines
identified in the
Fe biofortification program
-3 varieties released in Malawi
-41 chickpea lines evaluated suitable for
mechanical harvest to reduce drudgery to
women with high yielding, big seed, early
maturity, drought resistance.
-New hybrid variety released in partnership
with Seed Co. in Zimbabwe. Disease-
resistant, suited for brewing, food and forage
uses and is adaptable to diverse agro-
ecologies
-3 varieties released in Malawi for
the first time.
-Average yield of 2176 kg/ha
compared to 350-500 kg/ha for local
varieties
-3 new Spanish groundnut varieties were
validated and cleared for wide cultivation
in Malawi
-Produced 45 MT of breeder seed
-Developed and evaluated 20
medium and 30 long elite lines in Kenya which are
Fusarium wilt-tolerant, double podded
1. Building Resilient Food Systems to Overcome Poverty, Hunger and Malnutrition
1.1. Varietal development and deployment:

3. Presentation at the 98th ICRISAT Governing Board Meeting
Program Committee 20 April 2020
1.2 Nutrition and Health
• In Kenya we leveraged SourceTrace digital
platforms to disseminate nutrition information. A
total of 918,374 messages were delivered to
20,222 households; out of which 12,133 (60%)
were women-headed.
• Over 22,000 households and 2,000 frontline
workers were reached in Malawi with agriculture,
nutrition and health messages.
1.3 Crop Protection
• Fall army worm:246 accessions of sorghum mini-
core collection were screened for resistance to fall
armyworm at Chitedze Research station in
Malawi. 5 accessions showed a constant level of
high resistance.
• Maize lethal Necrosis: Over 200 symptomatic
sorghum, maize, napier grass, finger millet, and
pearl millet plants were sampled and tested for
causal viruses.
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4. Presentation at the 98th ICRISAT Governing Board Meeting
Program Committee 20 April 2020
2. Reducing Environmental
Degradation:
• ICRISAT deployed integrated watershed
management in the dry highlands (Yewol watershed)
and lowlands (Afar) of Ethiopia. Between 2010 and
2020, cultivated and vegetation lands coverage
increased by 44% and 16%, respectively; and bare
lands decreased by 59%.
3. Developing climate change resilience and
mitigation
• Gains were made in Smart Water Management tools
and Agricultural Innovation Platforms. Project sites
in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe pointed to
increased crop yields ranging from 28-313%, income
increase of 43-94% in farmer households.
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Change in land use/cover in 2010, 2015 and 2020 using flood water spreading weirs
in Ethiopia

5. Presentation at the 98th ICRISAT Governing Board Meeting
Program Committee 20 April 2020
4. Business continuity during the COVID-19
pandemic
4.1 Coping mechanisms
• A regional crisis management team continuously reviewed the
ICRISAT Risk Impact Assessment for COVID-19 and Staged
Action Plans; majority of staff worked from home
• Use of Virtual platforms for delivery, meetings and Trainings
4.2 Impact of COVID-19
• (i)Research: Field operations through staff and partners residing
near research sites, in few cases encountered delays and challenges
with data collection
• (ii) Genebank Facilities: Critical staff resided near facilities to
monitor cold-room temperatures and viability. Overall no losses
were recorded.
• (iii) Resource Mobilization: Donor shift to emergency response to
COVID-19 which reduced funding opportunities. Repositioned
proposals to COVID-19 for recovery phase to building resilience for
long-term.
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6. Presentation at the 98th ICRISAT Governing Board Meeting
Program Committee 20 April 2020
Thank You
Questions?
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