ICRISAT’s soil laboratory registers with FAO’s International Network on Ferti...ICRISAT
The Charles Renard Analytical Laboratory at ICRISAT has been officially registered with the International Network on Fertilizer Analysis – a network created in December 2020, to build and strengthen the capacity of laboratories in fertilizer analysis and harmonize fertilizer quality standards. Dr Pushpajeet L Choudhari, Manager of the soil laboratory, said that testing serves as a preventive measure to avoid the misuse of fertilizers leading to better soil management.
Uzbek delegation explores climate-resilient crop options for arid, degraded e...ICRISAT
A delegation from Uzbekistan visited ICRISAT headquarters in India to learn about short-duration second crops suited to their country's arid ecologies. The visitors were interested in crop options that mature before winter and can increase agricultural production through double cropping. They were briefed on dryland crop options from ICRISAT like pearl millet and pigeonpea. The delegation explored opportunities for academic exchange and obtaining genomic services and training from ICRISAT to develop crops suited to Uzbekistan's climate and soils. Previous partnerships between ICRISAT and Uzbekistan in developing salinity tolerant pearl millet varieties were also discussed.
Indian Ambassador to Niger explores opportunities for South-South cooperationICRISAT
The Ambassador of India to Niger, His Excellency Mr Prem K Nair, visited ICRISAT’s research station at Sadore, to explore opportunities for South-South collaboration. He said that the objective of his visit was to learn about ICRISAT’s activities in Niger and to identify possible areas of cooperation for implementing agri-development initiatives introduced by India.
WFP, ICRISAT to partner on climate-resilience, food security, nutrition and l...ICRISAT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner on programs and research to improve food and nutrition security and livelihoods in India against the impacts of climate change. The partnership aims to strengthen efforts bringing together science, knowledge, and implementation frameworks to bolster climate-resilient food security, nutrition, and livelihoods. A significant focus will be on vulnerability analysis at the state level in India and developing a sustainable food systems approach.
Visit by Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner to ICRISAT opens opportunities f...ICRISAT
Dr Doraiswamy Venkateshwaran, Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner stationed in Chennai, recently visited the ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad to learn more about the Institute’s science-backed research for dryland agriculture. Along with his team, he visited the genebank and toured the pigeonpea and finger millet field plots, where Dr Prakash Gangashetty and Dr Sobhan Sajja explained to him the research focus and various traits of hybrids and varieties developed by ICRISAT.
UK Ambassador to Niger discusses climate change adaptation and humanitarian i...ICRISAT
The UK Ambassador to Niger, Ms Catherine Inglehearn, recently visited ICRISAT-Niger to discuss Niger's participation in the upcoming COP26 climate conference and support for implementing climate change adaptation measures. During the visit, Ms Inglehearn spoke about the UK Embassy's humanitarian work with organizations like WFP, UNICEF, and ICRC in Niger's first year of operations. ICRISAT representatives provided an overview of the organization's work empowering youth and women in Niger and recent achievements, which the Ambassador congratulated them on.
New climate-resilient, disease-resistant chickpea varieties coming farmers’ wayICRISAT
Three new chickpea varieties have been developed with enhanced drought tolerance, disease resistance, and increased yield. These varieties were created using genomics-assisted breeding by ICRISAT and ICAR. The new varieties are awaiting approval for cultivation by Indian farmers. Genomics-assisted breeding has delivered six high-yielding chickpea varieties to India in the last three years. Improved chickpea varieties are needed due to drought threats in chickpea growing regions, as drought can cause up to 60% yield losses annually. ICRISAT is leading efforts in genetic analysis of drought tolerance and disease resistance in chickpea using advanced sequencing technologies.
ICRISAT’s soil laboratory registers with FAO’s International Network on Ferti...ICRISAT
The Charles Renard Analytical Laboratory at ICRISAT has been officially registered with the International Network on Fertilizer Analysis – a network created in December 2020, to build and strengthen the capacity of laboratories in fertilizer analysis and harmonize fertilizer quality standards. Dr Pushpajeet L Choudhari, Manager of the soil laboratory, said that testing serves as a preventive measure to avoid the misuse of fertilizers leading to better soil management.
Uzbek delegation explores climate-resilient crop options for arid, degraded e...ICRISAT
A delegation from Uzbekistan visited ICRISAT headquarters in India to learn about short-duration second crops suited to their country's arid ecologies. The visitors were interested in crop options that mature before winter and can increase agricultural production through double cropping. They were briefed on dryland crop options from ICRISAT like pearl millet and pigeonpea. The delegation explored opportunities for academic exchange and obtaining genomic services and training from ICRISAT to develop crops suited to Uzbekistan's climate and soils. Previous partnerships between ICRISAT and Uzbekistan in developing salinity tolerant pearl millet varieties were also discussed.
Indian Ambassador to Niger explores opportunities for South-South cooperationICRISAT
The Ambassador of India to Niger, His Excellency Mr Prem K Nair, visited ICRISAT’s research station at Sadore, to explore opportunities for South-South collaboration. He said that the objective of his visit was to learn about ICRISAT’s activities in Niger and to identify possible areas of cooperation for implementing agri-development initiatives introduced by India.
WFP, ICRISAT to partner on climate-resilience, food security, nutrition and l...ICRISAT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner on programs and research to improve food and nutrition security and livelihoods in India against the impacts of climate change. The partnership aims to strengthen efforts bringing together science, knowledge, and implementation frameworks to bolster climate-resilient food security, nutrition, and livelihoods. A significant focus will be on vulnerability analysis at the state level in India and developing a sustainable food systems approach.
Visit by Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner to ICRISAT opens opportunities f...ICRISAT
Dr Doraiswamy Venkateshwaran, Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner stationed in Chennai, recently visited the ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad to learn more about the Institute’s science-backed research for dryland agriculture. Along with his team, he visited the genebank and toured the pigeonpea and finger millet field plots, where Dr Prakash Gangashetty and Dr Sobhan Sajja explained to him the research focus and various traits of hybrids and varieties developed by ICRISAT.
UK Ambassador to Niger discusses climate change adaptation and humanitarian i...ICRISAT
The UK Ambassador to Niger, Ms Catherine Inglehearn, recently visited ICRISAT-Niger to discuss Niger's participation in the upcoming COP26 climate conference and support for implementing climate change adaptation measures. During the visit, Ms Inglehearn spoke about the UK Embassy's humanitarian work with organizations like WFP, UNICEF, and ICRC in Niger's first year of operations. ICRISAT representatives provided an overview of the organization's work empowering youth and women in Niger and recent achievements, which the Ambassador congratulated them on.
New climate-resilient, disease-resistant chickpea varieties coming farmers’ wayICRISAT
Three new chickpea varieties have been developed with enhanced drought tolerance, disease resistance, and increased yield. These varieties were created using genomics-assisted breeding by ICRISAT and ICAR. The new varieties are awaiting approval for cultivation by Indian farmers. Genomics-assisted breeding has delivered six high-yielding chickpea varieties to India in the last three years. Improved chickpea varieties are needed due to drought threats in chickpea growing regions, as drought can cause up to 60% yield losses annually. ICRISAT is leading efforts in genetic analysis of drought tolerance and disease resistance in chickpea using advanced sequencing technologies.
Deputy Collector gets training on agriculture research at ICRISAT HyderabadICRISAT
Mrs Bikumalla Santoshi, Deputy Collector of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district in Telangana, India, visited ICRISAT, Hyderabad recently as part of her orientation and training in agricultural research. Mrs Santoshi toured the campus and learnt about the research done on dryland cereals and legumes at ICRISAT’s centers in India as well as Africa.
Cereal-legume value chain stakeholders in WCA meet to develop demand-driven a...ICRISAT
The document summarizes a 4-day workshop organized by ICRISAT's Gender Research Program that brought together breeders, value chain stakeholders, and social scientists from West African countries. The goal was to define priority traits for sorghum, millet, and groundnut cultivars based on demand from key stakeholders, especially considering gender-related needs. Studies conducted prior to the workshop assessed trait preferences. Participants agreed production, nutrition, and market attributes must be considered in breeding, with an emphasis on nutrition security and gender equity. Traits like productivity, nutrition, and adaptability to marginal soils were discussed as priorities. The expected output is new product profiles to guide breeding programs in developing market-driven, gender-responsive varieties
ICRISAT to share expertise on sorghum production with farmers in SomaliaICRISAT
ICRISAT is collaborating with the Somali Agricultural Technical Group (SATG) to provide technical support for sorghum production in Somalia. The expertise provided includes identification of sorghum varieties suitable for Somalia, provision of breeder seed of the identified varieties and training of SATG staff and their partners in sorghum seed production.
4CAST: New digital tool to enhance farmers’ access to modern varietiesICRISAT
ICRISAT has launched a new digital tool called 4CAST to improve smallholder farmers' access to improved crop varieties. 4CAST is a user-friendly, data-driven platform that provides a digital catalog of new varieties including information on quality, availability and regional seed stocks. It also offers digital workflows and real-time tracking for stakeholders in seed value chains. The tool helps in planning variety release and seed production to ensure farmers have adequate access to quality seeds of improved varieties. 4CAST collates and shares variety and seed data nationally and regionally to guide stakeholders and provide farmers information to facilitate agricultural transformation.
New ‘one-stop shop’ team formed to take ICRISAT’S plant breeding program in W...ICRISAT
ICRISAT West and Central Africa has reorganized all disciplines of agronomic research (agronomy, breeding, biotechnology/ genomics, integrated crop management, physiology, sociology, agroeconomics, etc.) under one umbrella called the Crop Improvement Operations Team (CIOT). A “one-stop shop” for all crop improvement operations, the CIOT was launched on Tuesday 24 August 2021 at ICRISAT’s Samanko research station in Mali.
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize, for work that has improved food security across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Center, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.
Rooting for strong partnerships and participatory extension in Nigeria for ro...ICRISAT
To enhance partnerships and make the extension systems for cereals and legumes production technologies in Nigeria more participatory, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ICRISAT recently organized a workshop for agencies implementing the Kano State Agro Pastoral Development Project.
Understanding consumption preferences for sorghum and millets globallyICRISAT
In support of the objectives of the International Year of Millets (2023), a global study, “Prioritizing Regular Intake of Sorghum and Millets (PRISM)”, is being conducted to understand the potential drivers of sorghum and millets consumption. PRISM is a collaborative effort of researchers in the Markets, Institutions and Policy team at ICRISAT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) to understand the choices that drive the consumption of these nutricereals and to explore their increased inclusion in diets globally for the good of dryland farmers, human health and the environment.
ICRISAT introduces an invigorated research structure (The research structure ...ICRISAT
A robust, more efficient research structure is part of the reorganization initiative at ICRISAT that aims at building a cohesive and interconnected body of work in agricultural research. The revitalized framework is expected to seamlessly integrate and deliver agricultural research outputs across the drylands of Asia and Africa. The strength of this framework is the deeply interlinked global and regional programs working towards common and interdependent goals.
Training on science communication to engage funders and stakeholdersICRISAT
Communicating research findings to policy makers, peers and civil society is crucial for research uptake and development. To meet this goal, a one-day training session on messaging through newsletters and journal articles was held for participants of the International Training Programme on Climate Change – Mitigation and Adaptation of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) at ICRISAT, Mali.
Virtual training in the use of remote sensing for the agriculture sector in P...ICRISAT
A virtual hands-on training program on developing geospatial maps for supporting insurance products using Google Earth Engine and semi-automatic techniques was conducted for participants in Pakistan as part of the project “Strengthening Post-COVID-19 Food Security and Locust Attacks”. The nine participants were from the PARC Agrotech company (PATCO) technical team and crop reporting service teams from Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan. They were introduced to remote sensing and its applications in agriculture. Hands-on training using Google Earth Engine (GEE), Image Processing Software – ERDAS 2015 and various automatic classification techniques was provided along with several applications for using these modern tools.
ICRISAT pleased to share this five-year Strategic Plan 2021-2025 which builds on our extensive partnerships, networking and our understanding of the needs on the ground and sets out our current expertise with our vision for the next five years of a streamlined, targeted research for development institution, working closely with our partners and stakeholders in the private and public sectors.
ICRISAT and HarvestPlus to collaborate on mainstreaming nutrition research an...ICRISAT
ICRISAT and HarvestPlus signed an agreement for scientific and technical collaboration between the two global organizations. Mr Arun Baral, CEO, HarvestPlus, and Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which is made and entered into by IFPRI on behalf of its HarvestPlus Program. On the occasion, Dr Hughes said, After 17 years of fruitful collaboration on biofortification research, we have now decided to elevate this partnership. ICRISAT and HarvestPlus will work together more closely, making available micronutrient-rich varieties, high-quality seed and related technologies to the farming communities and consumers. This will contribute to eliminating micronutrient malnutrition in the drylands.
New high-yielding pigeonpea variety set for release in India, more to comeICRISAT
1) A new high-yielding variety of pigeonpea called TDRG 59 has been identified for release in India's south zone. It showed 23.13% higher yields than the national check variety in multi-year trials.
2) TDRG 59 has resistance to the fungal disease Fusarium wilt and the viral disease sterility mosaic virus, which significantly lower pigeonpea yields. It matures within 170 days.
3) Another recently approved variety called Bheema was identified for release in India's central zone. It matures in 165 days and has high resistance to Fusarium wilt and sterility mosaic virus.
Joyce Ntikhe is a small-scale dairy farmer in Malawi who invested in cows to generate income for her family. While dairy farming has helped support her household, high feed costs and low milk prices mean the proceeds are not adequate. A local cooperative called Umodzi Milk Processors Cooperative, supported by an EU-funded project, is working to organize small-scale farmers and create a new market for processed milk to increase farmers' incomes. The project aims to improve livelihoods in rural Malawi through sustainable intensification of food production and value chains.
ICRISAT optimizes seed-chip genotyping in groundnutICRISAT
Researchers at ICRISAT have established seed-chip genotyping for groundnut as a significantly faster and cheaper method for genotyping than the oft-used leaf-disc technique. In a recent research publication, they have also shown that the former can be easily integrated with rapid generation advancement (RGA) to hasten groundnut research by six to eight months.
Accelerated Crop Improvement program initiated:Breeding programs for dryland ...ICRISAT
In order to enhance the annual rate of genetic gains in crop improvement programs, the Accelerated Crop Improvement initiative was recently unveiled at ICRISAT. It is expected that, with this, the efficiency of the crop improvement programs for crops grown in drylands will receive a boost. Inaugurating the program, Dr Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, said, “For sustainable production, it is important to keep an eye on all components, including crop improvement, breeding trials, seed systems, market needs, production systems and nutrition needs, and I am happy that this initiative addresses all these areas.”
Systems thinking can guide Africa’s unique pathway to sustainable food and ag...ICRISAT
Given that most farms in Africa are in the hands of families that integrate livestock with crop production, the continent is well-poised to forge a unique path to sustainable intensification. A shared vision of circular food systems for Africa is what is needed, said Dr Andre F van Rooyen, ICRISAT’s interim Country Representative in Ethiopia. “Knowledge about the value of food and nutrition and the integration of this within education systems to induce consumer demand is paramount to drive this forward,” Dr van Rooyen added.
Can India sustain high growth of pulses production?ICRISAT
India has made remarkable progress in enhancing production of pulses during the past 15 years. During 2005-06, the total production of pulses in India was 13.38 million MT, which increased to 25.58 million MT during 2020-21. This shows an impressive growth of 91% or a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.42%. During 2020-21, chickpea had a lion’s share of 49.3% in the total pulses production. Among remaining pulses, pigeonpea contributed 16.2%, mungbean 10.3%, urdbean 9.3%, lentil 4.9% and other pulses 9.9%. During the past 15 years, the highest growth in production was observed for mungbean (178%), followed by chickpea (125%), urdbean (90%), pigeonpea (51%) and lentil (34%).
ICRISAT sorghum lines demonstrate high resistance to fungal disease in the USAICRISAT
Among 158 sorghum lines that were tested in Pennsylvania for resistance to the fungal disease anthracnose leaf blight, ICRISAT lines, specifically ICSB94, showed the highest level of resistance in the field. These lines are expected to be useful in breeding sorghum for north-eastern United States.With sorghum poised to become an important crop grown by Pennsylvania farmers, Penn State researchers, in a new study, tested more than 150 germplasm lines of the plant for resistance to a fungus likely to hamper its production.
Food safety, prepare for the unexpected - So what can be done in order to be ready to address food safety, food Consumers, food producers and manufacturers, food transporters, food businesses, food retailers can ...
Deputy Collector gets training on agriculture research at ICRISAT HyderabadICRISAT
Mrs Bikumalla Santoshi, Deputy Collector of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district in Telangana, India, visited ICRISAT, Hyderabad recently as part of her orientation and training in agricultural research. Mrs Santoshi toured the campus and learnt about the research done on dryland cereals and legumes at ICRISAT’s centers in India as well as Africa.
Cereal-legume value chain stakeholders in WCA meet to develop demand-driven a...ICRISAT
The document summarizes a 4-day workshop organized by ICRISAT's Gender Research Program that brought together breeders, value chain stakeholders, and social scientists from West African countries. The goal was to define priority traits for sorghum, millet, and groundnut cultivars based on demand from key stakeholders, especially considering gender-related needs. Studies conducted prior to the workshop assessed trait preferences. Participants agreed production, nutrition, and market attributes must be considered in breeding, with an emphasis on nutrition security and gender equity. Traits like productivity, nutrition, and adaptability to marginal soils were discussed as priorities. The expected output is new product profiles to guide breeding programs in developing market-driven, gender-responsive varieties
ICRISAT to share expertise on sorghum production with farmers in SomaliaICRISAT
ICRISAT is collaborating with the Somali Agricultural Technical Group (SATG) to provide technical support for sorghum production in Somalia. The expertise provided includes identification of sorghum varieties suitable for Somalia, provision of breeder seed of the identified varieties and training of SATG staff and their partners in sorghum seed production.
4CAST: New digital tool to enhance farmers’ access to modern varietiesICRISAT
ICRISAT has launched a new digital tool called 4CAST to improve smallholder farmers' access to improved crop varieties. 4CAST is a user-friendly, data-driven platform that provides a digital catalog of new varieties including information on quality, availability and regional seed stocks. It also offers digital workflows and real-time tracking for stakeholders in seed value chains. The tool helps in planning variety release and seed production to ensure farmers have adequate access to quality seeds of improved varieties. 4CAST collates and shares variety and seed data nationally and regionally to guide stakeholders and provide farmers information to facilitate agricultural transformation.
New ‘one-stop shop’ team formed to take ICRISAT’S plant breeding program in W...ICRISAT
ICRISAT West and Central Africa has reorganized all disciplines of agronomic research (agronomy, breeding, biotechnology/ genomics, integrated crop management, physiology, sociology, agroeconomics, etc.) under one umbrella called the Crop Improvement Operations Team (CIOT). A “one-stop shop” for all crop improvement operations, the CIOT was launched on Tuesday 24 August 2021 at ICRISAT’s Samanko research station in Mali.
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize, for work that has improved food security across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Center, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.
Rooting for strong partnerships and participatory extension in Nigeria for ro...ICRISAT
To enhance partnerships and make the extension systems for cereals and legumes production technologies in Nigeria more participatory, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ICRISAT recently organized a workshop for agencies implementing the Kano State Agro Pastoral Development Project.
Understanding consumption preferences for sorghum and millets globallyICRISAT
In support of the objectives of the International Year of Millets (2023), a global study, “Prioritizing Regular Intake of Sorghum and Millets (PRISM)”, is being conducted to understand the potential drivers of sorghum and millets consumption. PRISM is a collaborative effort of researchers in the Markets, Institutions and Policy team at ICRISAT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) to understand the choices that drive the consumption of these nutricereals and to explore their increased inclusion in diets globally for the good of dryland farmers, human health and the environment.
ICRISAT introduces an invigorated research structure (The research structure ...ICRISAT
A robust, more efficient research structure is part of the reorganization initiative at ICRISAT that aims at building a cohesive and interconnected body of work in agricultural research. The revitalized framework is expected to seamlessly integrate and deliver agricultural research outputs across the drylands of Asia and Africa. The strength of this framework is the deeply interlinked global and regional programs working towards common and interdependent goals.
Training on science communication to engage funders and stakeholdersICRISAT
Communicating research findings to policy makers, peers and civil society is crucial for research uptake and development. To meet this goal, a one-day training session on messaging through newsletters and journal articles was held for participants of the International Training Programme on Climate Change – Mitigation and Adaptation of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) at ICRISAT, Mali.
Virtual training in the use of remote sensing for the agriculture sector in P...ICRISAT
A virtual hands-on training program on developing geospatial maps for supporting insurance products using Google Earth Engine and semi-automatic techniques was conducted for participants in Pakistan as part of the project “Strengthening Post-COVID-19 Food Security and Locust Attacks”. The nine participants were from the PARC Agrotech company (PATCO) technical team and crop reporting service teams from Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan. They were introduced to remote sensing and its applications in agriculture. Hands-on training using Google Earth Engine (GEE), Image Processing Software – ERDAS 2015 and various automatic classification techniques was provided along with several applications for using these modern tools.
ICRISAT pleased to share this five-year Strategic Plan 2021-2025 which builds on our extensive partnerships, networking and our understanding of the needs on the ground and sets out our current expertise with our vision for the next five years of a streamlined, targeted research for development institution, working closely with our partners and stakeholders in the private and public sectors.
ICRISAT and HarvestPlus to collaborate on mainstreaming nutrition research an...ICRISAT
ICRISAT and HarvestPlus signed an agreement for scientific and technical collaboration between the two global organizations. Mr Arun Baral, CEO, HarvestPlus, and Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which is made and entered into by IFPRI on behalf of its HarvestPlus Program. On the occasion, Dr Hughes said, After 17 years of fruitful collaboration on biofortification research, we have now decided to elevate this partnership. ICRISAT and HarvestPlus will work together more closely, making available micronutrient-rich varieties, high-quality seed and related technologies to the farming communities and consumers. This will contribute to eliminating micronutrient malnutrition in the drylands.
New high-yielding pigeonpea variety set for release in India, more to comeICRISAT
1) A new high-yielding variety of pigeonpea called TDRG 59 has been identified for release in India's south zone. It showed 23.13% higher yields than the national check variety in multi-year trials.
2) TDRG 59 has resistance to the fungal disease Fusarium wilt and the viral disease sterility mosaic virus, which significantly lower pigeonpea yields. It matures within 170 days.
3) Another recently approved variety called Bheema was identified for release in India's central zone. It matures in 165 days and has high resistance to Fusarium wilt and sterility mosaic virus.
Joyce Ntikhe is a small-scale dairy farmer in Malawi who invested in cows to generate income for her family. While dairy farming has helped support her household, high feed costs and low milk prices mean the proceeds are not adequate. A local cooperative called Umodzi Milk Processors Cooperative, supported by an EU-funded project, is working to organize small-scale farmers and create a new market for processed milk to increase farmers' incomes. The project aims to improve livelihoods in rural Malawi through sustainable intensification of food production and value chains.
ICRISAT optimizes seed-chip genotyping in groundnutICRISAT
Researchers at ICRISAT have established seed-chip genotyping for groundnut as a significantly faster and cheaper method for genotyping than the oft-used leaf-disc technique. In a recent research publication, they have also shown that the former can be easily integrated with rapid generation advancement (RGA) to hasten groundnut research by six to eight months.
Accelerated Crop Improvement program initiated:Breeding programs for dryland ...ICRISAT
In order to enhance the annual rate of genetic gains in crop improvement programs, the Accelerated Crop Improvement initiative was recently unveiled at ICRISAT. It is expected that, with this, the efficiency of the crop improvement programs for crops grown in drylands will receive a boost. Inaugurating the program, Dr Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, said, “For sustainable production, it is important to keep an eye on all components, including crop improvement, breeding trials, seed systems, market needs, production systems and nutrition needs, and I am happy that this initiative addresses all these areas.”
Systems thinking can guide Africa’s unique pathway to sustainable food and ag...ICRISAT
Given that most farms in Africa are in the hands of families that integrate livestock with crop production, the continent is well-poised to forge a unique path to sustainable intensification. A shared vision of circular food systems for Africa is what is needed, said Dr Andre F van Rooyen, ICRISAT’s interim Country Representative in Ethiopia. “Knowledge about the value of food and nutrition and the integration of this within education systems to induce consumer demand is paramount to drive this forward,” Dr van Rooyen added.
Can India sustain high growth of pulses production?ICRISAT
India has made remarkable progress in enhancing production of pulses during the past 15 years. During 2005-06, the total production of pulses in India was 13.38 million MT, which increased to 25.58 million MT during 2020-21. This shows an impressive growth of 91% or a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.42%. During 2020-21, chickpea had a lion’s share of 49.3% in the total pulses production. Among remaining pulses, pigeonpea contributed 16.2%, mungbean 10.3%, urdbean 9.3%, lentil 4.9% and other pulses 9.9%. During the past 15 years, the highest growth in production was observed for mungbean (178%), followed by chickpea (125%), urdbean (90%), pigeonpea (51%) and lentil (34%).
ICRISAT sorghum lines demonstrate high resistance to fungal disease in the USAICRISAT
Among 158 sorghum lines that were tested in Pennsylvania for resistance to the fungal disease anthracnose leaf blight, ICRISAT lines, specifically ICSB94, showed the highest level of resistance in the field. These lines are expected to be useful in breeding sorghum for north-eastern United States.With sorghum poised to become an important crop grown by Pennsylvania farmers, Penn State researchers, in a new study, tested more than 150 germplasm lines of the plant for resistance to a fungus likely to hamper its production.
Food safety, prepare for the unexpected - So what can be done in order to be ready to address food safety, food Consumers, food producers and manufacturers, food transporters, food businesses, food retailers can ...
Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
Recordings are on YouTube and the company website.
https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferschaus/videos
UN WOD 2024 will take us on a journey of discovery through the ocean's vastness, tapping into the wisdom and expertise of global policy-makers, scientists, managers, thought leaders, and artists to awaken new depths of understanding, compassion, collaboration and commitment for the ocean and all it sustains. The program will expand our perspectives and appreciation for our blue planet, build new foundations for our relationship to the ocean, and ignite a wave of action toward necessary change.
How To Cultivate Community Affinity Throughout The Generosity JourneyAggregage
This session will dive into how to create rich generosity experiences that foster long-lasting relationships. You’ll walk away with actionable insights to redefine how you engage with your supporters — emphasizing trust, engagement, and community!
United Nations World Oceans Day 2024; June 8th " Awaken new dephts".Christina Parmionova
The program will expand our perspectives and appreciation for our blue planet, build new foundations for our relationship to the ocean, and ignite a wave of action toward necessary change.
RFP for Reno's Community Assistance CenterThis Is Reno
Property appraisals completed in May for downtown Reno’s Community Assistance and Triage Centers (CAC) reveal that repairing the buildings to bring them back into service would cost an estimated $10.1 million—nearly four times the amount previously reported by city staff.
Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
Recordings are on YouTube and the company website.
https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferschaus/videos
A Guide to AI for Smarter Nonprofits - Dr. Cori Faklaris, UNC CharlotteCori Faklaris
Working with data is a challenge for many organizations. Nonprofits in particular may need to collect and analyze sensitive, incomplete, and/or biased historical data about people. In this talk, Dr. Cori Faklaris of UNC Charlotte provides an overview of current AI capabilities and weaknesses to consider when integrating current AI technologies into the data workflow. The talk is organized around three takeaways: (1) For better or sometimes worse, AI provides you with “infinite interns.” (2) Give people permission & guardrails to learn what works with these “interns” and what doesn’t. (3) Create a roadmap for adding in more AI to assist nonprofit work, along with strategies for bias mitigation.