Helping dryland farmers deal with food and financial crisis

Helping dryland farmers deal with food and financial crisis

The global food crisis followed by the current financial crisis has inflicted further hardships to farmers of the semi-arid tropics of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
However, scientific innovations developed by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) are empowering these farmers to cope with the crisis.
Food crises

According to the Director General of ICRISAT, Dr William Dar, the global financial crisis coming closely on the heels of the global food crisis has hit dryland farmers hard.
“These poor dryland farmers have very little margin for risks, and when two shocks come one after the other, their ability to recover is quite diminished,” says Dr Dar.
In India, for instance, two-thirds of cultivated lands are semi-arid. Hence, an adverse impact on dryland farming can result in decreased livelihood options for a substantial percentage of the population.
Drought tolerant

The crops that ICRISAT works on, namely pearl millet, sorghum, chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut have greater tolerance to drought and can grow in semi-arid conditions.
ICRISAT’s research focuses on improving the productivity of these crops, developing early maturing varieties and hybrids, and developing drought and disease tolerance.
Bread basket

For the farmers living in the Sahel at the edge of the Sahara desert, it is important to diversify the bread basket, to increase the income from multiple sources. Through its African Market Garden and Sahelian Eco-Farm, ICRISAT promotes crop diversification through the cultivation of vegetable and fruit trees along with food crops. These are then irrigated with low-pressure drip irrigation systems.
The fertilizer microdosing technique introduced in different parts of sub-Saharan Africa allows poor farmers to apply small, affordable and effective amounts of fertilizer for improved soil health and crop production.
Microdosing

Farmers who use microdosing apply 6 gram doses of fertilizer — about a full bottle cap or a three-finger pinch — in the hole where the plant is placed at the time of planting.
Crops in some parts of Africa are so starved of nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen that addition of even this micro amount often doubles crop yields. For more information log on to www.icrisat.org.

Organic prawn rearing: no looking back once success is achieved

Youngsters should be educated and encouraged to take up farming

Joint effort: The prawn farmer, Joseph Kora, Kuttanad, Allapey with his family members.
Kuttanad in Kerala, hailed as a unique man-made wetland ecosystem, stands out as both a rice granary and a tourist paradise.
With plenty of water and a fertile landscape, the region is an ideal place for paddy cultivation.
“But vast stretches of land, particularly over the years, have become barren, with loss of essential nutrients in the soil due to mindless dumping of excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” says Mr. R. Hali, Director of Agriculture (Retd), Thiruvananthapuram.
Low price

“Paddy cultivation has taken a beating with high cost of purchasing the fertilizers, shortage of manpower and non-remunerative price for the produce,” he says.
When farmers were desperately looking for a low cost alternative, Mr. Joseph Kora, an organic paddy farmer took the lead in growing and harvesting organic prawns in his four hectare field.
“It is a very hard and risky job” says Mr. Kora. “It requires a lot of care and attention. But nothing succeeds like success,” he smiles with contentment.
Mr. Kora’s entry into organic farming was due to continuous failure in paddy cultivation using chemical fertilizers.
“The soil became hard, rocky and dry on the surface. Even after spraying the crops to protect them from pests and infestations, the problem continued as the sprays and pesticides were unable to control the menace as new pests attacked the crops,” he elaborates.
But did he encounter any problems in organic paddy cultivation? “Organic paddy cultivation was also not a cakewalk for Mr. Kora,” says Mr. Hali. It took him nearly three years to get an organic certificate and now he is getting a good price for his rice which is exported.
Change for the better

“But the real blessing for farmers like us came when we switched over from chemical rice cultivation to organic rice cultivation because organic rice cultivation paved the way for growing scampi in the same field after harvesting the crops,” says Mr. Kora.
The Marine Products Export Developmental Authority (MPEDA) and other developmental agencies put forward to him the idea of organic aquaculture with scampi and he decided to try it.
About 11 lakh scampi seeds were raised in his four hectares. Support was extended by officials in arranging seeds, feeds, advice and personal visits. About 1,800 kg of scampi each weighing about 30 gm were harvested in about 5 days from his four hectares (after 7 months).
Friendly approach

Though Mr. Kora is proud of the accomplishment, in his opinion the area expansion efforts must be done with more “care and a farmer-friendly approach.”
“Development agencies advise farmers to follow the one rice, one prawn model as it will be successful. But rice culture is treated as agriculture, whereas prawn culture is not considered so.
“Free power can be utilised for growing paddy, but not for growing the prawns. I do not understand this difference. When both are grown in the same field, why this difference?” he asks. Asked about manpower needs, he says: “Almost my entire family slogs with me. It is a difficult job no doubt, but the results are very sweet in terms of good profit.
“Good economic returns are the only reason which can attract youngsters into agriculture.
Even children of farmers do not want to carry on this work simply because they have seen their parents suffer economically and physically.
“If carried out correctly under expert guidance, this is one profession which can bring fortunes on those who are practising it, ” he says.
Need for youngsters

Mr. Kora feels that the young generation should be educated and encouraged to take up farming, so that they will feel it is a job which leads to prosperity and happiness. For more information contact Mr. Joseph Kora, Karyvelithara, Ramankary P.O., 689-595, Kuttanad, Allapey, phone: 0477-2707375, mobile: 9495240886 and Mr. R. Hali, phone:04070-2622453, mobile:9947460075.