Farmers test new crops for replacing rice fallows |
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| Dry season crops for replacing rice fallows in Nepal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In Nepal, farmers played a key role in choosing and testing new crops to grow on land that previously lay fallow for part of the year. Growing more crops per year means more food, more income and better nutrition. Nearly two-thirds of the land used to be left fallow after the rice harvest because farmers only had seed that was unsuitable, poor, or prone to disease. Farmers tested mungbean, chickpea, lentil, pigeonpea and field peas. To make sure that the overall cropping system worked they also trialled the rice strains that would be planted before the legumes. Now, data from their on-farm trials are being accepted by the official seed registration system. This has major potential for fruitful partnerships between farmers and seed companies. Project Ref: PSP01:
Research Programmes: Plant Sciences Research Programme (PSP) Relevant Research Projects: R8221 Nepal:
About 60% of land remains fallow after harvesting of rice in Nepal Terai due to lack of irrigation and appropriate technological and resource management options (Subbarao et al., 2001). Constraints analyses (Gurung and Khanal, 1990; Subbarao et al., 2001; Bourai et al., 2002) found that farmers either had no or little access to improved legume varieties or were growing obsolete (released often >10-30 years) and disease-susceptible varieties or landraces (Khanal et al., 2006b). The rice fallow rainfed rabi cropping (RRC) project was implemented from October 2001 to March 2006 in the Teraiof Nepal. A number of dry season crop varieties of mungbean (Kalyan, Prateeksha, NM92, VC3960); chickpea (KPG 59, GNG469, ICC37, ICCV2, Tara, Awarodhi); lentil (Sital, ILL7723); pigeonpea (ICP7035) and field pea (E6); were validated and promoted through on-farm testing employing a Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) approach. These interventions were implemented in a systems perspective integrating appropriate rice varieties during the preceding kharif season. Project farmers also identified a range of more suitable rice varieties, (e.g. Barkhe 2001, Barkhe 2014, Sugandha 1, Pant Dhan 10, Barkhe 1027, and BG1442) that could improve on-farm biodiversity, overall system productivity and profitability. Two mungbean varieties (Prateeksha and Kalyan), the first for 31 years, were officially released as the result of a joint (NGO-GO-ARI) release proposal using on-farm data generated through participatory trials. This has important policy implications for future partnerships in crop development and the seed sector in Nepal. Wide-spread adoption of the aforementioned crop varieties and associated resource management innovations across the Terai and foothills of Nepal in lands that remain fallow after rice (and after maize) could contribute enormously to the sustainable intensification of these lands thereby improving the food security, nutritional security and income of poor people.
Major Commodities Involved: This cluster describes participatory research and development implemented with mungbean (Kalyan, Prateeksha, NM92, VC3960); chickpea (KPG 59, GNG469, ICC37, ICCV2, Tara, Awarodhi); lentil (Sital, ILL7723); pigeonpea (ICP7035); and field pea (E6) and rice varieties e.g. Barkhe 2001, Barkhe 2014, Sugandha 1, Pant Dhan 10, Barkhe 1027, and BG1442. The process and approaches adopted in this project are widely applicable under similar conditions elsewhere and for various agricultural commodities. Production Systems:
The value of these outputs could be increased by large-scale seed production and distribution (PSP, Community-based seed production and distribution) and by institutionalization (e.g. official release of varieties) into the national system through the National Seed Board of Nepal. This would facilitate their uptake by governmental institutions and lead to the sustainable adoption of the varieties. For instance, official release of two mungbean varieties has given new impetus to the adoption of other new varieties by governmental and non-governmental sectors (Khanal et al., 2006b). Close links with additional sources of new germplasm (e.g. PSP, Rice varieties for eastern India; Rice varieties for main and chaite seasons in Nepal; Rice varieties for upland, medium and lowland ecosystems in eastern and western India, R8221, R8269, R7434 and R8099; Client-oriented breeding of rice for Nepal, R7122, R8071; COB horsegram and chickpea eastern India) are essential. Use of these varieties within Integrated Pest Management (e.g. CPP, Chickpea ICM, R8427, R8366, R7885; CPP, ICM policy for Nepal; CPP, IPM promotion through improved training manuals, R8417, R8341), Integrated Nutrient Management System (INMS) or Rural Development programmes would generate a high degree of synergy, as would co-promotion of simple technologies such as nutrient seed priming (PSP, ‘On-farm seed priming to improve plant nutrition in low fertility soils’). Additional enrichment of the local resource base of farmers (e.g. bio-pesticide recycling units, multipurpose nurseries, product diversification through village level processing units) could increase the value of these outputs and thereby increase their adoption. The latter approach has been very effective in Nepal (PSP, ‘Rice-fallow rabi cropping systems’, Khanal et al, 2004c; Khanal et al, 2005; Gauchan, 2005). Many of the legumes tested in the project are raw materials for a number of agro-based industries, and some of the crops and varieties have been validated for their suitability for different products. More processing and market research is needed, however, for the wider scaling up of these outputs (NRSP, Participatory market appraisal tool, R8084). How the outputs were validated: The end users of the crop varieties – resource-poor farmers who cultivate smallholdings in the rainfed marginal areas of Nepal Terai – did the validation. They involved themselves in all the steps of on-farm participatory trials and demonstrations, including evaluation (using various participatory techniques such as matrix ranking, surveys, organoleptic testing, etc.) of the many traits important to them and their families. The target groups were male and female resource-medium and resource-poor farmers from all social groups. Wealth categories (usually three) were determined through local informants using key proxies for wealth such as landholding size. Evaluation of dry season crops included participating farmers (with a representative proportion of women) and their neighbours, relatives and friends (this always included some women). The evaluation of the post-harvest traits always involved women. As a first step farmers and their families were interviewed to discover their requirements for varieties of different crops. We were then able to match the introduced varieties of various legumes and rice to these requirements. The trials were always replicated to provide a test of statistical significance. Where grain quality was important, end users such as millers, processing companies, traders and consumers helped test post-harvest quality traits. In addition to farmers, many organizations were involved in the validation process [1]. A summary of the trials and demonstrations implemented by FORWARD has been presented in Annex 4. Further validation of these technologies was often done by government organizations in on-station trials. Increases in productivity: Large increases in productivity were achieved relative to local cultivars in many crops across the country (see Table 1) and stakeholders were also able to identify varieties that have advantages in several other traits important for overall utility (Table 2).
Table 1: Increase in crop productivity after adoption of dry season crop varieties
Source: Gauchan, 2005 Table 2: Examples of improvement in traits other than grain yield
Where the Outputs were Validated: This output was mostly validated in rice-based systems of the Nepal Terai for four consecutive years, although mungbean was also validated in maize-based systems with farmer groups working with FORWARD and an expanding network of partners. Over a thousand on-farm participatory action research trials, demonstrations and seed production activities were implemented (summarised in Figure 1 and Table 3). Validation was coordinated by FORWARD and the farmers represent mainly resource-poor, smallholders as the average landholding size per household in Nepal is <0.5 ha. Efforts were made to involve all ethnic groups, wealth classes and both men and women.
Table 3: Where and when the outputs were validated.
Who are the Users? In addition to usage within the project area (see under "Where the outputs have been used"), the dry season crop varieties promoted by the project have been adopted by many governmental and non-governmental organizations. Some are implementing PVS and IRD while others are producing seed. Fifteen District Agriculture Development Offices and three National Seed Companies have already planned to scale up the technologies through their own channels. Academic and research institutions have also been using these varieties in their own programmes. Most of the dry season crop varieties are widely adopted in the project areas and other districts through governmental and non-governmental channels. The institutions that are using those dry season crop varieties promoted by the project, with their preliminary status, are summarized in Table 4 and Figure 1. Table 4: Additional institutions/programmes currently adopting/promoting dry season crop varieties
Where the Outputs have been Used: It has been estimated that about 30000 farm families in rainfed rural farm communities of Nepal have been using these outputs as a part of their livelihood strategies. The scale of use of the released varieties in government institutions was found higher than non-released varieties. With the official release of two mungbean varieties (Khanal et al., 2006b), this usage is expected to increase greatly within the next few years. Scale of current use: The identification and use of these new crops and varieties detailed above has been achieved in 4-5 years, indicating a rapid rate of adoption and spread that is characteristic of participatory approaches to varietal selection and technology development. Usage is still spreading. Policy and Institutional Structures, and Key Components for Success: The government of Nepal has emphasized sustainable intensification and diversification of production systems based on comparative advantage and potential of the local agroecosystems. This has been clearly depicted in the Tenth Five Year Plan and the Agricultural Strategy Paper endorsed and adopted by the government (NPC, 2002). In recent years, for mainstreaming the pluralistic efforts of different actors involved in agricultural research and development, the government has adopted a public-private-partnership approach, realising the potential of concerted efforts for enhancing the livelihoods of poor and marginalized people through agricultural interventions. A National Agricultural Research and Development Fund has been established to promote and strengthen the technical capabilities and managerial skills of various institutions implementing agricultural and NRM interventions in rural farm communities. In 2005, largely in response to the evidence produced by the project and its partners using PVS, the National Seed Board of Nepal revised the procedures for official variety release so that any public or private organization could propose the release of crop varieties and could use data generated through participatory research. Two mungbean varieties, named Kalyan and Prateeksha, have been released in Nepal using this procedure, the first release of varieties proposed by a government-public partnership in the history of Nepal. Agriculture Service Centers (under District Agriculture Development Offices), Village Development Committees, District Development Committees, NGOs, Agrovets, Clubs, Farmers Groups and their Associations are the main organizations associated with agriculture in the rural communities of Nepal. The Regional Seed Testing Laboratory, seed companies, and Regional Agricultural Research Stations also deliver their services and technologies throughout their command regions. A Crop Diversification Program in western districts of Nepal, the APP support project in the central region and CGISP in the east have been promoting crop diversification in collaboration with local institutions, and have requested the aforementioned crop varieties and associated technological options to promote in their marginal rainfed environments. FORWARD has implemented 15 projects throughout 16 districts of Nepal in collaboration with national and international organizations and has ample experience and legitimacy in the national agricultural system for scaling-up promising dry season crop varieties. Lessons Learned and Uptake Pathways Promotion of Outputs: Promotion is currently taking place in parts of the dry land farming system in 16 districts of Nepal, representing both Terai and foothills using both formal and informal channels (Table 4). These include networks of farmers’ groups, seed companies, District Agriculture Development Offices, Agrovets, NGOs, cooperatives and through farmer-to-farmer seed flow mechanisms. FORWARD has also been scaling up the farmers' preferred crop varieties through other projects in 11 districts of Nepal. Potential Barriers Preventing Adoption of Outputs: Institutions that have directly worked with the project have adopted the dry farming varieties but further adoption is constrained by lack of awareness of the potential of new dry land varieties on the part of growers, and unavailability of quality seeds. Although many farmers’ groups and cooperatives have started seed production and marketing of the new varieties, their technical capabilities and managerial skills need to be strengthened for the exploitation of their full potential. The PVS approach was effective in popularizing and promoting new crop varieties, but there is still there is a lack of awareness about differences between PVS and the more traditional approaches being used by GOs during technology validation and promotion. Another barrier is the mindset of GO staff who use a conventional transfer of technology approach. Farmers are unrealistically asked to use the recommended package of practices that maximises yields but ignores profitability and exposure to risk. Mindsets are reinforced by official policies on varietal identification, release and dissemination. The recommendation of varieties is a highly formalized process that is regulated by both customary practices and by law (Seeds Acts) that conflict with the participatory technology development approach. For example, GOs are officially only permitted to distribute seeds of recommended varieties. Hence, they tend to provide a limited choice to farmers by giving varieties pre-selected under research station conditions. Though the law permits the promotion of truthfully labeled seeds of released/registered crop varieties, government officials recommend only certified seed, which is more difficult to produce, and is thus in short supply. Insistence on certified seed is impracticable considering the diverse climatic and geophysical situation of the country and the limited resources of the GOs. How to Overcome Barriers to Adoption of Outputs: The most important way to remove barriers is to strengthen the technical and managerial capabilities of the staff of GOs and NGOs and to build capacity of CBOs to conduct participatory action research, community-based seed production and marketing. Many GOs still seem reluctant to internalize participatory approaches to agricultural research and development and NGOs generally also have only limited capacity in this area. The technical and managerial capability of seed production groups and cooperatives that have recently started producing and marketing seeds also needs to be greatly strengthened and the extension personnel of various organizations who have been promoting dry season crop varieties need to be trained further in technological and managerial aspects of dry land farming. Promising crop varieties need to be released through the formal system, and production and marketing of source seeds also needs to be institutionalised. Marketing networks, for both inputs and outputs, should be strengthened and village level processing companies need to be promoted. Lessons Learned:
Poverty Impact Studies:
How the Poor have Benefited (including gender and other poverty groups): The new varieties have been adopted by farmers because they offer a range of benefits, including yield increases (Table 1) gained without additional inputs, i.e. at no extra cost, so income per hectare has increased. The trend of variety adoption (Table 4) and increases in productivity (Table 5) for all the dry season crop varieties promoted through the project clearly show real, and increasing, benefits. Sixty farmers’ groups and seven cooperatives were formed during the project period. About 100 Local Resource Persons (LRPs) were trained in various aspects of rainfed cropping. (Annex 1). A recent survey in the project sites revealed that all the grassroot institutions promoted by the project have been running, and some of them are involved in seed production activities. (Annex 2). The financial capital of the groups has risen to NRs 400, 000 ($ 5400) per group. Similarly, cost benefit analysis of the changed cropping patterns after the adoption of technological options showed integration of legumes increased the profitability of the whole system (Tables 5 and 6; Annex 3). The effect on the livelihoods of people was not apportioned into items of livelihoods but the increased yields reduced dependence on the market for food, and increased food security. Outcome assessments showed that improvements in working stamina, health care, schooling and nutrition, and access to institutional services have been increased. Poor farmers adopting the dry land farming system will benefit as much as resource rich farmers. Poor people dominate poor and marginal lands and the abovementioned legumes are appropriate where farmers have limited choice to grow crops with higher nutrient requirements. More than 30,000 farm families were aware of the dry land crop varieties, of which about 50% perceived positive change in their livelihoods after adopting them in the study locations (Gauchan, 2005). Table 5: Rainfed rice fallow area of sample farmers before and after project intervention
Source, Gauchan, 2005 Table 6: Increase in cropping intensity among participant and non-participant farmers after adoption of dry season crop varieties.
Source: Gauchan, 2005 Direct and Indirect Environmental Benefits: Direct and indirect benefits:
Adverse Environmental Impacts: The adoption of these outputs will not cause any adverse environmental impacts Coping with the Effects of Climate Change, or Risk from Natural Disasters: Pest tolerant- and earlier-maturing varieties have increased the resilience of farmers by making available extra time for other operations, lowering the cost of production and reducing use of water and nutrients. Early maturing varieties of rice in this case have facilitated an increase in cropping intensity in rice-fallow system. Adopting farmers now have more choices, with consequent increases in flexibility and resilience. Varietal diversification is a means of coping with climate change because staggered deployment of varieties with different dates of maturity spreads out labour demands and reduces the risk from disasters such as disease and pest outbreaks and natural calamities. Deployment of varieties that do well under rainfed or low irrigation but respond to better conditions is possible with new varieties. This increases the capability of farmers to cope with natural risks. Thus increased accessibility of dry season crops varieties will increase the number of varieties in farmers' portfolios and reduce risk. Annex 1: Different training packages taken by Local Resource Persons
Annex 2: Functional seed production groups/cooperatives
Annex 3: Net benefit and benefit-cost ratio from cropping pattern (US $/ha). Values in parentheses indicate benefit: cost ratio; Source: Gauchan, (2005). Benefit: cost ratios differ between districts, largely due to differences in production potential, labour and input costs. In general, rice followed by a winter crop is more profitable than rice-fallow although linseed, niger and buckwheat are exceptions because poor plant stand and low yield are major problems.
Annex 4: Summary of trial activities related to dry season crop varieties implemented by FORWARD
Annex 5: References Bourai, V.A., Joshi, K.D. and Khanal, N. (2002). Socio-economic constraints and opportunities in rainfed rabi cropping in rice fallow areas of Nepal. ICRISAT, Patancheru, AP, India. Gauchan, D. (2005). Assessment of the Outcomes of Rice-fallow Rainfed Rabi Cropping (RRC) Project in Nepal Terai. A report of the RRC outcome assessment in Kapilvastu, Saptari and Jhapa districts, Nepal. Bangor, UK: CAZS-Natural Resources, University of Wales, Bangor. Gurung B. D. and Khanal, N. N. (1990). Why there is fallow? Problems and prospects of crop intensification. PAC Occasional Paper No. 2. Pakhribas Agricultural Centre, Dhankuta. Khanal, N.N. (2002). DFID PSP project R8221 rice fallow rainfed rabi cropping project; First phase. Project completion report. Centre for Arid Zone Studies, University of Wales, Bangor, UK. Khanal, N.N., Harris, D., Joshi, K.D., Sherpa, L.T., Thapa, S. and Giri, R. K. (2004a). Potentiality of integrating mungbean in cereal fallows in the low hills and terai of Nepal Proceedings of the 24th National Summer Crops Workshop (Grain Legumes). National Grain Legumes Research Program, Nepal Agriculture Research Council. 10p. Khanal, N.N., Harris, D., Sherpa, L. T., Giri, R. K. and Joshi. K. D. (2004b). Testing and promotion of mungbean in cereal fallows in the low hills and terai agro ecosystems of Nepal. Paper presented in the Final Workshop and Planning Meeting, 27-30 May 2004 at Punjab Agricultural University, India. Khanal, N. P. and Khanal. N.N. (2004c). Bridging the gap: Role responsibilities and approaches in scaling up of IPM of chickpea in Nepal. Proceedings of the national workshop on policy and strategy on promotion of IPM of chickpea in Nepal, 16-17 November 2004 at Kathmandu, International Crops Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Khanal, N.P., Joshi, K.D. and Harris, D. (2006a). DFID PSP project R8221 rice fallow rainfed rabi cropping project; 2nd phase. Final Technical Report. Centre for Arid Zone Studies, University of Wales, Bangor, UK. Khanal, N.P., Yadav, N. K., Khanal N. N., Darai, R., Joshi, S., Neupane, R. K., Sherpa, L.T., Thapa, S., Gupta, K., Neupane, R., Pokharel, D.N., Sah, R.P., Adhikari, B. N., Joshi, K. D. and Harris, D. (2006b). A proposal for the release of Mungbean varieties NM94 and VC6372 (45-8-1): Jointly Submitted by Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development (FORWARD), National Grain Legumes Research Programme (NGLRP), and CAZS-Natural Resources (CAZS-NR), University of Wales, Bangor, UK. Khanal, N.P., Khanal, N.N., Gurung, G. B., Thapa, S., Gupta, K.P., Sherpa, L.T., Joshi, K. D. Harris, D., Kumar Rao, J.V.D.K. and Darai, R. (2006c). Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) in cereal fallows. 2005. Experience of farmers' participatory research and development activities in foothills and terai of Nepal. Proceedings of 4th International Food Legumes Research Conference (Abst.), 18-22 October 2005, New Delhi. National Planning Commission. 2002. The Tenth Plan. National Planning Commission. HMG, Nepal. URL http://npc.gov.np: 8080/tenthplan/the_tenth_plan.htm Downloaded on 25 May 2005. Subbarao, G.V., Kumar Rao, J.V.D.K., Johansen, C., Deb, U.K., Ahmed, I., Krishna Rao, M.V., Venkataratnam, L., Hebbar, K.R., Sesha Sai, M.V.R. and Harris, D. (2001). Spatial distribution and quantification of rice-fallows in South Asia-potential for legumes. Patencheru 502324, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 316 pp. ISBN 92-9066-436-3. Relevant Research Projects,
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