Los Baños, Philippines – An initiative announced today aims to help six million South Asian farmers substantially boost crop yields and their income within 10 years.
The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) comes at a crucial time for key nations in the region—home to 40 percent of the world's poor with nearly half a billion people subsisting on less than US$1 a day—as they struggle to boost grain supplies in the wake of growing demand and strained natural resources. The project, which builds on past cereal research achievements in the public and private sectors, aims to produce an additional five million tons of grain annually and increase the yearly incomes of six million poor rural households by at least $350.
The initiative will bring together a range of public- and private-sector organizations to enable sustainable cereal production in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. CSISA will be led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $19.59 million over three years, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), more than $10 million over the first three years.
Three other international agricultural research centers—the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)—will partner with IRRI, national agricultural research organizations, education and extension systems, non-government organizations, and private-sector companies to implement CSISA.
CSISA aims to reverse declines in annual cereal yield growth of recent years, decrease hunger and malnutrition (almost half the region's children under five are malnourished), and increase food and income security in South Asia through the accelerated development and deployment of new cereal varieties, sustainable management technologies, and agricultural policies.
Major objectives of CSISA include better crop management and postharvest technologies and practices; the development and dissemination of improved rice, wheat and maize varieties; and the creation of a new generation of agricultural scientists and professional agronomists. The initiative will focus initially on eight hubs in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Nepal, which represent key intensive cereal production systems that play a major role in feeding close to a quarter of the world's population.
According to Achim Dobermann, IRRI deputy director general for research, the support from the foundation and USAID signals an increasing recognition worldwide that agricultural research needs committed, long-term funding. "The food price spikes of 2008 were a stark reminder of what can happen when agricultural productivity growth—which is reliant on continued research and development—tapers off and demand begins to overtake supply," said Dr. Dobermann. "By contributing critical know-how to major national initiatives and private-sector investments in new technologies for improving cereal productivity and farm income in South Asia, CSISA can take big steps in the eradication of hunger, malnutrition, and poverty in a region that has grappled with these afflictions for far too long."
By drawing on the combined strengths of a wide range of public- and private-sector partners, CSISA aims to accelerate the development and delivery of new technologies for resource-efficient, sustainable management of current and future cereal cropping systems. The initiative will build on past work by several initiatives in the region supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, including that of the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains, which has developed and promoted with farmers and researchers resource-conserving technologies now used on as many as two million hectares.
CSISA's 10-year goal is for four million farmers to achieve a yield increase of at least 0.5 tons per hectare on five million hectares, and an additional two million farmers to achieve a yield increase of at least 1.0 ton per hectare on 2.5 million hectares.
These figures translate into at least five million tons of additional grain produced annually, with an additional economic value of at least $1.5 billion per year and substantial other savings in terms of energy and other production costs. This project is also expected to augment efforts in other parts of the world to alleviate poverty and hunger. The lessons learned will be transferable to smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa through building capacity in people, strengthening partners working in those regions, and exploring new models and strategies of agricultural development that may be applicable to Africa.
About The International Rice Research Institute
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world's leading rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines, with offices in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies (www.cgiar.org).
About The U.S. Agency for International Development
The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 120 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.usaid.gov.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
For information, contact Johnny Goloyugo, IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines; tel +63-2-580-5600; fax: +63-2-580-5699; email j.goloyugo@cgiar.org.
Web sites: IRRI Home (www.irri.org), IRRI Library (http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.org), Rice Knowledge Bank (www.knowledgebank.irri.org)