MANAGE International e-Bulletin

The 42nd Feed the Future India Triangular Training Program on “Good Agricultural Practices for Sustainable

Agriculture in Developing Countries” was jointly organized by National Institute of Agricultural Extension

Management (MANAGE) and International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad

during 11th – 25th February, 2020. The inaugural ceremony of the program was held on 22nd January, 2020 at ICRISAT.

The objective of the training program was to sensitize international executives from partner countries on Good

Agricultural Practices (GAPs) of various crops for sustainable agricultural development. The program was attended

by 25 international participants from 9 partner countries. The inaugural ceremony was inaugurated by Dr. Peter

Carberry, Director General – ICRISAT. Ms. Joanna Kane Potaka, Assistant Director General - External Relation,

Dr. Sreenath Dixit, Principal Scientist & Head, ICRISAT Development Center (IDC), Dr. Mahantesh Shirur, Director

(PMU), MANAGE, Dr. K. H. Anantha, Senior Scientist-Natural Resource Management, IDC, ICRISAT, PMU Team

members and ICRISAT – IDC Team were also present in the inaugural.

The ceremony started with introduction of the dignitaries; Dr. Peter Carberry, Director General, ICRISAT, Ms. Joanna

Kane Potaka, Assistant Director General - External Relation and Dr. Mahantesh Shirur, Program Director (PMU),

MANAGE by Dr. Sreenath Dixit. Firstly, Dr. Dixit expressed his gratitude for choosing ICRISAT as a partner institute

in the prestigious Feed the Future India Triangular Training Program of USAID. Dr. Dixit said that the training theme

and importance of sustainable agriculture in the developing countries was of prime importance among the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The participants introduced themselves to the dignitaries on the dais.

Dr. Dixit appreciated the presence of a mixed group of professionals from the public sector, followed by private and

NGO sectors. He also mentioned the background of the participants which was of diverse specializations in

agriculture sector.

MANAGE International e-Bulletin ISSN No. 2582-2101 Issue-39 February-2020

In this Issue: 1. Brief report on the 42nd FTF ITT program on “Good Agriculture Practices for Sustainable Agriculture

in Developing Countries” organized jointly by MANAGE and International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad during 11th – 25th February, 2020.

I. The Inaugural ceremony II. Brief Summary of the program

III. The Valedictory Ceremony 2. Success story from Implementation of Back at Work Plans. 3. Sneak Peak into the next issue

Feed The Future India Triangular Training (FTF ITT) Program

1. Inaugural Report of 42nd FTF ITT International Training Program on “Good Agricultural Practices for Sustainable Agriculture in Developing Countries”

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The Vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. K.H. Anantha, Senior Scientist, Natural Resource Management, IDC, ICRISAT.

Dr. Anantha thanked MANAGE for giving this opportunity to ICRISAT to be a part of the prestigious Feed the Future

India Triangular Training Program and Dr. Peter Carberry for extending his support in all the activities of the training

program. The ceremony concluded with a group photo of the participants and the dignitaries followed by High-tea.

Ms. Joanna Kane Potaka, Assistant Director General (ADG) - External Relation, ICRISAT addressed the participants of the training program. Ms. Joanna was impressed by the experience of the participants in their professional career and titled them as ‘TRAINERS’ rather than ‘TRAINEES’. Ms. Joanna said that this training program will serve as knowledge exchange platform for ICRISAT as well as the participants.

- Ms. Joanna Kane Potaka ADG, External Relation, ICRISAT

The presidential address was given by Dr. Peter Carberry, Director General - ICRISAT while greeting the international participants. Dr. Peter expressed his happiness in jointly organizing this FTF-ITT program with MANAGE. He narrated the journey of this program which was conceived at Valedictory ceremony of the 36th FTF ITT program on “Agribusiness – Startup to Scale up” at MANAGE for which Dr. Peter was the Chief Guest. Dr. Peter ensured the participants will have the best of ICRISAT’s resources in terms of theoretical expertise as well as practical exposure.

- Dr. Peter Carberry Director General - ICRISAT

Dr. Sreenath Dixit, the program Director and Head of IDC Center in ICRISAT briefed the participants about the course design and facilitation of learning through field visits, hands on training, group exercises, interaction with experts etc. He urged the participants to make use of their stay in ICRISAT and India memorable through learning and interaction.

- Dr. Sreenath Dixit Head of IDC Center, ICRISAT

Dr. Mahantesh Shirur, Program Director (PMU), MANAGE welcomed the participants for the 42nd FTF ITT program and briefly explained about the overview of the training program. Dr. Shirur reminded the words said by Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi that “Poverty anywhere is Poverty everywhere” and objectively insisted on the Back at Work Plans of the participants which is an important post training feature designed to evaluate the impact of the training programs. Dr. Shirur acknowledged ICRISAT for their continuous support in successful implementation of the program as a partner institute.

- Dr. Mahantesh Shirur Director (PMU), MANAGE

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Group photograph of 42nd FTF ITT program

II. Brief Summary of the program

The training program was participatory in nature including lectures, group discussions, case studies and field visits.

Major focus was on the policy formulation and implementation at various levels of agricultural and allied sectors

development. Lecture topics were in six broader areas as tabulated below

Sl. No. Theme Sessions

1. Good Agricultural Practices in Crop Improvement

Paddy, Pulses, Maize, Groundnut, Chick Pea, Finger Millet, Sorghum, Pearl Millet and Pigeon Pea

2. Sustainable Natural Resource Management in Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT) India and Africa

Sustainable Water Management, Integrated Pests and Disease Management, Feed and Fodder Management, Sustainable Nutrition revolution through bio-fortification of staples

3. Seed Systems Strengthening formal and informal seed systems, GAPs in germplasm resources management, Role of transgenic in crop improvement and food safety, Application of genomics tools in crop improvement

4. Digital Agriculture Digital Agriculture – Pathway to Prosperity, Enabling Advisory Services for Climate Smart Agriculture, MEASURE Platform and Measure Book, GAPs in Research Prioritization and Technology Evaluation

5. Agri-Business Agri Business and Innovation Platform, Product designing and Promotion, Low cost mechanization tools from rainfed agriculture, GAPs in value chain analysis, Promoting livelihoods and nutrition through vegetable cultivation

Visit to ICRISAT and Charles Renard Analytical Lab and Gene Bank

The participants of 42nd FTF ITT had an exposure visit around the ICRISAT campus. Dr. Murali M Sharma, Ms. Joanna

Kane- Potaka and Dr. P Venkata Satish accompanied the participants and

explained about the ICRISAT mandates and research aspects which has six

priority crops: 3 cereals crop (Maize, Sorghum and Millet), 2 pulses crops

(Chick pea and pigeon pea) and 1 oil crop (ground nut). Dr. Sharma showed

the ICRSAT set up where rain water is utilized for irrigation purpose from

established 14 water bodies and also showed the established solar system.

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ICRISAT is trying to develop high sugar content (in stem about 20%) sorghum variety so that ethanol can be derived

from stem sugar of sorghum and mixed up to 40% as biofuel with petroleum. Dr. Sharma explained about the

nutritional importance of pearl millet and sorghum and showed the Charles

Renard Analytical Lab, MP-AES (Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission

Spectroscopy) machine which is economical to determine about 22 elements of

soil, plants and water.

ICRISAT Gene bank serves as a world repository for the collection of germplasm of the six mandate crops: sorghum,

pearl millet, chickpea, pigeon pea, groundnut, finger millet; and five small millets: foxtail millet, little millet, kodo

millet, proso millet and barnyard millet. With 128,155 germplasm

accessions assembled from 144 countries through donations and collection

missions, it is one of the largest international gene banks. ICRISAT

established regional gene banks at Nairobi, Bulawayo and Niamey to

facilitate easy access of regional and global diversity to NARS partners in

the region. Together the three regional gene banks conserve 43,353

accessions of mandate crops. Several land races now conserved in the

ICRISAT gene banks have disappeared from their natural habitats in Africa and Asia. The collection serves both as

insurance against genetic erosion and a sources of tolerance to diseases and pests, environmental stresses, higher

nutritional quality and traits related to yield for crop improvement.

Visit to Kothapally Watershed and Mahindra CSR site

The participants visited the Adarsha Watershed Project area at Kothapally, Shankarpally (Mandal), Ranga Reddy

(District) in Telangana State. This watershed projected was started by ICRISAT

in 1999. The main objective was to create a proof-of-concept and a learning

site for extension agents, NGOs, the

national agricultural research system,

policy makers as well as for farmers. The

initial phase consisted of:

1. A detailed and systematic baseline

characterization of the natural resource base and the socio-economic condition

of the local population.

2. The formation of a consortium including local and national research institutions as well as government authorities

to provide technical support.

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In close collaboration with the community, ICRISAT accordingly tested, evaluated and further developed a wide range

of management styles and agricultural innovations to improve the living conditions of the people in Kothapally, and

to prove that scientific backstopping, participation of the rural population and the collaboration of various institutions

in multidisciplinary consortia can make a difference. In Kothapally village, 430 ha out of 465 ha of land is cultivated

with an average landholding of 1.4 ha per household (70% of the households own less than 2 ha each) by 274

households (1492 people). The soils are predominantly vertisols and associated soils (90%). Today, the community

manages the watershed independently; the project has proven to be sustainable. The watershed continues to serve

as a learning site for all stakeholders in water and land management throughout India and beyond.

Visit to NIPHM, ICAR-IIOR, MANAGE, ICAR-CRIDA and ICAR-IIMR at Hyderabad

The participants of 42nd FT ITT international training on “Good Agriculture Practices for Sustainable

Agriculture in Developing Countries” were taken to visit the National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM)

to learn more about the best good agricultures that are deemed fit and relevant for the promotion of Agriculture.

Dr. J. Alice R.P. Sujeetha, Director (PHM) addressed the Participants and briefed about NIPHM institution. The

participants visited the Bio-fertilizer Laboratory, understood the types, advantages and disadvantages and on farm

production of Rhizobium. The trainees then experienced the pesticide formulation and residue analytical Centre.

Participants visited the Storage pest lab and were told about the types of storage pests and control measures in cereals

and pulses.

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Visit to the Indian Institute of Oilseed Research (ICAR-IIOR), Rajendranagar

The trainees visited the ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (IIOR), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. During the visit

participants were able to understand the contributions of ICAR-IIOR in

pioneer development of castor hybrid variety in world, industrial

importance of castor in manufacturing grease, development of various

hybrid varieties of oil seeds such as safflower, sunflower and bio

pesticides.

Visit to the Indian Institute of Millet Research (ICAR-IIMR), Rajendranagar

The participants of 42nd FTF ITT visited the ICAR-Indian Institute of Millet Research (ICAR-IIMR). Dr. Sangappa, Scientist

(Agri. Extension), Agri Business Incubation Program had provided the detailed information about IIMR-Incubation

Centre. Dr. Sangappa also managed the short site field visit

to IIMR farm and food processing Unit Plants as well. The

participants were able to understand the need of sustainable

millets productivity and global competitiveness, need of

improvement in the end-product quality and cost-

effectiveness of millet production systems. Participants are

taught about effective transfer and implementation of improved technologies in millet production, need of the

promotion of millets as health-food and as industrial raw material for potable and industrial alcohol, starch, and their

products including those from the stalks. Participants are made aware about the scope of promotion of millet products

as smart food, marketing of smart food as collection and buying center, food processing and packaging plants.

Visit to the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad

Participants of 42nd FTF ITT training program visited Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Lab, Incubation Cell and

MANAGE Library.

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Participants visited the Incubation Centre MANAGE and Mr. Augustine, Consultant, MANAGE has oriented briefly about the

MANAGE Agri Clinics & Agri Business Incubation center to the participants of 41st FTF ITT batch. The incubation center is

intended to nurture all interested potential Agripreneur.

Visit to CRIDA, Santosh Nagar, Hyderabad

The participants visited the Hayathnagar Research Farm and ICAR-Central Research Institute of Dryland Agriculture

(CRIDA) Headquarters on 22nd February, 2020. They were demonstration on the

Farm Machinery used for Dryland Agriculture. The participants also visited the

Climate Change Complex at CRIDA. Climate Change Complex is the facility has

been set up to research on how crops will be affected by simulating future climate

change conditions. The center has state of the art equipment and 9 climate

controlled chambers. The Free Air Temperature Enrichment Facility (FATE) makes

precise quantification of the climatic parameters in modeling simulators.

III. Valedictory Ceremony

The valedictory ceremony was held on 25th February, 2020 at ICRISAT chaired by the Director General, MANAGE

Mrs. G. Jayalakshmi, IAS, Dr. Sreenath Dixit, Dr. Mahantesh Shirur, other senior staff from ICRISAT and PMU team,

MANAGE. Director General has addressed the participants to understand the

experiences of the training and appreciated their interest in attending the training. She

extended heartfelt thanks to ICRISAT for successfully completing the training program

with high standards as expected by the participants and invited for future collaboration

on similar grounds. Dr. Sreenath Dixit briefed the training activities and experiences

during the program and thanked the team ICRISAT for their kind cooperation in the

smooth functioning of the program. Dr. Shirur thanked the participants as well as the organizers at ICRISAT for

ensuring regularity and punctuality all through the training that was reflected in the test scores secured by the

participants and training feedback of 9.19 out of 10 which indicates the highest satisfaction of the participants. The

dignitaries handed over the certificates to the participants and the ceremony concluded with a group photo.

Group Photograph of Participants of 42nd FTF ITT training program during visit to the Incubation Cell, MANAGE

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2. Success story from Implementation of Back at Work Plans

Waste management in organic farming for the socio-economic empowerment of rural women

Ms. Bindu Poudel Bhattarai from Nepal participated in the 30th FTF ITT International training program on

“Entrepreneurship Development among Rural Women” held during 6-20th November, 2018 at

Kudumbashree Mission, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. During the training program she

learnt about small scale entrepreneurship for the empowerment of rural women with the

locally available resources.

Post training she decided to help the rural women in order to improve the socio-economic status through small

scale entrepreneurial activity especially the indigenous and marginalized women

group (Tamang and Dalit). Her mode of transfer of technology was to impart

knowledge on vermicompost preparation and sale. Vermin-composting is an

environment friendly approach of manufacturing natural fertilizer by using assorted

species of earthworms for decomposing waste materials. It is also an imperative

profitable endeavor for sustainable and high-yielding farming along with mechanism for waste management that

can be regulated with less investment.

Ms. Bindu conducted training on preparation of compost to the rural women at Bukhel ward, Southern part of

Lalitpur District of Nepal. Most of the practical teachings and hands on training type of methods were able to reach

the women at rural areas. Ms. Bindu provided skill training and follow up, input support and counseling to

beneficiaries about the manufacturing of vermicompost, strategy to improve their business and encourage thrift in

cooperative mode, support for packing and labelling, registration support for enterprises and exposure visit/cross

learning and sharing activities.

This practical teaching comprehends the following elements:

Outcomes: 1. The women who have been trained by project and have been provided with the initial technical input

support to successfully start their enterprise. 2. Out of 13 Women were trained about the vermin compost, started their own enterprise 3. She is appreciated by appreciation letter from the Bukhel ward and Vermi compost expert/specialist,

Prof. Dr. Ananda Shova Tamrakar of Nepal.

Technique to construct vermin bed by using plastic sheets, utensils, organic wastes materials

Decomposing waste materials for 15 days and then, introducing an red earthworms in those decayed waste materials

Enclosing vermin beds with plastics to sustain its temperature and moisture and to safeguard earthworms against birds and other creatures etc.

Ms. Bindu Poudel Bhattarai

Lalithpur, Nepal

Contact no.: 977+9851193395, Email id: poudelbindu01@gmail.com

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3. Sneak Peak into the next issue

1. Brief report on the 43rd FTF ITT program on “Food processing and Value Addition Technologies for

Agripreneurship” organized jointly during 4-18 March, 2020 by National Institute of Agricultural Extension

Management (MANAGE) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Central Food Technology

Research Institute (CSIR - CFTRI), Mysuru, Karnataka, India.

2. More Success stories from Implementation of Back at Work Plans.

For any queries relat ing to the program,

please Contact following address:

Program Management Unit (PMU), National Institute

of Agricultural Extension Management

(MANAGE), Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad - 500030,

Telangana, India

Phone number: Office: +91(40) 24016702-06,

Ext.: 538

Email: pmu.manage@manage.gov.in

Website: www.manage.gov.in

www.facebook.com/ftfittmanage.ind

https://twitter.com/FTFITT_MANAGE

Editor-in-Chief:

Smt. G. Jayalakshmi, IAS

Director General

MANAGE

Editor:

Dr. Mahantesh Shirur

Dy. Director (Agricultural Extension)

MANAGE

Associate Editors: Dr. S.S.P. Jyothi, Program Manager, PMU, MANAGE Mr. Dharmaraj B.M, Program Executive,

PMU, MANAGE

Dissemination Support:

Mr. B. Chinna Rao

Junior Program Executive, PMU, MANAGE

FTF ITT Training Program Overview Total Number of Training Programs Completed: 42 Number of executives trained till now: 1098 Male: Female: 673: 425 Number of Countries covered: 20 Name of the countries:

Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam

Africa: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda

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