Глобальный форум по продовольственной безопасности и питанию (Форум FSN)

Этот участник внес свой вклад в:

    • Government of the Indian state of Odisha is Making History by Bringing Indigenous Landraces in to Seed Supply Chain - It had been an interesting case with farmers of Odisha in relation to acceptannce of high yielding varieties (HYVs) of paddy developed by Agriculture universities and ICAR institutes. These state supported institutes regularly develops new improved varieties, and release them into the market. however, acceptability of these HYVs had been very poor among farmers of the state. Only 4-5 paddy varieties such as "Swarna" have been accepted by farmers on a large scale. The situation had been worse in case of pulses, millets and oil seeds. No improved pulse variety had been accepted by farmers for the past 20 years. For more details:  https://www.facebook.com/Watershed-Support-Services-and-Activities-Netw…

    • Decentralized Seed Systems for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Rainfed Areas - Designing an Appropriate Seed System for Climate Resilience and Growth of Rainfed Agriculture.

      Background

      Rainfed farming systems in India are diverse, complex and risk prone. Diversity of crops and varietal choices, local adaptability to suit different soils, topography and rainfall patterns (early or late rains for instance), and buffer seeds to meet contingencies; need to be factored into developing an appropriate seed system for climate resilient rainfed agriculture. A community managed, decentralize seed system in public-people-partnership with adequate budget allocation and legal provisions can best address the seed requirements of rainfed areas.

      The Crippling Seed Economy of Rainfed Agriculture

      • Served mostly by the informal seed sector without much public investment in research and development,
      • Unavailability of quality seeds of diverse and locally adapted crops in time,
      • Ne seed buffers for climate contingencies, high susceptibility to climate variability, contingency plans remain a rhetoric,
      • High seed costs – particularly high volume seeds like groundnut,
      • Seed constraints of inter-crops, compelling farmers to resort to mono-cropping,
      • Loss of locally adapted landraces and (indigenous) agro-biodiversity,
      • Poor public investment and non-availability of subsidies and access to state supported schemes.

      The Seed Systems of India

      1. Formal Seed Sector: Seed market of India worth US$ 2.7 billion and the sixth largest seed market in the world (ISF, 2013). The private and public sectors are the only players in the formal seed system. Much of the seed sales in India have been confined to supply and sale of only a handful of seed varieties of high yielding varieties (HYVs) and cash crops. Only 30-35 per cent of the seed requirement is met by the formal sector, and the rest 65-70 per cent is met from the farm saved, informal seed system.[1],[2],[3]
      2. Public Seed Sector: Promotes HYVs, focuses on seed replacement ratio. Supplies only handful varieties of high-volume, low-value seeds. Highly centralized with poor outreach and caters to subsidized seed distribution. Confined to Seed Village Programme, promotion of certified seeds, QC, market regulation and research, and Small-scale farmers may not have access to certified seeds.
      3. Private Seed Sector: Supplies cross-pollinated, high-value and low-volume seeds. Do not supply low-volumes of diverse low-value crops seeds and Low penetration in the rainfed regions.
      4. Seed Village Programme: Meant for replacement of farmer saved seeds, the seed village programme (SVP) is ad-hoc and do not have any mechanism for procurement and supply of locally produced seeds to ensure a seed supply chain. 
      5. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Act 2001: There is a lack of mechanism for multiplication and integration of locally adapted landraces and the registered famers’ varieties into the formal seed supply chains. 
      6. Informal Seed Sector: Predominantly farm produced, caters to 65-70 % (upto 90% in few Indian states) of seed requirement of the country with high potential for production of diverse crops. Self-pollinated, diverse indigenous land races and varietal choices adapted to local weather and soil conditions. Maintains buffer seeds to meet contingencies. Conserves indigenous agro-biodiversity and indigenous knowledge and practices. Retains farmers’ sovereignty over seeds and food production, and Minimizes investment on seeds, promotes local enterprises and economy.

      Public-People-Partnership

      • Location specificity, diversity and contingency are core to an appropriate seed system for rainfed agriculture; the present seed systems cannot meet these requirements,
      • Public investment on an appropriate seed system for rainfed agriculture can stimulate growth, provide security against vagaries of climate change, and
      • Government partnership with farmers’ organizations can best serve the purpose of rainfed areas.

      In the above context, a National Workshop was organized by WASSAN (http://www.wassan.org/) on designing an appropriate decentralized seed system for rainfed agriculture in India and we are in the process of finalizing the proceedings, which will be shared soon.

      References:

      [1] Reddy Ch, R., Tonapi VA, Bezkorowajnyj PG, Navi SS and Seetharama N. 2007. Seed System Innovations in the semi-arid Tropics of Andhra Pradesh, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, 502 324, India. ISBN 978.

      [2] MoA, 2011. State of Indian Agriculture, 2011-12. Report, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi.

      [3] Manjunatha, B. L., D.U.M. Rao, and M.B. Dastagiri, 2013. Trends in Seed Production, Growth Drivers and Present market Status of Indian Seed Industry: An Analytical Study. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 83 (3): 315-20.

       

    • Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas - "Reviving Millets in Farms and on Plates"

      "The nutritious millets traditionally occupied substantial part of the diets and crop systems in tribal areas of Odisha. Millets require less water and are more resilient to climate vulnerability. They can also be cultivated on the undulating and change and be cultivated even in undulating terrain. Reduction in millets resulted in nutrition deficiency. It led to unsustainable cropping systems increasing demand on water. In order to address growing crop failures and nutritional issues, millets need to be revived. To revive the millets, a flagship programme called "Special Programme for Promotion of Millets in Tribal Areas"has been launched by Department of Agriculture & Farmers Empowerment, Odisha. Programme intends to revive millets in rainfed farming systems and household consumption."

      For more details please check: http://www.milletsodisha.com

      Strengthening of Backyard poultry (BYP) for livelihood and nutritional security of women in Tribal Areas of Andhra Pradesh in India.

      For more details: http://www.wassan.org/desipoultry.htm

      Community Managed Livestock Insurance as an integral drought adaptation strategy for rainfed agriculture regions of Andhra Pradesh state in India.

      For more details please check: https://www.wassan.org/assets/uploaded/publications/pdf/community_managed_livestock_insurance.pdf_09_15_56am_ocwzo8rnm4lwmaxoykv1.pdf

      Reviving community managed tank-based fisheries in the rainfed regions of Andhra Pradesh, India.

      For more details please click: http://www.wassan.org/assets/uploaded/publications/pdf/Reviving%20Communicity%20Managed%20Tank%20Based%20Fisheries.pdf_08_53_13am_a6r575datdo4a5sbrybe.pdf

      Mainstreaming Community Managed Seed Systems - An experiment of People and Public Partnership for local production and supply of seeds in Ananthapuram District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

      For more details please click: http://www.wassan.org/about_wassan/document/CMSS_WASSAN_Anantapur.pdf

      Participatory groundwater management in rainfed areas - ground water sharing between farmers with borewells and farmers without borewells to ensure critical irrigation during dry spells in rainfed areas.

      Please watch the youtube video for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw5BoRKYHRE