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(Left pic) Ms Mahadevi gives her feedback of the project

Breeding climate-smart sorghum, finger millet, chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut crops figure high on the agenda of the Government of Karnataka (GoK).

Mr Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister of Agriculture, GoK, said that Karnataka will soon sign an agreement with ICRISAT and the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, India, to produce non-GM varieties of the above five crops. A consortium would be formed for this purpose and will be funded by GoK.

With 2015 being the International Year of Soils, he said that the upcoming Bhoochetana Plus program would lay great emphasis on preventing land degradation and effective use of water resources.

“Our soils are not just thirsty, they are hungry too,” he said referring to the micronutrient deficiencies that the soil tests have revealed during the first phase of the Bhoochetana project initiated by ICRISAT. He said the government aims to issue Soil Health Cards to all farmers in Karnataka by 2016-17.

Mr Byre Gowda said Bhoochetana Plus was a multidisciplinary, multi-departmental approach that will utilize the expertise of eight international CGIAR organizations – possibly the largest number of CGIAR Centers working together on one project. The goal, he said, is to make agriculture more remunerative and sustainable without adversely impacting the environment. Farmers in Karnataka are already achieving a return of Rs 15 (US$ 0.24) for every Rs 3 (US$ 0.05) invested.

“Bridging the large yield gap between potential productivity and crop yields in rainfed areas was a primary concern,” said Mr BK Dharmarajan, Director of Agriculture, GoK. He said that the government was keen on adopting a holistic approach – looking beyond increasing yields and productivity, to improving the livelihoods of farmers. He said that a larger number of farmers need to be involved in the new Bhoochetana program.

Mr HG Shivananda Murthy, Commissioner, Karnataka Watershed Development Department, said that technology should help farmers utilize natural resources in a better way and preserve them for future generations. He stressed on the need for organic farming and preventing groundwater levels from plummeting.

Bhoochetana Plus is a multidisciplinary, multi-departmental approach that will utilize the expertise of eight international CGIAR organizations – possibly the largest number of CGIAR Centers working together on one project.

Emphasizing on the need for involving agriculture students in research at the grassroots level, Dr C Vasudevappa, Vice Chancellor, University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shimoga, Karnataka, said that students need to work alongside farmers to gain a better understanding of the crops they are working on.

Expressing the need for the Bhoochetana experiment to be replicated throughout India and stressing on the importance of involving youth, Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT, said: “We should modernize the way we do agriculture to preserve the environment, provide nutrition and create economic opportunities for the next generation. We have to make agriculture a commercially attractive enterprise for the future producers of food.” 

The Bhoochetana Review and Planning Workshop was held at ICRISAT-India from 23-26 February. About 200 participants including farmers, farm facilitators and agricultural officials from various districts of Karnataka participated in the proceedings, providing feedback for the creation of an action plan for Phase II of the project.