HappeningsNewsletter
                                                                                                                    January 2017, No. 1737
          Feature Stories
          Enhancing tribal farmers’ incomes through value addition
                                                                                                                          Photo: H Mane, ICRISAT
          Demonstration of pigeonpea inter-cultivation.
              dal mill (pigeonpea processing unit) and a sorghum              challenges of cultivating pigeonpea. The crop production 
          A processing unit has been set up to enable farmers in              training at ICRISAT and in their respective mandals 
          tribal areas of Telangana, India, enhance their incomes.            (smallest administrative area), ensured that farmers have a 
          The dal mill will fetch farmers a premium price of around           better understanding of the newly introduced pigeonpea 
          INR 86 per kg instead of the farm gate price of INR 45 per          hybrid in the region. Field visits were taken up by experts 
          kg as received by farmers during the previous season.               to provide timely support on fertilizer and pesticide usage 
          The aim is to eliminate intermediaries and step up farmers          as per field conditions. 
          in the value chain by enabling them to process their own            Similarly, around 9 tons of high yielding sorghum seed 
          produce. By establishing direct linkages with retail and            varieties, namely Moti, Vasudha and Revati were 
          corporate actors, an incremental price benefit can be               distributed during the rabi (post rainy) season of 2016. To 
          realized in comparison with the traditional market prices.          capture the incremental price realization through primary 
          This would also groom the entrepreneurial skills of the             processing, the sorghum processing facility will be used to 
          tribal farmers in the region.                                       make sorghum flour. This would reduce the drudgery of 
          The dal mill will process around 80 tons of pigeonpea               around 3000 women who use chakkis (manually operated 
          estimated to be harvested in January. The market                    stone mills) to make flour. Since sorghum is a staple food in 
          facilitation would be done by ICRISAT. With an investment           these areas and consumed in various forms as flour, broken 
          of less than USD 10,000 per mill, it is a viable solution for       grains and as porridge, farmers can use the sorghum flour 
          rural areas.                                                        also for their own consumption. The sorghum production is 
                                                                              estimated to be around 60 tons and the flour will be 
          During kharif (rainy) season of 2016, 2 tons of high yielding       marketed with support from ICRISAT.
          pigeonpea (ICPH 2740) seeds were distributed to 2000                The dal mill was inaugurated on 11 January, by Mr Harish 
          farmers. These farmers were trained on best practices for           Rao, Minister for Irrigation, Marketing and Legislative 
          pigeonpea cultivation. In addition exposure visits to               Affairs, Telangana at the Indira Kranti Patham Mandal 
          ICRISAT were organized to address farmers’ queries on the           Samakya Office, Wankidi. 
         Commending the project’s activities and the Integrated 
         Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor, for their 
         commitment toward the welfare of tribal settlements,  
         Mr Rao said, “This mini dal mill facility enables tribal 
         farmers to engage in post-harvest value addition of 
         pigeonpea, thereby receiving more equitable returns by 
         commanding premium prices. The facility also aids in 
         employment generation within the region, reviving the 
         village economy.” Mr Rao was keen to implement similar 
         projects in the remaining districts of Telangana.  
         A second dal mill and a sorghum processing unit would be 
         established under this project, in Thiryani and Wankidi 
         mandals respectively. The processing facilities are being 
         implemented by ICRISAT-Agribusiness and Innovation                                                        Photo: H Mane, ICRISAT
         Platform (AIP).
                                                                          Cabinet Minister, Mr Harish Rao being briefed by Mr Karnan, IAS, 
                                                                          Collector and District Magistrate, Mancherial District and  
                                                                          In Charge Project Officer, ITDA, Utnoor, Telangana
                                                                            Project: Sustainable Agricultural Development through Value 
                                                                            Addition and Linking Tribal Farmers to Markets in Adilabad 
                                                                            district of Telangana - Transitioning Tribal Farmers from 
                                                                            Traditional to Modern Agriculture; Vanabandhu Kalyan Yojana.   
                                                                            Investor: Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), 
                                                                            Utnoor, Adilabad district, Telangana, India.
                                                                            Partners: Government of Telangana, Agribusiness and 
                                                                            Innovation Platform, ICRISAT and partners. 
                                                                            This work 
         The overall aim of the project is to enhance income levels         contributes to the 
         of farmers through adoption of better cultivation practices;       UN Sustainable 
         enable improved access to new seed varieties, inputs and           Development Goals 
         services that foster technology penetration; improve 
         productivity; introduction of post-harvest technologies and      For more information on ICRISAT’s work on pigeonpea  
         providing market linkages to strengthen sustainable              http://exploreit.icrisat.org/page/pigeonpea/687 
         agriculture based livelihoods in the tribal mandals of           For more information on ICRISAT’s work on sorghum  
         Thiryani, Wankidi and Kerameri. g                                http://exploreit.icrisat.org/page/sorghum/882 
             ICRISAT Happenings  January 2017  1737
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          Workshops and Conferences
          Report released on exploring energy and agriculture 
          nexus relevant to smallholder farmers
              technical report on energy and 
          A agriculture for smart villages in 
          India was recently released. The 
          smart village concept as developed  
          by the Smart Villages Initiative, 
          explores how renewable energy 
          (solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and 
          hybrid combinations) offers attractive 
          and sustainable opportunities to rural 
          communities in India.
          The report is an outcome of a 
          workshop attended by experts from 
          the domains of research, 
          entrepreneurship, information and 
          communications technology,                                                                                       Photo: PS Rao, ICRISAT
          business, finance, policymaking, and  Participants at the workshop.
          non-profit to discuss and focus more  
          attention on the relationship between energy and                     aside for day-time use by irrigation pumps and 
          agriculture relevant to smallholder farmers in India.                microenterprises such as poultry, stitching, rice-puff 
          Women entrepreneurs in smart villages was a topic of                 machines, provision stores, etc., to improve agricultural 
          discussion by Dr Shailaja Fennell, Lecturer, Centre of               output, generate employment, and enable value addition. 
          Development Studies, University of Cambridge. Dr Fennell             Prof Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Department of Electrical 
          argued that reliance on biomass for cooking, creates risks           Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, spoke 
          and hardships for women. At the same time large number               about ‘green homes’ for smart Indian villages and 
          of rural households are without electricity, for example,            concluded that roof top solar direct current (DC) can 
          87% in Bihar and 71% in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, enabling           change rural homes, as power can be available 24/7 at 
          energy access could provide opportunities for women’s                affordable rates even during periods of power outage. 
          entrepreneurship. Women play a critical role in energy               Properly designed roof top solar and solar micro-grid could 
          provision and consumption within households and                      power agricultural pumps and supplement power for rural 
          communities, and therefore possess valuable knowledge                industries. India’s rural scenario can change as India aims 
          relevant to sustainable energy solutions.                            to meet 50% of its energy needs from solar by 2030.
          Mr Debajit Palit, Associate Director, Social Transformation,         As part of the workshop intensive breakout groups were 
          The Energy and Resources Institute, discussed renewable              formed to facilitate further detailed discussions on more 
          energy and mini-grids for agriculture. Mr Palit outlined an          concrete questions. Finance availability was a point of 
          overall framework for mini-grids comprising three levels of          discussion since participants felt that loans for renewable 
          access: 1) small-scale renewable energy technologies for             energy technologies could be improved. Some participants 
          isolated and vulnerable communities providing for basic              also noted that there are guidelines in place encouraging 
          needs such as lighting and cooking, which can create a               banks to lend, but the implementation is very poor due to 
          market for mini-grids; 2) village-scale mini-grids for larger        perceived risks. 
          or more developed villages which can cater for productive            Key points from the breakout group exercise were: 
          uses in agriculture, education, sewing, and cottage 
          industries as well as street lighting; 3) mini-grids coupled         ▪  The main problem is not finance, but market distortions 
          with the main grid for a cluster of villages providing                  which makes renewable energy unattractive to the 
          modern societal needs such as modern domestic gadgets                   private sector.
          and appliances for space heating, cooling and productive             ▪  Understanding the disconnect between villagers and 
          applications.                                                           markets: villagers are not aware of activities in urban areas 
          Successful implementation of a Smart NanogridTM solution                which makes it difficult for them to enter the market. 
          at Chhotkei village in rural Odisha was described by Mr              ▪  Agriculture start-ups must consider how to attract the 
          Ameet Deshpande, Head projects, SunMoksha. The 30 kW                    end user keeping in mind that there has to be a ‘pull 
          solution is now meeting the energy needs of 140                         factor’ even for the best product.
          households, 20 streetlights, a temple and three community            Participants also discussed appropriate innovations that 
          centres which is about 20 kW. The remaining has been set             may influence climate change in agriculture, for example 
                                                                                                      ICRISAT Happenings  January 2017  1737   3
           the use of e-markets and farmer 
           producer organizations (FPO). India is                Energy for
           rapidly moving towards e-markets                                               Local building materials. 
           where the product is graded with fixed                 Indirect energy         Steel, bricks for biogas plant
           pricing which reduces the role of                      inputs                                                         Energy from
                                                                 Heat from biogas                     -$
           intermediaries. FPOs enable                                                        Agricultural            Energy outputs         Energy carrier
           negotiations to take place at the bulk               Direct energy inputs           enterprise             Animal wastes           Biogas heat
           level. By aggregating at the local level,            Human labour, animal           Livestock,              crop residues
           combining products, activities, and                  power, heat-biomass, -$     cropping, fishing
           having a fixed price from e-markets,                 solar? Electricity -                                Residues as soil contitioner
                                                                solar PV?
           greater security for farmers could be                                           Food products for                          -$ = cost to land owner
           attained.                                          Food and feedstocks to       local use and sale   +$    Local markets   +$ = revenue for land owner
                                                              provide human and 
           Sir Brian Heap, Special Advisor to the             animal work energy
           Smart Villages Initiative, noted that,                                        Source: “Energy - smart” food for people and climate, FAO issue paper (2011):6
           “In India where two-thirds of the                Example of a small-scale, low-input, family-managed, farming enterprise showing energy 
           population lives in around 600,000               flows through the system. Outputs are primarily fresh food for local consumption, although 
           villages, empowering villagers to                they may also be delivered to local processing companies. Along with human and animal 
           create income-generating enterprises  power, some direct energy inputs can be obtained from other sources, such as solar thermal 
           can lead to improved food security,              and solar PV systems and biogas produced using a simple anaerobic digester.
           education and health, and to participatory democracy.”                        Dr Kiran Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Agribusiness and 
                                                                                         Innovation Platform (AIP), ICRISAT, explained three main 
                    Our innovation HUB will support the integration of our               elements in ICRISAT’s initiatives on Inclusive Market-
                    agriculture science with IT, finance and off-grid energy             Oriented Development (IMOD), which are: harnessing 
           “                                                                             markets in ways that include the poor; reinvesting gains in 
                    to accelerate rural growth. The energy component will                innovations that move smallholders along the 
                    draw on key learning from the Smart Villages meeting                 development pathway; managing risks that are barriers for 
                    that focused on Agriculture and Energy synergies”.                   the poor, and building resilience.
                                   Dr David Bergvinson                                   In India AIP has established 22 business agriculture 
                                   Director General, ICRISAT                             incubators in agricultural institutes and universities. These 
                                                                                         incubators have trained 3,700 entrepreneurs and created 
                                                                                         over 200,000 jobs. Similarly in Africa, AIP has established 
           According to Dr John Holmes, Co-leader of the Smart                           six incubators, which have supported 186 agribusiness 
           Villages Initiative said, “The national grid may never reach                  start-ups and commercialized 58 agro-technologies.
           parts of India for economic and geographical reasons. Of                      This workshop on ‘Energy and Agriculture for Smart Villages 
           the 240 million people who are not connected to the                           in India’ focused on energy for agriculture in villages and its 
           national grid, or are often without reliable energy supply, it                potential to catalyze productive enterprises that add value 
           has a negative impact on agriculture and associated                           to agri-business, the food chain and open new opportunities 
           activities that are extremely important within the rural                      for food security, employment, education, and the 
           economy. Energy shortages also create problems for                            engagement of women and girls in new enterprises. g
           lighting homes, charging mobile phones, and in some                           To read the full technical report on the workshop click here
           cases cooking.” 
               ICRISAT Happenings  January 2017  1737
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