Presented by Alwin Keil, CIMMYT at the Africa RISING–CSISA Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Meeting, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 11-13 November 2013

1. Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia: Project Overview
Alwin Keil
Africa RISING–CSISA Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Meeting,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 11-13 November 2013

2. Project Goal…
To increase food, nutrition, and
income security in South Asia
through sustainable intensification
of cereal-based systems

3. CSISA’s geography
Innovation ‘hubs’ across South Asia
Focus on the IGP: soils
and water resources
to feed South Asia

4. Converging Challenges
Climate Change
heat, drought, extreme events
Water
Nutrients-Soils
groundwater
surface water
fertilizer cost
depleted soils
Insects-Diseases
Energy
diesel cost
biofuels
Demand
population growth
changing diets
Yellow/ Stem rusts
Aphids and Stem borers

5. CSISA: A ‘big tent’ initiative
Integrates disciplines and organizations
• Development of agricultural technologies + support services
• Future-oriented cropping systems research
• Breeding for high-yielding and stress-tolerant cereal varieties
• Relevant policy analysis
• Strategic partnerships (public + private sectors) to increase the
scale and longevity of interventions
• Strengthen markets and enterprise development
• Capacity development through trainings and demonstrations

6. Implementing Partners
● International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT)
● International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
● International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
● International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
● World Fish (involved in Bangladesh only)

7. CSISA’s Objectives
● Objective 1: Widespread dissemination of
production and postharvest technologies to increase
cereal production, resource efficiency, and income.
 Innovation hubs
● Objective 2: Crop and resource management
practices for future cereal-based systems.
 Research platforms
● Objective 3: High-yielding, heat- and water-stresstolerant rice varieties for current and future cereal
and mixed crop-livestock systems.
 Rice breeding led by IRRI

8. CSISA’s Objectives (cont.)
● Objective 4: High-yielding, heat- and water-stress
tolerant, and disease-resistant wheat varieties for
current and future cereal and mixed crop-livestock
systems.
 Wheat breeding led by CIMMYT
● Objective 5: Improved policies and institutions for
inclusive agricultural growth.
 Policy research led by IFPRI
● Objective 6: Project management, data
management, communication, and monitoring &
evaluation.

9. Phase I vs. Phase II
● Phase I: 2009-2011
 India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan
 Lead centre was IRRI
● Phase II: 2012-2015
 India, Bangladesh, Nepal
 Lead centre is CIMMYT
● Transition from Phase I to Phase II:
 Donor-driven shift in priorities in India to Bihar/EUP and
Odisha, and in Bangladesh from the North to the South
 Transition support for Phase I hubs in Punjab,
Haryana, and Tamil Nadu

10. What distinguishes CSISA:
‘Messy middle’ btw science-led + outcomes oriented
Top-down focus on research + technologies
( little impact)
CSISA works to bridge the best of both approaches
Bottom-up focus on community engagement
( don’t scale + often inappropriate tech.)

11. Achieving impact at scale
● Research-for-development
 Led by research organizations, but still accountable for
achieving impact on the ground
 CIMMYT acts as lead convening centre of a consortium of
research institutions and public and private partner
organizations
● CSISA endeavors to reach 2 million farm hhs by
the end of Phase II (Sept 30, 2015)
● Works through partners and change agents, not
only directly with farmers

12. Operational Model for Going to Scale
in CSISA Phase II
NOVATION + DURABLE PRODUCTS + SUPPORT TO CHANGE AGEN

13. Underlying the CSISA approach is the ‘Hub’
• Areas united by similar agricultural systems, production opportunities and
challenges
• Provide a geographic focus
for collaborative innovation,
learning, and dissemination
• Brings together regional
partners – private sector,
GOs & NGOs, universities,
farmer groups
• Provide a basis for local identification and participatory testing of improved
seed and appropriate management technologies

14. Axioms for success with innovation hubs
•There is no universal template for agricultural
development
•Blending scientific rigor with participatory,
demand-led approaches to technology
development is a must
•Technologies alone are typically insufficient
(markets, capital, risk, communications …)

15. CSISA technical
entry points
Water
productivity
Labor
productivity
Soil
fertility
Climate
resilience
Yield
Profitability
Conservation
agriculture (CA)
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Site-specific nutrient
management
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Scale-appropriate
mechanization
Laser land leveling
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Elite germplasm
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System intensification
(more crops/yr)
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Post-harvest storage
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Improved livestock
feeding
Strengthened
seed systems
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16. Bihar and Eastern UP
● Early wheat sowing
● Zero-till wheat
● Direct-seeded rice
● Mechanical rice transplanting
● Rice nurseries
● Maize seeding techniques
Odisha
● Site-specific nutrient mgmt
● Integrated weed mgmt
● Varietal demonstrations
● Maize intensification
● Laser land levelling
● Zero-till pulse sowing
All hubs are working in conjunction with national partners,
such as the State Departments and Bringing the Green
Revolution to Eastern India

17. Research Platforms
● Karnal, Haryana: Central Soil Salinity Research Institute
(CSSRI)
● Patna, Bihar: Indian Council for Agricultural Research –
Research Complex for the Eastern Region (ICAR-RCER)
● Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu Rice Research
Institute
● Gazipur, Bangladesh
All conduct research on crop establishment methods,
alternative cropping systems, economics of production,
environmental impacts, etc.