IFPRI- CSISA organized a one day high level policy roundtable on Sustainable Intensification in India’s Risk-Prone Ecologies: Investment strategies for productivity growth, resource conservation, and climate risk management” on May 19, 2014 in New Delhi. This roundtable, brings together a high-level small group of individuals from the corporate, government, and research sectors to address one of India’s most urgent challenges to food security and economic growth—how to encourage private sector investment in accelerating productivity growth in India’s risk-prone ecologies while simultaneously conserving the environment. There are solutions already in farmers’ fields and rural markets that respond to these challenges, and this Roundtable will highlight recent advances, for example: innovative financial products and information services for small-scale farmers; diagnostic tools for managing water and soil nutrient scarcity; custom-hired resource-conserving machinery for small farms; crop diversification and high-value marketing strategies; and stress-resistant wheat and rice varieties. But the search for solutions is far from complete. This Roundtable is meant to engage participants in a rapid-fire discussion of recent technical solutions in Indian agriculture, the prospects for policy change, and corporate outlooks for the next five years. The purpose is to help public and private sector players to identify common investment strategies, forge partnerships, and chalk out collaborative efforts to effect technological, market, and policy improvements in India’s risk prone ecologies.

1. Agriculture, Innovation and Investment in
India’s Risk-Prone Ecologies
Opportunitiesfor growth
David J Spielman
International Food Policy Research Institute
Roundtable on
“Sustainable Intensification in South Asia’s Cereal Systems:
Investment strategies for productivity growth, resource conservation, and climate risk management”
May 19, 2014, Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi

2. CIAT
Tropical agriculture
Cali, Colombia
CIMMYT
Maize and wheat
Mexico City, Mexico
CIP
Roots and tubers
Lima, Peru
IITA
Tropical agriculture
Ibadan, Nigeria
Bioversity
International
Agricultural biodiversity
Rome, Italy
ICARDA
Agriculture in the dry areas
Aleppo, Syria
IWMI
Water resources
Colombo, Sri Lanka
ILRI
Livestock
Nairobi, Kenya
CIFOR
Forestry
Bogor, Indonesia
IRRI
Rice
Los Baños, Philippines
ICRISAT
Semiarid tropical
agriculture
Patancheru, India
WorldFish
Penang, Malaysia
Africa Rice Center
Rice in West Africa
Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire
IFPRI
Food policy
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
World Agroforestry
Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
Your conveners
The Consultative Group for
International Agricultural Research

3. The objective
• Focus attention on agriculture in India’s risk-prone ecologies
• Identify investment opportunities in these emerging markets
• Explore partnerships around new products, services
• Leverage new public and private resources
• BUILD ACTION PLANS FOR JOINT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

4. The value proposition
Given emerging-market risks…
• Poor infrastructure
• Uncertain policy environments
• Small-scale farmers, fragmented smallholdings
• Vulnerability to price and weather shocks
UNDERWRITE RISK THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS

5. The ask
Seeds and
traits
Soil, nutrient
diagnostics
Mechanical
equipment
Water
management
Sales training,
after-sales support
Supply chain
logistics
Custom-hire
services
Customized
inputs
Information
services

6. The takeaways
• Commitment: Willingness to engage
• Match: align partners and interests
• Roadmap: Plans for the future

7. Thank you