National SRI Consortium: Objectives and Roles

B C Barah and C Shambu Prasad

The year of SRI activities as background

3-Feb-09 SRI Scaling Up – Future Directions at ICRISAT 4-May-09 Meeting with PC at ANGRAU15-Oct-09 SDTT commissions review of programme23-Dec-09 PRADAN hosts national SRI conference – dialogue with NFSM10-Mar-10 NFSM meeting at Delhi18-Mar-10 Review of SDTT presented to NABARD, SDTT extends phase 2

10-Apr NFSM meeting to discuss proposal12-Apr Banglar SRI meet20-Apr followup NFSM meeting to discuss proposal22-Apr Orissa SRI workshop8-May SRI meeting in Madagascar

25-May Chattisgarh SRI workshop5-Jun-10 Proposal submitted by NABARD to NFSM for SRI coverage through NGOs

11-Jul NRMC holds national conference on SRI30-Jul National SWI workshop, AP SRI consortium formed7-Aug SRI in eastern India IDS XIMB workshop

12-Aug SRI in TN - WUR TNAU workshop7-Sep Green revolution in eastern region workshop, 4 PhDs on SRI at Wageningen

Why a national consortium?

• Lot happening on field on SRI, SCI that needs to inform national level policies

• Positioning of SRI despite its enormous spread is poor, India can be world leader but SRI not mainstreamed

• Upscaling SRI requires working in partnership and different institutional mechanisms for research and extension

• ICAR and agricultural universities still not on board• Field level agencies on SRI need greater support for scaling• No research policy on SRI despite some excellent

researchers

SRI map draft aug 2010 ICRISAT

45-50% of districts already doing SRI in GRER

SRI has had rapid spread in last few years through CSOs – 2010 estimates (before kharif 2010)

SRI INDIA FACTSHEET 2009-10

State Farmers Area in Ha DistrictsBihar 34358 1938 10Orissa 17093 3740 17Uttarakhand 9330 352 15W Bengal 5863 508 10Madhya Pradesh 4648 1203 2Gujurat 4000 1240 2Chhattisgarh 3993 781 10Himachal Pradesh 3782 140 6Jharkhand 3042 443 17Andhra Pradesh 2354 1590 12Maharashtra 2093 185 11Assam 951 191 17Karnataka 600 NA 2Tamilnadu 300 207 2Manipur 220 22 7Uttar Pradesh ---- 20 3Total 92627 12560 143

One lakh farmers 12,000 odd hectares, 160 districts

National Consortium Vision statement

To enable India to provide global/international leadership on agroecological innovations that reduce agrarian distress by demonstrating enhanced farmer incomes through sustainable eco-friendly and resource conserving (and enhancing) systems of crop intensification through novel institutional mechanisms that build on farmers knowledge, enhance local capacities with active participation of civil society, researchers and government agencies.

Mission statement

Ensuring sustainable income and food security for five million farmers, especially the vulnerable sections through accelerated adoption of science-led systems of crop intensification while achieving increased productivity and resource conservation.

Objectives of consortium.. For discussion

Synergising experiences, expertise and other resources on SRI built over time needed for accelerated SRI promotion.1. Derive strategy for upscaling of SRI, identify and address

sustainability issues2. Set up vibrant MIS and Data base management

a. Expand the scope of SRI secretariat for capacity strengthening of the stakeholders

b. Strengthening research capability & training policy maker and research leaders (Course curriculum at under graduate and post graduate level on SRI, ICAR/SAU research scientist, KVK, ATMA)

c. Built up and maintain updated data base on rice and other sectors

3. Identify core groups of management of NCS4. Identify future research needs and plan dissemination strategies

Functions of the consortiumSRI Consortium will provide strategic support and serve as a learning platform for :

1. Mainstreaming SRI promotional programs2. Research on SRI3. Linking various actors and promoting partnerships in the implementation, training,

research, monitoring, evaluation and learning and advocacy4. Emphasis on using vibrant human resource support (from the associates in the

consortium) for mainstream SRI promotional programs5. Develop and compile training modules, resource material etc. for supporting orientation

and capacity building programs by providing resources for support in continuum.6. To develop state of art and updated management information system (MIS) and maintain

information base on SRI experiences and performance both at farm level and aggregative level.

7. Documentation of comprehensive compendium of farmers’ experiences, programs, research publications etc. and website.

8. Mobilizing resources for the above purposes.

Membership and Structure Group 2

1. What is the nature of consortium? 2. How to build up strong partnership with various

constituent groups (Govt, FI, CSO, Research system)3. Does the consortium require a secretariat / anchor? If

yes,– With full-time staff members or an existing organization?

• If needed, whether they will be on deputation from different organizations / departments / or hired from open market.

– To build up strong bondage between government programme, research and development system and civil society

– Fund raising initiative for running the consortium

Roles of National SRI SecretariatStrategising SRI mainstreaming1. Organising learning alliance meetings of this kind on regular basis (once in 2

months) to help plan, strategise and synergise activities2. Linking Research agencies with SRI extension agencies through new

institutional mechanisms3. Mainstreaming SRI through

1. Developing standard training modules, communication material.2. Develop training roster, organizing filed day, films, other publicity materials for

dissemination at various disaggregated level.3. Providing necessary technical backstopping to the implementing agencies4. Use and strengthen the existing organizations, programme to make them more

effectives (farmer groups, SHG, FFS, KVK, ATMA, e-portals etc.

4. Developing and managing the centralized MIS (a web based tool will be developed into which the field data can be directly entered)

5. High quality publications that highlight knowledge delivery on the experiences and, knowledge and experience dissemination.

Types of organisations in Consortium

• CSOs at field level at the forefront of extension – PSI, PRADAN, AKRSP, Orissa learning alliance, Banglar SRI etc.

• Govt agencies leading SRI – Tripura, IAMWARM in TN• Researchers … to hopefully research agencies• Financial institutions – NABARD• DRD, NFSM, NRLM, Planning commission• Consortium facilitators – NCAP, PRADAN RRC, XIMB,

WASSAN, SRI secretariat of SDTT

Breakout groups to elaborate

Group 1 Functions and Role of consortiumBiksham Gujja, Diwakar, Soumen BiswasGroup 2 Structure and functioning of NCS and

secretariat Biswanath Sinha, Bhagya Lakshmi, Group 3 Strategies, approaches and proposed

activities of the consortiumTM Thiyagarajan, Sharat Singh, Amod Thakur

Plenary

• Report to plenary in 20 mins with further suggestions

• Consolidated view of this will be taken up in afternoon plenary and beyond