“ Ensuring livelihoods with equity and dignity” Reinforcing the resilience of poor………. through on-farm conservation of local agro-biodiversity ASA, India Rome, Italy 29 April 2015

Action for Social Advancement GenreField implementation, Not for profit MandateSmallholders livelihood improvement thru. farm based interventions FocusParticipatory development of natural resources – land, water, agriculture, forest and agribusiness Target groupSmall farmers, Tribal, Dalits and women Coverage1,30,000 families, nearly 1300 vill., 28 Districts of Central and Central East India AdministrationMore than 290 professional staff ; & over 400 para-professionals 48 Location offices

Biodiversity and India India is one of the 17 mega-biodiversity countries, Accounts for 7-8% of the recorded species of the world, India is one of the eight primary centers of origin of cultivated plants- 375 closely related to wild species including rice, pulses, millets, vegetables, fruits and fiber plants For centuries, rich biodiversity provided employment and livelihood support to people in now marginalized, poor communities

Biodiversity and India Environment protection is enshrined in our Constitution (Articles 48 A and 51 A (g). India is party to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) initiated in Rio Earth Summit in Hosted Conference of the Parties (CoP-11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

ASA’s contribution in Biodiversity Over last 20 years, worked with 0.5 million small holder farmers – In resource development and sustainable agriculture – Responsible crop initiative- addressing environmental, social and GAP – Partnership with MSSRF / Bioversity in NUS - stabilizing production and up-scaling of minor millets

MSSRF/Bioversity partnership project

Develop & validate multi-stakeholder approaches for sustainable conservation of NUS and knowledge Explore ways of monitoring on-farm diversity Pursuing policy dialogue in favour of NUS conservation / biodiversity Provide useful lead to further research on climate change impacts on species and varieties Project Objectives

Generate awareness among stakeholders for the importance of NUS Working around improving production technologies thru. participatory and institutional approach Integration with the mainstream developmental program of ASA (land, water, sustainable agriculture, agri-business) Building linkages for access to market, inputs, research, processing technologies, etc. Strategies Adopted

> 2000 farming families have adopted good agriculture practices for small millets, realizing 15-20% yield increment Program spread to 2 dist, 3 blocks, 24 villages > 50 Small Millets Producers’ Groups have been promoted Through participatory varietal selection five varieties identified and promoted Key Results ……..

Seed production systems initiated thru. farmer producer company; produced and sold > 40 MT seeds of small millets  Processing facilities being built in convergence with the Dept. of Agriculture  Organized Food and Seeds fare to popularize small millets  Organic production systems for small millets initiated for better marketing opportunities Key Results ……..

The economic value of NUS has declined significantly – a major challenge to bring it back in the mainstream Farmers are willing to respond promptly to new practices / innovations if that helps improving economic value The trade-off at farmer’s level to grow NUS is not with land but labour Key Learning

Customization of technologies is a must for making it more adaptive Availability of quality seeds & varieties, processing facilities, market linkage are key factors affecting millets dissemination Selection & capacity building of lead farmers for conservation & promotion of traditional knowledge is important Key Learning

New Project

Project area As per National Bio Diversity Board, ASA project area is one out of 22 Biodiversity hotspots, known as Malwa Plateau and Central Highland

Project area

Project Location Map

Project area characteristics Vast repositories of large no of indigenous species (cereals, pulses and oilseeds, fruits, fodder etc ) National priority and policy lagging behind to provide conducive environment for maintaining status quo or improvement ( research, value addition, market linkage) Most of crops grown now are referred as minor crops, ( Quantity is determining criteria) Minor crops but are highly nutritious, and mainstream awareness has just started by FMCG company and N/GO. For ages, some of these minor crops; viz. Kodo, Kutki high in nutritious value ( rich mineral source) provided nourishment to pregnant, lactating mother, new born children across all income category in the project area. But these crops have been pushed to areas which are less fertile, resulting lower yields, and further marginalization in the family food basket and national economy.

Proposed intervention Stock taking through participatory processes led by experts and research institutes Village/cluster wise NUS inventory Develop integrated intervention plan in select crops - multiplication, value addition, and marketing Impact: NUS crops grown in fertile land, increase in crop area, increase yield, NUS % contribution increased in family income, NUS preferred as food items in India, 5-10% of food economy, influence policy decisions in favor of NUS.

Photo galleries

Four Cell analysis exercise

Four Cell Analysis

Meeting /Training

Participatory varietal Selection & Promotions

On-farm Demonstration

Seeds Fare

Millets Food Fare

Training Material

Seed Fair for promotion & Popularization of Small Millets

Seeds Fare

Thank you