Farmer in wheat field, Bihar, India
A farmer at work in a wheat field close to the Pusa site of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), in the Indian state of Bihar.
BISA is a non-profit research institute dedicated to the improvement of food security and reduction of hunger in South Asia. It is a collaborative effort between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the Government of India. BISA's objective is to harness the latest technology in agriculture to improve farming productivity and sustainably meet the demands of the future. More than just a bricks-and-mortar institute, BISA is a commitment to the people of India. It is co-located in three Indian states—Punjab, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh—each of which contains varied agro-ecological zones, representing many of the environments of South Asia.
Bihar has the potential to become an important wheat and maize growing state. The Ganges River flows through the middle of the state, from west to east, and provides it with rich water sources; however, less than a third of the wheat grown in the Middle Gangetic Plains zone is irrigated. Bihar currently produces 6% of the wheat grown in India and contains 8% of the total land area dedicated to wheat production, with an average yield of 1.5 tons per hectare for rainfed and 2.9 for irrigated conditions. The yield gap between farmers' fields and demonstration plots is currently 1.2 tons per hectare.
Areas of future development for BISA Pusa include the development of climate-resilient cultivars, innovative maize genotypes, diverse wheat cultivars, disease resistance, farmer information technologies, and new irrigation technologies. Initial trials have indicated that the implementation of zero tillage on 1.5 million hectares has the potential to increase soil moisture and enhance wheat production by 0.45 million tons. The promotion of quality protein maize to address malnutrition rates as well as long-term conservation agricultural trials is also a priority for the site.
For more about BISA, see: bisa.cimmyt.org/.
Photo credit: M. DeFreese/CIMMYT.
Orignal From: Farmer in wheat field, Bihar, India
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