Unplanned but well prepared: A reinterpreted success story of international agricultural research, and its implications

A recent study found that adoption rates of improved chickpea varieties were above 90 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, India. In this paper, we use a novel perspective to reconstruct and attribute how this outcome came about. The accepted success narrative is that the public international agricultural research system developed some excellent new chickpea varieties, which were well suited to local agro-ecologies, farming systems and cropping patterns, and highly appreciated by farmers. We argue that this narrative is incomplete, because it constitutes only a partial explanation of the confluence of factors that led to the outcome. We reconstruct the success story using a recent conceptual framework that decomposes the technological change process into four aspects: propositions, encounters, dispositions and responses (PEDR). We show that many of the factors which contributed to the spread of modern chickpea varieties in Andhra Pradesh lay beyond the control of the international agricultural research system, and operated across large spatial and temporal scales. In conclusion, we argue that the success of improved chickpeas in Andhra Pradesh underscores the value of basic plant breeding and research, which aim to produce public goods. We relate our analysis to current discussions about the future strategic direction of international agricultural research organisations and the CGIAR. Our argument implies a criticism of the drive to develop new varieties which conform to product profiles that are based on predictions of current and near-term demand. While that approach makes sense for product developers seeking to serve commercial markets, basic research is needed to create and diversify technical options, which anticipate a range of future needs that are hard to predict in the present.

IMPACT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAINING ORGANIZED BY KVK ON KNOWLEDGE OF PADDY GROWERS IN DARBHANGA DISTRICT OF BIHAR

KVK is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS), aims at assessment of location specific technology modules in Agriculture and allied enterprises, through technology assessment, refinement and demonstration. The Government has launched Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) Portal which will help in monitoring the functioning of KVKs at the National level and in providing timely information and advisory to the farmers. The present study was conducted in Darbhanga district of Bihar to find the impact of effectiveness of training organized by KVK on knowledge of paddy growers. A total of 120 respondents were selected randomly for present study. The data were collected through a pre- structured interview schedule and later appropriate statistical analysis were done to find out the meaningful results. Most of the trained paddy growers had an equal percentage of medium (43.33%) and high (43.33%) level of knowledge. More than half of the untrained paddy growers (58.33%) had medium level of knowledge, followed by low (26.67%) and high (15%) level of knowledge.

Scholarly Societies in National Agricultural Research System of India

Information about scholarly societies housed in the National Agricultural Research System of India