Hyderabad, Dec 7 Twenty-three agricultural scientists from six countries in Asia and Africa have been trained in using modern modeling tools by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) under the CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems (SI-MFS).
The scientists from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Laos, Malawi, and Zimbabwe participated in a hands-on workshop to enhance their skills at the ICRISAT Headquarters last week.
The goal of the workshop was to promote the sustainable intensification of mixed farming systems by integrating systems thinking, incorporating environmental, economic, and social dimensions into bundled solutions, and using tools like Crop-Livestock Enterprise Modeling (CLEM) and Farm Design.
These approaches help evaluate solutions, understand trade-offs and synergies, and support resilient, inclusive, and profitable smallholder farming.
Dr Santiago Lopez Ridaura, co-lead of the CGIAR's SI-MFS, highlighted the complexity of small-scale farms, which often feature a diverse mix of crops, intercrops, livestock, and both on-farm and off-farm enterprises.
He emphasised the need for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding system dynamics and trade-offs.
“This is the kind of collaboration we want to see in the CGIAR. Our best success story is when national institutes incorporate these new tools into their work,” said Dr Ridaura.
The workshop was conducted in collaboration with the ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research (IIFSR) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT).
Highlighting the progress in India, Dr Sunil Kumar, Director of ICAR-IIFSR, spoke about the 75 prototype models developed for various zones and the importance of bridging the lab-to-land gap while aligning with policies.
“Scaling solutions requires understanding on-the-ground constraints and strong policy backing,” said Kumar.
Dr Stanford Blade, Director General-Interim and Deputy Director General-Research at ICRISAT, stressed the need for balanced interventions.
"A single intervention can sometimes unintentionally disrupt other parts of the system. Utilizing systems tools is essential for analysing trade-offs and achieving sustainable, balanced solutions," said Dr Blade.
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