Dr. Robert Holmer, Regional Director, The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC)-East and South-East Asia, facilitated a session with five speakers on improved technologies that have been proved to benefit smallholders.
How to pick the right technologies?
In her presentation, Dr. Simone Kathrin Kriesemer emphasized the complex issues in making agricultural technologies sustainable and available for the public. She also presented the analytical framework, developed through SATNET Asia, for identifying agricultural technologies that are sustainable, productivity-enhancing and suitable to the poorest and most vulnerable people.
Mr. Tomohide Sugino, Representative of the South-East Asia Liaison Office, JIRCAS, responded to the presentation by highlighting the importance of extension workers to understand which technologies are sustainable or not. “We need to make sure that extension workers can implement the methods to identify sustainable technologies,” he stressed. Dr. Kriesemer explained that there will be a comparison between technology and the “scoring of technology”, based on which sustainable technologies will be identified. A technology toolbox will be developed consequently and “extensionists for sure, will be involved,” Dr. Kriesemer pointed out.
Cassava boom in Southeast Asia
Dr. R.D.B Lefroy, Regional Coordinator and Upland Systems Specialist, Centro Internacional de Agricultural Tropical (CIAT), shared experiences from Cambodia and Laos in improving the sustainability, productivity and livelihood impacts of smallholder cassava production. He focused on the transformation of cassava from being a food crop to being a major cash crop. This is because cassava is increasingly being used as industrial raw material, providing animal feed and starch and modified starches for food, pharmaceuticals, adhesives, sizing, ethanol, and more. Thailand, followed by Viet Nam, have been the major leaders and beneficiaries of cassava. Other countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are now benefiting as well. Yet, research and extension remains relatively minor relative to the importance of this “forgotten” or “orphan” crop. 
Dr. Lefroy referred to the impact of new cassava varieties on farmers as a “cassava boom”. Improved varieties cover about 90 per cent of the area of planted cassava in Thailand and Viet Nam, the two largest exporters of cassava products. These varieties are now being adopted in many other countries in the region such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The key benefit is that minimal extension is required, if the planting material is available. Increased production, as a result of these improved varieties, have generated benefits worth about US$12 billion over the last two decades.
“But increased productivity, sustainability, and livelihood impacts rely on more than varieties,” Dr. Lefroy stressed. “There is a need to adopt improved measures such as soil fertility management, soil erosion control, labour productivity, pest and disease management, links to market and multiple use options,” he pointed out. These require adjustment for location and active extension for adoption.
Dr. Humayun Kabir, Chief Technical Advisor, Food and Agriculture Organization / IPM Project of the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan, was curious to know what the average yield of cassava is when there is a major pest problem, and whether there is any correlation between the use of chemical fertilizers and increased yield under such conditions. According to Dr. Lefroy, the average production is 22-23 t/ha in Thailand and 17-18 t/ha in Cambodia. There is no evidence about the correlation between the use of fertilizers and increased yields.
Mr. Tomohide Sugino from JIRCAS pointed out that in East Timor farmers are able to produce 100 ton of cassava per hectare, especially in highlands, with high level of photosynthesis. But Dr. Lefroy was sceptical. According to him, even when we apply 50 ton of organic matter, we can only get 30-35 ton of cassava per hectare.
Indonesian rice check procedure
Mrs. Erythrina, Agronomist/Senior Researcher, Indonesian Centre for Agricultural Technology of Assessment and Development (ICATAD) and Dr. Zulkifli Zaini, IRRI Liaison Scientist for Indonesia and Plant Nutrient Specialist, Indonesian Center for Food Crop Research and Development (ICFORD), introduced a rice check procedure to accelerate adoption of integrated crop management in Indonesia.
Rice check is a dynamic rice crop management system that enables to check farmers’ practice with best practice to compare results, and learn through farmers’ group discussion to sustain improvements in productivity, profitability and environment safety.
Dr. Humayun Kabir from Afghanistan noticed that thousands of Indonesian farmers have been trained in integrated pest management (IPM). He was curious whether these were the same farmers that are to be trained in ‘rice check’. According to Dr. Zaini, ‘rice check’ is one of the technology components of IPM. IPM looks into how to effectively use pesticides. “However, after several years, in fact the use of pesticide has increased,” said Dr Zaini. “We need to integrate all technologies, not only IPM but use the overall concept to increase rice production,” he pointed out.
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Dr. Majibur Rachman, from the Centre for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) shared that Bangladesh uses a similar tool called ‘loan-check’. “If the check is managed by the Government, how is it useful to farmers?” he asked. According to Dr. Zaini, “in Indonesia, we work with ‘formal farmers’ groups’ that will receive a subsidy from the Government. We also work together with extension workers.”
Herbal pesticide technology for controlling insects and pests in vegetable crops
Mr. Pawan K Singh, Innovation Officer/Scientist, Sadbhav SRISTI Sanshodhan Laboratory and National Innovation Foundation (NIF) in India shared a successful example of a land-to-lab-to-land approach.
India accounts for 15 per cent of the total global vegetable production. But vegetable plants suffer heavily due to infestation of sucking pests, shoot and fruit borers, viral attack, fungal and bacterial infections. Farmers around the world rely mainly on chemical pesticides spending about US$ 9 million per year. Excessive use of pesticides have created many threats such as elimination of beneficial insects, depletion in microbial diversity, resistance in pests, deposition of toxic residues.
SRISTI, with help of NIF-India has documented a large number of herbal agricultural grassroots practices for controlling insects and pests. It engaged in validation of claims of innovators and developed value-added eco-friendly products. One of their key outcomes is the development of a herbal pesticide called SRISTI Sarvatra. It implies a simple and fast production, low cost equipment and can be easily adapted and produced in the field. It is cheaper than other herbal pesticide products. SRISTI Sarvatra is now being used by farmers in different areas of Gujarat.
The paddy thresher and zero tillage drill
Dr. Usman Mustafa, Chief, project Evaluation and Training Division, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Pakistan, presented the importance of mechanization for Pakistan’s national economy. The use of zero tillage (ZT drill) significantly reduces the cost of land preparation. The Paddy Thresher (PT) is important to reduce the high labour cost, save time and help improve rice quality.
The Agricultural and Biological Engineering Institute (ABEI) located at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) of PARC has designed and developed ZT drill and PT to suit farming conditions. To date, it made 5,500 ZT units available to farmers. During 2010, ZT drill was used on 0.325 m.ha out of 2 m.ha for sowing wheat. Recently, its price decreased mainly due to higher production, improved design and material.
The development process of ZT continues and requires a close collaboration among international, national and local stakeholders. ABEI played a pivotal role in development and dissemination of locally-demanded machines. A national network for agricultural mechanization needs to be established to coordinate farm machinery and R&D activities for efficient utilization of available resources along with new proposals to meet farmers’ needs. Dr. Mustafa also stressed the important role of the private sector to be particularly encouraged to contribute towards mechanization of Pakistan’s agriculture sector.
Zuziana Susanti, Indonesian Centre for Rice Research (ICRR), zuzianasusanti@yahoo.com
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