Four Seasons of Learning and Engaging Smallholder Farmers - icrisat

farmers for enhancing their awareness about improved varieties. Various awareness activities created
high demand of seed for farmer-preferred varieties. The public seed corporations (NSC, SFCI, APSSDC
and KSSC) joined hands with research partners and produced 70,607 MT Certified Seed and 3,924 MT
Foundation Seed. JG 11 was the most popular variety with 85% share in Certified Seed.
Under capacity building, training on various aspects of improved crop and seed production technologies
of chickpea was provided to 12,000 (10,842 men + 1,158 women) farmers and 1,411 extension
personnel (1,229 men + 182 women). A total of 48 field days and 10 farmer’s fairs were organized in
which about 27,000 farmers (24,290 men + 2,697 women) participated. Efforts were made to reach
large number of farmers through electronic and print media to disseminate information on improved
varieties and crop production technologies.
Efforts were also made to enhance capacity of NARS in chickpea improvement and seed production.
Two one-month training courses on “Chickpea Breeding and Seed Production” were organized at
ICRISAT-Patancheru in which 12 researchers (9 men + 3 women) from the NARS of Ethiopia, Tanzania
and Kenya participated. The infrastructure facilities for seed production, processing and storage were
strengthened at research stations. One PhD student from India and one MSc student each from Kenya
and Ethiopia completed part of their theses research on chickpea at ICRISAT-Patancheru.
Introduction
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) also called Bengal gram or Garbanzo, is the largest produced food legume
in South Asia and the third largest produced food legume globally, after common bean (Phaseolus
vulgaris L.) and field pea (PisumsativumL.). Chickpea is grown in more than 50 countries (90% area
in Asia, 4.7% in Africa, 3.1% in Oceania, 1.6% in the Americas and 0.5% in Europe), but developing
countries account for over 95% of its production (FAO, 2011). Over 75% of the chickpea production
comes from South Asia, where India is the largest chickpea producing country accounting for 67%
of the global chickpea production. The other major chickpea producing countries include Pakistan,
Turkey, Australia, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Iran, Mexico and Canada. During the triennium 2007-2009, the
global chickpea area was about 11.3 million ha with a production of 9.6 million MT and average yield
of approximately 849 kg per ha.
Chickpea is an important source of protein for millions of people in the developing countries, particularly
in South Asia, who are largely vegetarian either by choice or because of economic reasons. In addition
to having high protein content (20-22%), chickpea is rich in fiber, minerals (phosphorus, calcium,
magnesium, iron and zinc) and β-carotene. Its lipid fraction is high in unsaturated fatty acids. There
are two types of chickpea – desi (dark-colored seed coat) and kabuli (white- or cream-colored seed
coat). Chickpea is used in various ways, such as raw in salads, cooked in stews (from split seeds called
“dal” in SA), ground into flour called “besan”, fried or roasted for snacks, and eaten as a paste such as
hummus in the Middle East. Splits and flours are invariably made from desi type. Chickpea haulms are
used for animal feed and are more nutritious than cereal fodder.
Chickpea plays a significant role in improving soil fertility by fixing the atmospheric nitrogen. Chickpea
meets 80% of its nitrogen (N) requirement from symbiotic nitrogen fixation and can fix up to 140 kg
N per ha from air. It leaves substantial amount of residual N for subsequent crops and adds plenty of
organic matter to maintain and improve soil health and fertility. Because of its deep tap root system,
chickpea can avoid drought conditions by extracting water from deeper layers in the soil profile.
Increasing preference for vegetable protein and interest in consumption of chickpea has increased
its global demand. Chickpea is imported by over 130 countries. Awareness of benefits of chickpea in
crop diversification and sustainable agriculture has increased interest of farmers in growing the crop.
Chickpea contributes to over 40% of India’s total pulse production and is the most important pulse crop
of the country. Despite being the largest global producer of chickpea, India needs to import chickpea
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Engaging Smallholder Farmers | Tropical Legumes II Project