Final Project Report: India Farmer-to-Farmer Program – (2017-2018) Building More Climate Resilient Communities

The project was a follow-on to an initial 12-month project funded in 2016-17, which helped increase the knowledge and capacity of farmers and agricultural extension agents in the Gujarat state for the use of improved climate smart agricultural practices. The 2017-18 project continued its collaboration with the National Council on Climate Change and Sustainable Development (NCCSD) and the Vivekanand Research and Training Institute (VRTI), whose primary mission is to assist rural villagers mitigate and adapt to climate change through the application of climate smart agricultural practices. FAMU learned under its first India F2F project that a major barrier to increased productivity for local farmers in the Gujarat State was the problem of high soil and water salinity. The project aimed to build on the accomplishments of the first work in India based on the following objectives: A. Support the establishment of a Climate Smart Demonstration Farm in Mandvi to test, select, and disseminate new technologies, practices, and climate information to local farmers; B. Strengthen the technical capacity of VRTI to conduct basic soil and water analysis at the Mandvi campus to improve farmers' access to soil and water analysis services; and C. Build and expand on the work of FAMU's first F2F project in India related to building the knowledge of farmers and agricultural extension agents on improved climate smart production practices. The VRTI identified two demonstration sites to be utilized in this project, one rain-fed at the VRTI campus in Mandvi and the second site, an irrigated site at the C.C. Shroff Research Institute farm in Mandvi. The rain-fed demonstration site was established with crops planted in June 2018, with the start of the Kutch district rainy season. The irrigated site will be planted and included in the demonstration once the new irrigation equipment recommended by the F2F Volunteer is purchased and installed. During the nine-month life of the project, 10 Volunteers worked closely with VRTI staff to design the layout of the demonstration plots and planting rows, provided guidance on drought-tolerant plants for use in the demonstration, and advised on irrigation equipment that would be needed to improve the capacity and functionality of the irrigated site. Classroom and hands-on training were provided to VRTI staff, extension agents, and lead farmers on how to conduct crop trials and on-farm demonstrations, basic soil testing, determining proper methods for irrigation, and methods for obtaining and maintaining good soil health. The VRTI was successful in setting up a basic soil and water lab facility and assigning one soil and water scientist and two technicians to run the lab. During this project, F2F Volunteers conducted a "Needs Assessment" on the lab, provided training on basic soil and water testing procedures, and gave recommendations that included encouraging farmers to institute improved methods for monitoring salinity in soil and water and encouraging the lab to purchase additional equipment to improve its capacity to conduct soil and water analysis, which were adopted. Over the nine-month life of the project, 93 water samples and 175 soil samples were analyzed by the new VRTI Soil and Water lab. The VRTI staff were engaged in interactive classroom training on soil salinity, sodicity, field sampling, soil moisture, and procedures and methods for determining physical and chemical parameters of soil such as how to identify clay content and qualitatively establish soil texture. During the life of the project, FAMU was highly successful in achieving program targets. As planned, 10 Volunteer experts were recruited and fielded to India. They provided training to 1,396 farmers and agricultural extension agents from the Kutch district on the use of climate smart agricultural technologies, designing and implementing an on-farm demonstration, as well as the VRTI lab technicians trained on basic soil and water analysis methods – surpassing the project's target of 1,000 persons trained at a rate of 140 percent above target achieved. A total of 2,815 persons were directly assisted, surpassing the goal of 1,500 at a rate of 188 percent above target achieved. The VRTI moved forward with two demonstrations at the rain-fed demonstration farm site during this planting season, which were: 1) Soil moisture conservation for rain-fed farming and 2) Salinity tolerance for select Groundnut crop species. Volunteers assisted with designing the layout of the rain-fed farm plots and planting rows, advising on drought-tolerant plants for use at this site, methods for moisture retention, and advising on the maintenance schedule. Volunteers communicated with VRTI staff via email and conference calls to coordinate plans for work needed to prepare the rain-fed site prior to their arrival on site in India. The experimental design used for the soil moisture conservation trial was a Random