Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC)

"The Rice-Wheat Consortium Wins Prestigious Science Prize
250,000 FARM HOUSEHOLDS ACROSS ASIA’S BREADBASKET
NO LONGER PLOW TO SOW WHEAT

MEXICO CITY, 27 October 2004 —In recognition of its seminal role in charting a course toward more ecologically-friendly, higher-producing agriculture among the poor in Asia, the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC) received the King Baudouin Award of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) at a ceremony attended by 1,000 international agricultural researchers and development specialists meeting this week in Mexico City. The RWC is a unique consortium of government and international research institutions whose work has led to a widespread agricultural transformation—some say a revolution—in Asia’s breadbasket regions.

"The impact is tremendous. We're talking about a region that cuts across four countries—Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan—and is home to hundreds of millions, many of whom live in extreme poverty," says Dr. Mangala Rai, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and member of the RWC Steering Committee, who accepted the award on behalf of his colleagues. "Consortium efforts have already benefited 250,000 farm households region-wide. Impacts down the road could be as great as those of the Green Revolution of the 1970s."

The Green Revolution brought high-yield crops and science based farming to South Asia. Farmers in the region now frequently grow two or more crops a year in rice and wheat based systems that require intensive plowing and irrigation. A negative consequence is that water tables across South Asia are dropping fast from excessive water being drawn for irrigation and degraded soils are "hitting the wall"—farmers apply more and more fertilizer to obtain bountiful harvests.

In response to the situation, the Consortium promotes numerous ecological farming practices that save time, fuel, water, and other inputs, and foster more resilient cropping systems. One such practice—sowing wheat seed directly into rice fields after rice harvest, without plowing at all—was used on nearly 1.2 million hectares in 2003-04, up from practically nothing just a few years ago. Net benefits in India and Pakistan through higher yields and lower land preparation costs amounted to more than USD 100 million in winter 2003 alone. The practice saves more than 50 liters of diesel fuel per hectare—totaling 75 million liters across the region, equal to more than USD 40 million—and also helps avoid the release of huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

“We’re capitalizing on our success to promote other ecological farming practices and a diversity of food and cash crops,” says Raj Gupta, an Indian scientist who coordinates Consortium activities. “These are great examples of technologies that work both for people and the environment.”

“A severe drought hit India during rice season this year,” says Masa Iwanaga, Director General of CIMMYT, a Mexico-based organization that works in the Consortium and conservation agriculture initiatives world-wide. “It could have been catastrophic, but because farmers trust the Consortium, they tried some novel methods recommended by the researchers for sowing and managing their rice fields, and they’re going to get bumper crops.”

The King Baudouin Award targets CGIAR initiatives that benefit resource-poor farmers and low income people, foster sustainable agriculture, use innovative science, and feature outstanding partnerships. It includes a USD 10,000 cash prize. The Award is given once every two years at the CGIAR annual general meeting. The CGIAR is an alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting 15 international agricultural centers that work with national research systems and civil society organizations to reduce poverty, foster human well being, promote agricultural growth, and protect the environment in developing countries.

CGIAR Science Council Chair, Per Pinstrup-Andersen, headed an award selection panel that included two additional experts, one from Latin America and one from Africa. "Competition was very strong," says Pinstrup-Andersen, "but two things stood out: the partnership approach of the Rice-Wheat Consortium and the combined focus of improving both the ecology and productivity. Sometimes people feel like you have to do one or the other, but this is a good example of how it is possible achieve both." Pinstrup-Andersen says the choice of the RWC was unanimous.

The Rice Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC) includes the national agricultural research systems of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan; international centers of the CGIAR (CIMMYT, IRRI, ICRISAT, CIP, and IWMI), along with AVRDC and various advanced international institutions (Cornell University, IAC, Wageningen University, IACR, Rothamsted Research, CABI-UK, CSIRO, ACIAR, and the IAEA).

Click here to see the Rice-Wheat Consortium brochure (377 kb)

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November, 2004