Leaf Colour Charts Help Asian Farmers Manage Nitrogen Fertilizers


Posted on January 25, 2011

Leaf colour charts are an effective, low cost tool to assist farmers in improving their nitrogen fertilizer management. These standardised guidelines developed by IRRI for efficient fertilizer use are based on the colour of the plant’s leaves. Using LCCs for rice in Asia has helped Asian farmers estimate plant nitrogen demand, to produce high rice yields. The general idea is that a critical leaf colour has to be maintained for optimal growth, and the LCC provides guidance when to apply nitrogen fertilizer to avoid nitrogen deficiency. The critical leaf colour depends on the varietal group (inbred, hybrid, new plant type) and crop establishment method. The LCC is used at critical growth stages to decide whether the recommended standard nitrogen rate needs to be adjusted up or down based on the leaf colour.
			An IRRI technician uses a 4 panel leaf color chart (LCC) to effectively manage the Nitrogen levels of rice plants Photo credit: Ariel Javellana/CPS

The LCCs must be specific to the crops in the region: LCCs developed at the University of California, using Californian rice varieties, produced a spectrum of colours that did not match the rice leaves found in Asia. The Asian LCC can be used for all modern, high yielding rice varieties in Asia, but guidelines on the use of the chart have to be adjusted to local conditions. Local guidelines on the LCC use have now been developed for the major irrigated rice domains in Asia.


The results of research show that for many farmers in Asia, sub-optimal nitrogen management is a key constraint to increasing yield. Consequently, improving nitrogen management can help produce greater yields. It was also found that yield responses to phosphorus and potassium fertilizers often occurred only after nitrogen management was improved.
Improved nitrogen and fertilizer management are key components of the site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) approach developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Field studies using the LCC method in major irrigated rice areas have shown significant yield and profit increases with SSNM over farmers’ typical use of fertilizers.
Since 2003, more than 250,000 LCCs have been distributed to Asian rice farmers in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Burma, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Efforts are now underway to promote the technology at wider scale among Asian rice farmers.


The full case study, provided by the International Plant Nutrition Institute ( IPNI ) can be found here .

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Integrated Farm Approach Restores Wastelands in India

The Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative (IFFDC) was established in 1993 to scale up eco-restoration and wastelands development efforts, predominantly afforestation, in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The initial activity was launched further back in 1986 by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) .


The mission of the cooperative is “to enhance the socio-economic status of the people through collective action by sustainable natural resources management.

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Through wasteland development, the organisation helps to generate employment for the local community, and provides the necessary financial, technical and extension services to enhance their activities.


The emphasis of the project is on the collective action of the community. Through organizing Primary Farm Forestry Cooperatives, the scheme promotes and nurtures community based action for sustainable livelihoods of the landless, small and marginal farmers, tribal communities, and women, who make up over 90% of the population.


Through the programme, forest cover has been improved in more than 500 villages and degraded lands have also been restored:
27,000 ha of wasteland, comprising sodic, rocky, waterlogged, ravine and nutrient-poor soils, has been converted into green, multipurpose forests.


An inventory of 9.42 million trees is being managed by 146 Primary Farm Forestry Cooperative Societies.
It is estimated that the forests that have been developed through the programme are having net carbon sequestration of 14.27 tonnes per ha/year. The total net carbon gained after afforestation by these forests is 1.76 million tonnes.


The scheme is also focusing on 15 watershed development projects, using soil-water conservation measures such as staggered contour trenches, grass sowing and sunken pits.

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Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: Developing Rural Businesses in India


Posted on August 14, 2009


Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar (HKB) is an innovative chain of rural agricultural supermarkets set up in India since 2002 by DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd. (DSCL) .


HKB is an innovative effort aimed at empowering farmers and meeting the needs of rural households by providing access to agricultural products, services and retail. Established in the countryside, the stores offer:

• quality inputs (fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, tools, veterinary products, animal feed, irrigation items, diesel, petrol)

• agronomic services with teams of extension workers and agronomists providing advice to customers

• financial products (crop insurance, credit, banking, investments, money transfers)

• consumer goods (groceries, home appliances, garments)

• access to output markets by helping farms produce buyback opportunities, commodity trading

• information (weather forecasts, market prices, farmers’ databases)


Each HKB centre caters to communities within a 25-30 km perimeter and impacts the life of about 20,000 households. HKB’s business model is to provide targeted services to farmers in remote regions. As such, it is a pioneering project because it contributes to rural and agricultural development and food security while being a profitable business venture. It also reinforces the need for farming communities to have access to information and technology.


In June 2009, DSCL announced the plan to add 300 stores to the existing 300 by 2012. The group is currently present in eight states and is India’s largest rural retail chain.

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New Fertilizer Method Uses Technology to Improve Efficiency, Lessen Impacts


Posted on June 29, 2009


Across Asia, millions of rice farmers depend on urea fertilizer to meet the nitrogen needs of the continent’s primary crop. Many farmers still spread urea into floodwaters to fertilize rice. This is highly inefficient – about two-thirds of the fertilizer is lost as greenhouse gas or becomes a groundwater pollutant. Urea deep placement (UDP) is a more efficient and environmentally responsible method of fertilization. IFDC pioneered UDP research and helped introduce it in Bangladesh in the 1980s. UDP technology has since been spread to other countries in Asia, including Cambodia, Nepal and Vietnam. Farmers using UDP place urea briquettes into soil near the rice plants.
			Urea deep placement (UDP) is a more efficient and environmentally responsible method of fertilization Photo credit: IFDC photography

UDP increases nitrogen use efficiency because most of the urea nitrogen stays in the soil, close to the plant roots where it is absorbed more effectively. 
The net result is that crop yields are increased while pollution is lessened. Farmers using UDP are increasing yields by more than 20 percent while using 40 percent less urea.

By 2008/09, the Bangladesh Department of Agricultural Extension (with IFDC assistance) spread UDP technology to 500,000 hectares (ha) of rice fields, increasing production by 268,000 metric tons (mt) annually. UDP farmers had additional annual net returns of $188/ha.
UDP use reduced Bangladesh’s urea imports in 2008 by 50,000 mt, saving $22 million in fertilizer imports and $14 million in government subsidies. UDP generated an additional 9.5 days of labor per hectare – almost 4.6 million additional days of labor. More importantly, the additional rice has made 1.5 million more Bangladeshis food-secure.
The Bangladesh Government began expanding UDP technology this year to 2.9 million more farm families on 1.5 million ha. By 2011, rice production is expected to increase by almost 1 million mt, ensuring food security for an additional 4.2 million Bangladeshis.


The UDP technology not only improves farmers’ productivity and income, but the need for urea also creates employment opportunities. IFDC engineers developed a simple machine to mold urea into briquettes, and helped establish village-level businesses to manufacture and distribute the machines. Nearly 2,500 urea briquette machines are now in use across Bangladesh.
All farmers seek gains in efficiency and productivity, but nowhere is the need greater than in Africa. Because farmers worldwide face many of the same problems, a group of African farmers, scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs and extension workers visited Bangladesh to see UDP use first-hand. As a result, the UDP technology is being introduced in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo.

Visiting UDP rice fields in Niger, Chaibou Abdou, Secretary General to Niger’s Minister of Agriculture, said “Spiraling food prices spurred the government decision to boost rice production and reduce costly imports. Niger has 30,000 hectares of land with rice production potential. With UDP this land could supply 30 percent of our needs.

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Using Mobile Telephony to Provide Agricultural Services and Advice to Smallholders in Rural India


Posted on April 27, 2009

In March 2008, the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) launched a project to leverage communication technology, in particular mobile telephony, to disseminate expert agricultural knowledge to small-scale farmers in rural India. The newly created business, IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL) , is a joint venture between one of India’s largest retailer of agri-inputs ( IFFCO ) and Bharti Airtel, India’s largest integrated and first private telecom services provider. In India, farmers in rural areas have little access to knowledge about farming practices, rural and agricultural services, crop and land management.
			Photo credit: IFFCO

IFFCO realized that it could build on its extended distribution network to provide access to expert information through mobile telephony services and thus promote access to ICT in rural India. IFFCO works with more than 40,000 cooperatives across the country, distributing fertilizers and other agro-inputs.

IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd (IKSL) manages the distribution of mobile phones, SIM cards, and information services to small farmers. The main innovation is the use of a sim card, called the green card, with a voice message platform to record content and send information to farmers through voicemail. When signing up to the IKSL service, farmers get access to: five daily messages in their local language with crop and area specific information, a help line and interactive information services, all free of cost. The messages cover information in relation to agricultural market prices and arrivals, availability of fertilizers, electricity timings, early warning systems on disasters, weather forecast, best farming practices, local crops, education and upcoming training opportunities, plant and veterinary disease prevention, financing and insurance services and government schemes. The information is provided by a large network of partners including: IFFCO’s extension workers and agronomists, state and national research institutes, universities, and extension services.
After only one year, the service is already available across India (except for Jammu & Kashmir and North East). It has now over one and half million green card subscribers (adding more than 200,000 subscribers per month) who listen to five million daily messages and ask about 5000 queries a month.


The company has created direct employment for 1200 people at the national level (retailers, marketers, extension workers). An independent report asserted that farmers have been avoiding losses by reacting quickly to weather and disease information, yields have been increased by the adoption of new seed varieties and cultivation practices. Access to knowledge has provided farmers with a sense of empowerment through the improvement of their practices. For example, in Maharashtra, farmers rely on the IFKSL weather information to adjust their irrigation levels. This new service has also proven to be a great business model as a new revenue channel for the cooperatives that retail the handsets cards and airtime. It has also contributed to bring the digital world within reach for farmers and rural people.

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