Enhancing Capacities of the AgMIP South Asia Regional Teams

through Capacity-Building Workshops and Knowledge-Sharing Platforms

South Asia Regional Co-ordination Team

Dileepkumar Guntuku Global Leader – Knowledge Sharing and Innovation International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

Coordinator for AgMIP - South Asia

• Build capacity of the multi-disciplinary Research Teams throughout the region to prepare integrated assessments of climate change impacts and adaptation.

• Develop learning objects on knowledge-sharing platforms designed to facilitate learning exchanges among, and across, the various AgMIP regional teams of South Asia.

• Design workshops in collaboration with the AgMIP Leadership Team, to publish the results of the integrated assessments

Project Coverage

Capacity Building Workshops

• Plan, coordinate, and organize three workshops in three years –

Kick-off – Srilanka, 2012

Mid-term – Nepal, 2013

Write-up – ICRISAT-Patancheru, 2014

• Two regional Multiple Crop Model Training Program in Nepal & India.

• IGB boot camp program at ICRISAT, Hyderabad.

• Regional climate training program at ANGRAU, Hyderabad.

• AgMIP South Asia Regional teams Mid-Term workshop at Nepal.

Workshops will build capacity for the AgMIP regional climate assessments and guide projects through assessments to publication.

Workshop - Phases

• Preparatory Phase / Pre-Workshop Phase After defining the goal and objectives of each workshop, the

regional research teams will be informed and advised on how to organize their own internal meetings so as to meaningfully prepare for the workshop.

• Implementation Phase As per the agenda, the workshop activities will be executed to

meet the goal and objectives as proposed.

• Evaluation Phase / Post-Workshop Phase Post-workshop activities will be carried out as required such as

identifying and planning of regional level training programs (these are small training programs for 15-20 participants).

Multiple Crop Model Training Programs

To enhance the capacities of the participants in use of multiple crop models.

Each RRT is able to simulate crop yields using APSIM, DSSAT & IT Tools, which is the basic requirement to do that Fast Track Analysis.

Facilitated the use of multiple crop models for simulating crop production variations associated with farm survey data.

Each RRT got an opportunity to work with their own farm survey data for simulation.

All the participants got an opportunity to learn a new crop model, so that each RRT team is capable of doing at least two crop models for their project.

Trained 64 participants from 20 countries.

Challenges emerged @ MCMTs

Need of detailed input parameters and related difficulties.

Issues in collection of soil information of farm. Quality of data need to be focused.

AgMIP tools are working well with the maize example data set, still needs to be addressed with other crops particularly rice, wheat, sugarcane etc.

Compatibility among software and different crops: DOME is having few issues with APSIM especially for Rice.

Difficulty in calibrating the model for all varieties that farmers are growing and also to capture all diverse management practices in a district.

Quality of farm survey data & Accuracy of output.

Boot camp & Climate training

To bring together the climate, crop and economic modelling scientists of the IGB.

All participants completed at least one crop, one crop model and one site farm survey simulation & completed draft RAPS.

Attended by 12 participants from India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

All trainees were able to generate own

climate scenarios using their baseline data & were able do quality checking and gap filling.

Develop regional RAPs, which involves discussions on qualitative narration of future agricultural and socio- economic scenarios.

24 participants from ANGRAU and private companies were attended.

Challenges @ Boot camp / Climate training

Issues related with the integration of inputs and outputs of different models.

Identified some of the issues of APSIM translation tool.

Unable to use the QuadUI tool for APSIM simulation b’coz of issues of AgMIP tools with rice crop particularly under irrigated situations with bunds and implementation of other water management practices.

No provision of farm survey under AgMIP project

Getting quality of basic information from Meteorological stations is major concern.

Outputs

Outcome

Three main workshops (1 completed) and three regional level training

programs. (2 Completed) Live streaming of onsite workshops to allow virtual participation across

the globe. Digitized learning resources hosted on virtual platforms and 3 workshop

publications.

Enhance capacities of the AgMIP Research Teams in South Asia and ensure that the teams accomplish the proposed project activities during the project period.

Digital Learning Resources -

KSIConnect

http://ksiconnect.icrisat.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/AgMIP-ICRISAT-25-29-Mar-2013.html

Digital Learning Resources –

AgMIP Connect

AgMIP Communication/Coordination Platform

Developed AgMIP

Connect platform to

facilitate

coordination and

communication

between various

AgMIP teams.

Modification of

AgMIP Connect

web platform to

include social

blogging, changes

in menu items and

moving connect

platform to UFL.

Coordination, Capacity Building, Knowledge Sharing

• Enable and establish networks with Global (mutli-national), national, sub

nationals stakeholders.

• Knowledge Sharing Platforms

- Wider outreach of impacts and knowledge

- KSI Connect to enable virtual participation

- AgED Open Course Ware to enable virtual learning

- Open Access Repositories for data, publications and reports

- Virtual Interactions to enable knowledge exchanges among and across regional

teams, ICRISAT Team and AgMIP Leadership Team.

Proposed Focus areas

Curriculum Development on

Climate modelling

Crop modelling

Economic modelling

Specific Requirements of Regional Teams

•Customized training programs for Regional Research Teams.

•Banking on the strength of KSIConnect & AgED Open

courseware towards improved capacities of regional participants.

•Workshop reports & Final Book – South Asia AgMIP Regional

Assessment Projects.

•Stakeholders engagement.

It is beyond three workshop/three regional training programs

Developing a curriculum for crop, climate and economic model

training program.

Specific Requirements of Regional Teams.

Learning materials on IT tools

Promoting human resources through train the trainer model on

various crop, climate & economic models to make each team

perfect in using all multi models.

Integrated session on exposure to the newly developed IT

tools

AgMIP resource person need to look into the respective teams

by arranging boot camps in their location.

Need to study the impact different GCMs on their crop yield for

their location by RRTs.

Future Directions

Thanks!