During monsoon season, paddy is grown almost in all the cultivated lands of  Dhaloguri and Uttar Chakoakheti, two selected villages under  ACIAR-LWR project operates in West Bengal. In this year the  crop stand is excellent due to continuous receipt of  rainfall over last couple of months. In most of the fields  the paddy is in heading […]

Meet Janaki, our project field assistant in Saptari in Nepal. Janaki has been working hard in the DSI4MTF project to collect a range of biophysical data. Each week she collects rainfall and evaporation data to help us understand the changing crop water and irrigation requirements. She is also responsible for collecting data on the depth […]

Dhananjay Ray, Rupak Sarkar, Ranjit Chatterjee and Subrata Majumdar CDHI and UBKV have been leading a dynamic process of engagement with the communities of Uttar Chakwakheti (UC) West Bengal. The attached article demonstrates the importance of the engagement process, and how technological improvements are now building confidence in marginal and small farmer collectives. The process […]

Overview of Bihar Flood This year, 18 out of the 38 districts of Bihar are heavily devastated by flood. Approximately 12.6 million people in 1,965 panchayats of 171 blocks in the state are impacted. Total loss of human life due to the flood reached 253 (Times of India report, dated 21/08/17). Crop and livestock loss […]

An update from the field in Saptari at the midpoint of the project shows that there have been significant changes to the way farmers in the intervention villages are cropping in the dry season. These changes are increasing production and allowing farmers to make more profit from each field.  The blend of social and technical […]

The Australian TV program Landline recently paid a visit to Nepal to do a feature on the research for development programs that ACIAR are undertaking in the region. The program covered: New forestry aid projects, with local partners developing better forest management practices to help villagers improve their livelihoods and food security Conservation farming projects […]

Irrigation System Performance assessments were recently conducted in Saptari (Nepal). These assessments investigated the Distribution Uniformity on the drip and micro sprinkler irrigation systems, and the performance of the micro-solar and electric pumps. These assessments are important to help the farmers manage their water and energy use. Ensuring that the system is operating evenly and […]

Authors M Raut, A Reckers, R Bastakoti The idea Too often, development work can feel light years away from project beneficiaries. Even well-intentioned field visits, no matter the amount of sunburn and bug bites we bring back to the office, can end up as an affirmation tour of researchers’ pre-existing beliefs. We, a team of […]

The villages of Koiladi and Kanakpatti, in Saptari, Nepal, may seem similar. These two small farming communities lie a mere 25 kilometers apart and practice similar agricultural techniques in cultivating rice, wheat and more recently vegetables as part of the DSI4MTF project. In spite of these similarities, a recent aquifer pumping test session revealed a […]

Dhananjay Ray, Subrata Majumdar, Mitali Ghosh and Rajeshwar Mishra    The CDHI team have been working closely with marginal farmers from Dholaguri and Uttar Chakoakheti to improve our understanding of the role of institutions, innovation, technology and collectivization as communities adapt to sustainable dry season agriculture. A posting to the web site in January 2017 […]