River-linking at heart of ICRISAT dialogue

The controversial issue of river-linking returns to the centrestage, this time at the heart of an ICRISAT-WWF dialogue with all stakeholders...

The controversial issue of river-linking returns to the centrestage, this time at the heart of an ICRISAT-WWF dialogue with all stakeholders on the issue of water scarcity.

Talking to The Indian Express, Biksham Gujja, policy adviser to the World Wildlife Fund, said, ‘‘As ours is an international organisation, like ICRISAT, we are intitiating a global dialogue with all stakeholders to resolve conflicts based on water. In India we have initiated a policy on the Godavari mid-basin and interlinking of river basins.’’

Maintaining there could be no ‘yes’ or ‘no’ stand to the controversial subject, Gujja said that merits had to be decided on a case-by-case basis. ‘‘In partership with ICRISAT, WWF is determined to promote dryland agriculture as a viable alternative to water-intensive, input-dependent crop cultivation,’’ he added.

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The theme coordinator for ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) is its principal scientist for watershed development Subhas P Wani. Based in Patencheru village, near Hyderabad, ICRISAT is mandated to develop five select crops for arid zones, but partners other organisations in many areas crucial to arid and semi-arid zones.

ICRISAT director-general William D Dar said the Institute had also tied up with other organisations affiliated to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), such as International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI) for resolving issues related to arid and semi-arid areas. India will be a beneficiary as the ICRISAT headquarters are located in the country, he said.

‘‘With ILRI, we are developing nutritious feed from our five mandated crops: sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut,’’ he said, adding that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Rajasekhara Reddy had also asked ICRISAT to promote sweet sorghum with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for production of ethanol, which would be used in bio-fuels.

ICRISAT, with a view to reach out to more farmers through its Virtual Academy for Semi-Arid Tropics (VASAT), has also revived its Farmers Days Programme at Dharwad in Karnataka and Karivemula village in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh.