Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Friday, 16 October and Saturday, 17 October 2009

Tashkent is beautiful by the day. It is iridescent by night. The marriage season continues. Yesterday, 16 October, there were two beautiful brides both waiting their turn for a grand entry into the ballrooms of the Hotel. There was a musical quartet that played “here comes the bride(s) “when they made their majestic entrance. Cameraman all over shot their photographs and videos and the traditional pipe and drum players made a crescendo welcoming the couple. Evil certainly got scared away.

On the 16 October, we started our CAC Regional Face to Face Workshop. The achievement of previous days of establishing the Farmer and NGO Consortia plainly reflected on Dr. Ahmadov, the CACAARI Chair’s face. After his welcome, Dr. Khalikulov explained the Sustainable Agriculture Program of CAC-PFU.

Dr. Roozitalab presenting the CGIAR Strategic and Results Framework and the proposed Megaprograms

Dr. Roozitalab had come in the previous day (I had not known of his arrival) and his presentation had been translated into Russian. He made his presentation and I expressed a sigh of relief. There was good discussion after the presentation including why small farmers were not expressly mentioned, the impact of CGIAR’s work on poverty and livelihoods in the region.  Some participants during tea asked me why, if the decisions of GCARD were not binding to CGIAR as presented by Dr. Roozitalab, we were discussing the priorities.  I explained that GFAR was looking at ARD globally and regionally through the Regional Forums and it was for the CGIAR to decide after looking at what stakeholders said they needed to design their program. The CGIAR is a large International agricultural research body but it is not the agricultural research body of the world. The CGIAR contributes only about 4 percent of the public sector investment in ARD. The rest comes from Government and we at GFAR are aiming to convey the GCARD message to all ARD stakeholders and not CGIAR alone. Acad. Akimaliev, who also chaired the session expressed his concern at the ever diminishing role of CGIAR in the region in spite of ICARDA and other members of CAC-PFUs very significant achievements. He regretted the minimal presence of ILRI, Forestry and Fisheries Institutes in the region. He also was not happy of the constant turnover of the CAC-PFU Coordinators and the weak engagement with National Systems by the CGIAR. Mostly it is ICARDA that makes the engagement, not CGIAR.

I presented the progress on GCARD. Dr, Beniwal presented his summary of progress on CAC Region Review and Report for GCARD. There were many queries to Dr. Beniwal especially around the priorities for livestock production systems in the Region.

Group Work in Action

We went into the first Group session discussion around seven farmer categories and a variety of commodities they produce as per the matrix which looked at research needs at the input, throughput, output, post harvest and marketing and consumers levels. It was a huge exercise but the groups dealt with the issues confidently. There were animated discussions among all ARD stakeholders. I noted an MP arguing with a farmer representative who herself was a farmer. It was fun also.

Dinner

In the evening we had a dinner where all ARD stakeholders danced together. I never knew how agile Dr. Ahmadov was until I saw him dance the twist with the lovely ladies present at the Consultation. We all had even more fun and there was a lot of merriment.

Today, 17 October is Deepawali, the Indian Festival of Lights and one of the most important festivals in my part of India, Gujarat. This is when the victory of light over darkness is celebrated.  Tomorrow is the Gujarati New Year day. I wish all of you a very happy Deepawali and a prosperous New Year where all your endeavours are successful. Of course I feel a bit lonely for being away from my family. But then I am surrounded by friends who share my joy and the spirit of the festival..

Shahnoza summing up Group Work on a Flip Chart

First thing in the morning, we started with the presentations from the Group I session. These presentations were fascinating. . The differences in needs and also the issue of scale within similar needs of various categories of farmers, especially dekhon. small, small and medium farmers, came to fore in this group session.  How wrong are we to lump everything together in identifying an agricultural research agenda!

We did not have a group discussing the needs of the Fisher folk and this was a bit of a weakness.

After this plenary, we went into the Second Group discussion on cross cutting issues. We had totally different grouping that the previous one in the groups. Again, I observed very deep conversations around the topics. Dr. Beniwal certainly has a job on his hands to sift through the enormously rich data coming from these group sessions.

All the presentations from the groups and the facilitators’ reports have been collected and given to participants.

Dr. Ahmadov, Chair CACAARI making a point during Group discussions

The second group session brought to the fore the complexity of ARD. But to me it was heartening that all participants wanted cutting edge science employed in ARD to satisfy the needs of the poor especially the resource poor farmer. They wanted Biotechnology (though GMO was a controversy that evoked a very sharp response), Nanotechnology and ICT especially GIS, Modelling and Simulation applied to solve many problems.

After this group session, we summed up the research needs at the regional level and using nearly 20 flip charts went through a voting exercise on the focus of ARD as regards to the user community or thematic relevance and specific areas of research that would have development impact.

All participants appeared to be enthralled and very happy with the processes that engaged them fully. In this region, this was a unique experience for many. The involvement of all stakeholders, farmers, NGOs, researchers, donors, policy makers, University representatives all together and through an inclusive process of engagement and involvement in the Workshop.  The voting sheets could not be immediately counted.

The Workshop ended with thanks to all, especially ICARDA and its staff. Anvar, Shanoza, Sherzod, Mussaffar, Farhad, the drivers and so many others who had spent several sleepless nights arranging these workshops and meetings.

More on the outcomes of the F2F Workshop later. Watch this space.

Ajit Maru

Tashkent

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Wednesday, 14th October 2009

Memorial to fallen soldiers at Independence Square, Tashkent

Dr. Beniwal and I had a short walk in the Independence Square in Tashkent. There is a memorial to the soldiers from Uzbekistan who died in the Second World War.  It is of a grieving mother. The pain on her face of loosing her lost sons is moving. Very little is known to the outside world of the millions that died from Central Asia in protecting the Soviet Union and freedom during this war. The square has a beautiful garden and vista. Next door to Uzbekistan, we have Afghanistan. About 40 years ago, Kabul was as or more beautiful than Tashkent. Today it is a ruin. We must give credit that many of these countries in the region, in spite of so called lack of democracy, have not collapsed into chaos as has happened among several countries around their southern borders.

The day was fully occupied by the meeting to constitute a consortium of farmer organizations the CAC. The meeting was a fascinating discussion on what really concerns farmers and get insights in to their needs, problems and organizations. There are hundreds of farmer associations in the CAC region. There are association of water melon farmers and sheep breeders. So much is done and we do not know about it. Women manage microfinance credit systems for themselves, problems of seeds access and exploitation of farmers due to lobbies. After Dr. Beniwal presented the progress on GCARD consultation, a very focused, in depth discussion revealed many areas that had not been discussed in the e-consultations. These were around livestock production and pastoralists and dekhon farming. There was general agreement that farmers should be the core focus of all ARD. At the end of the day, the Charter of the Farmer Organizations Consortium of the CAC Region was adopted and the Consortium formed. The first Consortium of Farmer Organization in the world that would contribute to discussions on ARD.

A garden in Tashkent

Dinners in Tashkent are lavish affairs. There is so much food on the table that your plate is crowded out. Fresh salads and bread start the meal. Then follow toasts with Vodka to all and everything. Yesterday the toasts included Farmers, Peace,  friendship, the lovely ladies at the table, the men who made the women feel beautiful, GFAR, ICARDA, CACAARI. Many jokes were exchanged and we all had a merry time working through a five course dinner of spring roll, samsa (samosa?), soup, steak and dessert with side salad dishes of  cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, pickles and fruit, after a hard days work. By the way, the apple originated in the Tian Shen Mountains of this region.

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Tuesday, 13th October 2009

The first time I heard of Tashkent was as a boy of about 9 years growing up in Mombassa, Kenya. India’s then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, had suddenly died in this city. India had just had a war with its neighbour, Pakistan and the Soviet Union had called for a meeting between the warring countries at Tashkent. I vividly remember a very red bush of roses my mother nurtured and listening to the news on All India Radio’s Hindi language Foreign Service broadcast sitting near the rose bush. I looked up my atlas for the city and took quite some time to find it. Later, I worked for the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in India, which was set up through strong support by Lal Bahadur Shastri. The NDDB made India one of the largest producers of milk in the world by introducing milk cooperatives for small producers (1-2 kilograms) of milk. There were many, including the FAO, at that time who could not agree that milk produced by small producers can make India a leading milk producer and satisfy its huge urban population. I now am an FAO employee. What a strange string of connections of remembrances about Tashkent in my life!

Today in the morning I discussed the vision of CACAARI with colleagues at CAC-PFU. Why do we need Regional Forums? We need them because agricultural research and innovation for development cannot be left to researchers, like a war cannot be left to generals alone to fight. As in a war, where there are many dimensions beyond killing and maiming and damaging your enemy (pretty uncivilized way to solve differences I would say), agricultural research and innovation also have many dimensions than that of researchers working in white coats in laboratories and research fields and shouting Eureka! now and then. There are a myriad of stakeholders to agricultural research and innovation and an equally large galaxy of actors in this research and innovation. There is a need for dialogue and discussion about the critical issues and problems and solutions. Regional Forums provide the space for this dialogue and discussion. There is a need for collaboration and partnership to make agricultural innovation effective, efficient and rapid. Again Regional Forums provide the avenues for these partnerships and collaboration. There is a need for sharing information, knowledge, skills and technologies and the Regional Forums can be a platform for this sharing and exchange. Regional Forums are based on voluntary memberships and contributions. To me they are the future way of working together to solve the scourge of hunger and poverty in this world.

In the afternoon, Dr. Beniwal and I discussed the draft CAC Regional Review and the summary of the e-consultations. We looked at what we now call “the Matrix”. I’ll try and put up the Matrix tomorrow. Both of us agreed that we have to look beyond the current frame of researchable issues such as the CAC region’s needs from the Global ARD community and what the region can give to the world. We had an interesting discussion on the role of privatization (remember this region is ex-Soviet), the private sectors role in ARD and the public-private and public-private-community partnerships. Our discussions drifted into the role land tenure plays in adoption and use of technology. A majority of farms are leased from the Government in this region. Uzbekistan is creating collections of small farms into larger farms by government policy. The stated objective is to make the farms more efficient by increasing their size! No one has looked at the issue of making small farms more efficient. I wondered what will happen to those displaced from small farms. Is it a disaster waiting to unfold? Dr. Beniwal also drew my attention to the fact that farmers have to grow wheat and cotton compulsorily on their farms. In between they grow potatoes. How do you plan ARD when agriculture is by decree?

In the facilitators meeting we discussed whether we should include “large farmers” as a subject for development through ARD. They are not poor. There was a consensus that because they can produce food for urban people and, if it is cheaper, it can help the urban poor.  I was surprised with the strength in arguments to include “forest dwellers” as also a subject for development through ARD in the meeting. It was a very productive meeting and I will introduce the facilitators of CAC Region GCARD consultations soon.

Ajit Maru

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Monday, 12th October 2009

Tashkent  is in the middle of a Wedding season. Brides in angelic white. Grooms in dark suites. The wedding party in their best. Sonorous huge pipes, like those you hear in Tibetan Buddhist Temples but played with more vigour and power, welcome guests. Sitting in my room, I heard rhythmic clapping.  The bride and groom were being escorted to their reception. I was too shy to photograph the occasion. Hope to get some photos soon, of course after asking. Or maybe ask Anvar to share a few of his wedding pictures. After all he got married just 3 days ago!

Many of us know what organizing an International event really is. Visas need to be arranged. Travel schedules change. People miss flights, loose their passports and wallets. Some get angry that they were not picked up at their destination by the hosts. At CAC-PFU, participants have to be picked at the Uzbek-Tadjik border! The most convenient flights terminate about 100 kilometres away near the border between Dushanbe and Tashkent. 

Talking to Zakir today, our discussions veered off to sharing of research information in the region.  I already know that the situation is grim. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union, the agricultural research systems in the region collapsed. Research Institutes were centralized during the Soviet times and the breakdown divested the independent states of the research Institutes they needed most for the commodities they specialized in. Germplasm collections, libraries, Universities and even teachers and scientists were in disarray. Many experienced research and technical staff migrated back, based on their nationalities, to their “own” countries. The Research Systems and Universities could not absorb them. The tragedy still lingers on. Most scientists had access to scientific literature, national, regional and International, in Russian. Now their access is limited. Russia does not translate as much as the Soviet Union. There is very little flowing between countries. Scientists, though learning English very rapidly, cannot afford access to international journals and documents. ICARDA and the CGIAR try to support information sharing and learning English for scientific use but the struggle is overwhelming in terms of effort and resources needed. This is a cross cutting and basic research issue that really needs to be looked at starting from the regional consultations onwards. Something needs to be done and I hope CACAARI takes up the challenge. 

Coming back to the regional consultations, I was wondering whether identifying and prioritizing key researchable issues is enough. Africa, as a region, developed the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program  (CAADP) with one of its four pillars being agricultural research and FARA followed it up be developing the Framework to improve African Agricultural Productivity (FAAP). This provided the basic institutional and political basis for furthering agricultural research and application of science and technology for agricultural development in Africa. In Asia, we do have similar initiatives under ASEAN, SAARC etc but they are not so prominent and do not yet pick up on regional/sub-regional research needs. In the CAC region I have not yet come across a regional initiative for development. Is this a necessary pre-requisite? We need to look at how we can get national and regional institutional and political basis for agricultural development as an overarching global activity and action under the GCARD process.

Ajit Maru’s blog from Tashkent – Sunday, 11 October 2009

Tashkent was a trading Centre and grew in importance through trade with Russia. After the start of the Second World War, a lot of Russia industries for the war effort were located in this region and around Tashkent. Tashkent boasts of many things including the Metro. The Metro station is next door to the Hotel Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan was also a great centre of learning at Samarkand and Bukhara. A lot of what we know in astronomy and mathematics emerged from here.

While planning for the CAC Regional GCARD consultations with Drs. Zakir Khalikulov, Christopher Martius and Surinder Beniwal, the issue of cotton research came up several times. Dr. Mark Holderness pointed out the importance of the crop again when I discussed CAC region’s agricultural issues with him. Cotton represents what has been good and bad about agriculture in the Region. Cotton was the main crop of the region during the Soviet times and still remains important. A huge infrastructure of collectives, irrigation, mechanization and even for research grew up around this crop. But then cotton is also the cause of severe woe for the region. Water transferred for irrigation dried up the Aral Sea and caused pollution of the water. The region now faces not only desertification but huge issues of polluted lands from abuse of chemicals for producing cotton. The price of cotton globally has fallen and is unstable, largely due to subsidies to the crop in USA and other countries. There is a call from scientists to diversify from the crop. But this is easier said than done. 

Amir Timur Museum in Tashkent

How do we tackle the myriad issues of agricultural research development at a regional level? Should we take a national perspective and sum them up, do we look at agri-ecologies? Do we consider crops? Or farming systems? Do we look at what politicians and countries consider important, for example growing cotton or wheat, in the face of adverse effects on natural resources and the environments or even plain economics? For the CAC Regional Consultancy we decided to look at the most basic elements/objects of farming systems such as inputs including labour such as of Dekhon and small holders. We want to bring out what is important to research, what are the priorities in what is important and what should be the time frame for impact of research on development.

At a Germplasm Bank supported by ICARDA and CAC-PFU

Coming back to what is Dekhon farming? This farming has its roots even before the Soviet collectives were formed. Each family has a small piece of land which it uses to produce cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, raise poultry, cattle and sheep. Extra products not used by the family are now sold in the market or on the roadside. You can see these products when you travel away from Tashkent. Dekhon farming is one of the reasons why this region has not suffered mass hunger and starvation seen in many other parts of the world. It provides access locally to the household and the community to food. This farming employs women, provides them with supplementary income and socially supports them. The problem is what research has really been done to improve this farming? I hope we discuss this issue in GCARD. 

Dr. Zakir Khalikulov selecting strawberries grown by Dekhon farmers on a road near Tashkent