March 10, 2014

Annual Innovation Lab Council Partners Workshop

IPM IL Approaches to scaling

Luke A. Colavito, IPM IL Nepal TL and iDE Country Dir

IPM IL - Nepal

IPM IL Core program Nepal (2009-14) Verifingy IPM packages / technologies

IPM IL Nepal Mission Associate Award (2013 2015) Provide models, training, and technical support for the FTF initiative to utilize IPM for the vegetable subsector

Partners:

Virginia Tech (Prime) and consortium of Universities including Penn State and Ohio State

Nepal led by iDE with CEAPRED, NARC, working with DOA, Agricare (private producer of bio products), other private partners

NEPAL IPM IL DISTRICTS

IPM Innovation Lab (IL) has developed IPM packages for major vegetable crops and component recommendations for Feed the Future. Most profitable crops include monsoon tomatoes grown in a high tunnel and cucumbers grown in the spring.

Context Weak Market

Nepal agriculture highly subsistence oriented, only 14% of agricultural produce is marketed

Private sector present mostly just in district capitals

With a few exceptions most private companies in agriculture are small, lack technical capacity, and function as distributers of imported inputs

There is a basic market failure constraining private investment in smallholder agriculture

Free rider problem: if company A organizes and trains smallholders, companies B,C,D reap the benefits

Commercial Agriculture Strategy

Over the last 10 years USAID Nepal has developed an approach for smallholder commercial agriculture

Key features are creating sufficient volume of production in a rural community to establish:

A community managed collection center for market access

Local service providers selling inputs, equipment, and services

Recent USAID projects (SIMI, Ujaylo, BDS MAPS, EIG, others) have directly brought over 200,000 smallholder HHs into commercial agriculture.

The ongoing FTF Kisan project will reach 160,000 HHs

The gov and other donors are building on USAID work

Collection Centers

Range from around 100 to 1,000 HHs organized in farmer groups of about 20 HHs

Farmers select a Marketing and Planning Committee (MPC) to establish and manage a collection center

The MPC selects an entrepreneur(s) to manage the collection center, overtime some collection centers become cooperatives:

Key services provided by collection centers include: marketing production, recommending crops thru crop calendars, technical support, inputs, credit, linkage to government services, advocacy

Collection Centers!

IPM IL - Scale up Linkages

Partnership with companies producing bio products to develop supply chains. Key partner is Agricare producing a range of bio products.

Facilitate demonstrations of IPM packages/technologies targeted to MPCs to include in crop calendars

Facilitate Agricare/partners to establish local service providers marketing bio products, embedded services, and to estimate demand

Note a key service provider are nursery operators

MPCs play a role to select farmers for pest/disease monitoring and to access government services

Work with MPCs to market healthy produce for a premium

IPM IL - Scale up Strategy

IPM IL reach mainly thru the FTF Kisan Project and some smaller USAID and other donor projects (DFID, EU)

IPM IL has established sites in two districts associated with collection centers in the hills and terai of FTF districts to provide training to FTF Kisan and demos.

Most profitable/proven IPM components are also being directly included FTF Kisan trainings

Co-location with the CSISA (CIMMYT) supporting FTF for rice, maize, and lentils to facilitate training and demos and to develop integrated crop calendars

Partnership with NARC for research outreach demos and DOA for extension thru farmer field schools

USAID Administrator Dr. Shah meeting one of 10 local service providers trained by IPM IL marketing Agricare bio products. The main FTF Kisan project will facilitate many more local service providers.

Estimate of Direct USAID Impacts for Major Projects

Over 200,000 HHs (benefiting 1 million+ people) increase annual income by over $250 thru adoption of commercial production using improved seeds and technologies

Large indirect adoption and secondary jobs created

Nearly 50,000 HHs purchased drip manufactured in Nepal

About 100,000 HHs purchase treadle pumps

Over 20,000 HHs use plastic houses and the hybrid Srijana tomato variety for monsoon tomato production

IPM IL: About 1,000 HHs at research sites have adopted IPM products/practices including trichoderma, pheromone traps, grafting resistant root stock, and other

2,500 HHs us soil solarization and bio pesticides

Challenges

Scaling is taking place within commercial pockets but replication of pockets is limited outside projects.

Disease/pests/agricultural technologies are complex and evolving and require stronger public sector capacity and support

Many collection centers lack capacity, business plans, and volume

Lack of systems to certify healthy produce and lack of food quality standards/testing

Scaling

Public Private Partnerships with private sector engaging government to develop commercial pockets (providing initial costs to establish commercial pockets).

Private companies recognizing the benefits of extending supply chains to rural communities and investing to replicate

Strengthen public and private sector technical capacity to support commercial agriculture (area where the IL program universities are making important contributions)

IPM IL Team visiting the field. IPM IL University team provides support to national teams for package development and a variety of higher level training.

Thank You

Photos by Bimala Rai Colavito, iDE Volunteer

(see related materials and videos on iDE website: www.idenepeal.org)

USAID Administrator at an IPM IL Nepal site meeting with business leaders

including the CEO of Agricare IPM IL Partner Rabindra

Adhikhari