Cultivating crops that cope with drought

ACIAR research is helping farmers here and in developing countries face the increasing challenge of producing more food with less water, as drought-prone farming conditions become more common. Many of the environments in the countries we work in have limited water availability, climate extremes and climate variability from year to year. A multifaceted research approach is needed to give farmers a range of solutions to keep their crops growing, especially through the dry periods.

Many farmers, such as this one in Afghanistan, face enormous
challenges of dealing with drought (Photo: D. Pearce)

Growing more food, efficiently and sustainably

While visiting projects in Laos, Dr John Dixon relays to readers how farmers are trying out conservation agriculture. This post coincides with the publishing of the winter issue of ACIAR's magazine, Partners in research for development, which focuses on the dryland agriculture revolution.
 

Local farmer Malkeet Singh with his 'Happy Seeder' in northern India.
The Happy Seeder represents a breakthrough for farmers across India’s north-west rice-wheat cropping zone both in terms of conservation agriculture (CA ) benefits and other benefits directly to farmers.

IN THE FIELD - The power of pulses in Bangladesh

(in-country visits by ACIAR’s research managers)
 
In February, ACIAR’s Crop Improvement & Management program manager, Dr Eric Huttner, visited Bangladesh to check on progress of ACIAR projects in the region. Here he describes the research with pulses, which is aiming to improve people’s nutrition as well as provide benefits to the soil and livestock...

A young girl holds a basket of weeds with which to feed livestock

Transforming lives out of poverty

To commemorate International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we're bringing to you the story of Sree Shanaton Kumar Biswas. His story shows that even indirect involvement in ACIAR projects can lead lives out of poverty. 

Transforming lives

The lives of Bangladeshi Sree Shanaton Kumar Biswas and his family have been transformed since he became a machinery contractor. While they once lived in poverty, they now run a successful business and also became land owners.

Shanaton Kumar Biswas, Bangladesh
Image CC BY Conor Ashleigh

This came about after Shanaton took the opportunity to purchase a ‘versatile multi-crop planter’ in 2007 that was being introduced to farmers through an ACIAR project.