The Foundation for Agrarian Studies, in collaboration with Monash University, Australia, has initiated two research projects – “The Dynamics of Agricultural Innovation in North India,” and “The Dynamics of Agricultural Innovation in South India.” The projects are being funded by CGIAR-Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA).

The project focuses on studying CGIAR-related innovations in six North Indian states: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha, across seven agro-climatic zones. The project broadly consists of three main components.

1. Development of a Comprehensive Longlist of Innovations: This component involves compiling a comprehensive list of innovations, including policy contributions brought in by CGIAR institutions since the 2000s. The longlist will be an extensive document that provides key information on each innovation, including CGIAR-related efforts in development, a brief description, observable features, scale, location, evidence of adoption, and information on dissemination pathways.
2. Shortlisting of Innovations: The second component involves preparing a shortlist of innovations from the longlist. This process will be carried out through a national stakeholder consultation workshop with CGIAR institutions in India and NARES partners.
3. Socio-economic and Bio-physical Surveys: The third component involves conducting representative socio-economic surveys at the farm-household level, and collection of relevant bio-physical information to analyse the adoption of shortlisted innovations and their implications at different level.

In addition to these, qualitative interviews will be conducted in the FAS study villages, which are surveyed under the Project on Agrarian Relations in India, to understand the drivers and constraints of adoption, as well as the impacts of new agricultural technologies and practices. The project team will also conduct focus group discussions and case studies with women’s groups and interviews with stakeholders at the Kisan Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).

The core team members of the project include:

• Dr. Gaurav Datt (Associate Professor, Monash University, Australia) – Principal Investigator
• Professor Madhura Swaminathan (Trustee, FAS and Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Centre, India) – Principal Investigator
• Dr. Emilia Tjernstrom (Senior Research Fellow, Monash University, Australia) – Co-Principal Investigator
• Dr. Sandipan Baksi (Director, FAS, Bangalore) – Co-Principal Investigator
• Dr. Sherry Jacob (Principal Scientist, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources) and Dr. Dean Jolliffe (Lead Economist, Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS), World Bank) are affiliated experts for this research project

Dr. Tapas S. Modak is the Project Manager and the primary point of contact.

The Project aims to comprehensively document CGIAR-led innovations across six South Indian states: Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala across five agro-climatic zones since the 2000s. The documentation will provide detailed information on each innovation, including their description, details on CGIAR-related efforts in development, observable features, scale of adoption, location, evidence of adoption, and information on dissemination pathways. Once the longlist is prepared, a stakeholder consultation workshop with CGIAR institutions in India, and NARES partners will be held to curate a shortlist of innovation for the future impact assessment study.

The major criteria to be used for an innovation to qualify for the shortlist are i) whether it was diffused at scale, and ii) whether it possess a distinctive, observable feature.

The core team members of the project include:

• Dr. Gaurav Datt (Associate Professor, Monash University, Australia) – Principal Investigator
• Professor Madhura Swaminathan (Trustee, FAS and Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Centre, India) – Co-Principal Investigator
• Dr. Emilia Tjernstrom (Senior Research Fellow, Monash University, Australia) – Co-Principal Investigator
• Dr. Sandipan Baksi (Director, FAS, Bangalore) – Principal Investigator
• Dr. Sherry Jacob (Principal Scientist, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources) is an affiliated expert for this research project

Dr. Tapas S. Modak is the Project Manager and the primary point of contact.