Driving factors affecting the adoption of ICARDA-improved lentil varieties on lentil growers’ livelihoods in West Bengal

Abstract

Over the last six decades, there has been an unsatisfactory gain in pulse productivity in India, which is a severe threat to resilient livelihoods and the overall food and nutritional security of the country. Despite the launch of the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in 2010, the initiative also failed to reach its target of increasing cereal and pulse production by at least 20 million tons by 2012. In the same year, the International Centre for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) began to implement a multi-disciplinary project with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV) to enhance lentil productivity under rice-based cropping systems in West Bengal, India. The project provided farmers with improved technologies, including 19 improved lentil varieties, and a package of agronomic practices to farmers. This working paper documents the major constraints lentil growers faced in adopting ICARDA’s improved lentil varieties, and increasing their knowledge, skills and good practices. It also outlines key findings about lentil prices and market dynamics at various stages of marketing, and assesses the lentil seed system. Finally, the paper provides suitable policy recommendations and identifies strategic actions to enhance the adoption and scalability of ICARDA’s improved lentil varieties in West Bengal to boost farmers’ productivity.