PxD is working to promote awareness, availability, and adoption of new STS varieties in India by exploring evidence-based, low-cost distribution mechanisms in the states of West Bengal and Gujarat. In West Bengal, in partnership with the West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project (WBADMIP), PxD is piloting the distribution of flood-tolerant rice seeds (FTS) to protect the livelihoods of rice farmers in flood-prone areas. In Gujarat, in partnership with Krushisharang (a private seed company), PxD is piloting a strategy to increase smallholder farmers’ adoption of newly available wilt-tolerant chickpea seeds by promoting experimentation with new seeds among agro-dealers. 

These efforts are inspired by a growing body of experimental literature on the diffusion of STS and its benefits for smallholder farmers. Dar et al. (2022) found a 56% increase in the adoption of FTS by farmers in blocks where agro-dealers received test seed packets the previous year compared to blocks receiving government agricultural extension. Additional evidence shows STS mitigates crop losses and may encourage other investments. Dar et al. (2016) find that, even during a non-flood year, access to FTS increased yield by 10% by crowding in other improved inputs.

By implementing evidence-based, cost-effective distribution models for stress-tolerant seeds with our partners, PxD is catalyzing local supply networks and boosting adoption among smallholder farmers to reduce crop loss and enhance climate resilience.

Increasing availability of a flood-tolerant rice variety in West Bengal

In West Bengal, the leading rice-producing state in India, 40% of its rice-growing areas are prone to flooding (Raghu et al., 2022). Flood-tolerant seeds (FTS) can help farmers deal with the increasing occurrence of floods due to climate change and the state’s coastal geography. Swarna-Sub1 is a flood-tolerant rice variety that can help farmers avoid losses when floods occur. Research by Dar et al. (2013) showed that Swarna-Sub1 yielded 45% more than the popular rice variety when submerged for ten days without compromising yield under non-flood conditions.

Drawing from a history of successful collaboration with WBADMIP, our partnership aims to broaden the reach of FTS among smallholder farmers. This collaboration entails providing technical support to WBADMIP in implementing widespread distribution interventions for FTS, including field demonstrations, refining seed distribution methods and monitoring procedures, and providing insights for future seed distribution initiatives. 

West Bengal traditionally has strong farmer community groups, including the water user association (WUA) infrastructure built by WBADMIP. These groups are critical for farmers to share information and make them an excellent network to spread awareness and increase the adoption of FTS. Using this social infrastructure built by WBADMIP, select “producer WUAs” engaged in seed production. In the Kharif 2024 season, WBADMIP procured about 6.5 metric tons of SS1 seed and plans to expand SS1 seed production and procurement in subsequent years. PxD worked with WBADMIP to facilitate a series of field demonstrations in the fields of the SS1 free trial packet recipient farmers with the aim of boosting farmer learning and SS1 adoption with real-world observations, as supported by evidence from Emerick & Dar (2021). PxD will track the diffusion of SS1 in the target geographies through Kharif 2025.

Insights from this work will inform the design of future seed distribution programs designed to improve the climate resilience of rice farmers in flood-prone areas of West Bengal and beyond. 

Promoting awareness of a wilt-resistant chickpea variety in Gujarat

Chickpea (gram) is one of the major Rabi season crops in Gujarat, with the state contributing ~10% of India’s production. One of the most pressing challenges faced by chickpea farmers is drought-induced wilt, which can lead to devastating crop losses. Pusa 20211 (also known as Pusa Manav) is a high-yielding wilt-resistant chickpea variety developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to address this challenge. However, PxD scoping work reveals that very few agro-dealers are selling the new seeds and only 4% of chickpea farmers knew about it six months after its release.

PxD is working in Gujarat to increase the availability of Pusa Manav to increase smallholder farmer climate resilience and avoid crop losses. The project aims to adapt the proven intervention (Dar et al. (2013) of distributing free trial seed packets to agrodealers, testing a light-touch distribution model, and implementing a digital tool for agrodealers to help them learn about the new variety of seeds. Local agro-dealers are a primary source of information about new seed varieties for smallholder farmers. Agro-dealers can learn about the new wilt-resistant chickpea variety by experimenting with the trial packets and then inform the farmers about it.

The project began in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat in Rabi season 2024 and will follow stocking decisions among agro-dealers and adoption by farmers in Rabi 2025 with the primary goal of identifying cost-effective scaling solutions. The learnings from this project will apply to a wide range of climate-resilient inputs for which farmers depend primarily on agro-dealers for procurement.

Building the evidence base to scale stress-tolerant seed adoption

Given the promise of stress-tolerant seeds, PxD is actively seeking funders and partners to carry out future work to expand the evidence base on stress-tolerant seeds to inform policymakers’ decisions on scaling STS in the long run. We’re keen to explore opportunities to promote cost-effective supply and distribution innovations that promote the adoption of stress-tolerant seeds among smallholder farmers to enhance their climate resilience.