Syngenta Connections

Water use efficiency project links Australia and India

The Syngenta Connections program, the first of its kind in Asia, aims to support the exchange of skills and knowledge between agricultural groups. By encouraging the exchange of innovative solutions and ideas, Syngenta contributes to helping the region grow more from less and meet its food security challenges.

The team, consisting of Australian agricultural students and agronomists and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) students, demonstrated how to use a panipipe in combination with an alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique, and a tensiometer, to 200 North Indian rice farmers. They set up more than eighty trial plots in surrounding villages during these sessions.

A panipipe, a simple technology developed by the International Rice Research Institute, and the AWD enable growers to determine when it is necessary to irrigate, and subsequently reduce their overall level of water use while improving their farming efficiency and sustainability of rice growing. Syngenta has already worked with IRRI in Bangladesh to introduce this simple water saving device and technique to farmers.

A tensiometer-based irrigation scheduling for rice, an innovation by Punjab Agricultural University, continuously monitors soil water content which is effective for scheduling irrigation.

Both tools are proven to save farmers irrigation costs, conserve groundwater, and reduce the diesel fuel required to pump water. The Connections program provides an opportunity for farmers to be exposed to both technologies and techniques.

“Projects like this are part of Syngenta’s commitment to help address global food security challenges. As well as sharing knowledgeand skills with farmers, the participants have enhanced their own learning and developed networks, making the program extremely beneficial for everyone involved,” said Andrew McConville, Syngenta Head of Corporate Affairs Asia Pacific.

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The Syngenta Foundation was established in 2001 to support local communities in the developing world.

The Foundation helps poor farmers boost crop yields, improve their business skills and access markets.

For more information please visit www.syngentafoundation.org