Promotion of Weather 
Resilient Technologies, 
Practices, and Services: 
Bajra Crop  
Improved/resilient agricultural practices, services and technologies for Bajra crop 
cultivation, were promoted in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India  
 
Bajra (Pearl Millet) is a Kharif (monsoon season) crop, cultivated in 8.7 million ha 
land in dry and warm climatic conditions across India. It is cultivated as a major 
Kharif crop in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The crop selection is due 
to poor irrigation facilities and scanty rainfall in this area, although the local 
varieties sown in this area grow very tall and matures late. Excess rainfall often 
caused lodging of the standing crops especially the once sown via the 
broadcasting method. Besides, the yield of these varieties is also very low.  
Methodology and approach: Project team conducted a vulnerability assessment 
to understand climatic risks being faced by farmers in the Mathura district. It was 
found that the farmed experienced the issues of less seed germination, higher 
seed rate, uneven crop growth, crop lodging due to heavy winds and rain, lower 
yields, and high cost of cultivation.  
To address these issues and reduce crop loss in excessive rainfall situations, a 
lodging resistant variety of Bajra (Pioneer 86M84) was promoted in the Mathura 
district in kharif seasons of the year 2017 and 2018. In both seasons, excessively 
heavy rainfall led to damage of all the plots of Bajra. As an adaptive mechanism 
to this situation, short-duration Bajra seed varieties were promoted and sown on 
around 75 damaged plots. This intervention ensured sustained farm yield.  
In addition, the promotion of line sowing through fertilizer cum seed drill assisted 
reduction of cultivation cost, better crop irrigation, improved seed germination 
rate, reduced crop loss due to crop lodging, and increased crop productivity.  
Besides, seed treatment by Trichoderma reduced possible attacks of soil born 
pests and diseases. Awareness campaigns to not only promote improved 
agricultural practices but also use the recommended dosage of fertilizers and 
pesticides also went a long way in improving Bajra crop production.  
 
  
• Introducing a lodging resistant variety of 
Bajra in the project districts significantly 
increased the crop production and 
income of farmers, thereby increasing 
their adaptive capacity and resilience.  
 
• A simple change in sowing practice via 
adopting ‘Line sowing’ using seed drill 
cum fertilizer tractor mounted 
equipment reduced the high seed 
application rate and improved seed 
germination 
 
• Seed treatment with Trichoderma 
significantly reduced the frequency and 
intensity of soil born pests and diseases 
 
• The present example is a testament 
which notes that integrating Knowledge-
Smart, (Capacity building on CSA package 
of practices), Seed/Breed-Smart 
(Replacing traditional/ hybrid varieties 
with region-specific resilient varieties), 
Weather-Smart (dissemination weather 
information and agro advisory), and 
Nutrient-Smart interventions (judicial 
usage of fertilizers) can lead to a 
significant increase in Bajra crop 
productivity. 
 
 
Takeaways 
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 Story from the field 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rajvir Singh, a Bajra farmer in 
SukhdeoBurj village in Mathura 
district of Uttar Pradesh has been 
using the broadcast method of seed 
sowing. In 2018, excess rainfall at the 
time of sowing washed away all his 
traditional Bajra variety. To mitigate 
this loss, he immediately re-sowed a 
short duration Bajra variety using the 
line sowing method. Besides, to 
improve the quality of his degraded 
soil, he partially replaced NO2 
emitting urea fertilizer with organic 
fertilizers (prepared by his family 
members using locally available 
natural resources). As a result of 
these changes, he was not only able 
to prevent crop loss but also saw 
40% higher yields despite heavy rains 
in the region. 
. 
 
Project beneficiaries 
More than 140 farmers from 
Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh 
were introduced to lodging resistant 
crop variety of Bajra.  
  
A total of 53.4 hectare of land was 
covered as part of the intervention in 
two kharif seasons (2017& 2018) in 
Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. 
 
Acknowledgment and Disclaimer: 
This work was implemented as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), which is carried out with support from CGIAR Fund 
Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. For details please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors. The views expressed in this document cannot be taken to reflect the official 
opinions of these organisations. 
Outcomes 
• Bajra yields increased by 66% on an 
average across two seasons in the 
demo plots, giving an average 
cumulative incremental income of 
INR 43,427.    
• Nutrient use efficiency improved by 
an average of 182% in demo plots in 
project locations. 
• Improved practices also enabled a 
reduction in emission intensity by an 
average of 41% in two seasons in the 
demo plots. 
 
 
 
 
Scaling framework 
Learn more: 
https://ccafs.cgiar.org/scaling-out-climate-smart-village-program-vulnerable-areas-
indo-gangetic-plains-india#.XobzOYgzbIU 
 
Contact: 
Regional Program Leader:  Pramod Aggarwal; p.k.aggarwal@cgiar.org 
Project Manager: Nitya Chanana; n.chanana@cgiar.org 
Communications Specialist: Sakshi Saini; sa.saini@cgiar.org 
www.ccafs.cgiar.org/regions/south-asia 
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