Mungbean for more productive crop rotations in Tajikistan

The Collaborative Research Project on Sustainable Soil Management to Enhance Agricultural Productivity in Central Asia (Phase II) started in 2018. It is carried out by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) together with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Eurasian Center for Food Security, funded by the Russian Government. The objective is to introduce mungbean cultivation as a new practice to smallholder farmers in the Sughd region of Tajikistan to enhance soil fertility in current cotton-wheat-cotton or wheat-fallow crop rotations, as well as to generate additional income. Core component is the introduction of short-duration, heat- and drought-tolerant mungbean; 600 kg of elite seeds were provided by ICARDA. Farmers saved seed for their own use from their harvest and either shared or sold part of it to other farmers for sowing in 2019. This farmer-to-farmer seed exchange and sale is expected to ensure broader impact in following years. Further project activities include building a network of on-farm demonstration sites and capacity development for farmers and seed-producers. The key to including an additional crop in the crop rotation lies in the smallholders’ access to improved early-maturing wheat and mungbean varieties.