July 18, 2011

IFPRI is currently conducting a project entitled "How to achieve food security in a world of growing scarcity: role of technology development strategies”. The goal is to assess the impact of a range of technologies on crop production and yields; production costs; soil and water quality; on-farm incomes; and the use of water, energy, and other resources.

As part of this project, we have put together a survey directed to experts in agricultural technology, agricultural ecology, crop management practices, crop breeding and agricultural economics to collect information about the potential of agricultural technologies (in the broader sense of the word, including agricultural practices) in the different regions of the world.

Among the respondents who complete the survey before July 31, two lucky winners will receive an iPad 2. Please do not forget to enter your contact information on the first page of the survey to participate in the draw for the iPads 2’s. Only completed questionnaires will be selected for the draw.

The survey focuses on 3 crops: wheat, maize and rice, and on the following technologies:

• Zero tillage
• Integrated soil fertility management (combinations of chemical fertilizers + residues + manure/compost)
• Irrigation technologies (furrow; drip and sprinkler)
• Water harvesting (channeling water from a macrocatchment, microcatchment systems, earth dams, chaukas and nadis structures, ridges, graded contours etc.)
• Genetically modified crops (heat/drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency)
• Conventional breeding (heat/drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency)
• Precision agriculture (GPS-assisted delivery of agricultural inputs)
• Laser land leveling (leveling a field within certain degrees of desired slope using a guided laser beam to improve water use efficiency)
• Organic agriculture (use of manufactured fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and GMOs excluded / strictly limited)

We would be extremely grateful if you could fill out this survey and/or share the survey link with knowledgeable colleagues.

Each respondent will receive a synthesis of the results, and your contribution will be acknowledged in any publication that may result from the use of these data, if you so wish.

The survey can be accessed at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VF98K3P

Website: http://www.ifpri.org

Published: July 19, 2011