The project, which is sponsored by Systemwide Livestock Programme (SLP) will focus on the crop-livestock interactions in the rice-wheat-livestock systems of the IGP to quantify the trade offs faced by farmers who have adopted or considering to adopt conservation agriculture practices. An important part of the research will be to assess the livelihood impacts of Resource Conserving Technologies (RCTs)– including those beyond the farm gate like institutional change and the social implications for the large number of landless livestock keepers in the IGP. The research will specifically assess: (i) the trade-offs affecting crop and livestock production and natural resource management (NRM); (ii) the impacts of the trade-offs on the livelihoods of poor households; and (iii) their implications for the design of research and extension programmes in support of improved livelihoods and NRM in the IGP. Given the diversity of IGP, the project will be implemented in different contrasting sites of India and Bangladesh and the results will be shared with other countries in the region. The project comprises six modular research- stock taking, participatory rural appraisal, livelihood/ household survey, enterprise survey, market survey and feed back, implemented at different levels to understand the system perspectives including system drivers and modifiers. Various indicators will be developed to understand the crop-livestock systems and quantify the trade offs that farmers face in terms of crop residue management, enhancing the productivity of natural resources, risk management etc. in applying conservation agriculture. This will help to critically assess the implications of adoption of conservation agriculture practices on different stake holders (resource poor farmers, R&D community and policy makers) and develop policy, institutional and technical recommendations.