Hyderabad: The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting dryland crops and climate-smart farming in ‘rurban’ clusters. This partnership is expected to have a significant impact on rural development, poverty alleviation, and food security at the village level in Asia and Africa.
The MoU, signed on March 13, 2023, aims to strengthen evidence-based research and capacity building on critical development issues, including climate change adaptation, rural entrepreneurship development, value chain development, sharing international best practices, scaling-up of identified agricultural and rural technologies, and livelihood development.
Under the agreement, the two institutions will focus on different collaborative activities by sharing each other’s strengths, including developing ‘rurban’ clusters for ICRISAT mandate crops through value chain development, encouraging rural incubation and entrepreneurship development by integrating with National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) activities, and enhancing the value of new generation watersheds through climate proofing of Gram Panchayats in India.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr G Narendra Kumar IAS, Director General, NIRDPR, emphasized that the collaboration between the two institutions is essential in the background of international opportunities and enabling exports of agri-products from dryland areas. Dr Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, expressed her desire for the two institutions to work together for Africa, as they have several commonalities in terms of their vision, mission, and focus areas.
The MoU signing ceremony was attended by prominent members from both institutions, including Prof. RS Gavali, Dr M Srikanth, Dr K Krishna Reddy, and Dr Kathiresan from NIRDPR, and Dr Sean Mayes, Dr Victor Afari-Sefa, Dr M L Jat, and Dr Hari Kishan Sudini from ICRISAT.
