This plan will focus on technologies especially suited to harsh conditions of the drylands.
A five-year plan for Indian agricultural research has been finalised with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between one of the largest national agricultural research, education and extension systems in the world, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
This plan will focus on technologies especially suited to harsh conditions of the drylands, covering grain legumes and dryland cereals – groundnut, chickpea, pigeonpea, finger and pearl millet and sorghum.
The MoA representing action plans for 2019 to 2023 was signed by Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General (DG) ICAR, and Dr. Peter Carberry, Director General (DG) of ICRISAT.
The DGs of both organizations highlighted the longstanding partnerships between ICRISAT and ICAR and emphasized convergence on mutually enriching collaborations to evolve, lead and innovate in agricultural technologies.