50th Anniversary Celebrations of ICRISAT
- Prime Minister visited the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus in Patancheru, Hyderabad and kickstarted the 50th Anniversary celebrations of ICRISAT.
- PM also inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility.
- These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
About ICRISAT
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is an international organization which conducts agricultural research for rural development.
- It is headquartered in Patancheru (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) with several regional centers (Bamako (Mali), Nairobi (Kenya) and research stations (Niamey (Niger), Kano (Nigeria), Lilongwe (Malawi), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe).
- It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organisations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller foundations. Its charter was signed by the FAO and the UNDP.
- The organisation intends to help farmers by providing improved crop varieties and hybrids while also aiding smallholder farmers in the drylands to fight climate change.
Working of ICRISAT
- ICRISAT’s research-for-development agenda is achieved through the following:
- CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems
- CGIAR Research Program on Policies Institutions and Markets
- CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes
- CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Cereals.
- These are implemented in ways that benefit smallholder farmers, enabling them and their families to go beyond subsistence farming to produce surpluses that can be stored and sold to markets, paving the way for prosperity in the drylands.
- Surplus produce, which is stored as food, serves as a buffer in times of hunger.
About CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research)
- It is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.
- CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources.
- Its research is carried out at 15 centers (CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers) that collaborate with partners from national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations, and the private sector.