Industry Meet 2026 Organised to Strengthen Research–Industry Collaboration

30 January 2026, New Delhi

ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute organized the Industry Meet 2026 today with the objective of strengthening partnerships between research institutions and industry, particularly in the crop and horticultural sectors, to accelerate agricultural innovation and technology commercialization.

In his address, the Chief Guest, Dr. R. S. Paroda, Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) and former Director General (ICAR), underscored the importance of innovation-driven, sustainable agricultural systems. He emphasized the need for environmental safeguarding alongside productivity enhancement, strengthening public–private partnerships, and resolving issues related to IPR, licensing, and legal frameworks to facilitate smoother collaborations. He also highlighted the importance of inclusive regional growth, scaling of technologies, and enabling policies to support start-ups and industry engagement.

Dr. M. L. Jat, Secretary (DARE) & Director General, ICAR, emphasized that ICAR is a human-driven, science-based organization, and that close collaboration with industry is essential for translating research into tangible impact. He complimented ICAR-IARI for successfully bringing industry and academia onto a common platform, noting that such initiatives are vital for building human capital for Viksit Bharat, not only within academia but for the nation as a whole. Dr. Jat highlighted the need for stronger partnerships to bridge gaps in human capital, accelerate upscaling of promising technologies, and acknowledged the growing willingness of industry to support agricultural research through CSR funding.

Dr. D. K. Yadava, Deputy Director General (Crop Science), ICAR, emphasized the need for trait-based breeding approaches and effective utilization of germplasm resources to address current and future agricultural challenges. He underscored that breeding consortia must be strengthened.

Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Chairman, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA), New Delhi, highlighted the critical industry requirements in research, education, and extension. He emphasized that actionable outcomes from such industry–academia interactions should benefit all stakeholders — from students and scientists to farmers, consumers, and industry partners.

Dr. Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-IARI, in his address, highlighted key industry requirements and emphasized the need for aligning institutional research priorities with market and societal demands. He outlined strategic approaches to address mega challenges in agriculture. He advocated for the development of industry-driven joint programmes to ensure effective translation of research into impact-oriented solutions. Dr Rao informed that this Industry Meet is the second in a planned series of thematic industry–academia interactions being initiated by the Institute. He informed that earlier ICAR–IARI organized the first Industry Meet with Plant Protection industries, which received encouraging response from stakeholders. Building on that experience, the present meet has been organized with crop improvement, seed and basic sciences industries. He further added that ICAR–IARI will continue organizing similar focused industry meets in future to promote innovation-led sustainable agriculture.

Mr. R. M. Prabhakar Rao, Representing Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd., highlighted the need to simplify and make MoU processes more practical and flexible to facilitate effective research–industry collaboration. During the interaction sessions, industry representatives shared their perspectives on MoU execution, compliance requirements, access to IPR, CSR funding, technology scaling, and commercialization pathways.

The Industry Meet provided a robust platform for dialogue, networking, and partnership building, reaffirming ICAR-IARI’s commitment to working closely with industry to deliver sustainable, scalable, and farmer-centric solutions for Indian agriculture.

The meet witnessed the presence of Joint Directors, Heads of Divisions, scientists of ICAR-IARI, representatives from industry, and other stakeholders.

(Source: ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi)