ICAR and CIAT Signed Work Plan

11^th September 2017, New Delhi

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) have signed a Work Plan for the period 2017-2020 for scientific and technical cooperation in research and training in tropical commodities, here today. Dr. T. Mohapatra Secretary, DARE & DG, ICAR signed the Work Plan on behalf of ICAR and Dr. Ruben G. Echeverria, DG, CIAT signed it on behalf of CIAT.

Both the sides inter-alia agreed to coordinate in the areas of cooperation, as listed below subject to terms and conditions stipulated in the MoA and the Work Plan:

1. Adding value to cassava: germplasm improvement and crop breeding, managing pest and disease risks, quality seed production, diversified uses and markets, socio-economic assessment;
2. Forages and livestock systems: germplasm improvement and crop breeding, enhancing integrated livestock-crop systems, managing environmental impact of livestock sector and pasture lands;
3. Agricultural landscapes and soil ecology: restoring degraded agricultural landscapes, soil health, assessment of land use change, cropping systems diversification for sustainable soil management;
4. Climate change and ecosystem services: Big Data analytics of climate-smart agriculture, analysis and investment prioritization of adaptation and mitigation actions, climate-risk vulnerability analysis, decision-support tools and climate information services; and
5. Food systems and value chains: nutrition-sensitive value chains, developing and promoting nutrient-dense crops and varieties, agri-food based strategies for nutrition and health improvement, resilient and efficient agri-food systems, developing climate-smart value chains