ICAR Inks MoUs with GIAN & Arpan Seva Sansthan to Promote Grassroots Innovation, Outstanding Traditional Knowledge and Sustainable Agriculture

15 September 2026, New Delhi

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) signed two Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) with the Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) and Arpan Seva Sansthan, Udaipur, Rajasthan, to promote grassroots innovation, traditional knowledge, technology dissemination and sustainable agriculture.

The MoU between ICAR and GIAN was signed in the presence of Dr M L Jat, Secretary DARE & Director General, ICAR; Dr Rajbir Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), ICAR; Prof. Anil K. Gupta (Former Professor, IIM Ahmedabad; Vice Chairman, GIAN; Founder, NIF); Dr Ranjay K. Singh, ADG (Extension), ICAR; Dr R. R. Burman, Assistant Director General (Extension), ICAR; and Dr Anil Kumar, ADG (Tech Coordination), ICAR.

The five-year collaboration between ICAR and GIAN will provide a structured framework for identification, documentation, validation and mainstreaming of grassroots innovations and traditional ecological knowledge of farmers, farm women, rural youth, artisans and other knowledge holders through the ICAR-KVK network.

Key activities will include a national initiative on farmers’ innovations for climate resilience; RAWE-based Mini-Shodh/Prayog Yatras; development of Sentinel Villages and Village Knowledge Registers; integration of co-created knowledge into agricultural education; conservation of agrobiodiversity and development of inclusive value chains.

The partnership will also explore a new Ph.D. programme on “Meeting the Unmet and Unfelt Needs: Inclusive Development through Innovations for and from Grassroots” and establishment of a Global Academy on Grassroots Innovations and Functional Traditional Knowledge.

The second MoU, signed between ICAR and Arpan Seva Sansthan, Udaipur, will focus on dissemination of proven agricultural technologies, improved crop varieties and extension support for enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability.

The collaboration will promote capacity-building and skill development, particularly in climate-resilient agriculture, natural resource management, watershed development, integrated farming systems and allied sectors. It will also facilitate farmer–scientist interfaces, technology demonstrations and documentation and dissemination of best practices and success stories, thereby improving last-mile delivery of agricultural technologies.

Both collaborations will leverage ICAR’s extensive research and extension network and affiliated KVKs to translate innovations, traditional knowledge and proven technologies into locally relevant solutions. Together, the initiatives will contribute to more participatory, inclusive, sustainable and resilient agricultural development.

(Source: Agricultural Extension Division, ICAR)