Dryland Congress 2026 Concludes with Delhi Declaration on Drylands and Renewed Commitment to South–South Cooperation
New Delhi, India — 12 September 2026: The three-day Dryland Congress 2026 concluded today in New Delhi with a strong call for greater South–South and triangular cooperation to accelerate solutions for dryland agriculture. The final day coincided with the United Nations Day for South–South Cooperation and culminated in the adoption of the Delhi Declaration on Drylands (3D), setting out a shared agenda for transforming dryland agriculture through collaboration, knowledge exchange and innovation across the Global South.
The day opened with a Commemoration Ceremony for the UN Day for South–South Cooperation, featuring messages from the UN Secretary-General, the FAO Director-General and UNOSSC Director Ms Dima Al-Khatib. Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT, shared the vision of the International Solidarity for South-South Cooperation in Agriculture (ISSCA) and highlighted the importance of strengthening partnerships across the Global South. Representatives of ICRISAT, ICAR, CGIAR, RIS, NABARD and the CGIAR Capacity Sharing Accelerator reaffirmed their commitment to advancing South–South cooperation for greater impact.
This was followed by the session “Knowledge Without Borders: Advancing South–South and Triangular Cooperation,” convened with CGIAR. Two panel discussions explored what makes South–South and triangular cooperation effective and how successful approaches can be taken to scale. Speakers from national agricultural research systems in Ethiopia, Senegal, Brazil, China and India joined representatives from CGIAR, FARA and APAARI to share experiences and perspectives.
The day's Visionary Talks brought further reflections on the future of dryland agriculture. Dr Panjab Singh spoke on “Drylands – Beyond Knowledge to Impact,” while Dr William D. Dar addressed “Resilience Revolution Is a Must in Agriculture: Science, Policy and Practice.” Dr Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director, CGIAR, joined virtually to share CGIAR's vision for the future of dryland agriculture.
Recognizing Agricultural Innovation through the ISSCA Global Awards
The Congress also witnessed the presentation of the ISSCA Global Awards 2026, an annual flagship initiative recognizing proven agricultural innovations from institutions across the Global South with strong potential for scale and cross-country adaptation. The inaugural edition received 170 nominations from 34 countries across Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Awards were presented across six categories:
The ISSCA Global Award for Transformative Excellence (Mega Award) was presented to ICARDA, Lebanon for TAAT Wheat Compact Technologies: Heat-Tolerant Wheat Varieties; CIMMYT, Mexico for e-Agrology 360; and Odisha Livelihoods Mission, Government of Odisha, India for Women-Led Sustainable Farming for Nutrition and Rural Resilience.
The Crop Improvement & Production Technologies awards went to Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bangladesh for BARI Chinabadam-9; University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India for GPBD 4; and Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), Myanmar for climate-smart, early-maturing chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut varieties.
The Natural Resource Management & Climate Resilience awards recognized the Karnataka State Department of Agriculture for Krishi Bhagya; NECTAR, India for integrated banana pseudo-stem processing; Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar for rejuvenating Aahar–Pyne landscapes; and Sustainable Farming Solutions, Malawi for digital land-restoration stewardship.
The Agribusiness & Market Systems awards recognized BIID Foundation, Bangladesh for e-Krishok; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for TNAU-FPO Linkage Programme; and Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute for its Parabolic-Shaped Solar Dryer.
The Digital Agriculture awards went to the Department of Horticulture, Government of Andhra Pradesh for the APMIP Digital Ecosystem and the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat for Krushi Pragati.
The Livestock Improvement & Production Technologies awards recognized WorldFish, Bangladesh for its improved carp seed system and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya for the Participatory Indigenous Chicken Breed Improvement Program (PIC-BIP).
In addition, 16 Best Poster Awards were presented to students and research scholars, recognizing promising research and emerging scientific talent in dryland agriculture.
Delhi Declaration on Drylands
A key outcome of the Congress was the formal adoption of the Delhi Declaration on Drylands (3D) during the closing plenary. The Declaration articulates a shared commitment to transforming dryland agriculture through South–South cooperation, recognizing that many of the solutions needed to address dryland challenges already exist within the Global South.
Adopted in New Delhi on 12 September 2026, coinciding with the United Nations Day for South–South Cooperation and the conclusion of the Dryland Congress 2026, the Declaration calls for strengthened collaboration, knowledge exchange, innovation, capacity sharing and partnerships to accelerate action for resilient and sustainable dryland agriculture.
The Delhi Declaration on Drylands was endorsed at the closing plenary by participating governments, institutions, partners and delegates of the Dryland Congress 2026.
Partnerships for the Future
The Valedictory session also highlighted new partnerships and collaborations emerging from the Congress. New agreements and Memoranda of Understanding were announced with the Global Crop Diversity Trust,
ICRISAT also exchanged MoU with Avior Life Sciences, NIFTEM, Wipro Limited, and the Angul and Rayagada District Administrations of Odisha further strengthening the network of partnerships supporting innovation and action in dryland agriculture.
The Co-Chairs of the conference, Dr D.K. Yadava, DDG (Crop Science), ICAR, and Dr Stanford Blade, DDG (Research & Innovation), ICRISAT, presented a summary of the three-day deliberations and highlighted key outcomes and recommendations emerging from the conference.
Concluding three days of scientific exchange, policy dialogue and partnership-building under the theme “Transforming Dryland Agriculture with South–South Cooperation,” the Congress reaffirmed the need to move beyond knowledge generation towards collective action, scaling proven innovations and enabling stronger cooperation across the Global South.
Quotes from Concluding Remarks
Dr ML JAT, Secretary DARE, DG ICAR: Over the past three days, we have spoken extensively about drylands. Now, it is time to look ahead and bring foresight into the centre of our efforts. We need a strong institutional mechanism for this. The ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (ICAR-NIAP) should be mandated to lead foresight work on dryland agriculture.
We also need robust data and information systems for dryland agri-food systems, as well as common innovation grounds—living laboratories that connect research with practice and policy. This is how we can move from knowledge to action and build a more resilient future for drylands.”
Dr Himanshu Pathak, DG, ICRISAT
The future of global food security is in the drylands. The deliberations over the past three days are only the first part of our job—the second part begins tonight.
We must now distil these deliberations and prioritise them into short- and long-term actions. We need to move from ideas to concepts, from concepts to concrete actions and implementation, bringing together expertise, knowledge and camaraderie to turn our collective thinking into action.
Parkavi Kumar
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