ICRISAT Director General Promotes Collaboration for Agricultural Research Excellence

Hyderabad, India: Dr Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT addressed the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) on the 13th of May 2022 to share ways in which international and national agricultural institutes could collaborate to deliver better food security and nutrition outcomes to support national development agendas and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The event gathered research leaders from various Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) centers across the country including Dr V Venkatasubramanian, Director, Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Bengaluru; Dr A.K. Singh, Director, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi; and Dr Janki Sharan Mishra, Director, ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur.

Dr Hughes reflected on ICRISAT's five decades of experience in supporting dryland agrifood systems in Africa and Asia supported by its global strategic partnerships, networks and evolving frameworks for institutional cooperation.

"Collaboration between national and international agricultural institutes coalesces our relative strengths and knowledge toward achieving our missions, and provides a unique competitive advantage in which to access global funding and other resources required to support research to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and environmental degradation in the drylands," said Dr. Hughes.

"Partnerships built on more flexible and more agile frameworks for cooperation are critical to overcome the dynamic challenges of building resilient and sustainable food systems.

International centers including ICRISAT facilitate intra-and inter-country knowledge sharing and learning and will continue to leverage strengths and opportunities around programs and projects that align with priorities of host governments, including the Government of India, and with our global research agenda," said Dr. Hughes.