ICRISAT Launches Bold 2025–2030 Strategy to Shape the Future of Agriculture

A call to build strategic partnerships for a food-secure and sustainable future for over 2 billion people living in the drylands.

September 9, 2025

Marking a critical turning point in addressing the escalating crises of climate change, land degradation, and rural poverty threatening semi-arid regions worldwide, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), launched its new Strategic Plan 2025–2030: Transforming Dryland Agriculture on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) at Dakar, Senegal on 3 September 2025.

Launch of ICRISAT Strategy 2025-2030:

The event featured high-level remarks by Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT and Prof. Gassama Yaya, Governing Board member, ICRISAT along with other dignitaries.

“Drylands stand at the frontline of a multiplicity of global shocks that include climate change, food insecurity, and economic instability. With our new strategy, ICRISAT is reaffirming its role as a trusted partner in advancing science, shaping policies, and ensuring inclusive growth,” said Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT

With only 5 years left to achieve the SDGs 2030, the new strategy lays out an integrated roadmap for accelerating climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive, and market-driven agriculture transformation. It aligns with the CGIAR 2030 Research & Innovation Strategy, addressing urgent global needs with inclusive impact.

The ICRISAT Strategic Plan 2025–2030 is anchored in three transformative pillars:

Crops of the Future to deliver climate-smart varieties;
Resilient Agroecosystems to advance regenerative farming; and
Systemic Change to transform agri-food systems through Smart Food, inclusive agribusiness, and innovation.

Dr Boubacar DRAME, Technical Advisor to the Government of Senegal, and Ms Assumpta Tibamwenda, Technical Advisor to the Government of Uganda, have acknowledged the need to accelerate innovation and forge new partnerships between the government and research institutions for the benefit of farmers.

Highlighting ICRISAT’s deep commitment to Africa’s agricultural transformation, Prof Gassama Yaye, Governing Board Member of ICRISAT, emphasized the plan’s aim to make Africa’s drylands a foundation for sustainable food security and economic growth.

Advancing Agri-Food Transformation in Vulnerable Drylands

Dr Stanford Blade, Deputy Director General – Research & Innovation at ICRISAT, showcased the Institute’s award-winning work in Africa that led to the Africa Food Prize 2021. He emphasized how the new strategy aligns with Africa’s priorities and highlighted initiatives such as the ICRISAT Center of Excellence for South-South Cooperation in Agriculture (ISSCA) platform, which fosters knowledge exchange across the Global South to accelerate large-scale food system transformation.

The strategy advances science, policy, and inclusive partnerships and supports tangible benefits: resilient food systems, thriving rural economies, empowered women and youth, and restored ecosystems. With over 2 billion lives in the balance, ICRISAT calls for strategic partnerships, turning today’s challenges into opportunities for a more food-secure, equitable, and sustainable world.

Download the ICRISAT Strategic Plan 2025 - 2030

Partnerships for Progress

ICRISAT also signed an MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Equipment, Government of Senegal. The agreement, signed by Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT, and His Excellency, Mabouba Diagne, Minister for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock of the Republic of Senegal (MASAE), reaffirms our shared commitment to strengthening food security in Senegal. The partnership will accelerate the release and adoption of high-performing, climate-resilient crop varieties.

Under this MoU, ICRISAT and MASAE will co-develop and pilot improved cereal and legume varieties tailored to local farming needs and ensure their dissemination through stronger seed systems.

With the new strategy driving advances in science, policy, and inclusive partnerships over the next five years, our goal is to accelerate the transformation toward resilient food systems, thriving rural economies, empowered women and youth, and restored ecosystems. With over two billion lives at stake, ICRISAT calls for strategic partnerships to turn today’s challenges into opportunities for a food-secure, equitable, and sustainable world.

This work aligns with SDG 1, 2 12 and 17.