Water and Land Resource Centre, Ethiopia, and ICRISAT Sign MoU to Deepen Collaboration on Landscape Restoration
A delegation from WLRC, led by Director General Dr Gete Zeleke Eshetu, visited ICRISAT’s project sites and research facilities from 24–28 August 2026 and signed an MoU to advance the adoption and scaling of landscape restoration approaches.
The visit, spanning New Delhi, Jhansi and Hyderabad, provided an opportunity for ICRISAT to showcase its experience in integrated landscape management and demonstrate how research, data, water and land management, agriculture, livelihoods and markets can be brought together to build resilient and sustainable dryland systems. It also opened discussions on practical areas for deeper collaboration between ICRISAT and WLRC.
The exchange began in New Delhi with a welcome and preparatory meeting before the delegation travelled to Jhansi in central India, where ICRISAT’s landscape-based research and development approaches were demonstrated on the ground.
Ethiopian Delegation Visit Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India
The delegation visited an ICRISAT watershed project site in Jhansi, Central India, showcasing how ICRISAT’s integrated approach is translated into landscape-level transformation.
ICRISAT experts demonstrated the application of Land Resource Inventory (LRI) to assess the characteristics, potential and constraints of landscapes and guide context-specific interventions. This approach brings together land, water, agriculture, livelihoods and markets as interconnected components of a broader development system.
The field visit also highlighted an important dimension of ICRISAT’s landscape approach: community ownership.
Communities and local partners actively engaged with the WLRC delegation, sharing their experiences and perspectives.
Leading the delegation and showcasing the learning sites, Dr. Ramesh Singh, Global Research Program Director – Resilient Farming Systems, ICRISAT, emphasized the importance of community ownership in translating research into impact:
“Evidence can guide us towards the right solutions, but lasting impact comes when people themselves own those solutions, adapt them to their local realities and become partners in driving change.”
“In Jhansi, ICRISAT works alongside communities and local government institutions to translate research evidence into locally owned action and sustainable transformation of the drylands,” he added.
Visit to ICRISAT Research Facilities
The knowledge exchange continued through visit to ICRISAT headquarters in Patancheru, Hyderabad, India, where the team toured the training facilities and research fields, offering the WLRC delegation a broader view of ICRISAT’s research and development portfolio.
For ICRISAT, the exchange also offered an opportunity to learn from Ethiopia’s experience in water and land resource management and to identify areas where the two institutions can complement their respective strengths.
The discussions highlighted common priorities around integrated landscape management, sustainable land and water resources, climate resilience, knowledge exchange and capacity development.
Signing of MoU between WLRC and ICRISAT
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Building on this field-level learning and shared vision, ICRISAT and WLRC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 28 August 2026, with Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT, and Dr Gete Zeleke, Director General, WLRC, signing on behalf of the two institutions. The MoU will strengthen collaboration on integrated landscape management, watershed restoration and data-driven decision support.
Commenting on this partnership, Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT stated:
“This MoU is a strong example of South–South cooperation, where learning from landscape interventions such as those in Jhansi can inform and strengthen efforts in Ethiopia and beyond."
"We are encouraged by this progress and the opportunity for our research teams to learn from each other and work together to benefit smallholder farmers in dryland regions. By connecting knowledge, experience and innovation across borders, we can accelerate the transformation towards prosperous, food-secure and resilient drylands,” noted Dr Pathak
The proposed partnership reflects a shared commitment to move beyond knowledge exchange towards joint action, leveraging the complementary expertise and experience of ICRISAT and WLRC in landscape restoration and management, sustainable land and water management, knowledge exchange, technical training and capacity development.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to learn from ICRISAT's experience and, particularly, for the field visit to Jhansi. Seeing the interventions and engaging with the communities and teams working there helped us appreciate the importance of combining scientific evidence, local knowledge and community ownership."
"These learnings provide a strong foundation for our partnership and will help us work together to adapt and advance practical solutions for resilient landscapes in Ethiopia,” noted Dr Gete Zeleke, Director General, WLRC
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Parkavi Kumar