ICRISAT launches agricultural cooperation centre for Global South

Research institute ICRISAT in partnership with think-tank RIS on Tuesday launched a new centre of excellence aimed at strengthening agricultural cooperation among Global South countries.

The ICRISAT Centre for Excellence for South-South Cooperation (ISSCA) will facilitate partnerships between countries facing similar agricultural and climate challenges.

The launch coincided with a memorandum of understanding between International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and DAKSHIN, a Government of India initiative for capacity-building partnerships in South-South cooperation.

''In agriculture, we have got a special strength and special objective for south-south cooperation,'' ICRISAT Director General Himanshu Pathak told reporters.

''There are many similarities among countries of the Global South in terms of climate, soil, culture and heritage related to agriculture.'' The centre will address common challenges across developing nations including low agricultural yields, poor farmer incomes and climate change impacts, Pathak said.

''The Global South is going to face stricter challenges from climate change and degradation of natural resources. We really have to come out with common solutions,'' he said.

The initiative has five founding partners: the Government of India, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Rice Research Institute and Gates Foundation.

ICRISAT has identified more than 100 technological solutions spanning crop improvement, natural resource management, horticulture, digital agriculture and mechanisation that will be made available through the platform.

''We are collecting all those solutions which are tested in some places and those will be opened for others to use,'' Pathak said, adding that solutions will be mapped for specific countries, locations and farm households.

Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) Director General Sachin Chaturvedi said the centre would ''democratise agricultural knowledge and translate practical experience into policy.'' ICRISAT, established in 1972, operates across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on agricultural research for semi-arid tropical regions.

The centre plans to expand its partnership base and funding to multiply activities, officials said.

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