CABI and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have signed a five-year joint work plan to enhance collaboration in various areas of scientific and technical research for greater food security.
Dr Vinod Pandit, CABI’s Regional Director, South Asia, and Dr Bikash Mandal, Assistant Director General (International Relations), ICAR, sealed the agreement which outlines key research and collaborative priorities regarding transboundary pests, digital agriculture, data policy and data protection.
Dr Pandit said CABI is committed to supporting regional initiatives and strengthening regional cooperation – leveraging its global presence – and that its involvement would extend beyond conventional research to include applied research.
Importance of plant protection and biosafety
Dr Poonam Jasrotia, Assistant Director General (Plant Protection and Biosafety), meanwhile, emphasized the importance of plant protection and biosafety for the region and suggested exploring joint initiatives in the area, especially on pest risk assessment.
This initiative builds upon the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) originally signed in 1988 and later expanded into a broader framework in 2017 to accommodate the growing scope of work between the two organizations.
Dr Pandit said, “Recognizing the diverse priorities of its member countries, CABI is committed to working with global partners to address specific agricultural challenges.
“India, as a key member of CABI, will benefit from CABI’s expertise in supporting the government’s expanded efforts to provide timely data and knowledge to farmers and build the capacity of the country’s scientists.”
Work plan developed through mutual consultation
In accordance with Article III of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on Scientific and Technical Cooperation, signed on September 22, 2017, CABI and ICAR have jointly developed this work plan through mutual consultation.
It includes several critical areas of collaboration such as classical biological control to strengthen sustainable pest management solutions, pesticide risk reduction to promote safer and more effective agricultural practices and staff exchanges to facilitate knowledge sharing and the exploration of joint research opportunities.
The work plan also includes expanding access to CABI’s scientific databases and publications through its digital tools and publishing resources such as those available within the PlantwisePlus Toolkit and CABI Digital Library.
CABI will leverage its digital tools to support an in-country systematic review of classical biological control introductions for arthropod pests, developing a policy brief with data-driven insights for policymakers in pest management.
Dr Pandit added, “This partnership reaffirms the commitment of CABI and ICAR to leverage global knowledge, advance agricultural research, foster innovation, and support ICAR scientists and farmers in the country with cutting-edge scientific knowledge and resources.”
As well as work to manage invasive crops pests CABI’s work in India has also included efforts to control invasive plant species including wild ginger and Himalayan balsam.
Other key officials who took part in the signing ceremony included key attendees from ICAR. These were Mr Rajesh Kumar, Director, Department of Agricultural Research (DARE) and Mr Ravi Prakash, Director, International Relations (IR).
The CABI team included Dr Manju Thakur, Crop Health Advisor, and Mr Arun Jadhav, Senior Data Architect (Data Policy and Practice).
Additional information
Main image: The signing of the five-year work plan at the Department of Agricultural Research & Education.
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