ICRISAT and ICAR-National Institute of Plant Biotechnology ink MoU to advance plant biotech research

The ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology and ICRISAT recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance their research efforts in the area of agriculture development with a focus on molecular biology, genetic engineering and capacity building. Dr Rajeev K Varshney, Research Program Director, Accelerated Crop Improvement, ICRISAT, and Dr Ajit Kumar Shasany, Director, ICAR-NIPB, shared the signed MoU during the Research Advisory Committee Meeting of ICAR-NIPB held on 18 October 2021 in New Delhi.

Dr Rajeev K Varshney, ICRISAT, and Dr Ajit Kumar Shasany, ICAR-NIPB, during MoU exchange ceremony. Also seen are Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Director Country Relations, ICRISAT, and other officials of NIPB and Chairman and members of Research Advisory Committee of NIPB. Photo: ICAR-NIPB

Dr Shasany, while appreciating ICRISAT’s advanced research activities, particularly on genomics-assisted breeding and other areas, said, “This partnership will empower and enable both the institutes to explore new opportunities and conduct advanced research in the interest of smallholder farmers across the country and also help in building the capacities of our next-generation scientists from the national system.”

Dr Varshney said, “We work very closely with several national partners in India and this new collaboration will further our ongoing efforts and also provide new avenues for faster deployment and delivery of advanced biotech tools and approaches to accelerate crop improvement programs”.

“ICRISAT and NIPB have been conducting impressive agricultural research for many decades. I am hopeful of this very positive collaboration and partnerships between these premier institutes to develop research products that will significantly help farmers, especially smallholders, to increase their crop yields and incomes,” said Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Director Country Relations, ICRISAT.

Dr Arvind Kumar, Deputy Director General-Research, ICRISAT, congratulated both the institutes and said that this MoU would benefit and complement both the institutes to leverage their capabilities towards enhancing the genetic gains in smallholder farmers’ fields and towards improving the agricultural landscape by jointly working on the common interest of profitable agriculture.