Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have decided to work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes for grain legumes and dryland cereals.
ICAR and ICRISAT, recently signed an agreement in this in New Delhi, in which climate smart crops, smart food and digitalisation of breeding database were identified as some of the core areas of research.
The collaboration will benefits Indian farmers and they are committed to achieve real impact through the partnership with continuous monitoring by both sides.
Other areas of focus over the next three years include – integrating systems modelling tools for upscaling climate resilient agriculture, developing genetic and genomic resources of finger millet and enhancing genetic gains for priority traits.
The pact will facilitate research on pigeonpea and chickpea for insect resistance.
Dryland cereals and grain legumes are branded as smart foods – good for consumers, farmers and the planet as they diversify farming systems and help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change.
