India Hosts New ICRISAT Centre for Global South Agriculture.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a leading global agricultural research agency, has announced the establishment of a new Centre of Excellence in India. This initiative, undertaken in partnership with the think-tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), is specifically designed to bolster agricultural cooperation among nations in the Global South.

In a further move to foster development partnerships, ICRISAT on Tuesday also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DAKSHIN, a government initiative dedicated to promoting capacity building and innovation sharing across the Global South.

Named the ICRISAT Centre for Excellence for South-South Cooperation (ISSCA), the new facility will serve as a crucial platform to facilitate partnerships between countries grappling with similar agricultural and climate challenges. A key objective of ISSCA will be to provide countries across Asia and Africa with streamlined access to information on non-patented agricultural technologies.

Briefing the media following the MoU signing event, ICRISAT's Director General, Himanshu Pathak, underscored the inherent strengths and shared objectives in agriculture that unite countries within the Global South. "These countries have got a special strength and special objective in agriculture for South-South cooperation," Pathak stated, emphasizing the potential for collective growth and innovation.

The launch of ISSCA is expected to significantly contribute to sustainable agricultural development, food security, and climate resilience across the Global South by enabling knowledge exchange and technology transfer without proprietary barriers.