The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a Hyderabad based international research institute with a focus on tropical dryland agrifood system innovation, has joined the One CGIAR integrated partnership.
The One CGIAR partnership involves the CGIAR System Organisation and 12 One CGIAR research centres. The partnership will help build a unified approach to transforming food, land, and water systems to address the challenges posed by climate crisis.
The CGIAR (Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres) is a publicly-funded network of agrifood systems research centres, works for transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. It has more than 8,000 employees, working in over 80 countries.
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The ICRISAT signed the CGIAR Integration Framework Agreement (IFA), which was developed by the research centre boards and CGIAR leadership to work towards a One CGIAR approach.
“The challenges the world faces today are so complex and interconnected that we can best deliver a food-and nutrition secure future by working together,” Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, the CGIAR System Board Chair, said.
“The strategic partnership has the potential to drive profound transformation across the world’s arid regions, combining ICRISAT’s global leadership in dryland agrifood systems with One CGIAR’s reach and impact,” Professor Prabhu Pingali, Chair of the ICRISAT Governing Board, said.
An ICRISAT executive said the research institute will deploy its innovative solutions to address the intricate challenges inherent in the global food, land, and water systems and would look forward to working in close cooperation through the integrated partnership.
CGIAR members
The CGIAR consists of 15 international agricultural research institutes.
The list includes Africa Rice Center (formerly WARDA), Ivory Coast; Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Columbia; Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Indonesia; Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT), Mexico; International Potato Center (CIP), Peru; International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Syria; and ICRISAT, India.