FACT SHEET ON INDIA – US KNOWLEDGE INITIATIVE ON AGRICULTURE EDUCATION, RESEARCH, SERVICES AND COMMERCIAL LINKAGES  

New Delhi
March 2, 2006

Pursuant to the understanding on cooperation in Agriculture reflected in the Joint Statement of US President George Bush and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh on July 18, 2005 during the visit of Dr. Man Mohan Singh to the USA, the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to work together for a new India – US Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture Education, Research, Services and Commercial Linkages, identified the objectives of this Initiative and created the Board of the Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture (AKI) who have, after identifying areas of priority focus, agreed on Work Plan which includes:

(i) Under Education, learning resources, curriculum development and training, building of human and institutional capacity with the objective of preparing graduates to harness science and technology for the pursuit of attaining and sustaining the ‘Evergreen Revolution’. It has been agreed that a critical mass of faculty and scientists in subject domains and need-based niche/strategic/emerging areas will be developed through post-doctoral programs, faculty exchange, trainings and workshops. These select faculty and scientists, in turn, would serve as catalysts for further change and improvement. 

Mechanisms include establishing a standing Indo-US Joint Working Group, sharing the US experience in curriculum development to benefit the ongoing curriculum revision exercise in India, identifying the number of slots for training and faculty exchange during 2006 with consideration of additional slots in the coming years and organizing a range of collaborative activities such as conferences, exchange of visits and workshops. With regard to building institutional capacity, the focus will be on extension and outreach activities, library resources, networking and leadership development through sharing of experiences to take the knowledge initiative forward. 

Modalities for implementation of the training and other activities were also finalized. 

(ii) Under Food-processing and Marketing, the Work Plan targets training, capacity building and joint research, including quality assurance and food safety, reduction of post harvest losses, market information systems, value addition, strengthening grades and standards, facilitation of agro-business investment, advanced processing technologies, byproduct utilization and bio-fuels from bio-mass. 

(iii) Under Biotechnology, a strategic alliance has been envisaged for training and research on development of transgenic crops with resistance to economically important viruses, tolerance to drought, heat and salinity and micro-nutrient utilization efficiency; molecular breeding and genomics in crops and animals, molecular approaches in plants and animal health protection have been agreed.

(iv) Under Water Management, research and training proposals on sustainable use of water resources, water quality management and remediation, use of modern tools in water management, integrated nutrient management and precision agriculture have been decided. 

2. Funding: The proposed Work Plan, which includes scholarships, exchange programmes, training and collaboration of scientists, will be supported by a financial commitment of the Governments of India and USA over a period of three years. About 40 premier agriculture research universities, many of whom already have US linkages, have been identified for the programmes-including the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Veterinary Research Institute, Punjab Agricultural University, National Dairy Research Institute, G.B.Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and the Haryana Agriculture University. The US partners will be identified on a competitive basis by the US Department of Agriculture with the concurrence of GOI. 

3. The initiative aims at attaining excellence in agricultural education, to enhance employability of the graduates, developing human resources to fulfill commitments towards the Millennium Development Goals, and improving quality of life through sustainable rural development including innovative agricultural extension, agri-business programmes and wider participation of women. The AKI is expected to significantly re-invigorate the US-Indian partnership in agriculture and offer a win-win situation for both the countries and will trigger benefits in perpetuity. 

4. A Framework Equivalency Plan has been signed between India and the USA that outlines the fundamental requirements to allow bilateral trade of commodities treated by irradiation as phyto-sanitary measure. With this, the regulatory process for export of irradiated mangoes from India to the USA may be initiated and hopefully completed in about a year. 

5. The assessment system used by APEDA for accreditation of agencies for certification of organic products has been recognized by US Department of Agriculture Marketing Services enabling export of organic agricultural products from India with effect from February 16, 2006