ICRISAT

Make PDF

About ICRISAT-

• ICRISAT, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics is an international organization which conducts agricultural research for rural development.
• It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organizations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller foundations. 

• Its charter was signed by the FAO and the UNDP.

• Its Headquarters: Patancheruvu, Hyderabad.

• Since its inception, host country India has granted a special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organization operating in the Indian territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges.
• ICRISAT adopts Integrated genetic and natural resources management as its overarching research strategy. 
• The aim is to combine tested methods of crop commodity research with well established practices in research in natural resources management.
• It conducts its research under four themes: Agro-ecosystems development, Harnessing plant biotechnology and bioinformatics, Crop improvement and management, and Institutions, Markets, policy and Impacts.
• It founded the Smart Food Initiative in 2013 with the Vision to create a world where food is ‘Smart’ – good for you, the planet and the farmer. 
• A key objective is to diversify staples across Africa and Asia, with the initial focus on millets and sorghum. 
• It performs crop improvement research, using conventional as well as methods derived from biotechnology, on the following crops: chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, pearl millet, sorghum, finger millet,teff, and small millets.
• The current Director General is Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes who took the post in April 2020. The current chair of the Board is Dr Paco Sereme.

Make PDF