In news– Recently, the Prime Minister unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp to kickstart the 50th anniversary celebrations of the agri research institution.
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.
The semi-arid tropics (SAT) region-
- It is characterized by highly variable, low-to-medium rainfall and poor soils, further characterised by lack of irrigation.
- In general, the historical average annual rainfall in the SAT is below 700 mm. In agricultural policy terms, this region is considered to be a less favored area.
Source: Times of India
