Richard Verma lays emphasis on Indo-US commitment to break vicious cycle of poverty, hunger

U.S. Ambassador to India Richard R. Verma, who today inaugurated the third U.S.-India triangular training on "Emerging Trends in Fruits and Vegetable Marketing" at the CCS National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) here, emphasized the commitment of both nations to work together to break the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.

"The training at NIAM will train participants on areas related to global trends in fruits and vegetable marketing, understanding food safety and quality requirements, and how to use technology as an enabling force. Collectively, these strategies have the potential to create an environment conducive to investment and entrepreneurial development," he said.

The training is part of a $4 million collaborative partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Ministry of Agriculture titled "Feed the Future India Triangular Training Program."

Twenty-eight participants including policy makers and farmers from nine countries - Afghanistan, Botswana, Cambodia, Mongolia, Kenya, Malawi, Liberia, Ghana, and Mozambique - have arrived at NIAM to take part in the training, scheduled from November 16-30, 2016.

The objective of the training is to provide participants with an understanding of new trends, approaches and procedures in marketing of fruits and vegetables so that the producers and marketers in Africa and Asia can participate in global markets and emerging opportunities to enhance their incomes.

The "Feed the Future India Triangular Training Program" builds upon five decades of U.S.-India collaboration to utilize science and technology to develop innovative solutions to help farmers. The program is led by India's National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) in Hyderabad, which is partnering with an array of Indian institutions to deliver sector-specific trainings. MANAGE will train agricultural professionals from 17 countries in Africa and Asia on specialized farming practices such as agricultural marketing, dairy management, food processing and ways to prevent post-harvest losses.

The first phase of the program trained more than 200 agricultural professionals from Kenya, Liberia and Malawi, who are now implementing new farming techniques to increase farm productivity and income. Following the success of the previous program, the Government of India and the United States are expanding the program with today's launch to reach hundreds of agricultural professionals and in turn thousands of smallholder farmers.