Andhra inks accord with Iowa for cooperation in agriculture

Andhra Pradesh has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the US state of Iowa to promote research and development in the fields of science, agriculture and life sciences.

The agreement between the Andhra Pradesh government and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship was signed on Sunday in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and the delegation accompanying him in Des Moines, capital of Iowa.

On the fourth day of his ongoing tour to the US, the Chief Minister visited the World Food Prize Foundation, which has a large painting of Mahatma Gandhi and George Washington Carver, who was a prominent agricultural scientist from Iowa University.

Signalling the importance the Chief Minister attaches to the agricultural sector in the state, the delegation will visit some farms in Iowa to study the best practices followed there, said a statement from the CM's office here on Monday.

Referring to the signing of the MoC, Naidu said it would help in increasing the seed production and research, leading to increase in crop output.

He informed the gathering of the farm producers' organisations and water users association established in Andhra Pradesh. He said the state is adopting a number of best practices from seeds to cultivation practices to storage and post-production processes.

Naidu said that he was delighted to have this MoC in place and complimented the work being done by the World Food Prize Foundation.

Bill Northey, Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa, said Iowa and Andhra Pradesh share a lot of similarities of which agriculture is one.

"Together we make a commitment today to collaborate to make farmers' lives better, agricultural to fare better and to wipe out hunger from the world," said Bill Northey.

Kenneth M. Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation; Bill Northey, Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa; Craig Hill, director of World Food Prize Foundation; Neeta Bushan, Consul General of India in Chicago and the delegation from Andhra Pradesh were present on the occasion.

--IANS

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