Icrisat plans to set up Rice Biotech Park

The International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), in collaboration with the Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University, plans to establish a Rice Biotech Park.

The institute also plans to set up a food safety and allergenicity testing laboratory.

The institute has also successfully built a public-private partnership through the Agri-Science Park (ASP), the social marketing initiative of Icrisat.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, William Dar, director-general of Icrisat, said, "The ASP had achieved success in all the four components, which were the specific objectives."

The ASP's four components are the Agri-Biotech Park, agri-business incubator, public-private sector research consortia and the sat eco-venture.

Dar said that the ASP was launched in December 2004 with the objective of initialising collaborative research and establishing joint ventures with private, public and government entities to find commercial applications for Icrisat.

The ASP would also help in the incubation of start-ups through the agri-business incubator, he added.

At present, 29 public and private companies had joined the sorghum and pearl millet research consortia and seven members in pigeonpea partner group, Dar said.