Icrisat, CII to jointly work for rural development

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) has strengthened its partnerships with the private sector through its recent understanding with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to work together on improved natural resource management (NRM) for sustainable rural development.

Icrisat and CII jointly organised a workshop on Monday for finding ways to collaborate on sustainable rural development. The understanding is expected to strengthen Icrisat's initiative for partnerships with the private sector through its Agri-Science Park.

In a recently initiated project, Icrisat commenced work on an NRM project in Eruvadi village of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, in collaboration with the TVS Agri-Sciences Research Institute.

Icrisat is also partnering with private sector for NRM through watershed development. The institute has been working with Sir Dorabjee Tata Trust to scale-up farmer's participatory watershed development in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh and Boondi district of Rajasthan.

The Agri-Science Park at Icrisat is a centre for public-private partnerships that enhance the development and commercialisation of science-generated technologies and knowledge through market mechanisms. It consists of the Agri-Biotech Park, the Agri-Business Incubator, a seeds consortium and the SAT Eco-Venture.