India - Africa ARD cooperation

26 February 2013. LUDHIANA. Around 30 researchers and scientists from Liberia, Kenya and Malawi visited the Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) for getting first hand information regarding various activities initiated by the institute in area of post harvest sector an identifying various collaborative areas.

Dr P. Chandra Shekhra, Director (Agricultural Extension) of National Institute of Extension Management, Hyderabad, was leading the delegation of the countries from Liberia, Kenya and Malawi.

Addressing the scientists, Officiating Director Dr P.R Bhatnagar informed the delegation about contribution of the institute in post harvest sector and recent achievements. He added that CIPHET was among the 125 institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research across the country.

Head Transfer of Technology Division Dr Deepak Raj Rai, said that they are conducting number of hands-on-trainings, entrepreneurship development programmes, providing consultancy and contract research for dissemination of the technologies. Dr Shekhra said that the delegation was the outcome of the treaty between United States, India and African countries for ensuring food security in African countries.

Tri-lateral Partnership US-Kenya-India addresses African Food Security

Alexander Kahi (seated), dean at Egerton University, signs a document related to the new tri-lateral agreement. From the left is B. Bebe, Egerton faculty member; Mark Erbaugh of Ohio State, and Gusharan Singh, of India's Punjab Agricultural University.

Jan 10, 2013. The U.S./India/Africa Tri-lateral University Partnership Program for Food Security will combine the strengths of PAU with Ohio State's expertise in agricultural capacity-building to address poverty and hunger issues in Kenya and throughout Africa.

The program is a joint effort of the U.S. government and the government of India. It is run under the auspices of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.

The tri-lateral project was one of just two funded by the U.S. government. The other is a partnership between Michigan State University, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in India, and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi.

Nigeria-India ARD collaboration

30 August. LUDHIANA, Punjab, India. A 11-member high level delegation from Nigeria visited the Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) to find collaborative areas and explore possibilities in post harvest sector.

The delegation was headed by Executive Secretary Agriculture Research Council of Nigeria, Professor Abubakar Baba Yusuf and National Coordinator of West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme, Professor Damian O Chikwendu.

Speaking on the occasion, Abubakar said that they wanted to know what were the new developments in Indian agriculture scenario. "Though we have institutes in agriculture research 50 years back, but recently government of Nigeria has connected all institutes under the umbrella of agriculture transformation programme," he said, adding that they are looking India as a lead partner.

Saying that he got impressed with the research initiatives carried out by CIPHET, he said that they were trying to find ways to control post harvest losses in fruits and vegetables, which were as high as 50 percent in Nigeria.

Dr Damain O Chikwendu said that they were having difficulty in transferring technology to end users. "We are interested in knowing as to how institutes like CIPHET are working in this area".

Giving brief overview of the institute activities, Director CIPHET Dr U.S. Shivhare  informed the delegates that institute was housing two mega All India coordinated Projects (AICRP) with coordinating centers across the country. "We are actively engaged in transferring technologies of this and other ICAR institutes," he added.

Project Coordinator (PHT) Dr SK Nanda, Project Coordinator (APA) Dr P Bhatnagar, Head Food Grains Oil Seed Division Dr RK Gupta, Head Transfer of Technology Division Dr Deepak Raj Rai and Head Atmosphere Structures & Environmental Control (AS&EC) Division informed delegates about research activities in their respective projects and divisions. A film on CIPHET was also screened on the occasion.

 

African nations look to India for seeds, farm inputs

Participants of the 2^nd Africa-India Agricultural Economic Mission
during the Business to Business (B2B) meeting in Hyderabad

11-16 December 2011. Hyderabad, India. 2nd India-Africa Economic Mission laid groundwork for South-South collaboration. It was organized by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Brussels-based EMRC International.

The 25-member mission from Nigeria, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Chad, Malawi and South Africa comprised of academicians, planners and strategists, top executives and technical directors of private firms brought together by the economic need and the desire to ensure sustainable development in Africa.

In addition to the discussions, the field visits and the knowledge sharing, several Business to Business (B2B) meetings allowed the participants and their Indian counterparts to get down to business and forge partnerships.

KK Sharma of ICRISAT and Idit Miller
of EMRC International at the B2B meeting.

“It was an eye opener for me. During the B2B, I explored various business opportunities in India. Our population is far less than that of India but still lots of people sleep hungry. I want to use the technologies of India and implement them in our country,” says Mr Muhammed Nurallah Abubakar, Executive Director, Livestock and Fisheries Development and Marketing Company, Federal Ministry of Nigeria. “This was a great initiative by ICRISAT and EMRC. I have been in touch with the ICRISAT office in Nigeria since 10 years to understand various agricultural technologies. Setting up an agribusiness platform in Nigeria will be a great help to our country,” he added.

“B2B meetings are essential and one of the main reasons for taking part in these economic missions. One needs to be introduced to the most fitting business partner,” explains Idit Miller, EMRC International’s VP and Managing Director. “This mission emphasizes the need for private and public sector dialogue and partnerships”.

Related:
8 dec 2011 EMRC supports AFRICA. Video debate on Voxafrica TV with Mr Weinberger who works for the Enterprise and Industry Directorate General of the European Commission in Brussels and with Idit Miller of EMRC. They talk about the promotion of SMEs in Africa.
[the video is 24 minutes but a technical error occurred: the debate is repeated a second time to 47 minutes]


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