New Delhi: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Dhanuka Agritech entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) forging a partnership by leveraging the resources of both organisations to strengthen the research and extension activities.
The partnership is envisaged to bring a paradigm shift in the agricultural sector by promoting the spread of scientific and technological information knowledge, and know-how of the new technologies that are developed by industries and ICAR institutes to disseminate them effectively to large number of farmers by making them available with various institutes and other stakeholders through frontline demonstrations and farmers’ training.
The MoU was signed by Dr. RG Agarwal, Chairman of Dhanuka Group and Dr. US Gautam, Deputy Director General-Agriculture Extension of ICAR.
“The alliance aims to disseminate scientific and technological knowledge among the farming community and other stakeholders,” Dr. Agarwal said after the MoU was inked at the IARI-Pusa Campus on March 19, 2024.
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“The primary goal of this MoU is to extend scientific and technological advancements to a vast number of farmers, institutes, e-regional stations, e-KVKs, enhancing their knowledge and practices in agriculture,” he added.
The key focus area of the MoU is engagement in farmer training programmes along with demonstrations and jointly publishing literature as well as other media to promote modern agricultural practices.
Both ICAR and Dhanuka Agritech will be organising and participating in each other’s training programmes. Following the formalising of the MoU, the two entities will make joint efforts in capacity building and conducting extension activities to ensure the safe and effective use of crop protection chemicals.
Another important objective of the MoU, is the adoption of precision agricultural tools, such as information technology (IT) and the Internet of Things (IoT), to advance farming methodologies, said, Dr. Agarwal and Dr. Gautam.
The event was attended by Dr. Anil Kumar, Additional Director General-Coordination, ICAR, and Dr. Anjani Kumar, Director, ICAR-ATARI Patna, highlighting the importance and commitment of both organisations to this cause.
Dr. Agarwal further said the collaboration between ICAR and Dhanuka Agritech paves the way for innovative agricultural practices that are essential for the sustainability and growth of the sector in India.
