Press Releases 2006

U.S.-Indian Private-Public Sector Partnership on Agriculture Continues to Grow

November 18, 2006

NEW DELHI, November 17, 2006- At the conclusion of the fourth meeting of the Agricultural Knowledge Initiative (AKI), the U.S. Ambassador hailed the 25 ongoing activities and noted the overall progress of the initiative in New Delhi.  "Since its inception last year, "the initiative has made notable progress and today's meeting is no exception," said Mulford.  "The Initiative's unwritten mandate is to work with India to launch what Dr. M.S. Swaminathan has called the Evergreen Revolution.  Through the unique public-private sector partnerships that this Initiative promotes, we have a real opportunity to accomplish that goal."

The board examined and evaluated more than 25 ongoing activities that address key focus areas identified for cooperation-food processing and marketing, biotechnology, water management, and university capacity building.  Outcomes of "The Initiative" include:

• Food processing and marketing training for 12 individuals from India's public and private sectors in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Cochran Fellowship Program, which provides short-term, U.S.-based agricultural training opportunities.
• Fifteen Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows completed fellowships at U.S. universities, working with mentors on distance learning, biofuels, animal and plant diseases, and biotechnology.  This program is supported by USDA.
• As part of a million dollar agricultural market information system project, a pilot training program to strengthen agricultural markets in three Indian states will take place in early 2007.  This training is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with India's National Institute of Agricultural Marketing and USDA.
• An important pigeon pea genome project will begin under the auspices of the AKI between the University of California-Davis and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute resulting from an international workshop sponsored by the university and attended by Indian researchers.
• A cooperative program on water resources management is resulting in substantial joint activities, including a workshop attended by more than 50 U.S. and Indian universities and government institutions, implementation of three grants from the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) to U.S. universities to work with Indian partners on water management, and funding by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for two projects on the sustainable use of ground water resources.
• Five collaborative projects in capacity building ranging from curriculum development to joint work on sanitary and phytosanitary issues are in progress through grants from the NASULGC.
• Indian agricultural scholars will participate in the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright-Humphrey program during the 2006-07 academic years, while U.S. scholars will travel to India to work on agricultural topics during the same period.

"The Initiative" is building on the long history the United States and India have of working together to address agricultural challenges," said Mulford.  "Through this Initiative, we have the opportunity to facilitate technology transfer, trade, and investment and bolster agricultural research, education, and extension between our two countries.  Part of our joint work is to develop effective policy, regulatory, and institutional frameworks, which will increase Indian agricultural productivity, help Indian farmers prosper, and strengthen trade."

The Agricultural Knowledge Initiative was announced by President Bush and Prime Minister Singh in July 2005 during the Prime Minister's visit to the United States.  A. Ellen Terpstra, Deputy Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, co-chairs the Initiative with Dr. Mangala Rai, Director General of the Indian Council on Agricultural Research.