India has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening agricultural research, technology exchange and capacity building across Africa and Asia at the Seventh Meeting of the Technical Programme Committee (TPC) of the Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) in Lusaka during 12-14 November, 2026.
Highlighting ICAR's 17-year partnership with AARDO, Dr Naveen P Singh, ADG-International Relations showcased its contribution through 51 training programmes, benefiting over 900 participants from member countries across 11 ICAR institutes.
A key highlight was the proposed ICAR-AARDO MoU, which seeks to expand cooperation beyond training to joint research, expert exchange, germplasm sharing, technology transfer and academic collaboration across eight priority areas. ICAR also proposed a roadmap encompassing national focal points, joint work plans, a 2027 training calendar and a Joint Working Group for periodic review.
The renewed partnership aims to leverage India's agricultural innovations and institutional expertise to advance resilient agriculture, strengthen rural livelihoods and accelerate South-South cooperation across Africa and Asia.