New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) India and Argentina on Wednesday reaffirmed their cooperation in sustainable agronomy, digital agriculture and biotechnology through new Work Plan, marking a significant step forward in strengthening bilateral agricultural collaboration.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), Argentina, signed a ‘Work Plan 2025-2027’ to strengthen bilateral cooperation in agricultural research, capacity building, and technology exchange.
The Work Plan establishes collaboration across natural resource management, sustainable agronomy including zero tillage, mechanisation, micro-irrigation and fertigation, crop and animal biotechnology, livestock improvement, production technologies for temperate and tropical crops, digital agriculture, biosafety and phytosanitary measures, and value chain development.
Implementation will be through joint research, germplasm exchange, expert engagements, and structured training and study visits, said Agriculture Ministry.
“Planned study visits and training programme cover greenhouse vegetable production, floriculture and temperate fruits, post-harvest physiology, functional food development, veterinary diagnostics, precision livestock farming, waste-to-wealth technologies, microbial feed enhancement, digital agriculture, and sanitary and phytosanitary systems,” it said in a statement.
Germplasm exchange will include soybean, sunflower, maize, blueberry, citrus, wild papaya species, guava, and select vegetable crops.
India and Argentina are also deepening cooperation in oilseeds and pulses value chains, agricultural mechanisation -- including zero-tillage, cotton harvesting machinery, and drones -- and horticulture value chain development, including infrastructure and planting material exchange.
In plant and animal health, it envisages region-specific Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) elimination strategies and enhanced collaboration on locust surveillance and management through technical exchanges and best-practice sharing, said the ministry.
Dr M.L. Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, and Mariano Augustin Caucino, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to India, exchanged the signed ICAR–INTA Work Plan, marking a significant step forward in strengthening bilateral agricultural collaboration.
--IANS
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