Sangareddy: The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) will here after have the collective strength of 15 international agricultural research centres with the launching of the `Alliance of the Future' harvest centres last week in Marrakech, Morocco. Director-General William Dar, addressing a press conference on Thursday, on the sidelines of annual day celebrations, said that this alliance would help the ICRISAT improve the productivity of poor farmers in developing countries.

Collective action

Elaborating on the alliance, Mr. Dar said that it would increase convergence and collective action among the CGIAR centres. The alliance would enhance effectiveness and efficiency to ensure that operations are carried out at minimal cost with optimum benefits. Giving examples, Mr. Dar said that work on the declining productivity of cereals in the Indo-Gangetic plane, work on eco-regional issues in Sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of climatic change on agriculture in semi-arid tropics are few subjects that the alliance had undertaken.

Healing wounds initiative

According to Mr. Dar the alliance, even before it was formally adopted by the CGIAR annual general meeting in Morocco, began working on projects like the Operation Healing Wounds in the Tsunami-hit villages of Tamil Nadu.

Commercial aspects

"We have sown a germ and hope that it will grow into a tree," the Director-General said about the MOU signed with the Medak district administration. He said that initially farmers would be helped to grow sweet sorghum in 500 acres, which would, in turn, be utilized by distilleries to produce ethanol. Mr. Dar expressed hope that this commercial venture would bring almost 5,000 acres of wasteland in the district into cultivation under sweet sorghum.

Adding more on the Indian operations, the Deputy Director-General Dyno Keatinge said that the ICRISAT's principle allegiance was towards the poor. He said that it would do more on watershed programs in tribal and backward areas that would provide equitable benefits to all its participants.

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