‘Feed the future’ programme launched

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The Union Agriculture Ministry and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday launched the second phase of the “Feed the Future” India triangular training programme here, in a bid to bring specialised agriculture training to 1,500 agricultural professionals across Africa and Asia.

U.S. Ambassador Richard R. Verma and Agriculture Secretary S.K. Pattanayak launched the programme together at the national agriculture science complex. The programme builds upon five decades of joint work utilising science and technology to bring innovative solutions to the challenges facing farmers.

New opportunities

“By harnessing the expertise and innovation of our two great countries, we are unlocking new opportunities to address global development challenges, bringing us closer to our shared objective of eliminating global poverty and hunger,” said Mr. Verma.

The programme is expected to enable India and the U.S. to share these farming techniques worldwide, helping countries in Africa and Asia revolutionise their agriculture practices and ultimately, improve global nutrition levels.

Notably, led by the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management- MANAGE, the programme will train agricultural professionals from 17 countries in Africa and Asia on specialised farming practices such as agricultural marketing, dairy management, food processing and ways to prevent post-harvest losses.

The first phase trained more than 200 professionals from Kenya, Liberia and Malawi, and they are now implementing the new farming methods to increase farm productivity and income. India and the U.S. are expanding the programme with the second phase launch to reach hundreds of professionals and in turn thousands of smallholder farmers.

Centre, USAID start specialised training for 1,500 agricultural professionals across Africa and Asia

Source : The Hindu