ICRISAT launches global arid crops research programmes

Hyderabad,  Feb 7 (PTI) Agri research institute ICRISAT today launched global research programmes on grain legumes and dryland cereals, which aim to provide vital insights for tackling hunger and poverty. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) research programmes on grain legumes and dryland cereals, both led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) here, are part of its effort to help reduce hunger, an ICRISAT release said. Two of the 16 multi-centre CGIAR research programmes and research-for-development efforts undertaken so far on 'orphan' or neglected crops, have a combined three-year budget of USD 225 million, the release said. "We are now faced with the enormous challenge of producing 70 per cent more food to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050, using scarce resources amidst the threat of climate change. "These programmes form an integral part of CGIAR's reform process that allows its centres to function as a unified system, working together to pursue shared goals such as tackling hunger and poverty," CGIAR Consortium Office CEO Frank Rijberman said yesterday. ICRISAT Director General William Dar highlighted the importance of the two research programmes. "Grain legumes are the 'poor people's meat' which is crucial for ending childhood malnutrition. Dryland cereals provide food security to the poorest people on earth. They are vital to the sustainability of mixed crop livestock farming, and provide genetic resources for adaptation to harsh, marginal environments," he said. In the face of growing global hunger and poverty and the effects of climate change, grain legumes and dryland cereals will help provide nutritious, drought-resilient crops for the dryland poor, he said. PTI SJR BA RAH ksr DKR RYS