New Delhi, July 25 : The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Indian Ministry of Agriculture on Monday launched the second phase of the "Feed the Future India-Triangular Training Program", bringing specialized agriculture trainings to 1,500 agricultural professionals across Africa and Asia.
"This exciting new program marks not only a significant step forward for the U.S.-India bilateral partnership, but reinforces our commitment to work together as global partners," said U.S.
Ambassador Richard R. Verma while inaugurating the program along with Indian Secretary of Agriculture S.K. Pattanayak. The program is launched with an aim to utilize science and technology to bring innovative solutions to the challenges faced by farmers.
India has become one of the world's largest producers of staple crops, fruits and dairy products through these agriculture innovations, which has helped reduce malnutrition and improve food and nutritional security of the country.
The program will enable India and the U.S. to share these farming techniques worldwide, helping countries in Africa and Asia revolutionize their agriculture practices and ultimately, improve global nutrition levels.
"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 Verma.
Led by India's National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management- MANAGE, the program will train agricultural professionals from 17 countries in Africa and Asia on specialized farming practices such as agricultural marketing, dairy management, food processing and ways to prevent post-harvest losses.
The first phase of the program trained more than 200 agricultural professionals from Kenya, Liberia and Malawi.