WFP-ICRISAT sign agreement on Food Security

United Nations's World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT) have signed an agreement on Food security on September 23, 2021.

• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on programmes and research in order to improve food, nutrition security and livelihoods across India.
• It was signed between WFP India Representative, Bishow Parajuli and Director General of ICRISAT, Dr Jacqueline Hughes.
• Both WFP and ICRISAT will work in collaboration to promote research, advocacy and raise awareness regarding the traditional nutritious crops, undertaking food & nutritional security analysis.

This agreement is a strategic partnership between WFP and ICRISAT because both are aligned to their vision of food security, especially for poorest and vulnerable communities. MoU was signed in light of worsening global hunger, threatening food security, nutrition & livelihood of people because of growing climate change crises and shocks like Covid-19 pandemic.

ICRISAT stands for “International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics”. It is an international organization that conducts agricultural research for rural development. It is headquartered in Patancheru, Hyderabad. Other regional centres include Bamako in Mali, Nairobi in Kenya Niamey in Niger, Kano in Nigeria, Lilongwe in Malawi, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. ICRISAT was founded in 1972 while its charter was signed by the FAO and the UNDP.