Strategic Plan
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ICRISAT Strategic Plan 2021-2025
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ICRISAT Strategic Plan 2021-2025
Current Partnerships
ICRISAT undertakes its research through
partnerships. It strongly believes that partnerships
are the only way in which global challenges can be
tackled, and the best local solutions created. We
work with many collaborators and have over 180
unique partners.
Partnerships are critical at all steps from discovery
to delivery in order to:
▪ Better understand local and diverse needs –
to develop better solutions and do this together
navigating through different cultures, gender
differences and engaging youth and other
segments.
▪ Produce cutting-edge science – to bring the
best minds together through partnership with
advanced research institutions and the private
sector to develop better and more holistic
solutions.
▪ We are a catalyst to empower others – being a
source of knowledge from around the world that
can address local needs, and empowering others
to take the lead.
▪ We empower locally so that solutions on the
ground can be community owned and sustainable.
▪ We work with our partners to build capacity and
co-create knowledge through collaboration – by
working together and sharing knowledge.
The breadth of ICRISAT’s partnerships shows that
currently about half of our partnership funding
went to CGIAR Centers, and the other half to non-
governmental organizations, the private sector,
universities and national partners.
Some unique partnerships that ICRISAT has created,
in addition to those in which we participate, include:
▪ Hybrid Parents Research Consortium (HPRC):
Private seed companies are members and so
contribute to setting the breeding research agenda.
▪ Entrepreneurs through Incubators: Since 2004,
the Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP)
has incubated 41 agriculture and food companies
across India and Africa. In addition, we have iHub,
an incubator for agriculture technology (agri-
tech) start-ups and BioNCube, an incubator for
biotechnology start-up companies.
▪ The ICRISAT Development Center was established
in 2013 to focus on uptake of innovations at scale.
This Center has facilitated many new and existing
partnerships, converging with government programs
and engaging local non-governmental organizations
and civil society to roll out solutions on the ground.
▪ For the Tropical Legumes (TL) project, ICRISAT
developed partnerships with the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and national
institutes from seven countries in Africa to create
a legume value chain that has benefitted up to 25
million farmers.
▪ ICRISAT’s Centre of Excellence in Genomics has
developed partnerships with 184 partners from
35 countries on genome decoding, trait mapping
and providing services for sequencing and marker
development.
▪ ICRISAT’s Improved water harvesting techniques:
In the Bundelkhand dryland region of India, ICRISAT
partners with Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) institutes, State Agricultural Universities, Swiss
Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC) and
several grassroot NGOs to improve water availability
through better water harvesting techniques.
▪ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): ICRISAT
developed its CSR strategy in 2014, which has
meant more engagement with private companies
outside of agriculture and food, from cement to
energy companies to support our mission. Through
this initiative, we access new sources of funds
in India, where the private sector must use 2%
of their profits for societal development including
investments in agriculture.
▪ Smart Food initiative: This initiative highlights the
nutritional benefits of ICRISAT’s crops and works
closely with consumers in partnership with chefs
and food influencers to change perceptions and
highlight nutritional opportunities. This initiative
has an executive team of key African and Asian
networks, in partnership with ICRISAT.
Future Partnerships
Our current partnerships and approach are critical
to achieving our mission; this partnership model will
remain a key working modality for ICRISAT.
Our overall target for partnerships is that 70% of
our projects and outputs (e.g., technology releases,
publications and communications) are with
collaborators and partners. We will strengthen our
current partnerships and build on new networking
▪ Ensure sustainable solutions – to address
the whole value web with a wide range of
partnerships including the implementors, private
industry and government partners.
▪ Assure uptake and scaling – to partner with
development specialists and private industry,
engaging at inception and working together through
the whole process to ensure localization and
sustainability of innovations over the long term.
▪ Advocate for appropriate approaches and
solutions – to work together at international,
regional, policy and local fora to share knowledge,
to be thought leaders and help bring about
positive change.
▪ Build confidence – to be able to attract partnerships
and investment to undertake our mission.
The roles ICRISAT can play in these partnerships
requires willingness and flexibility. Depending on the
need and the strengths of partners and other actors:
▪ We can be both a leader and a collaborator.
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