International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

 

ABOUT US: The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT),  ICRISAT@CGIAR.ORG,  is a nonprofit, non-political organization that does innovative agricultural research and capacity building for sustainable development with a wide array of partners across the globe. It is a research organization that serves the poorest of the poor in the semi-arid areas of the developing areas of the developing world. ICRISAT deals with not only crops in the semi-arid tropics -- it also helps empower the poor of the dry tropics - the men, women and children who struggle everyday to make both ends meet. ICRISAT is an organization that serves poor people first and foremost.

ICRISAT's mission is to help empower 600 million poor people to overcome hunger, poverty and a degraded environment in the dry tropics through better agriculture. ICRISAT belongs to the Alliance of Future Harvest Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

EDUCATION/ACADEMICS: Only Research Work programs are conducted by this Institute.

RESEARCH: Research work is carried on several crops like chickpea, Pigeonpea, Groundnut, Pearl Millet, Sorghum, and Small Millets. ICRISAT's global research is structured under four broad themes:

  Agro - ecosystems: ICRISAT's research on agro-ecosystem development aims to improve rural livelihoods, increase food security and sustainable natural resource management, utilizing natural resource management principles and techniques to improve moisture content, fertility, soil depth, organic matter, rainwater utilization through watersheds and water conservation; and employing plant breeding and biotechnology to improve water-use efficiency and drought tolerance in crops.

  Biotechnology: The overall goal of the Global Theme on Biotechnology is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the SAT by applying promising genomic, genetic engineering, wide-hybridization, diagnostic and bioinformatics tools and approaches to the genetic improvement of ICRISAT's mandate crops.

 Crop improvement and management: The overall goal of this Theme (called Crop Improvement for short) is to contribute to sustainable growth in crop production, farm income, food security and environmental protection through the development of improved and diversified cultivars, eco-friendly and cost-effective pest management practices, efficient seed supply systems, and commercialization of diversified and alternative uses of crop produce.

Institutions, markets, policy and impact: The global theme aims to deliver vital information and analytical tools that provide a rational foundation for decisions that affect the welfare of farmers and consumers in the semi-arid tropics. Its objective is to inform and provide strategic direction and prioritization of research issues. It also responds to market chain analyses, optimal input and output options (including seed systems) and on more effective policy and impact generation.

ADDRESS: ICRISAT-Patancheru (Headquarters)
               Patancheru 502324
               Andhra Pradesh, India
               Tel: +91 40 30713071
               Fax: +91 40 30713074/30713075296182

LINKS: (i) http://www.ciat.cgiar.org, (ii) http://www.cifor.cgiar.org, (iii) http://www.ifpri.org, (iv)                   http://www.icarda.org, (v) http://www.bioversityinternational.org/