UK institutes sign crop science agreement with Indian government

UK research institutes including the John Innes Centre (JIC) and University of East Anglia (UEA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian government’s department of biotechnology. The agreement will set the scene for a collaborative approach to crop science, with the government and research institutes looking into increasing crop yields and improving disease and creating drought resistance in crops.

In addition to JIC and UEA, representatives from the University of Cambridge, NIAB in Cambridge and Rothamsted Research have also signed the agreement.

The signatories said their agreement paves the way for collaborative work on the fundamental science underpinning yield enhancement, disease resistance and drought resistance, as well as research into crop re-breeding and findings into sustainable agricultural practice. There is also potential for the creation of a joint UK-Indian plant science centre in India.

On signing, Professor Dale Sanders, signatory for JIC, said “The gauntlet, represented by the second sustainable development goal of zero hunger, has been thrown down at the global crop science community. I am delighted that the UK and India will be one of the first international research partnerships to pick up that gauntlet. I believe that we have a massive contribution to make together.”

Professor K. VijayRaghavan from India’s Ministry of Science and Technology also commented,  “The United Kingdom has been a long-standing partner with the Government of India in Science and Technology, a collaboration that has grown from strength to strength. On the foundation of this excellence we are delighted to take a very new and very important direction in crop science. Our partners are the best in the UK and together we can be the best anywhere, working together to address a key global problem.”