Patancheru, India
March 26, 2008
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT) has launched a Center of Excellence in
Genomics (CEG) at its global headquarters at Patancheru, India,
in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT),
Government of India. ICRISAT is also announcing the launch of a
Bio-Food Knowledge Center (BFKC) in its Agri-Science Park with
financial support from the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
The CEG, through the financial support of DBT, strengthens the
existing molecular breeding facilities at ICRISAT to a high
throughput, cost-effective facility, which can be used for crop
improvement research. The facility, which is fully operational,
is available for researchers from agricultural research
institutes throughout India and globally via ICRISAT’s network
of partners.
The BFKC, for which the Andhra Pradesh Government made the first
tranche of funding available, will be a platform for R&D and
innovation in food processing with focus on cereals, legumes,
fruits and vegetables, and medicinal and aromatic plants.
According to Dr William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, the
collaboration with the Indian Government for the CEG and the
Andhra Pradesh Government for the BFKC are examples of ICRISAT’s
strengthening relationship with the national and the state
governments in India and in other countries. “Though these
projects are funded by national and state governments, their
impacts will flow to all the 55 countries that ICRISAT works
in.”
Center of Excellence in Genomics
The CEG is a result of a Memorandum of Agreement signed by Dr
William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, and Dr MK Bhan,
Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the
Government of India, in December 2006. The DBT has financially
provided US$ 1 million for establishing the CEG.
The CEG has started providing the following services:
- High-throughput, low-cost,
allele detection platforms, to help with molecular-marker
assisted breeding.
- Access to large-scale
field screening for abiotic stresses, such as drought and
salinity.
- Biometrics (agricultural
statistics) and bioinformatics (information management and
analysis) support.
- Training courses for
scientists and students from Indian institutes in the use of
high-throughput methods in breeding and research.
According to Dr William Dar, in
addition to having state-of-the-art equipment, the CEG will also
provide training for building the capacity of national
scientists from India and other countries. As the CEG was
launched, 19 scientists from the Indian Council for Agricultural
Research institutes started their training on molecular breeding
techniques at the CEG.
“The CEG will provide new technological options, build capacity
of scientists and also accelerate crop improvement by reducing
the time required to develop new varieties by half,” Dr Dar
said.
Dr Simon Best, Chair of the ICRISAT Governing Board, said that
the CEG illustrates the cutting-edge science and technology
research that ICRISAT is doing to improve crop productivity in
the drylands. Ultimately its research products will benefit the
poor farmers of the drylands.
Dr Mangala Rai, Vice-Chair of ICRISAT Governing Board and
Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research,
said that the premier facility on agri-biotechnology has the
potential for improving natural resources management through
genetic improvement of crops.
Bio-Food Knowledge Center
The BFKC is a public-private partnership venture in the
Agri-Science Park at ICRISAT. The Government of Andhra Pradesh
has provided financial support of US$ 500,000 for the
establishment of the BFKC at ICRISAT.
Dr Barry I Shapiro, Managing Director, Agri-Science Park
@ICRISAT, said: “ Food biotechnology interventions play a major
role in adding value to the food processing industry. This added
value can be realized if a conducive research platform is
available, which is capital and knowledge intensive. Given
ICRISAT’s strengths as a world-class research center, the
Government of Andhra Pradesh has sanctioned financial support
for the establishment of the BFKC.”
The BFKC will develop a platform for R&D, innovation, technology
transfer, and commercialization in food processing focusing on
cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables. It will be developed as
a public-private partnership model and also backstop food
processing related research requirements for ICRISAT mandate
crops.
The objectives of the BFKC include:
- Pool available
technologies for commercialization and transfer;
- Align strategically
with food research Institutions ( India and Abroad);
- Provide infrastructure
and platform for innovation and research for the private
sector;
- Take up collaborative
and contract research;
- Provide knowledge
support to the private sector;
- Undertake trainings
and capacity building programs for the Industry; and
- Offer food safety
testing and services.
The knowledge center will be
completely developed over a period of 5 years with a total
outlay of approximately US$ 5.25 million. It will also
collaborate with several central and state government
organizations, IITs and agricultural research universities.
The collaborations are also from countries outside India. In
January 2008, ICRISAT and Crop and Food Research, a Crown
Research Institute of New Zealand, signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) in Lincoln, New Zealand. Through the MOU,
both organizations will work together to develop the proposed
Bio Food Knowledge Center (BFKC) at the Agri-Science Park within
ICRISAT. Early discussions have identified many opportunities to
leverage New Zealand’s world-class agri science for the benefit
of progressing ICRISAT’s mission and goals and significantly
accelerate the commissioning of the BFKC. |
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