ICAR Signs MoU with Dhanuka Agritech to Strengthen Research and Extension Activities

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Dhanuka Agritech Ltd entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) forging a partnership by leveraging the resources of ICAR and Dhanuka Agritech Limited to strengthen the research and extension activities. The partnership is envisaged to bring a paradigm shift in the agricultural sector by promoting the spread of scientific and technological information, knowledge, know-how of the new technologies that are developed by industries and ICAR institutes to disseminate them effectively to a large number of farmers by making them available with various institutes and other stakeholders through frontline demonstrations and farmers training.

The MoU to formalise the partnership was signed by Dr. R.G. Agarwal, Chairman of Dhanuka Group on behalf of Dhanuka Agritech, and Dr. U.S. Gautam, Deputy Director General- Agriculture Extension of ICAR on behalf of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Dhanuka Group is one of India’s leading plant protection and pharmaceutical companies. It has 4 manufacturing units located in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and J&K. It’s a matter of pride for our scientists that the drug i.e., Exblifep, researched by us has been approved by European Union. Dhanuka has been at the forefront in providing the latest, safe, and green solutions to farmers’ problems. Its collaboration with 6 Japanese companies galvanizes novel green pesticides which form the need of the country in the present days to manage invasive pests that are emerging at a large scale due to climate change and globalization of the world.

Dr. R. G. Agarwal, who graduated from SRCC in 1968, has accumulated extensive wisdom and practical experience in plant protection and pharmaceuticals over his 55-year career. Dhanuka has diversified its business into drones and precision farming, strategically partnering with FYLLO and IoTech World to empower farmers with real-time farm data accessible via mobile phones.

ICAR is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. The strategic alliance aims to disseminate scientific and technological knowledge among the farming community and other stakeholders, Dr. Agarwal said after the MoU was inked at the IARI-Pusa Campus on March 19, 2024 here

“The primary goal of this MoU is to extend scientific and technological advancements to a vast number of farmers, institutes/ e-regional stations/ e-KVKs, enhancing their knowledge and practices in agriculture,” he added.

The key focus area of the MoU is engagement in farmer training programs along with demonstrations and jointly publishing literature as well as other media to promote modern agricultural practices. Both ICAR and Dhanuka Agritech will be organizing and participating in each other’s training programs.

Following the formalising of the MoU, the two entities will make joint efforts in capacity building and conducting extension activities to ensure the safe and effective use of crop protection chemicals. Another important objective of the MoU, is the adoption of precision agricultural tools, such as Information Technology (IT) and the Internet of Things (IoT), to advance farming methodologies, said Dr. Agarwal/ Dr. U.S. Gautam.

The event was graced by the presence of Dr. Anil Kumar, Additional Director General-Coordination, ICAR, and Dr. Anjani Kumar, Director, ICAR-ATARI Patna, highlighting the importance and commitment of both organizations to this cause.