ICAR signs MoU with Dhanuka Agritech Ltd to strengthen the research and extension activities including demonstrations and trainings for farmers and other relevant stakeholders

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Dhanuka Agritech Ltd entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) forging partnership by leveraging the resources ICAR and Dhanuka Agritech Limited to strengthen the research and extension activities. The partnership is envisaged to bring a paradigm shift in 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 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 latest, safe, and green solutions to farmers’ problems. Its collaboration with 6 Japanese companies galvanize novel green pesticides which forms 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 world. Dr. R. G. Agarwal is working for more than 55 years after his graduation from SRCC in 1968 generated wide wisdom with a vast practical experience in the field of plant protection and pharmaceuticals. Dhanuka has also expanded its business operations to drones and precision farming and has strategically collaborated with FYLLO and IoTech World which are empowering farmers with their latest solutions providing real time farm data on their 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 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 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.

Dr. Agarwal further said the collaboration between ICAR and Dhanuka Agritech paves the way for innovative agricultural practices that are essential for the sustainability and growth of the sector in India

Dhanuka had also laid the demonstration of ground nut and soybean at PDKV, Akola. 81% higher yield has been achieved in the treated plot of Groundnut and 17% higher yields has been achieved in treated plot of Soybean which are the evidence that if new technologies are used then the income of farmers can be increased significantly throughout the country and the estimated losses as per FAO which are 20-40% can be minimized.

Dhanuka Group has signed a series of MoUs with institutions engaged in agricultural research, as part of its initiatives towards strengthening research and tech in the field of agriculture and now this umbrella MoU with ICAR will cover all agricultural institutions governed by ICAR all over India. this initiative of PPP will improve the yield quality and income of the farmers which is at present one third in comparison to China and approximately 25-30% to other developed countries.

We hope this MoU will help in achieving PM’s vision of achieving $5 trillion economy by 2027 with agriculture’s contribution being $1 trillion as well as achieving UN- Sustainable Development Goals.