C-CAMP signs MoU with M S Swaminathan Research Foundation to launch Rural Agriculture Innovation Programme - RAIN
The agreement was signed by Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP Director-CEO and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson, MSSRF and former Chief Scientist, WHO; in the presence of Shrikumar Suryanarayan, Chairman & MD, Sea6 Energy & former Director of Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) and K.K. Narayanan, Founder, Director, Sthayika Seeds and Former MD, Tata Group's Metahelix Life Sciences.
The collaboration is aimed to develop a joint agriculture innovation programme focused on promoting deep science-based innovations and entrepreneurship to break new ground in India's food security, sustainable agriculture and allied sectors.
The purpose of RAIN is to provide innovators with technologies for on-farm sustainable agriculture, production and quality control, to help farmers to diversify their opportunities and value addition on par with global standards. The programme has at its core as small and marginalised farmers, especially women, providing 60-90% of the world rice crop cultivation and women-lead fisheries enterprises to ensure sustained yield which is under pressure due to climate change.
C-CAMP Centre of Excellence for Agri Innovation (Agri CoE) has nurtured 60+ innovations and several of them have reached product stage. One of the highlights of the joint programme will be to deploy such products with local farmer groups, encouraging technology adoption for sustainable agriculture, alternative livelihoods, increased biodiversity and agroforestry.
Dr. Taslimarif welcomed the partnership saying, “Agriculture and climate are closely interlinked. Due to climate change large parts of the world are becoming food insecure. RAIN with MSSRF comes at this crucial time so that we can build a joint innovation programme in India especially for the vulnerable communities in various ecologies in India, whether it be coastal, or small and marginalised farmers who will benefit from switching crops, etc. The aim is to increase agricultural productivity; identifying rural innovations; increased income for smallholder farmers; women empowerment in agriculture; and foremost local solutions to address local or micro pain points.”
Dr Swaminathan said, “Delighted to sign an MoU with C-CAMP, a real star in the innovation ecosystem. We will jointly work on the RAIN programme focusing on solving problems of small & marginal farmers through a science-based approach.”
RAIN shall initially start off with 4-fold theme comprising: eco-harmony or balance between human activities and nature by supporting innovations in soil health and biodiversity, harvest- secure methods and protocols to prevent wastage of produce, climate resilience in agriculture, and cleantech and sanitation.
A few action points also emerged as part of the fruitful brainstorming session post MoU signing. C-CAMP and MSSRF will
- work together at the Centre of Excellence for Agri Innovation supported by Govt of Karnataka as a Knowledge partner.
- exchange technical and field support for technology validation, with special focus on local innovations that are culturally a better fit in target areas.
- launch a joint call for innovations against mutually vetted problem statements in food, agriculture, pisciculture, animal husbandry and allied under RAIN.
The partners are looking to expand beyond Karnataka in areas such as Orissa, UP and Kerala and considering CSR or PPP partnerships to take this forward.
About MSSRF:
MSSRF is a not-for-profit trust envisioned by its founder Prof. MS Swaminathan, the father of green revolution in this country, for steering sustainable agriculture practices with a network of R&D Centre(s) and field stations working on the diverse areas such as Agriculture, nutrition, livelihood generation, biodiversity, conservation, biotechnology, marine sustainability, and other policy related issues with a pro-poor, pro-women and pro-science approaches. Established in 1988 in Chennai, the organisation has grown with a major presence in Wayanad (Kerala), Jeypore (Odisha), Poompuhar (TN) and many field stations focusing on mangrove conservation, traditional paddy varieties, indigenous knowledge protection and conservation of biodiversity in Western Ghats and so on.
The foundation has been working with diverse national and global entities such as WFP, FAO GFAR, ICAR-NASF, TNAU, NESFAS, NABARD, NBA, Gates Foundation and so on. The centre at Wayanad has been hosting the BGCI-certified botanical garden and it is recognised by IUCN and Ministry of Environment & Forest, GoI.
