Launch of the ICRISAT Annual Report 2019
2019 was a year of many firsts…
Cover shot of the ICRISAT Annual Report 2019.
And we are glad to have rolled out some path-breaking initiatives and put systems in place well in time before 2020’s ‘new normal’ engulfed us. Office corridors that once bustled with activity are almost silent but ‘resilience’ is still the operative word. Highlights from the last year include the launch of the Plant Breeding Modernization program for increased efficiency and agility and the fully automated system for plot monitoring ‘agCelerant’ to provide climate solutions for Nigerian agriculture. Other big achievements include the reduction of crop cycle by half in chickpea through rapid generation advancement, operationalizing the state-of-the-art climate research facility set up at ICRISAT-India and decoding genome sequences for two subspecies of cultivated groundnut.
The 2019 Annual Report will take you through major impacts achieved primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia with spillover benefits in other countries. A Quick Stats sheet will assist you in gauging the work across the Sustainable Development Goals and will see you surfing the big numbers – thousands of seed samples shared by our gene bank, millions of hectares covered by agri-food system projects, and a hundred million reached through digital initiatives. A handy lift-out on modernizing breeding will walk you through the biggest initiative of 2019. Separate sections in the report will acquaint you with milestones achieved by the research programs, the CRP Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals led by ICRISAT, the Smart Food initiative and of course, the important finances, human resources and other corporate details.
The big achievements of 2019 spur us on. This could not have been possible without the support of a wide range of partners who have championed the cause of smallholder dryland farmers. We thank our funders and donors for their commitment to the cause of smallholder farmers in the drylands, without their support this work would not have been accomplished.
Together we can face the ‘new normal’ taking it as a call to evolve – treading new paths together in search of more efficient solutions.
Happy Reading! For a PDF of the summary click here
For the interactive version click here. It comes in with aids for the laid-back reader – videos of the ICRISAT leadership summing up the highlights in 2019, an audiobook of the theme section and a handy booklet print facility.
