On 20th December 2021, the National Institution for Transforming India, known as NITI Aayog has signed a Statement of Intent(SoI) with the United Nations(UN) World Food Program(WFP) for mainstreaming of millets and supporting India in taking lead globally in knowledge exchange using the opportunity of 2023 as International Year of Millets.
- The SoI focuses on strategic and technical collaboration between NITI Aayog and WFP to strengthen climate-resilient agriculture for enhanced food and nutrition security in India.
Aim:
To build resilient livelihoods for small-holder farmers and adopt the capacities to climate change and transforming food systems.
Year of Millets:
i.India observed the year 2018 as the year of millets to encourage and promote millet production.
ii.Following this initiative, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted the resolution A/RES/75/263, sponsored by India and supported by more than 70 countries and proclaimed the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
Activities under the partnership:
i.Joint development of a compendium of good practices around millets mainstreaming in priority states and development of a scaling-up strategy.
ii.To provide technical support to scaling up millets mainstreaming through intense engagement in identified states with support from state governments, the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) and other associated institutions.
The parties will jointly organise national consultation for line ministries concerned departments of State governments, select academic institutions and organizations which are working in the millets mainstreaming.
iii.To support leveraging Indian expertise to support other developing countries for millets mainstreaming by the creation of knowledge management platforms and facilitation of knowledge exchange.
Outcomes of the partnership:
The outcomes of the partnership between NITI Aayog and WFP will be achieved in 4 phases.
- Phase 1 – Development of a best practice compendium around millet mainstreaming and a scale-up strategy.
- Phase 2 – Support scale-up of millet mainstreaming through knowledge sharing and intense engagement with select states.
- Phase 3 – Leverage India’s expertise to support developing countries for millet mainstreaming
- Phase 4 – Working on building capacities for climate-resilient and adaptive livelihood practices
AIM, NITI Aayog & UNCDF Launched 1st AgriTech Challenge Cohort 2021
NITI Aayog, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has launched the first AgriTech Challenge cohort for its Agri-tech program that aims to help smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa to address their challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic.
- The Cohort represents a diverse range of solutions across the value chain of the smallholder farmer, including soil analysis, farm management & intelligence, dairy ecosystem, carbon credits, solar-based cold storage, digital marketplace, fintech, livestock insurance, among others.
South-South innovation platform:
South-South innovation platform was launched by AIM, NITI Aayog in partnership with UNCDF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rabo Foundation in July 2021.
Aim: To enable the cross-border exchange of innovations, insights and investments.
The platform will enable cross-border collaborations among emerging markets across India, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia.
- The Agritech Challenge is an inaugural initiative of the South-South Platform created to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and solutions between the two regions.
About United Nations World Food Programme (UN-WFP):
Executive Director– David Beasley
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
