(Image: DhruvStar Industry Insights | Original Artwork)
India and Argentina have formalised a work plan (ICAR-INTA work plan) for 2025-27 to deepen cooperation in agricultural research, technology exchange, and capacity building. The framework brings together the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) to strengthen collaboration across crop, livestock, and the agri-value chain.
Rather than being a short-term collaboration, the cooperation focuses on applied research, knowledge exchange, and institutional capacity building for 2025-27.
Priority Research and Technology Collaboration Areas
The work plan outlines priority areas, including production systems and enabling technologies. These include:
- Natural resource management and sustainable agronomy
- Zero tillage, agricultural mechanisation, micro-irrigation, and fertigation
- Crop and animal biotechnology
- Livestock improvement
- Technologies for temperate and tropical crops
- Digital agriculture
- Biosafety and phytosanitary systems
- Agricultural value chain development
Together, these areas focus on sustainability, productivity, and resilience across diverse agro-climatic conditions.
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Focus Areas in Crops, Livestock, and Plant-Animal Health
The cooperation framework emphasises outcomes in crops, livestock, and plant-animal health systems.
Germplasm exchange will cover soybean, sunflower, maize, blueberry, citrus, wild papaya species, guava, and selected vegetable crops.
In addition, both sides will deepen cooperation in the oilseeds and pulses value chains, horticulture value chain development, and agricultural mechanisation, including zero-tillage systems, cotton-harvesting machinery, and drone-based applications.
In plant and animal health, collaboration will focus on region-specific strategies for eliminating Foot-and-Mouth Disease, along with technical cooperation on locust surveillance and management through best-practice sharing.
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Implementation Mechanisms and Knowledge Exchange Pathways
The work plan will be implemented through structured mechanisms to ensure practical knowledge transfer.
Key pathways include:
- Joint research programmes and coordinated studies
- Germplasm exchange for priority crops and horticultural species
- Expert exchanges and technical engagements
- Structured training programmes and study visits
Planned engagements span greenhouse vegetable production, floriculture and temperate fruits, post-harvest physiology, functional food development, veterinary diagnostics, precision livestock farming, waste-to-wealth technologies, microbial feed enhancement, digital agriculture, and sanitary and phytosanitary systems.
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India-Argentina Trade Overview
(Data Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GoI)
- Top Exports: Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes.
- Top Imports: Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; pre. edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes.
Note: The data has been sourced from the Trade Intelligence and Analytics Portal
DhruvStar Industry Insights: What It Means for the Agriculture Sector
1) Align Research and Training with Bilateral Priorities
Students and researchers can align projects with the collaboration’s focus areas - such as sustainable agronomy, crop and animal biotechnology, and digital agriculture - to access shared research, training, and germplasm exchange opportunities.
2) Cross-Value-Chain Collaboration
Agri-tech companies, equipment manufacturers, and input providers should anticipate opportunities in mechanisation, value chain development, and biosafety systems, and build partnerships to scale jointly developed technologies.
3) Prioritise Translation Over Agreements
Public agencies should ensure that joint research outputs go beyond formal agreements towards actual field research & data, regulatory alignment, and farmer-level adoption, particularly for climate-resilient crops and plant-animal health systems.
Sources
[1] ET Edge Insights
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