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Dryland Congress charts global South co-operation
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Wednesday, 16 September, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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The three-day Dryland Congress 2026 concluded in New Delhi with a strong call for greater South–South and triangular cooperation to accelerate solutions for dryland agriculture. The Congress culminated in the adoption of the Delhi Declaration on Drylands (3D), setting out a shared agenda to transform dryland agriculture through collaboration, knowledge exchange, innovation and collective action across the Global South.
The declaration was endorsed at the closing plenary by participating governments, institutions, partners and delegates. The final day of the Congress coincided with the United Nations Day for South–South Cooperation.
Addressing the valedictory session, Dr M. L. Jat, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR, stressed the need to place foresight at the centre of efforts to address challenges facing dryland agriculture. He called for a strong institutional mechanism and proposed that the ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (ICAR-NIAP) be mandated to lead foresight work on dryland agriculture.
Jat also emphasised the importance of robust data and information systems for dryland agri-food systems and called for common innovation platforms or living laboratories that can connect research with practice and policy.
Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT, highlighted the strategic importance of drylands to global food security and called for the deliberations of the Congress to be converted into concrete action. He stressed the need to prioritise recommendations into short- and long-term actions and move from ideas to concepts and ultimately to implementation by bringing together expertise, knowledge and partnerships.
The valedictory session also saw the announcement of new partnerships and collaborations. Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding were announced with the Global Crop Diversity Trust, while ICRISAT exchanged MoUs with Avior Life Sciences, NIFTEM, Wipro Limited, and the Angul and Rayagada district administrations of Odisha. The partnerships are aimed at strengthening innovation and action in dryland agriculture.
Congress Co-Chairs Dr D.K. Yadava, DDG (Crop Science), ICAR, and Dr Stanford Blade, DDG (Research & Innovation), ICRISAT, presented a summary of the three-day deliberations and outlined key outcomes and recommendations.
Earlier, the day began with a commemoration ceremony for the UN Day for South–South Cooperation, featuring messages from the UN Secretary-General, the FAO Director-General and Dima Al-Khatib, Director, UNOSSC. Pathak presented the vision of the International Solidarity for South-South Cooperation in Agriculture (ISSCA) and highlighted the need to strengthen partnerships across the Global South.
Representatives from ICRISAT, ICAR, CGIAR, RIS, NABARD and the CGIAR Capacity Sharing Accelerator reaffirmed their commitment to advancing South–South cooperation to increase development impact.
This was followed by the session, “Knowledge Without Borders: Advancing South–South and Triangular Cooperation,” convened with CGIAR. Two panel discussions focused on making South–South and triangular cooperation more effective and scaling successful models. Representatives from national agricultural research systems in Ethiopia, Senegal, Brazil, China and India, along with experts from CGIAR, FARA and APAARI, shared experiences and perspectives.
The Congress also featured the ISSCA Global Awards 2026, an annual initiative recognising proven agricultural innovations from institutions across the Global South with potential for scaling and cross-country adaptation. The inaugural edition received 170 nominations from 34 countries across Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The ISSCA Global Award for Transformative Excellence (Mega Award) was presented to ICARDA, Lebanon, for TAAT Wheat Compact Technologies: Heat-Tolerant Wheat Varieties; CIMMYT, Mexico, for e-Agrology 360; and the Odisha Livelihoods Mission, Government of Odisha, for Women-Led Sustainable Farming for Nutrition and Rural Resilience.
The Crop Improvement & Production Technologies awards went to Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bangladesh, for BARI Chinabadam-9; University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India, for GPBD 4; and the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), Myanmar, for climate-smart, early-maturing chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut varieties.
The Natural Resource Management & Climate Resilience category recognised the Karnataka State Department of Agriculture for Krishi Bhagya; NECTAR, India, for integrated banana pseudo-stem processing; the Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar, for rejuvenating Aahar–Pyne landscapes; and Sustainable Farming Solutions, Malawi, for digital land-restoration stewardship.
The Agribusiness & Market Systems awards recognised BIID Foundation, Bangladesh, for e-Krishok; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for the TNAU-FPO Linkage Programme; and the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute for its Parabolic-Shaped Solar Dryer.
In Digital Agriculture, awards went to the Department of Horticulture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, for the APMIP Digital Ecosystem and the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat, for Krushi Pragati.
The Livestock Improvement & Production Technologies awards recognised WorldFish, Bangladesh, for its improved carp seed system and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya, for the Participatory Indigenous Chicken Breed Improvement Program (PIC-BIP). In addition, 16 Best Poster Awards were presented to students and research scholars for promising research in dryland agriculture.
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