Biotech Updates

New CIAT-HarvestPlus Office Inaugurated in India

May 21, 2010

The newest office of International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)-HarvestPlus was finally inaugurated last May 12 at the campus of Patancheru near Hyderabad, India. Harrie Hendrickx, Head of Product Delivery for HarvestPlus, said that the new office aims to support seed companies and develop staple crops that are rich in micronutrients, particularly the pearl millet which is the reason why HarvestPlus is now in ICRISAT. This is in line with Harvest Plus' goal of relieving malnutrition in Asia and in Africa.

Dr. William D. Dar, the Director General of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) which hosts the new office, noted the importance of forging partnerships between different organizations to advance agriculture. He said, "No one can do it alone and ICRISAT is the living proof for showcasing partnerships for agricultural development."

On the other hand, The press release of HarvestPlus is available at http://www.harvestplus.org/content/ciat-harvestplus-office-icrisat-inaugurated.