New Delhi — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and India’s Ministry of Agriculture launched today the second phase of the Feed the Future India Triangular Training Program, bringing specialized agriculture trainings to 1,500 agricultural professionals across Africa and Asia.

U.S. Ambassador Richard R. Verma and India’s Secretary of Agriculture Mr. S.K. Pattanayak launched the program together at the National Agriculture Science Complex in New Delhi, demonstrating the United States and India’s partnership to advance global development goals. The program builds upon five decades of joint work utilizing science and technology to bring innovative solutions to the challenges facing farmers. 

Through these agriculture innovations, India has become one of the world’s largest producers of staple crops, fruits and dairy products—helping reduce the country’s malnutrition rates and improve its food and nutritional security. The Feed the Future India Triangular Training Program will enable India and the U.S. to share these farming techniques worldwide, helping countries in Africa and Asia revolutionize their agriculture practices and ultimately, improve global nutrition levels.

“By harnessing the expertise and innovation of our two great countries, we are unlocking new opportunities to address global development challenges, bringing us closer to our shared objective of eliminating global poverty and hunger,” said U.S. Ambassador Richard Verma.

Led by the Government of India’s premier National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management- MANAGE, the program will train agricultural professionals from 17 countries in Africa and Asia on specialized farming practices such as agricultural marketing, dairy management, food processing and ways to prevent post-harvest losses. The first phase of the program trained more than 200 agricultural professionals from Kenya, Liberia and Malawi, and they are now implementing the new farming techniques to increase farm productivity and income. Following the success of these countries, the Government of India and the U.S. are expanding the program with today’s launch to reach hundreds of agricultural professionals and in turn thousands of smallholder farmers. 

The United States and India remain committed to their partnership of working together to break the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger. Through sharing agriculture innovations worldwide, the U.S. and India will help other countries develop their agriculture sectors, helping promote global prosperity and stability.