Overview

The United States and India are working together to promote global progress and achieve shared development goals around the world. As agreed in the U.S.-India Joint Statement, signed in June 2016, the U.S. and India share a common interest in working with partners across Africa and Asia to mitigate the impact of climate change, promote global health and food security, and ensure continued regional integration and stability. U.S. assistance in India helps advance this shared agenda by engaging a range of stakeholders to end extreme poverty and increase citizens’ access to quality health care, education, water and sanitation, and clean energy.

ENSURING FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

Feed the Future India Triangular Training Program: USAID partners with the Indian Ministry of Agriculture’s premier institute — the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) — to train 1,500 agricultural practitioners from17 countries across Africa and Asia on specialized farming practices to improve productivity and income. Phase I of the program trained 219 participants from Kenya, Liberia, and Malawi in agricultural marketing, dairy management, food processing and other best practices to prevent post-harvest losses. These farmers, food processors, extension workers, and policymakers are now implementing new farming practices that improve food and nutritional security in their countries and regions. Following the successes of these three countries, Phase II expanded to include training for hundreds of additional farmers, helping increase the agricultural stability of 17 target countries. 

Agriculture Innovation Partnership Program: The USAID Agriculture Innovations Partnership (AIP) program has helped three leading Indian universities—Banaras Hindu University, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, and Assam Agricultural University—adopt state-of-the-art agricultural education curriculums, including extension management training programs. AIP will also launch research initiatives to better prepare a market-ready workforce and promote new innovative technologies in agriculture. This successful program is now being replicated in Nepal at the Agriculture and Forestry University, as well as in Malawi at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). Under a $165 million project, USAID will work with the World Bank and the Government of India to scale up this successful academic program across all 71 agriculture universities in India. 

Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA): USAID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation jointly established CSISA in 2009 to help India’s smallholder farmers adapt to climate change and rainfall variability. To this end, CSISA works to improve crop production by integrating cutting-edge technologies such as two-wheeled tractors, rice planters, and irrigation methods with resource conservation and sound farm management practices. These innovative solutions increased incomes and crop yields for 620,000 farmers in India. Tested technologies are currently being transferred and applied in Bangladesh and Nepal to improve agricultural productivity and increase farmers’ incomes regionally.

Feed the Future India Africa Innovation Transfer Platform: USAID partners with the U.S. non-profit, Technoserve, to share and transfer innovative Indian soil and water management techniques —known as Khadins and Taankas — in Kenya and Malawi. These techniques help local communities improve off-season crop production, provide water for their cattle, and explore options for growing additional fodder crops. So far, Dedza in Malawi and Kajaido County in Kenya have improved 15 hectares of land through enhanced agriculture management practices, demonstrating the benefits of these technologies for wider use.

Solar Conduction Dryer: In Kenya, USAID supported the local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Science for Society, to pilot a cost-effective Solar Conduction Dryer (SCD) used to dehydrate farm produce. This SCD technology—developed by five engineering students in India—is now being used by 1,000 farmer groups across Kenya to process and preserve perishable fruits and vegetables, enhancing produce shelf life and increasing its market value ten-fold. In two provinces of India’s Maharashtra state, USAID helped pilot-test 50 Solar Conduction Dryers; farmers reported an average annual income increase of $1,000 due to sales of dehydrated farm produce.

Bullet Santi and Seed Dibbler: USAID supports the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) to transfer two- and three-wheel tractor “Bullet Santi,” Seed Dibblers, and food processors to Kenyan farmers. In India, these technologies have helped increase agricultural productivity and improved the resilience of more than one million households. With USAID’s support, SRISTI is forging new partnerships with the Kenyan private sector to transfer and deploy these same innovations in 10 counties of Kenya.

India-Kenya Dairy Innovation Bridge Program: USAID is partnering with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), a leading infrastructure development and financial services group, to transfer and pilot India’s successful smallholder dairy production and marketing business model to Kenya. The program has introduced and tested feed and fodder management best practices, as well as established a micro-milk processing unit in Nakuru County, Kenya, that increased milk production by more than 50 percent in the target communities where the model is being piloted.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE

Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health + Adolescents Global Linkages Project: In 2016, USAID launched the Global Linkages project to facilitate the transfer and adoption of 20 Indian innovations and best practices in family planning, child, and maternal health care to select African and Asian countries. Based in India, the Global Linkages project tests and scales both public and private sector best practices and innovations. The project has already mapped 50 of the most promising Indian health care innovations, and is designing tools to assess the technical and commercial feasibility for transferring and adopting best practices to other countries.  Kenya and Bangladesh are keen to adopt the emergency medical transport management system and health insurance claim management processes piloted in India.  Afghanistan, Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda have also emerged as potential partner countries based on health indicators and cross-learning opportunities.

SHARE-UNAIDS: USAID and UNAIDS launched the SHARE project in 2013 to facilitate the transfer of best practices and innovations in HIV/AIDS prevention and control between India and third countries. For example, the project established a partnership between India and Indonesia to transfer monitoring systems for district-level planning and monitoring of HIV programs. An Indian center of excellence and an Indonesian medical entity will also partner to establish, test, and scale “telemedicine” systems for tracking treatment adherence and building the capacity of health care professionals.

EMPOWERING WOMEN

Afghan Women’s Empowerment Program: USAID partners with the Governments of India and Afghanistan to support the Self-Employed Women’s Association’s (SEWA) Afghan Women’s Empowerment Program. SEWA, a women’s cooperative with more than 1.9 million members in India, will expand its previous work with government and civil society stakeholders in India and Afghanistan to train more than 3,000 Afghan women in vocational and marketing skills to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency. A Tripartite Statement of Principles (SOP) was signed between the governments of Afghanistan, India, and the United States to outline the commitment of each government and ensure the smooth implementation of the project for the security of the implementing partners and beneficiaries. The first training was held in April.

wPOWER: The Partnership on Women’s Entrepreneurship in Clean Energy (wPOWER)—a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and USAID—trains women entrepreneurs in business skills and using clean energy technologies and products (such as solar lanterns and cook stoves) in the home. These women then sell the products, increasing their incomes and introducing clean energy into their communities. Since 2012, wPOWER has trained 1,020 rural women in India, who in turn have helped one million Indians adopt clean energy products. wPOWER India works with Care International, Solar Sister, and the Wangari Mathai Institute in East Africa and Nigeria, as well as Kopernik in Indonesia, to bring women entrepreneurs from five African countries, Indonesia and India together to share best practices and lessons learned.

PROMOTING CLEAN ENERGY

South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integration (SARI/EI): The USAID/India-led SARI/EI works to promote cross-border electricity trade in South Asia to revitalize and accelerate regional economic development. Started in 2000, SARI/EI established a regional energy forum that was instrumental in operationalizing the 500 megawatt (MW) transmission link between Bangladesh and India. The program also set the stage for the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member nations to adopt the Inter-Governmental Framework Agreement for Electricity Cooperation, and enabled the historic India-Nepal Power Trade Agreement to be signed. SARI/EI also facilitated a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Sri Lanka for a high capacity energy transmission interconnection, and supported a plan for building a transmission link between Nepal and India to substantially expand power trade.

SARI/EI has already helped avoid 848,738 tons of carbon emissions in the South Asia region. The program is now working closely with Indian institutions to strengthen the capacity of counterpart institutions in Nepal and Bangladesh through a variety of skills development programs.

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