50 Years of Innovation and Impacts

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is celebrating its golden jubilee, in Mali, marking 50 years of agricultural scientific innovation and impact since its establishment in 1972.

The celebrations in Mali, home to the Institute’s regional offices in West and Central Africa, build upon earlier festivities launched by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi at ICRISAT’s global headquarters in Hyderabad, India in February.

ICRISAT which won the Africa Food Prize in 2021, has an illustrious history of developing higher yielding and drought tolerant crop varieties, essential to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the semi-arid tropics.

The Institute’s specialty crops include sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, groundnut, pigeonpea and chickpea which help underscore the food security of millions across the African Continent.

Addressing the celebration in Mali, ICRISAT Director General, Dr Jacqueline Hughes said the agricultural sector has a crucial role to play in the long-term development of most African countries, and that any strategy for sustained growth and poverty reduction must center on the rapid growth of this agricultural sector with a focus on partnerships.

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