Nearly 6 years ago, in November 2010, President Barack Obama visited India, meeting with India’s then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and numerous high-level officials.
During the three-day visit, a number of agreements were signed by the governments of both countries, among them an agriculture partnership to address global food security. Out of this effort grew the Triangular Cooperation training program, which aims to address food security in Africa, and now also Asia, by adapting technological advances and innovative solutions. The first stage of the program focused on Kenya, Liberia and Malawi, with potential to expand throughout the African Continent in future.
The pilot training program was enormously successful. Seven training seminars were offered to 219 executives from the target countries, who then began to implement many of the innovative ideas and practices that improve food security and nutrition, in their home countries. The results generated a considerable interest among a number of African and Asian countries.
In late July, the United States, with USAID in the lead, and India’s Ministry of Agriculture, initiated the program’s second phase. Named Feed the Future – India Triangular Training Program, the program aims to offer similar training to 1500 agricultural practitioners from 17 countries in Africa and Asia – Afghanistan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania,and Uganda.
The program’s second phase, which consists of 32 courses offered in India and another twelve that will be taught in the target countries, will help increase agricultural productivity by teaching best practices and harnessing the expertise and innovation of experts in the United States and India.
“The program,” said U.S. Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, “enables us to share these innovations worldwide, helping other countries revolutionize their agriculture practices and bringing solutions to aid farmers in their production, harvesting and marketing of goods.
“Ultimately,” he said, “by sharing best practices and enhancing farming techniques, we are benefitting the wider world by improving nutrition levels.”
