The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to strengthen collaboration in multidisciplinary research, innovation, and capacity building across the dairy sector. The strategic alliance aims to enhance dairy production, processing, and value addition, with a strong focus on empowering primary stakeholders, particularly millions of dairy farmers across the country.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Raghavendra Bhatta, Deputy Director General (Animal Sciences), ICAR, and Shri S. Regupathi, Executive Director (Operations), NDDB, in the presence of Dr. Mangilal Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, and Dr. Meenesh C. Shah, Chairman, NDDB.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mangilal Jat highlighted the importance of breaking institutional silos and promoting complementary research to address complex challenges in the dairy sector. He emphasized the need for integrated farming systems and expressed confidence that the MoU would pave the way for a well-structured partnership to address critical issues such as climate resilience, low productivity, and dairy value chain development.
Dr. Jat also underscored the need to address the challenge of stray cattle through the adoption of sustainable gaushala models and stressed the importance of effective manure management and biogas utilization. Highlighting the crucial role of quality fodder in enhancing livestock productivity, he noted that these initiatives would be driven by cutting-edge innovations and modern technologies emerging from ICAR institutions.
NDDB Chairman Dr. Meenesh C. Shah stated that the partnership has the potential to create one of the world’s largest platforms for integrated scientific collaboration, aligned with the national vision of “Viksit Bharat.” He noted that NDDB has previously collaborated with ICAR institutions on initiatives such as ration balancing, mineral mapping, and total mixed ration systems. He also highlighted opportunities for cooperation in traditional veterinary practices and reiterated NDDB’s readiness to address emerging challenges in the livestock and agriculture sectors in the national interest.
Dr. Shah further emphasized the objective of developing scalable and replicable models suitable for diverse agro-climatic regions of the country. He also pointed to potential areas of collaboration across the value chains of fruits and vegetables, oilseeds, fodder, milk, and dairy products.
The MoU seeks to synergize ICAR’s scientific and research expertise with NDDB’s extensive field-level experience and strong institutional capabilities to address emerging challenges across the dairy value chain, particularly at the grassroots level. The collaboration places special emphasis on knowledge sharing, technology development and validation, human resource development, and the conduct of joint training programmes for researchers, professionals, and farmers.
It is expected that this strategic partnership will significantly contribute to translating research outcomes into practical, field-level solutions, thereby improving productivity, profitability, and sustainability in India’s dairy sector.
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