India, Argentina sign 2025-27 work plan to deepen agricultural research cooperation

India and Argentina on Tuesday signed a work plan for 2025-2027 to deepen bilateral cooperation in agricultural research, technology exchange and capacity building. The agreement was signed between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR ) and Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) , and the document was exchanged by the Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) , the Director General of ICAR and the Ambassador of Argentina to India.

The work plan seeks to expand collaboration in key agricultural areas, including natural resource management, sustainable agronomy, crop and animal biotechnology, livestock improvement, digital agriculture and value chain development. Cooperation will also cover zero tillage, farm mechanisation, micro-irrigation, fertigation, biosafety and phytosanitary measures.

According to officials, the partnership will be implemented through joint research projects, germplasm exchange, expert-level interactions, training programmes and study visits. Planned activities include training in greenhouse vegetable production, floriculture, temperate fruit cultivation, post-harvest management, functional food development, veterinary diagnostics, precision livestock farming and waste-to-wealth technologies.

The agreement provides for the exchange of germplasm such as soybean, sunflower, maize, blueberry, citrus, guava, wild papaya species and selected vegetable crops. Both sides will also strengthen cooperation in oilseed and pulses value chains, agricultural mechanisation including zero-tillage technologies, cotton harvesting machinery and drones as well as horticulture infrastructure and planting material exchange.

In the area of plant and animal health, the work plan outlines collaboration on region-specific Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) elimination strategies and enhanced coordination on locust surveillance and management through technical exchanges and sharing of best practices. Annual monitoring and reviews have been built into the framework to ensure effective implementation of the agreed activities.

While the scope of collaboration under the new work plan is wide-ranging, officials clarified that this is not the first agricultural arrangement between the two countries. India and Argentina have maintained a long-standing partnership in agricultural research, particularly through ICAR and INTA, with earlier memoranda of understanding and project-based cooperation in areas such as oilseeds, germplasm exchange and conservation agriculture. The 2025-2027 work plan represents a more structured and implementation-focused phase of that engagement.

ICAR, under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, is India’s apex body for agricultural research and education, overseeing a nationwide network of research institutes and agricultural universities. INTA is Argentina’s premier public institution for agricultural research, innovation and extension, with global expertise in conservation agriculture, oilseed research and precision livestock systems. Their institutional collaboration has included scientist exchanges, joint research initiatives and training programmes over the years.

Argentine Ambassador Mariano Caucino said the agreement stemmed from the historic summit between Argentine President Javier Milei and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Argentina in July 2025. He highlighted the strong complementarity between the two economies and acknowledged the role played by Argentina’s agriculture attaché in advancing cooperation since the opening of the office in New Delhi in 2019.