ICRISAT at 40 - A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

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A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

i A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

ICRISAT at

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Š International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), 2012.

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Citation: ICRISAT. 2012. ICRISAT at 40: a journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics.

Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). __ pp. ISBN 978-92-9066-550-2.

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Foreword

v

Preface

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Background

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The 1970s

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The 1980s

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The 1990s

116

The 2000s

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Appendix

176

Acronyms

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Contents

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Foreword ICRISAT was the first international scientific institution to be set up after the formation of the CGIAR in 1971.

At its very first meeting held in 1971, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the CGIAR recommended that an institution devoted to the improvement of the productivity, profitability and sustainability of semiarid agriculture with particular reference to sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea and pigeonpea may be established. On my suggestion, water harvesting and watershed management were also added to the mandate of ICRISAT, since semi-arid agriculture will not be viable if there are no opportunities for crop life saving irrigation. Later, groundnut was also added to the mandate of ICRISAT. Thus, from 1972 onwards, the Institute started contributing to both crop improvement and watershed management. In addition, socioeconomic research was given priority since the success of technology diffusion would depend upon the socio-economic substrate of a region.

One of my first tasks after joining as the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in January 1972 was to work with Dr Ralph Cummings in developing a Memorandum of Agreement with the Government of India concerning the establishment of ICRISAT. ICRISAT was the first institution of the CGIAR to be given the immunities and privileges associated with UN organizations by the Government of India, thereby indicating the importance of this Institute to the semi-arid farmers in India.

Even at the time of establishment of ICRISAT in Hyderabad, TAC had suggested that a link center should be established in sub-Saharan Africa. Such a Center was later established in Niger. Today ICRISAT’s work is making impact in the semi-arid tropics of all the continents. In particular, India, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, Eritrea, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe are all deriving great benefit, thanks to their partnership with ICRISAT. ICRISAT’s work has also shown how the desert regions of Afghanistan can be converted into Oasis. ICRISAT has become a leader in translational research aimed to convert scientific findings into commercial products and ventures. Its “Inclusive Market-Oriented Development” approach has helped resource poor farmers to ensure the economic viability of small farm operations. The work in the field of producing improved varieties or hybrids of all the five major mandate crops has been truly impressive. In recent years, ICRISAT has adopted the mission “Science with a human face.” Such an approach has led to placing faces before figures and thereby has led to a human centerd pathway to agricultural research for development.

A successful institution is not made just of bricks. The success comes from the hard, dedicated and visionary work of both the working scientists and other staff members as well as the top level management.

ICRISAT has been fortunate to have had a succession of highly dedicated and visionary Directors General (DGs), beginning from Dr Ralph Cummings and extending to the present DG, Dr William Dar. I also wish to pay my tribute to all the Board Chairs and Trustees and donors for their support to this institution dedicated to the service of a majority of the 2 billion farmers of the world. The scholars, staff and scientists of ICRISAT can look back with pride and satisfaction on the achievements of the last 40 years. Looking ahead, the institute has to play an even more important role in enabling humankind to achieve food and nutrition security in an era of climate change and under conditions of shrinking per capita availability of arable land and irrigation water and expanding biotic and abiotic stresses.

M S Swaminathan

Preface This year, ICRISAT celebrates its 40th anniversary marking four decades of commitment and dedicated service to the forgotten poor in the dryland tropics of the world. Especially in the last exciting and challenging decade, I am immensely honored and privileged to have served as ICRISAT’s Director General. It had been a decade of change, accelerated growth, increased networking, global recognition, and agricultural impact in the regions that we touch.

As the leader of this Institute I feel it is just and right to recognize the creators, builders and maintainers who have laid the foundation, implemented the mandate, investigated the research impacts, spotted the gaps, and now continue to keep ICRISAT relevant and healthy. It is for this reason that I initiated the preparation of our third history book.

Unlike the history books made for our 30th and 35th anniversaries, the present one is more a record of milestones in pictures, of photographic evidence and memories frozen in time. The publication team has made every effort to capture as many faces of staff members as possible. This book is a salute to the body of industrious workers, scientists, assistants, writers, artists, farm hands, mechanics, drivers, security personnel, cooks, financial services, partners, janitors, top level management and the Governing Board – each one serving an important function, the dedicated people who have strived for, and who are still striving to fulfill, the mission of the Institute conceived 40 years ago. The wording of the mission statement may have been slightly altered, the focus realigned with the changing needs of the time – but the spirit of service, and the enthusiasm and level of dedication remains unchanged.

ICRISAT has grown from an agricultural research institute to a center of excellence; from a place of searching to a place where knowledge and solutions are imparted. We do not have all the answers, but we certainly have a clearer vision of our target. Using the knowledge base we have built, the availability of modern-day science facilities and tools, and the partnerships and networks that feed our confidence, ICRISAT is better equipped today than it was 40 years ago to “empower poor people to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment.” We are grateful for the support and encouragement that has made this possible.

I hope you enjoy browsing through this book and that you feel as much pride and affection from the memories and inspiration it evokes as we have had in preparing it for you and for posterity. Thank you for being a part of the ICRISAT story.

William D. Dar Director General

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ICRISAT fields in the making, 1972.

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Background Background

The First Decade (1970s) – The Birth of ICRISAT

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he International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) was the first international institute that was established under the auspices of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

First Governing Board (GB) meeting. Standing (L to R): UK Rao, Rubens Vaz da Costa, T Swaminathan, DW Thorne, AR Melville, RW Cummings, Francis Bour, MH Mengesha, K Lampe. Sitting (L to R): RH Demuth, CF Bentley, MS Swaminathan, DL Umali.

As stated by ICRISAT’s first Director, Dr RW Cummings during ICRISAT’s 10th Anniversary celebration on 11 October 1982, “ICRISAT became a legally constituted bonafide, international institute on July 5, 1972. …” At the first meeting of the CGIAR’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in mid-1971, a team was commissioned to address this segment of world agriculture and develop suggestions for action. The team quickly focused its attention on the seasonally dry semi-arid tropics, where sorghum and millet, along with a range of pulses, are the major components of the cropping pattern and the major staples in the diets of the people. The report and recommendations were completed and presented to TAC in October 1971, and were approved by the CGIAR in early December of the same year.

ICRISAT’s approved mandates were to: ■

Serve as a world center to improve the genetic potential for grain yield and nutritional quality of sorghum, pearl millet, pigeonpea, chickpea and groundnut;

ICRISAT farm in its initial stage.

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Develop farming systems, which will help to increase and stabilize agricultural production through better use of natural and human resources in the seasonally dry semi-arid tropics; Identify socioeconomic and other constraints to agricultural development in the semi-arid tropics, and to evaluate alternative means of alleviating them through technological and institutional changes; and Assist national and regional research programs through cooperation and support, and to contribute further by sponsoring conferences, operating international training programs and assisting extension activities.

The First Year ICRISAT came into being on 5 July 1972 when its first Board met under the chairmanship of Dr Fred Bentley, who had also acted as CEO until then.

ICRISAT had set the following priorities for the next 5-6 years: ■

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Evacuate the two selected villages and resettle the villagers elsewhere comfortably, in order to acquire land for the Institute; Develop world-class research facilities and experiment station; and Organize research programs and hire some of the best scientists in the world to lead them.

With the laying of the foundation stone by Mrs Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, on 11 January 1975, the permanent research complex and headquarters of ICRISAT moved officially off the drawing boards and into the construction phase.

Said Mrs Gandhi, “I am very happy to be here today because we give great importance to this Institute and the work that it is undertaking. I am glad to lay the foundation stone of the building complex of this Institute, which symbolizes the pooling of talents of scientists and technicians regardless of nationality, race or color, in this greatest of all wars, the war against hunger. The Government of India will continue to extend full support to the aims and programs of this Institute, and may I wish all of you success in your work.”

Prime Minister Gandhi with Lord Ganesha.

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Ralph Cummings and Les Swindale inspecting the site map.

In a colorful ceremony on 18 February 1977 the Director, Ralph W Cummings took possession of three (albeit temporary) buildings on the campus.

They were the Library Building, and two international staff houses subsequently occupied by Jacob Kampen and Bert Krantz.

Dr Ralph W Cummings, after 20 years in international agriculture and 5 years as the Director of ICRISAT, retired from ICRISAT and its Governing Board in March 1977. Words cannot adequately describe all that he did for ICRISAT. To put it simply, he was just the best man that could have been found to put ICRISAT on the right road. His combined knowledge of international agricultural research and of India was unique.

Leslie D Swindale, aged 47, took over as the new Director, and led the Institute for the next 15 years.

RW Cummings inaugurating the Trainee Hostel at Road 5, Banjara Hills, Hyerabad on 19 April 1974.

Progress in the seventies Well laid-out agronomic experiments in 1972 were the beginning of the Farming Systems Research Program.

These experiments were subsequently put into the watersheds with a land and water management perspective. Later came the intercropping perspective to the watersheds, which was hard to sell in the seventies but became very popular in the nineties.

On 18 December 1978, the Computer Services unit, established in 1975, moved from Banjara Hills in Hyderabad city to the Patancheru campus. This was the first unit to occupy the new office buildings, and it set the trend for other departments to move from their hitherto comfortable city offices to the new, though still dusty and noisy with ongoing construction, premises.

The ICRISAT Center at Patancheru was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Charan Singh on 30 August 1979.

The seventies was a decade of great impact where research was concerned at ICRISAT. It was in this decade that ICRISAT scientists developed varieties, hybrids, breeding lines, and other material that resist pests and diseases, and also developed technologies that could be used by the dryland farmers.

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In 1980, ICRISAT developed a new system of farming that enabled better rainy-season use of the deep vertisols (black soils) in areas of assured rainfall in India; millions of hectares of these lands, then left fallow in the rainy season, could produce two crops a year using the new technology. The technology included improvement in cropping patterns, varieties, fertilization, cultural practices, land and water management, and agricultural implements.

The technology incorporated results of many years of research, some of it conducted even before ICRISAT came into being.

Genetic Resources

CM Pattanayak in Burkina Faso, 1975.

One of ICRISAT’s most remarkable achievements in Genetic Resources is the vast collection of germplasm from all corners of the globe. A world repository for the genetic resources of the mandate crops, ICRISAT’s collection has come a long way since the genebank was started in January 1979 with short-term storage facilities. The genebank also holds several hundred accessions of the wild relatives of ICRISAT’s mandate crops.

The collected material, now over 119,000 accessions, shows an amazing range of variability in color, shape, maturity and useful traits – traits that can be used to create much improved varieties.

Training The training program, expanded in 1976 with several groups of trainees from five Francophone African nations and a large number of Research Fellows (essentially postgraduates who worked toward their PhD degrees in collaborating universities), started work at ICRISAT under the direction of the Institute’s scientists. Training is still one of ICRISAT’s major contributions to world agriculture.

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Background The Second decade (1980s) – Decade of Excellence

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his was the period when the Institute’s activities were at its peak. The financial position was very strong and several donor agencies were appreciative and eager to invest an increasing amount of funds into the Institute’s research work. Easy availability of funds resulted in substantial expansion of the research work. More and more projects and programs were added, and more staff members were recruited.

Inauguration of ICRISAT Sahelian Center, 7 March 1989.

Reaching out to the world ICRISAT has a global mandate with a major role to play in Africa, because large parts of the continent fall within the semi-arid tropics. ICRISAT’s program in Africa, supported by UNDP, started in 1975. By the end of 1976, 14 scientists were placed to work in the Sahelian zone of West Africa with active support form UNDP and USAID. Scientists were placed in two more Sahelian countries and in Sudan. The project headquarters was at Dakar, Senegal to coordinate the efforts in the SudanoSahelian zone of Africa. The program gained momentum in 1977 and 13 countries were involved in the coordinated research activities. ICRISAT scientists at this time were basically posted at national programs, as ICRISAT did not have any facility of its own.

In 1981, through an agreement with the Government of Niger, work on the establishment of its Sahelian Center on a 500-ha site, about 35 km south of Niamey, was started. This would be the base for work on millets and groundnut and on farming systems in the Sahelian region of Africa.

Extension in sub-Saharan Africa The year 1981 was also the year when a beginning was made to extend the work to southern Africa.

ICRISAT responded to SADCC (a group of nine southern African states, called the Southern African Development Coordination Conference) when the Heads of the Governments met at Lusaka and

LD Swindale, CLL Gowda and RS Paroda – making the strong ICAR-ICRISAT partnership even stronger.

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requested ICRISAT to tackle the urgent need for improved production of food crops in the region. The first response was the program for groundnut improvement in Malawi, which got off the ground in 1982 with two scientists posted at Chitedze, near the capital city of Lilongwe, to find groundnut varieties resistant to rosette virus. The work got a breakthrough in the subsequent years, and covers the countries of Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and of course Malawi. This program was supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

The SADCC/SMIP (Sorghum and Millet Improvement Project) was formally launched in 1983 with USAID funding and started functioning from April 1984 at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Construction work for the Bulawayo station started in 1986 and was completed in late 1987.

The East African program gained momentum with the posting of a scientist in Kenya who worked closely with the Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development (SAFGRAD), largely funded by USAID. The work was coordinated for Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

In the mid-eighties the Farming Systems Research Program started in Ethiopia for the deep vertisols in the country. The experience gained from managing deep vertisols in India was successfully transferred in a cooperative project with generous funding from the Dutch Government. The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, the Institute of Agricultural Research, the International Livestock Center for Africa and the Aleymaya University joined hands in this project. Also in the mid-eighties regional networks involving cereals were initiated in Africa.

... and in Asia Besides India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand were the first countries where cooperation started in Asia. In India, the All India Coordinated Projects on the ICRISAT mandate crops were the main institutions for close cooperation.

In 1977-78 cooperative programs also started in the Middle East – in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Syria. A chickpea specialist was placed at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) to work on kabuli chickpea.

Other initiatives took root – the Asian Grain Legume Network (AGLN) was formed with the signing of an MOU with Sri Lanka in 1986; and the Legume On Farm Testing program (LEGOFTEN) started in 1987 with the request from the Government of India to extend the improved package of practices on legume crops in the farmers’ field (five Indian states took part in this very successful program of testing improved practices).

... and in Latin America Collaborative programs were launched in Brazil with support from the Ford Foundation in 1975-76, and in 1982, ICRISAT posted an agronomist at sister CGIAR Center CIMMYT, to work on cold-tolerant sorghum.

The efforts put in by ICRISAT in Latin America resulted in the release of three sorghum varieties by Mexico in 1982, two varieties in El Salvador and seed production in Venezuela and Nicaragua.

In April 1985, ICRISAT received a certificate in recognition of its work during 1981-85 on sorghum in Latin America and the Caribbean, from an organization of nine countries in the region. Similar recognition had been received earlier for its work in 1977-81.

Review of research and management by external panels ICRISAT was evaluated by two external review panels in August-September 1984 for the CGIAR. Both the panels commended the Institute for the way it was carrying out its research and managing its resources.

15th Anniversary For ICRISAT, 1987 marked an important milestone with the completion of 15 years of international service. The Institute celebrated its 15th anniversary on 16 October 1987, the day dedicated as the World Food Day by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) to resource poor farmers.

An external evaluation team concluded in its report in 1988 that the SADCC/ ICRISAT Regional Program in Zimbabwe “has made excellent progress in addressing most of the objectives anticipated in the project design, and had produced results earlier than expected in a number of areas”.

This followed a similar positive report in 1987 of an external evaluation of the work done by ICRISAT in Mali.

LD Swindale greeting AP Governor Ms Kumud Behn Joshi at ICRISAT’S 15th Anniversary celebrations.

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Background The Third Decade (1990-2000) – Change

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n 1990, ICRISAT commenced research to develop genome maps of sorghum and pearl millet with collaboration from Italy, UK and USA. A Geographical Information System (GIS) that could manage and display multiple levels of spatially distributed data was installed at ICRISAT-Patancheru.

Dr James Garrett Ryan, an Australian, assumed responsibility as the Director General of ICRISAT on 19 August 1991. He was the third Chief Executive of the 19-year-old Institute succeeding Ralph Cummings and Leslie Swindale.

World’s first pigeonpea hybrid ICRISAT scientists bred ICPH 8, the world’s first hybrid pigeonpea (in fact the world’s first hybrid legume). It was notified in June 1991 by the Indian Government for use by farmers in central India. This technological breakthrough was significant because for the first time a hybrid of a pulse crop had been developed.

Hybridization in pulses had been difficult because pulse flowers have a structure that favors self-pollination over cross-pollination.

Vertisol project in Ethiopia, 1992.

Pigeonpea hybrid reaches farmers’ fields.

Progress in Africa On 17 December 1993, USAID formalized a grant amendment providing the SADC/ICRISAT Project in Zimbabwe with US$10 million for its Phase III activities from September 1993 to September 1998, an action that indicated faith in our southern African program.

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In 1994, the Desert Margins Initiative (DMI, later DMP) was launched to combat desertification in sub-

Saharan Africa and Asia. The year 1994 also was significant for the southern African region as South Africa dismantled the apartheid regime and rejoined the world community.

It also formally joined the SADC (Southern African Development Community – changed from SADCC of the eighties).

20th Anniversary

Signing the SADC-USAID MoU.

Mr PV Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India, was the Chief Guest at ICRISAT’s 20th anniversary celebrations on 29 August 1992. At the commemorative program, Mr Rao congratulated the scientists for their efforts on behalf of the people who live in some of the world’s most difficult agricultural regions.

He called on ICRISAT and other research institutions to foster closer liaisons with farmers. A perfect mixture of the farmers’ “robust common sense” with the application of basic scientific research, he felt, was necessary to develop agriculture in India.

Mr PV Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India, at ICRISAT’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

Changes in the external environment and reduced and uncertain funding in the 1990s was affecting all centers throughout the CGIAR system. Faced with funding shortfalls and the necessity to rationalize programs and reduce staff and other resources, reorganization became essential.

On the bright side, 1996 was a year of major awards bagged by ICRISAT scientists, some hope despite the gloom and shadows cast by financial constraints. ICRISAT won international recognition for its scientific achievements. Crowning the year was a “double first” for the Institute – two awards received at the International Centers’ Week, the annual gathering of the CGIAR. ICRISAT won the much-coveted King Baudouin Award in recognition of its “outstanding achievements in the development of diseaseresistant, yield-increasing pearl millet in collaboration with advanced institutions and national research programs.”

During the second half of 1994, ICRISAT went through a severe reduction of staff in the Asian region. The altered funding situation and the need to preserve the future of the Institute led ICRISAT to implement a voluntary retirement scheme in August 1994. As a consequence, 381 nationally recruited staff members and 169 workers from the Regular Work Force (RWF) left the Institute.

Some of them had served the Institute for more than 20 years and their contributions were highly acknowledged.

The African program was also badly affected due to reduction in funding. The program in Africa was consolidated into seven locations – ISC at Niamey, ICRISAT-Kano in Nigeria, ICRISAT-Bamako in Mali, SMIP in Zimbabwe, ICRISAT-Malawi at Lilongwe, ICRISAT-Nairobi in Kenya and Joint Vertisol Project with ILRI in Ethiopia.

ICRISAT won the King Baudouin Award, 1996.

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Major Changes

Changing of the guard

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Dr Ryan left the institute after six years at the helm of affairs at ICRISAT. In September 1997, Dr Shawki Barghouti, a native of Jordan was appointed as the new Director General of the Institute.

In 1998, ICRISAT became the first Center in CGIAR history to be awarded the System’s highest accolade, the King Baudouin Award for a second consecutive time. Following the 1996 award for pearl millet improvement,

The other award was a new one inaugurated by the Chairman of the CGIAR to recognize outstanding achievements on the part of locally recruited professionals at the Centers.

This was also the year that ICRISAT joined the “IT Superhighway.” After much discussion, ICRISAT, like most of the other CGIAR Centers, became part of the Integrated Voice and Data Network (IVDN) of the CGIAR. Not only would ICRISAT enjoy the obvious benefits of transmitting and accessing email and data at much faster rates than before, but most importantly, ICRISAT would finally have access to the Internet. The IVDN was inaugurated on 17 May 1996.

the 1998 award heralded the innovative science and partnership achievements in pigeonpea improvement. The award notification praised the contributions made towards enhanced food security, poverty alleviation, and sustainable agricultural development in both Africa and Asia. ICRISAT also bagged numerous other awards in this decade.

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Background The Fourth Decade (2000s) – Hope and Prosperity

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he Chairperson of the ICRISAT Governing Board, Dr Ragnhild Sohlberg, announced that Dr William Dollente Dar had been appointed as the new Director General following the departure of Dr Barghouti and interim Director Leslie Swindale. It was a happy day when he joined the Institute on 10 January 2000. Born in the Philippines in April 1953, William Dar at 46 was the youngest Director General in the Institute’s history.

Ragnhild Sohlberg and Dr Dar being interviewed.

Prior to joining ICRISAT, Dr Dar had achieved his existing position of Presidential Advisor on Rural Development in the Philippines after a steep and steady rise in his career.

At the dawn of the millennium, ICRISAT witnessed a renaissance. The institution, riddled with the sagging spirits and morale of the staff and abysmally uncertain financial backup, rose to the call of the new leadership. Infused with new verve and glowing optimism, ICRISAT picked up the phrase “Science with a human face” from the inaugural speech of its young and energetic Director General, William Dar, and turned it into the now famous Institute motto. A decade of continued optimism and exploration of uncommon opportunities for inclusive and sustainable development had begun, while continuing to address the twin challenges of global hunger and poverty.

From the turn of the century in 2001, the theme “Grey to Green Revolution” was on top of the agenda, and it was about making better use of locally available, affordable resources, complemented by modest but practical inputs from beyond. Through this novel initiative, ICRISAT helped to put the home-grown resources to much better use, as they can grow their own way out of poverty.

“ICRISAT vision and strategy to 2010” addressed the challenges and issues of the semi-arid tropics and drew up six major global research themes and corresponding deliverables. It was a watershed year marking all round development.

30th Anniversary

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On 20 December 2002, ICRISAT celebrated 30 years of its existence with great pride and pomp. His Excellency Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India, was the Chief Guest at the celebration.

In his keynote address, President Kalam urged India to apply scientific methods to ensure soil fertility, and said that integrated soil nutrient and water management are focal issues in drylands.

He asked ICRISAT to address possible agricultural and water conservation technologies in such areas, keeping in mind that solutions to these problems may be beyond the scope of only agriculture, and may need to extend to animal husbandry, poultry, agroprocessing and other related activities.

Director General Dar taking the pledge at the launch of the Team ICRISAT movement on 13 February 2002.

Dr Dar said that despite numerous successes over the past three decades, many challenges remained. One of the biggest was to find ways to improve conditions for the world’s poorest people. Turning adversities into opportunities is the heart of a movement spearheaded by ICRISAT, the Grey to Green Revolution, and guided by Science with a human face.

All stand to attention as the Indian National Anthem is sung at the 30th anniversary celebrations.

The subsequent years saw a boutique of innovations and improvements. Pioneering efforts in biotechnology, the power of pigeonpea in East Africa, prospering with peas and peanuts in China, the super-early chickpea, sweet sorghum and its wide benefits, high value crop diversification, innovative watershed management and seed systems are a few important highlights of this decade.

The chief development in this last decade is ICRISAT’s new Strategic Plan to 2020 that is anchored on the conceptual framework called “Inclusive MarketOriented Development” or simply IMOD. This commendable approach is another pathbreaking blue-print that is paving the way for a sustainable future.

In the last five years of the fourth decade a fresh flush of innovations came to the fore. ICRISAT’s Agriscience Innovation Platform is flourishing and attracting more clients; the Government of India is in a joint initiative with ICRISAT to facilitate the advancement of potential transgenic technologies of national importance through the Platform for Translational Research on Transgenic Crops (PTTC); the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting major initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa through the HOPE and TL II projects; ICRISAT is using ingenious technologies and cutting-edge biotechnologies to improve crop production and nutritive values; and is prepared to face the consequences of climate change with the climate resilient mandate crops.

Our work is not complete, but as we look back on the milestones we have surmounted, we are proud of our

Director General Dar steering the new strategy.

achievements and extremely grateful to our partners and benefactors who have made it possible. ICRISAT is a responsible Institution with a noble mission, and long may it continue to be so.

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On the information frontier, taking high tech to old problems, the formation of the virtual academy of the semi-arid tropics (VASAT), the demystification of biotechnology through media workshops, scaling up of bio-informatics and GIS systems, and the impacts of capacity building find a place of pride in our records.

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The 1970s

The 1970s

Highlights of the 1970s ■ The birth of ICRISAT ■ RW Cummings appointed as Director ■ CF Bentley appointed as Chairman of the Board ■ Charting out the research programs ■ Developing the experiment station ■ Hiring scientists and other staff members ■ Training program started ■ LD Swindale takes over as new Director ■ Computer Services move into new buildings ■ Genebank started with short-term storage ■ Program started in West Africa and in the Middle East ■ Inauguration of ICRISAT-Center at Patancheru

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Highlights of the 1970s

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Signing of the Constitution of ICRISAT, 5 July 1972. (seated L to R) MS Swaminathan, RH Demuth of the World Bank, DL Umali of FAO, and Fred Bentley; (standing) Ralph Cummings.

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Agronomist Bert A Krantz (left), ICRISAT’s first head of Farming Systems Research Program, was responsible for designing the earliest crop experiments. November 1972.

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18 Temple idol being shifted from Manmool to Ramchandrapuram. 1973.

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Dr Hugh Doggett, ICRISAT’s first sorghum breeder, admiring healthy sorghum earheads. 1974.

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Foundation stone laid

by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Others present were MS Swaminathan, Fred Bentley, AP Chief Minister J Vengal Rao and Ralph Cummings.

11 January 1975.

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Prime Minister Gandhi with Lord Ganesha. The idol was discovered on site during excavation for Lake ICRISAT. 1975.

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Ground-breaking ceremony for Patancheru Center by Ralph Cummings.

Also seen in the picture are Art Leach and JS Kanwar. 1975.

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Jim Estes and the computer team with the DEC PDP11/45 system. The computer was the second of its kind in India. (L to R) K Joseph, TBRN Gupta, BK Chakraborty, JKR Murthy, JW Estes, Lydia Flynn and Nithi Devi.

February 1976.

Indian President Dr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed at ICRISAT headquarters. 1976.

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The Library started in Chikoti Gardens, Hyderabad, in early 1974 and moved to the Banjara Hills Road 12 office three months later. Prasanna Lakshmi (left) was the first staff member to be hired by Librarian TC Jain. She also cataloged the first book in the library. 1977.

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Inauguration of ICRISAT Staff Recreation Club, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. Dancers (L to R) Soumitra Mukherjee, Gina Estes, Shauna McGinnis, and Purnima Nene.

5 March 1977.

27 A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

Dr Cummings departs after serving the Institute for five years. (L to R) N Rajamani, RW Cummings, V Balasubrahmaniam and Mary Cummings. 1977.

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LD Swindale, RC McGinnis and JS Kanwar discuss management matters in the DG’s office at Begumpet. 1977.

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Transport and Farm Machinery. 1978.

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ICRISAT Employees’ Cooperative Welfare Society helps employees with financial assistance, thrift schemes, hire-purchase offers, and a campus store. July 1978.

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Scientists SC Gupta, KN Rai and Anand Kumar contribute to pearl millet improvement. 1978.

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John Green explains pigeonpea during the visit of Indian Agriculture Minister, Surjeet Singh Barnala. February1978.

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Dr LJG van der Maesen (third from left) describes the Genetic Resources Unit that was created by incorporating crop germplasm activities into one unit.

1 January 1979.

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Hans Binswanger deliberates on Economics in the semi-arid tropics. Other Economists in the early days included JG Ryan, M von Oppen, Victor Doherty, NS Jodha, Dayanatha Jha and RD Ghodake. 1979.

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The Microbiology Department, headed by Peter Dart, started in 1975. In this picture, Shika Mittal and OP Rupela develop rhizobium inoculum on agar plates. 1979.

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Prime Minister Charan Singh inaugurates ICRISAT Center. 30 August 1979.

37 A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

(L to R) Georgina Fredericks, Joyce Gay, Mafrooz, Geeta C, Leela Expedith, G Revathi, Philomena D’souza and Cora Rebeiro, are part of ICRISAT’s women power. 1979.

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Housing and Food Services began activities at Patancheru in Building 205 canteen. In this picture (taken at a later date) are: (L to R) Lewis Ferias, Samy Mazumdar, Williams, MD Valiuddin, VR Nair, Peter and DN Sar. July 1979.

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Zafar arranges food made with mandate crops for crop quality analyses in the Biochemistry laboratory. Dr Jambunathan was the head of Biochemistry at the time. 1979.

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The 1980s

The 1980s

Highlights of the 1980s ■ Developed new system of farming ■ More projects and programs added to research agenda ■ Program in Africa extended to 13 countries ■ Development of Sahelian Center started ■ East African program gained momentum ■ USAID supports SADCC/ICRISAT Project ■ Joint projects started with Asian countries ■ Collaborative programs launched in Latin America ■ Institute celebrated 10th and 15th Anniversaries ■ External reviewers at Headquarters, Zimbabwe and Mali commended our work

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Highlights of the 1980s

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Insect Rearing Laboratory at Patancheru. 1980.

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Sorghum breeder CM Pattanayak talks to a local farmer in Ouagadogou.1980.

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Engineer Bhaskar makes adjustments to the Electron Microscope. 1980.

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Before the advent of the Internet, the library was the chief storehouse of global agricultural information as the large card catalog attests. The library, renamed the Jaswant S Kanwar Library in 2002, still maintains around 25,000 publications. 1980.

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This famous picture of the ICRISAT mandate crops was taken by photographer HS Duggal. The hands belong to (clockwise from top left) Lydia Flynn (pearl millet), Annu Michael (sorghum), Marukh Patel (groundnut), Santosh Gurtu (pigeonpea) and Nithi Devi (chickpea). February 1980.

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CF Bentley inaugurates the creche. Mr P Suryanarayana, HR Officer, is on his left. 1980.

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Doyen of groundnut breeding, Scientist SN Nigam examines a plant from his experimental plot.

Other groundnut scientists at the time were Program Leader Ron Gibbons, SL Dwivedi and MJ Vasudeva Rao. 1980.

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Scientist LJ Reddy contributes to pigeonpea improvement. Other pigeonpea breeders at the time include Don Faris, D Sharma, KL Jain and KB Saxena.1980.

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Physiologist John Peacock contributes to sorghum improvement at Patancheru. Other sorghum scientists at the time were Lee House, Sam Mukuru, Lewis Mughogho, Klaus Leusehner, N Seetharama and R Maiti. 1980.

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Ernie Nunn (left) oversees Farm Development and Operations.

1980.

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Developing a drought tolerant groundnut for sub-Saharan Africa in partnership with EMBRAPA, Latin America.

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Trainees entered a Christmas Float for the Republic Day parade in Hyderabad. 26 January 1980.

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DL Oswalt oversees training activities. 1980.

Scientist CLL Gowda contributes to chickpea improvement. Other chickpea scientists at the time were AK Auckland, KB Singh, JB Smithson, Onkar Singh, SC Gupta, KC Jain and Jagdish Kumar. 1980.

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Pioneering staff members left in the 1980s. (Above) Jacob Kampen’s farewell party.

Victor Doherty is on his left.

December 1980.

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LD Swindale lays the foundation stone for the ICRISAT Employees Housing Colony Phase I in Bowenpally, Secunderabad. 26 January 1981.

Heidelberg offset printer in action.

(L to R) PE Stephen, S Rajasekaran and G Devikumar. 1981.

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Ron Gibbons, JC Davies and Miles Wedeman (all on the right) greet a VIP visitor in Patancheru. 1982.

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Groundnut program starts in Malawi. Duncan MacDonald, SN Nigam and Pala Subrahmanyam with AZ Chiyembekeza (Malawi NARS). 1982.

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Paula Brammel learns about crop breeding from Prof Ken Frey and Scientist Dave Andrews. 1982.

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ICRISAT’s 10th anniversary celebrations at Patancheru. The Chief Guest (third from left) was Rao Birendra Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. 11 October 1982.

Pigeonpea physiologist YS Chauhan explains to N Janardhan Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister, while LJ Reddy, KB Saxena, Don Faris, KC Jain and D Sharma look on during a field tour. 1982.

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Jim Ryan and Barry Smithson make good use of the tennis court (ICRISAT named the Jim Ryan Recreation Center in 2003 during annual day celebrations). S Dasgupta and Revathi Rao are at the net, and Rock Fagot is at the back on the right.1982.

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The Swindales with her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, at Patancheru. 19 November 1983.

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Village level studies by the socio-economics team started in 1975. Above, RP Singh interviewing farmers at Shirapur Village, Maharashtra. 1983.

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ICRISAT responded to a group of nine African states called the South African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) to urgently help improved production of food crops. The project was formally launched with USAID funding in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. 1983.

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SADCC/SMIP research started in 1984. Sorghum scientists Bholanath Verma and Tunde Obilana in the field at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. 1986.

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Pearl millet breeding is legend in Niamey, Niger. (Above) A young farmer takes his harvest to market. 1985.

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Training officer Dr T Nagur explains a sorghum earhead to an African scientist. 1985

Visit of Minister Buta Singh with DDG JS Kanwar. 1985.

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Farmers Day at Patancheru.

RC Nageshwar Rao talks about growing groundnuts. 1986.

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LD Swindale greeting AP Governor Ms Kumud Behn Joshi at ICRISAT’s 15th anniversary celebrations.

Mr KB Srinivasan, Liaison Officer, is on the extreme left. 1987.

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Visit of Dr Manmohan Singh, Deputy Chairman, India’s Planning Commission, who described ICRISAT as “a living example of international cooperation at its very best.” HA van Rheenan and JS Kanwar are also seen in the picture. February 1988.

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Inauguration of ICRISAT Sahelian Center at Niamey, Niger. 7 March 1989.

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76 Early-maturing sorghum varieties helped to tide over end-ofseason drought and floods in Nigeria. ICRISAT’s sorghum variety ICSV 111 was grown in more than 30% area of the Jigwa region in Nigeria. 1989.

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ICRISAT improved sorghum cultivar Macia was first released in Mozambique, and is now vastly successful in the southern African region. 1989.

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The 1990s

The 1990s

Highlights of the 1990s ■

Research on genome maps of sorghum and pearl millet commenced

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James G Ryan takes over as Director General

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World’s first pigeonpea hybrid developed

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Institute celebrated 20th and 25th anniversaries

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Institute faced reduced and uncertain funding

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Institute implemented voluntary retirement scheme

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Institute bagged major awards for research achievements

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ICRISAT joins the Internet

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Showki Barghouti takes over as new Director General

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Thomas Melville, Principal Sorghum Pathologist (center) carried out an assignment to start the bilateral sorghum program in Mali with cooperation from the French government. The program is still active and successful. 1990.

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Participatory Variety Selection (PVS) by farmers help the scientists in developing and promoting sorghum varieties with useful traits. West Africa. 1990.

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Pigeonpea hybrid reaches farmers’ fields.

Dr KB Saxena explains.

Physiologist NP Saxena is on extreme right. 1991.

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PV Shenoi greets the Director of INRAN at Patancheru. 1991.

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Bidding farewell to economist Tom Walker (extreme left). LD Swindale, KB Laryea and RP Singh are also seen. 1991.

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LD Swindale inaugurating the virology laboratory.

Mrs Delle Swindale and Francois Poul are also seen in the picture. 1991

Inauguration of the LongTerm Storage Facility at the Patancheru Genebank. JMJ de Wet, LD Swindale, PV Shenoi and YL Nene are in the picture. 1991.

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LD Swindale receiving the Padma Bhushan from President R Venkatraman on India’s Republic Day. 26 January 1991.

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Namibian President Sam Njoma with pearl millet variety Okashana 1. 1991.

SN Nigam speaks at the farewell ceremony for Dr LD Swindale, who left the Institute after serving as Director General for 14 years. YL Nene, John Monteith, Sam Ambrose, Bill Mashler, Delle Swindale and Mrs Nene are seated. June 1991.

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The new Director General JG Ryan and his wife Wendy Ryan greeted on their arrival by Board Chair Bill Mashler, Sam Ambrose and others.

August 1991.

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Annual Farmers’ Days started in 1979, and ICRISAT held its first Women Farmers’ Day under the guidance of Director General JG Ryan. 1992.

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ICRISAT’s Security personnel are extremely efficient. Their duties include catching boars that cause extensive damage to experimental crops. 1 March 1992.

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Visit of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to the Genetic Resources Unit. Dr MH Mengesha explains while Director General Ryan, P Remanandam and others look on. 1992.

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Showing off the special t-shirt made for the 20th anniversary celebrations.

ICRISAT staff members Savitri Mohapatra, Deepak Pawar, Sue Hainsworth, Raman and John Rose pose with the African trainees. 29 August 1992.

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Deputy Director (Research) YL Nene receiving the Om Prakash Bhasin Award from Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. 1992.

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ICRISAT is quick to respond with help when disasters strike. Here, relief seed is being distributed in Latur, which was affected by a massive earthquake on 30 September 1993. October 1993.

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Cereal Field Day at Patancheru. 1993.

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Since signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan, several scientists from that country have carried out collaborative research with us in India and sub-Saharan Africa. Above, Junichi Kashiwaga (Negi) in a chickpea field. 1993.

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Women farmers’ day at ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Niamey.

1993.

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ICRISAT started GIS services in Patancheru and in West Africa. This tool is proving to be very useful in mapping natural resources to help support our crop breeding work. 1995.

Community participation in the construction of waterway to alleviate water logging in Ginchi watershed, Ethiopia (under joint Vertisol project, with the Ethiopian Agriculture Research Institute). 1996.

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Director General JG Ryan receives the King Baudouin Award for outstanding achievements in pearl millet improvement. 1996.

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Phil Moss (sitting at center) with the Cellular and Molecular Biology Department (CMBD) team. CMBD eventually evolved into ICRISAT’s Biotechnology Department. 1996.

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Dr Norman Borlaug (right) and Charles Renard shake hands while Dr Tim Reeve, DG of CIMMYT, looks on. 1996.

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YL Nene inaugurating the Integrated Voice and Data Network (IVDN) tower. 17 May 1996.

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Agricultural Economist Meri Whitaker explains intercropping to a rural family in Rajasthan. 1996.

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Director General Jim Ryan visiting ICRISAT Kano, Nigeria, and Bonny Ntare making a presentation, while Dr Suresh Pande, Dr O Ajayi (ICRISAT Country Representative, Nigeria), Dr Ramadjita Tabo (extreme right) and others look on. 1996.

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ICRISAT’s chickpea project in Nepal started in the 1980s. This picture, taken in village Lalbaudi

by Dr Suresh Pande, shows the success of integrated disease management. 1996.

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Entomologist GV Ranga Rao explains Integrated Pest Management strategies to enthusiastic farmers. 1997.

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ICRISAT faced a dramatic decline in funding in the 1990s, which led to staff cuts and departures of many long-term employees. Farewell parties abounded. 1997.

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Director General SM Barghouti and Administrator S Parthasarathy with Ismail Serageldin (closest to painting), RS Paroda, Mangala Rai and other VIP guests during the Silver Jubilee celebrations. 1997.

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A Chinese trainee learns emasculation and pollination of pigeonpea at Patancheru, after cooperation with China formally started. 1998.

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ICRISAT’s improved pearl millet variety SOSAT C88 flourished in Nigeria and was grown by more than 10,000 farmers. 1998.

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LD Swindale, CLL Gowda and RS Paroda – making the strong ICARICRISAT partnership even stronger, during the time when LD Swindale returned to serve as interim Director General. 1999.

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Conservation farming is a solution to the hostile environments of Africa.

Here “Zai� holes are dug and a small amount of fertilizer is placed in each hole before sowing. 1999.

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The 2000s

The 2000s

Highlights of the 2000s ■

William D Dar takes over as new Director General

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Institute infused with new verve and new motto Science with a human face

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Institute adopts Grey to Green Revolution theme

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Institute celebrated 30th and 35th anniversaries

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ICRISAT technologies and improved seed reach more countries

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Center of Excellence in Genomics started

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Institute rated “Outstanding” by the CGIAR and the World Bank

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Agriscience Innovation Platform inaugurated

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Platform for Translational Research on Transgenic Crops started

■

Institute strengthens collaboration with Asian countries

■

Institute attracts new sources of funding

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Institute sequences the pigeonpea genome

■

Institute adopts cultural change

■

New strategic plan to 2020 developed

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Dr William D Dar addresses the staff members at headquarters when he joined ICRISAT as Director General. The now famous motto, Science with a Human Face, is from his inaugural address.

10 January 2000.

ICRISAT formalized public-private-people partnerships through the Hybrid Parents Research Consortium (HPRC) to attract financial support and achieve the best of complementary research. 2000.

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Chairman of the CGIAR, Ian Johnson, during his visit to ICRISAT headquarters. Director General Dar, Mark Winslow and Rodomiro Ortiz are also in the picture. 10 February 2001.

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ICRISAT believes in partnerships and international cooperation. Dr Dar and Dr Mohammed Al-Attar, DG of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Others in the picture are (L to R) S Parthasarathy, J Crouch, J Abraham, CLL Gowda and Dr Faisal Taha (ICBA). 2 March 2001.

After a break of six years, new Director General William Dar revives the Farmers’ Day program. 28 September 2001.

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A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

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Prof MS Swaminathan, renowned agricultural scientist, inaugurated the Applied Genomic Laboratory named after him during Annual Day Celebrations. Also seen in the picture are Jonathan Crouch, Panjab Singh (ICAR), William Dar and Fred Bentley. 7 December 2001.

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Andhra Pradesh Governor Dr C Rangarajan receiving a copy of an ICRISAT publication when he visited to inaugurate the new Konark wheel at headquarters. 29 January 2002.

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125

ICRISAT staff members assist the Adarsha Mahila Samaikya (women’s group) as part of the Virtual Academy for the Semi-Arid Tropics (VASAT) activities. 2002.

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126

Dr A Ramakrishna at an Asian Development Bank (ADB) assisted watershed development program near Hanoi, Vietnam. 2002.

127 A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

Kate Longley talking to Afghan farmers as part of the effort to develop a Code of Conduct for all those involved in seed production and distribution. This effort was towards rebuilding Afghanistan’s agriculture sector after years of strife. 2002.

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128

India’s President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurated the 30th Anniversary celebrations and praised ICRISAT for its contributions to alleviating poverty in the dryland tropics. 13 December 2002.

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Dr Geoff Heinrich, ICRISAT Regional Representative for southern Africa, tastes dishes made from the Institute’s mandate crops in Zimbabwe. 2003.

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130

SP Wani explains gully control to CLL Gowda – part of the Soil and Water Conservaton measures undertaken at Kothapally, the model watershed village about 50 km from Patancheru. 2003.

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131

An intern identifies male sterile lines for the hybrid seed production program, after the new cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) pigeonpea hybrids were developed. 2005.

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132

Pearl millet hybrid- HHB 67 Improved was the first product of marker-assisted selection for downy mildew resistance. Tom Hash (in hat) was the lead ICRISAT scientist in its joint research with Indian NARS. 2005.

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133

Dr Andre van Rooyen (left) and Owen Mhere of the Matopos Research Station visit Mrs Ngwabi’s farm, Matopos, Zimbabwe, to see the successful plantation of feed and forage crops. 2005.

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134 Dr Jacques Diouf, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on his visit to ICRISAT. Director General William Dar and DDG Dyno Keatinge are with him in the picture. 4 January 2006.

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135

Foundation stone laying function of ISH. Helge Gallinger, Head Teacher of ISH, Dr Dar, Dyno Keatinge, Vincent Vadez and IR Nagaraj are in the picture. 6 January 2006.

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136

Albert Chirima, Scientific Officer, ICRISAT-Bulawayo, writes down historic land use patterns and the impact of agricultural expansion in Tsholotsho District, Zimbabwe. 2006.

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137

Dr Sabine Homann-Kee Tui (left) and Tinah Moyo, Scientific Officer, analyze the feedback of discussions held with farmers in Tsholotsho District, Zimbabwe. 2006.

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138

The beautiful Patancheru Campus was enhanced to attract agro-ecotourism.

Above, the Mary Cummings Park is a favorite venue for dinner parties.

11 September 2006.

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ICRISAT promotes processing of sweet sorghum for bioethanol, which offers uncommon opportunities to small farming families in India. 2 October 2006.

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140

DG of World Vegetable Center, Dr Thomas Lumpkin (second from left) visited the AVRDC field at Patancheru.

With him are Dr WD Dar, Dr ML Chadha and Dr Kwesi Atta Krah (Bioversity). 14 December 2006.

ICRISAT installed an African Market Garden in a Sadoré village (Niamey) school to teach these “Farmers of the Future” modern approaches to vegetable production. 2007.

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A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

142

Research on aflatoxins began at Patancheru in 2001. ICRISAT helped set up 17 aflatoxin laboratories in India, Mozambique, Kenya, Malawi and Mali in succeeding years. Here, Principal Scientist Farid Waliyar displays aflatoxin quantification using the ELISA reader. 2007.

143 A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

Nobel Laureate Ramadjita Tabo of ICRISAT-Niamey holds up a gift presented to him by colleagues after his participation in the United Nations IPCC that won the Nobel Peace Prize for spreading awareness about manmade climate change. October 2007.

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144

(L to R) Drs Rex Navarro, Simon Best, Martin Parry, Dyno Keatinge, Barry Shapiro and William Dar at the inaugural of the Climate Change Symposium during the 35th Anniversary Celebrations.

November 2007.

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Director General William Dar (extreme right) represented ICRISAT at the opening ceremony of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway. ICRISAT will eventually send 111,000 seed sample accessions to Svalbard over a five-year period. 26 February 2008.

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A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

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ICRISAT is rated outstanding by the CGIAR and the Worldbank. 2008.

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148

Director General Dar and Director ESA, Said Silim admire the wilt-resistant pigeonpea variety ICEAP 00053 in Babati district of Tanzania that has led to an era of prosperity for smallholder farmers in that country. 27 July 2008.

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Governing Board Chair, Dr Simon Best (extreme right), launched the Center of Excellence in Genomics at headquarters.

Also seen in the picture are (L to R) Dr Dave Hoisington, Dr William Dar and Vice-Chair of the Board, Dr Mangala Rai. 17 March 2008.

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“Pushkal”, the world’s first commercial CMS pigeonpea hybrid, was released in Hyderabad

by Pravardhan Seeds. 5 July 2008.

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151

Dr MK Bhan (second from left) Dept. of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, laying the foundation stone for PTTC project at Patancheru. The building was inaugurated in December 2010. Kiran Sharma, WD Dar, D Hoisington and M Prabhakar Reddy are also in the picture.

9 February 2009.

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Former ICRISAT Entomologist and now President of IFAD, Dr Kanayo F Nwanze unveils the plaque of the Crop Protection Laboratory named after him. Others in the picture are Dr Suresh Pande, Mrs Juliana Nwanze and Dr WD Dar. December 2009.

The Village Dynamics Studies in South Asia (VDSA) progressed from the old VLS. Above, Dr Dar stands with the old VLS masters Cynthia Bantilan, Hans Binswanger and Tom Walker. 2 July 2009.

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153

A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

154 ICRISAT chickpea and pigeonpea varieties are flourishing in eastern and southern Africa.

Here, Tanzanian farmers hail the performance of a new variety of chickpea. August 2010.

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155

Partner institutions such as AVRDC, CIMMYT, DOR, DRR, ILRI, IWMI and the Suri Seghal Foundation, have set up regional offices on the Patancheru Campus. Above, is the inauguration of ILRI’s experimental feed processing unit. (L to R) Ashok Kumar, Ravinder Reddy, H Gallinger, P Ninnes, BVS Reddy, P Parthasarathy, D Hoisington, Michael Blummel (ILRI), WD Dar, O Riera-Lizarazu. 4 November 2010.

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After more than a year of serious discussion ICRISAT adopted the IMOD approach in a new Strategic Plan to 2020. December 2010.

157 A journey to prosperity in the dryland tropics

GB Board Chair Nigel Poole, Board Member Deborah Delmer, Mrs Betty Dar and Dr WD Dar inaugurate the new Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) building. Dave Hoisington, M Prabhakar Reddy and KK Sharma are also seen. 18 March 2011.

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ICRISAT’s West African hub shifted from Niamey, Niger to Bamako, Mali in mid-2011. Director WCA, Farid Waliyar (left) and Deputy Director of Institut d’economie Rurale, Dr Boureima Dembele (right) on a visit to the Mali Minister of Agriculture, Agathan Ag Alhassane. June 2011.

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ICRISAT has formed many useful and longlasting partnerships with Asian countries.

Here, Director General Dar and CLL Gowda meet with farmers in Toung Shae village in Nyaung U Township, Myanmar.

24 August 2011.

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Top-level delegation composed of Philippine state university and college (SUC) presidents and government officials during their visit to ICRISAT to study and map out RD&E initiatives for rainfed agriculture. 30 August - 2 September 2011.

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(L to R) DG William Dar, Dr Sam Dryden, Director of Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and DDG-R Dave Hoisington during the meeting in Seattle, USA to strengthen the ICRISAT-BMGF partnership in agricultural development. 9 September 2011.

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Independent Science & Partnership Council (ISPC) Chair Dr Ken Cassman (second from right), with Drs Gowda, Hoisington and Oscar Riera-Lizarazu during the ISPC meeting at CIMMYT, Mexico. ISPC advises the CGIAR Fund Council on CGIAR Research Programs (CRP). 14 September 2011.

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Director General Dar with the ICRISAT team that helped to crack the pigeonpea genome.

(L to R) Sarwar Azam, Rachit K Saxena, CLL Gowda, WD Dar, Rajeev Varshney, Hari D Upadhyaya, and KB Saxena.

November 2011.

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(Below photo) Former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurating the NIABI 2012 at IARI New Delhi while ICRISAT Director General William Dar and NAIP Director Dr BangaliBaboo look on.

(Right photo) NAIP Director, Dr BangaliBaboo, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr Dar and Dr KK Sharma during the launch of the book “Feeding the Forgotten Poor” authored by Dr Dar.

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The Farm, Engineering and Transport Services (FETS) headed by M Prabhakar Reddy has been providing crucial support to the Institute’s research-for-development programs. July 2012.

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The ICRISAT Association for Community Development (IACD) provides training in tailoring, English language and computer skills, and also provides health care to people from nearby villages. Its latest service is the Creche for children of employees (above). 3 February 2012.

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Not a single event goes by without assistance from one or more of our dependable support services.

(Clockwise, from top left) Housing and Food Services; Purchase, Supplies and Disposal Services; Financial Services; Medical Services; Human Resource Services; and Transport Services. March 2012.

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Director General William Dar (right) and Director Nicomedes P Eleazar (left) of the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) of the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture addressing the participants of the symposium “Enhancing Philippine-ICRISAT Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development” at the DA-BAR, Philippines, 10 April 2012.

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Aerial view of ICRISAT headquarters. For forty years the institute has been led by directors with courage, foresight, wisdom and passion, who are dedicated to ending hunger and ushering in agrarian prosperity in the dryland tropics.

Appendix: The ICRISAT Governing Board

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Governing Board 1972. Standing (L to R): UK Rao, Rubens Vaz da Costa, T Swaminathan, DW Thorne, AR Melville, RW Cummings, Francis Bour, MH Mengesha, K Lame. Sitting: RH Demuth, Chairman CF Bentley, MS Swaminathan, DL Umali.

Governing Board 2002. Sitting L to R: Augustine Uzo, Bo Bengtsson, William D Dar, Martha B Stone, Panjab Singh, Gladys MN Mutukwa, Donald R Marshall. Standing L to R: P V Rao, JNL Srivastava, Simon G Best, Marc Latham, Jose T Prisco, Tadakatsu Yoneyama. Not in picture: Augustine Uzo Mokwunye, Joao Ambrosio de Araujo Filho, Roger N Beachy.

Governing Board 2003. Sitting L to R: Sathi Nair Augustine Uzo Mokwunye, Donald R Marshall, Martha B Stone, William D Dar, Marc Latham, Gladys MN Mutukwa. Standing L to R: Norah K Olembo, Mohan Kanda, Roger N Beachy, Mangala Rai, Joao Ambrosio de Araujo Filho, Simon G Best, Osamu Ito. Not in picture: Panjab Singh, PV Rao, JNL Srivastava, Bo Bengtsson, Tadakatsu Yoneyama, Caroline Pestieau, Stein W Bie, RCA Jain.

Governing Board 2004. Sitting L to R: Roger N Beachy, Mangala Rai, Augustine Uzo Mokwunye, William D Dar, Gladys MN Mutukwa, Stein W Bie. Standing L to R: Mohan Kanda, Radha Singh, Norah K Olembo, Caroline Pestieau, Osamu Ito. Not in picture: Simon G Best and Joao Ambrosio de Araujo Filho.

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Governing Board 2005. L to R: Mangala Rai, Radha Singh, Mohan Kanda, Khauhelo D. Raditapole, Stein W Bie, Osamu Ito, Simon G Best, Augustine Uzo Mokwunye, William D Dar, Norah K Olembo, Roger N Beachy, Caroline Pestieau. Not in picture: Gladys MN Mutukwa, Joao Ambrosio de Araujo Filho.

Governing Board 2007. L to R: Osamu Ito, J Hari Narayan, PK Mishra, Mangala Rai, Simon G Best, William D Dar, Stein W Bie, Caroline Pestieau and Khauhelo D Raditapole. Not in picture: Philip Ikeazor, Norah K Olembo.

Governing Board 2006. L to R: Philip Ikeazor, J Hari Narayan, Norah K Olembo, Stein W Bie, Caroline Pestieau, William D Dar, Simon G Best, Mangala Rai, Radha Singh, Khauhelo D Raditapole and Osamu Ito. Not in picture: Roger N Beachy.

Governing Board 2008. Seating L to R: Mangala Rai, William D. Dar, Stein W Bie, Caroline Pestieau, Jeff Bennetzen and Philip Ikeazor. Standing L to R: Osamu Ito, P Ramakanth Reddy, PK Mishra, Nigel Poole and Meryl Williams. Not in picture: Molapo Qhobela and Margaret D Mwanakatwe.

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Governing Board 2009: Gry Synnevag, Jeff Bennetzen, S Ayyappan, William D. Dar, Nigel Poole, Meryl Williams, Chandra A Madramootoo, SV Prasad and Molapo Qhobela. Not in picture: Philip Ikeazor, PK Basu and Adama Traore.

Governing Board 2010: Molapo Qhobela, Gry Synnevag, Meryl Williams, PK Basu, Nigel Poole, S Ayyappan, William D. Dar, Debby Delmer, Adama Traore, Chandra A Madramootoo and Philip Ikeazor. Not in picture: Jeff Bennetzen and SV Prasad.

Governing Board 2011: Debby Delmer, Molapo Qhobela, Meryl Williams, William D. Dar, Nigel Poole, S Ayyappan, Chandra A Madramootoo, Gry Synnevag and Adama Traore.

Not in picture: PK Basu Philip Ikeazor and Pankaj Dwivedi.

Governing Board 2012: Pankaj Dwivedi, Philip Ikeazor, Debby Delmer, William D. Dar, Nigel Poole, S Ayyappan, Meryl Williams, Chandra A Madramootoo, Gry Synnevag and Molapo Qhobela.

CEO Chief Executive Officer CGIAR The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics IDRC International Development Research Centre IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IPCC Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change SADCC Southern African Development Coordination Conference SAFGRAD Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development SMIP Sorghum and Millets Improvement Project UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID United States Agency for International Development (to be continued)

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