ICAR-NAIP PROJECT ON A VALUE CHAIN ON CASHEW FOR DOMESTIC & EXPORT MARKET

Agriculture is and will continue to be the main driver of country’s economic growth with social justice. Our agriculture did extremely well and it was on the ascendancy till the mid nineties but after that the growth slowed down. Since 1996-97 the growth rate of agricultural GDP has been, on an average, 1.75 % per year in contrast with the rate of 4% that is required. On the other hand the farmer has been facing rising input costs, declining returns from the inputs, uncertain market, increasing role of market in agriculture and blurring of distinction between the domestic market and the international market.

To assist the farmer in these changing contexts new strategies and innovative solutions are urgently required which in turn will require technological support. Hence the agricultural research system which generates technologies, has to conduct the business of agricultural research in an innovative way. The World Bank aided National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) has been conceived to pilot this innovation in conducting agricultural research.

The specific objective of the NAIP under Component 4 is to build capacity to undertake basic and strategic research in frontier areas of agricultural sciences. Present project is funded by the NAIP on “Nature of interactions among the entomopathogenic nematodes, their bacterial symbionts and the insect hosts” under operational area of the project: Natural Resource Management.