The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to deepen collaboration in multidisciplinary research, innovation and extension across India’s dairy sector. The partnership is designed to strengthen the entire value chain—from dairy production and processing to value addition—while keeping farmers at the centre of development efforts.

The MoU was signed by Dr Raghavendra Bhatta, Deputy Director General (Animal Science), ICAR, and Shri S. Regupathi, Executive Director (Operations), NDDB, in the presence of Dr. Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India and Director General, ICAR, and Dr Meenesh C. Shah, Chairman, NDDB.

Dr Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR, underscored the need to break institutional silos through complementary research and integrated farming systems. He noted that the structured partnership would help address complex challenges such as climate resilience, low productivity and value chain development. Dr Jat also highlighted the adoption of gaushalas to manage stray cattle and promote sustainable manure management and biogas utilisation, while stressing the critical role of fodder in improving livestock productivity through innovations emerging from ICAR institutes.

Dr Meenesh C Shah, Chairman, NDDB, said the collaboration could evolve into one of the world’s largest integrated scientific platforms aligned with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’. He highlighted NDDB’s past collaborations with ICAR on initiatives such as ration balancing, mineral mapping and total mixed ration programmes, and pointed to new opportunities in ethno-veterinary medicine. He also emphasised the development of scalable, replicable models across diverse agro-climatic regions and cooperation across value chains including fruits and vegetables, oilseeds, fodder, milk and milk products.

The MoU aims to combine ICAR’s scientific expertise with NDDB’s strong field presence to accelerate technology development, validation, knowledge sharing and capacity building. Through joint training programmes and human resource development, the partnership seeks to translate research outcomes into practical solutions, enhancing productivity, profitability and sustainability at the grassroots level.