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Experts, Policymakers Visit ISARC to Explore Scalable Innovations in Sustainable Rice-Based Agrifood Systems
IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) is emerging as a key hub for scalable, science-led innovations in Indian and regional agriculture. With strong endorsements from top policymakers and experts, ISARC is driving impactful collaborations in climate-smart farming, digital tools, and rice-based value addition.
KJ Staff

IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) is increasingly being recognized as a national and regional platform for advancing science-led, scalable agricultural solutions. With a recent series of high-level visits, ISARC has reaffirmed its role at the intersection of research, policy, and practice driving innovations that support both Indian and global agrifood systems.
Dr. Himanshu Pathak (DG, ICRISAT), and senior officials from GoI, including Dr. P.K. Meherda (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare), and Arindam Modak (Advisor, RKVY), visited the centre to explore its cutting-edge research, mechanization, digital tools, and value-added rice innovations. Discussions focused on scaling Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), rice-based entrepreneurship, and strengthening OneCGIAR partnerships for resilient food systems in India and South Asia.
Dr. Himanshu Pathak’s visit brought a global perspective. Calling India a natural leader for the OneCGIAR initiative, he urged stronger collaboration among IRRI, ICRISAT, and other CGIAR centers to jointly address challenges in rice-based and dryland systems. “India can lead, by example, in showing how inter-institutional synergy can deliver science that scales and serves,” he remarked.
Dr. Meherda, after a detailed tour of ISARC’s research infrastructure, including the Speed Breeding Unit, Mechanization Hub, DSR field trials, regenerative agriculture platform, and its cutting-edge analytical and EdTech labs, emphasized the need to urgently scale climate–smart innovations, and entrepreneurial opportunities for farmers and youth through rice-based value addition.
“I am pleased to see ISARC emerging as a hub of excellence, driving science-led, scalable innovations for Indian agriculture. Its integrated efforts, from accelerated breeding through advanced Speedbreed facility and precision mechanization to digital extension, GIS-based decision support, and soil health, are building a future-ready farming ecosystem. The Ministry looks forward to deepening its collaboration with IRRI and ISARC to scale these impactful innovations across the country,” said Dr. Meherda.
Echoing this, Arindam Modak engaged in detailed discussions with IRRI experts on how IRRI’s rich expertise and scientific outputs can support RKVY’s mandate as a potential knowledge partner in India. The value-addition work at ISARC’s Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA) was identified as a strategic lever to drive rural enterprise and farmer-led innovation. These visits signal a powerful endorsement of ISARC’s growing stature, not just as a research centre, but as a national and regional thought leader in agrifood transformation. With an integrated approach spanning genetics, mechanization, digital agriculture, climate-smart practices, and value addition, ISARC is working at the intersection of policy, innovation, and farmer impact.
As India and South Asia look toward a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable food system, ISARC stands ready to scale solutions that matter; science that delivers, partnerships that empower, and outcomes that transform.
https://krishijagran.com/news/experts-policymakers-visit-isarc-to-explore-scalable-innovations-in-sustainable-rice-based-agrifood-systems/Published Date: August 5, 2025