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Clinton: Indian Agricultural Research Institute comments

21 July 2009, US Department of State
URL: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/july/126207.htm

New Delhi:  Here at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, some of India's top scientists are working to solve one of the most difficult challenges we face as a global community: the problem of chronic hunger and malnutrition, which affect nearly a billion people in the world.  You know, hunger affects the entire human condition. It weakens immune systems, it facilitates the spread of disease, it saps energy levels, it makes it harder for both children and adults to learn and work. It undermines peace, as we saw with food riots last year. When food is either scarce or prohibitively expensive, instability can follow. And hunger challenges our ingenuity and our common resolve.

I believe that the world has the resources to give all people the tools they need to feed themselves and their families. Nonetheless, hunger persists. That is why the G-8 and other countries committed $20 billion to end global hunger, in part by adding value to agriculture and extending the reach of valuable agricultural techniques. And the United States has committed $3.5 billion to this effort.

I was very pleased when President Obama and I agreed that it would be a signature issue of the Obama administration to do what we can to fight hunger and extend food security. And India is well positioned to help us lead this fight. The work has already begun.

Clearly here, where I just saw, the scientists are developing seeds that produce higher yield crops that require less water, farm equipment that conserves energy. All of this is part of meeting the challenge that we face with global hunger.

Now, research is a critical component of what must be a comprehensive approach to improving agriculture. We have to connect the labs where new technologies are developed and the research is done to the fields where the farmers labor to plant and harvest crops to feed their families, to the markets where crops are bought and sold, and finally, to the homes and schools of all of us who are not farmers, but who rely on the labors of those who are.

And for decades, as the minister said, the United States and India have been partners in agriculture. We have collaborated over more than 50 years. And today we are called to collaborate once again. We have to work together, because it's imperative that we invest in the science that will increase crop yields, that we do more to link farms and markets so that farmers can sell their products, that we expand the export of technology and training to bring more assistance to farmers in vulnerable communities, worldwide, and we strengthen our response to climate change, which threatens the waterways that sustain agriculture in many parts of the world, including South Asia.

This is not a job just for government alone. The private sector has an essential role to play. So do universities and research laboratories and institutions and NGOs of all sorts. Indeed, some of our most effective agricultural partnerships bring together people across this spectrum.

One such collaboration is based at this institute. It's called the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia. It is a partnership that involves: the government of India; USAID, our agency for international development; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Centers; NGOs and private companies. This initiative aims to help six million farmers across South Asia boost grain production to feed more people and strengthen the income of rural families.

In many respects, India's experience with agriculture is unsurpassed. Indians have practiced farming for thousands of years. The green revolution here in India saved countless lives and transformed how the world grows its food. Today, with only 3 percent of the world's crop land, India feeds 17 percent of the world's people.

So, as we look to strengthen agriculture and fight hunger -- particularly in South Asia, but also in Africa and elsewhere -- India's leadership is absolutely crucial. And the United States is today just as proud to work with and support India's efforts as we were 50 years ago, Minister.

I personally am very committed to this effort. I am looking for ways we can be effective in accelerating developments in a short period of time. I think that the bioenergy, biosecurity, biodiversity challenge that we confront is one that we can meet. So, as the minister said, we will be announcing the five pillars of our cooperation. And one of the strongest and most important will be agriculture.