The Hyderabad-based National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) and National Agro Foundation (NAF) on Tuesday entered into a memorandum of understanding for jointly pursuing projects in both farm and non-farm areas.
Like-minded institutions and focussed on rural development, through different innovative approaches, the two intend to complement each other and reach out to various parts of the country through the agreement.
Stating that rural development cuts across a host of areas from rural infrastructure, solid waste management, livelihood, skill development to self employment, NIRD&PR Director General M.V. Rao said the institute hence was associated with the projects of several ministries. Since it was not easy for it to take up alone new challenges, it was looking at partners.
“We need to have good partners… across the country looking for organisations to take forward our mandate,” he said, expressing happiness over the MoU with National Agro Foundation. The Foundation, he said, had brought “visible changes” in terms of improving the lot of farmers and sought to spread its activities to States beyond south India. As regards the MoU, which NIRD&PR signed through its Rural Technology Park (RTP), Dr. Rao said work on preparing the activity chart would begin shortly.
NAF managing trustee S.S. Rajsekar said apart from the projects in the southern States, particularly Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the Foundation was providing services such as soil testing in many other parts of the country. “We can go ahead and probably go across India,” he said, highlighting the need for smart villages – a cluster of areas possessing all facilities, including technical support, to fuel rural economy.
A statement on the MoU signing at the Institute’s campus said the agreement was mutually complementary given RTP-NIRD&PR has its strength in non-farm related rural technologies besides research and action-research, while NAF strengths lay in farm-related technologies, research and applied research. The two institutions are also involved in academic programmes.
The scope of work is varied. As an empanelled resource institution, NAF can extend services to RTP operational areas for formation and nurturing of Farmers Producer Organisations. It also gets access to students of the Institute to undertake empirical studies; offer its comprehensive soil health diagnostic services to beneficiaries of NIRD≺ and create awareness on food safety and standards. NAF can benefit from RTP-NIRD&PR by sending farmers for non-farm related rural technologies exposure and skill training. The Institute can use the Foundation’s adopted village – one hundred across the country – for any farm related technology application, the statement said.
Collaboration for rural development in farm and non-farm areas
