A new research agreement was signed between the Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) at the institute’s global headquarters on Tuesday.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will allow researchers from the ICRISAT and Australian agencies to undertake joint research and development (R&D) in plant genomics for the first time through HIA. The agreement was signed by David Cliffe, HIA Director and William Dar, ICRISAT Director General.
“We are excited that through this collaboration with HIA, ICRISAT and Australia will be doing not only high-quality but high-impact research that is expected to reach and benefit millions of farmers and consumers globally,” said Dr. Dar of the agreement.
Emphasising the importance of the new partnership, Mr. Cliffe said: “HIA is glad to start this collaboration with ICRISAT in the area of modern genome science, including sequencing, genotyping and functional genomics, that will help advance the horticulture industry in Australia and worldwide.”
“We have completed the genome sequencing of reference genomes of leading legume crops such as chickpea and pigeonpea, having sequenced the genomes of more than 1,000 lines of these legumes,” said Rajeev Varshney, Director of ICRISAT’s Centre of Excellence in Genomics and the Research Program on Grain Legumes.
Dr. David Moore, General Manager, HIA and several researchers from the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the University of Queensland; and the Queensland University of Agriculture & Technology (QUT) are visiting India as part of the HIA-led delegation.
