United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-create data-driven innovations in agriculture and food systems.
The MoU was signed by Chief General Manager of NABARD, Sanjeev Rohilla, and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Isabelle Tschan. The partnership formalized through the MoU, seeks to improve the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers by leveraging open-source data for product development, technology transfer, and policy support, Nabard and UNDP India said in a joint statement.
Under the agreement, the two organizations will focus on sharing open-source data to enhance decision-making in agriculture investments. This will not only assist in developing innovative products but also support the formulation of rural policies geared towards sustainable agricultural practices.
One of the key initiatives of this partnership is the promotion of collaborative digital public goods such as DiCRA (Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture). DiCRA provides access to essential geospatial datasets vital for climate-resilient agriculture. UNDP, along with partner organizations, has curated DiCRA to inform public investments in agriculture. It offers valuable insights into climate resilience for 50 million hectares of farmland across India.
NABARD will play a crucial role in this collaboration by hosting and maintaining the DiCRA platform. Moreover, it will harness the platform’s key geospatial datasets for policy development, research, and other development activities, with technical support from UNDP.
Chairman of NABARD Shaji KV expressed his excitement about the collaboration, stating, “NABARD is extremely excited about this collaboration with UNDP. This opens a sea of opportunities for the two organizations to leverage data and present it as a digital public infrastructure for the vast rural Indian community of farmers. We are looking forward to deeper ties with UNDP as we progress, and this MoU is a step towards this direction.”
Isabelle Tschan, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP India, emphasized the importance of this partnership in supporting vulnerable rural populations, especially women. She said, “Agriculture is the largest source of livelihood in India, employing 80% of rural women who are more vulnerable to climate change. DiCRA uses cutting-edge data science and machine learning to identify farms that are resilient to climate change and those that are highly vulnerable. Such open data innovations can highlight best practices, optimize agriculture investments, and shelter populations from risk.”
