New Delhi, 17 December 2025 : India and Argentina have taken a significant step towards deepening bilateral cooperation in agriculture with the signing of the ICAR–INTA Work Plan for 2025–2027, aimed at enhancing joint research, capacity building and technology exchange.
The Work Plan was exchanged today between Dr M. L. Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and H.E. Mr Mariano Augustin Caucino, Ambassador of Argentina to India. The agreement reinforces the long-standing scientific partnership between ICAR and Argentina’s National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA).
Under the Work Plan, cooperation will span a wide range of priority areas, including natural resource management, sustainable agronomy (with emphasis on zero tillage), agricultural mechanisation, micro-irrigation and fertigation, crop and animal biotechnology, livestock improvement, digital agriculture, biosafety and phytosanitary measures, and value chain development. The collaboration will be implemented through joint research projects, exchange of germplasm, expert interactions, and structured training programmes and study visits.
Planned capacity-building activities include training and exposure visits in greenhouse vegetable production, floriculture and temperate fruits, post-harvest physiology, functional food development, veterinary diagnostics, precision livestock farming, waste-to-wealth technologies, microbial feed enhancement, digital agriculture, and sanitary and phytosanitary systems. The germplasm exchange component will cover crops such as soybean, sunflower, maize, blueberry, citrus, wild papaya species, guava, and selected vegetable crops.
Both countries also agreed to deepen collaboration in oilseeds and pulses value chains, agricultural mechanisation—including zero-tillage technologies, cotton harvesting machinery and drones—and horticulture value chain development, with a focus on infrastructure and planting material exchange. In the area of plant and animal health, the Work Plan envisages region-specific strategies for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) elimination and strengthened cooperation on locust surveillance and management through technical exchanges and sharing of best practices.
Reaffirming their commitment to the India–Argentina scientific partnership, both sides agreed to annual monitoring and review mechanisms to ensure effective implementation of the Work Plan and timely progress across all agreed areas of cooperation.
