Rabat: In a bid to bolster cooperation between Morocco and India in the field of agronomic research, the Director of the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA), Lamiae Ghaouti, held on Thursday in Rabat talks with the Ambassador of India to Morocco, Sanjay Rana. This meeting is part of an intergovernmental program providing for an action plan between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of India.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, Rana emphasized that the two countries are bound by a long-standing cooperation in the fields of agriculture, research, and development. In this regard, he indicated that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and INRA have been collaborating closely for many years, through exchanges of researchers and the sharing of best practices.
The Ambassador of India also stated that both parties are currently reviewing a new work plan for the coming years, with a view to further strengthening their cooperation through the development of collaborative research projects, as well as the exchange of germplasm and research results. India and Morocco, he continued, share many similarities in agricultural production and face common challenges, notably the scarcity of water resources, adding that both countries are working to identify solutions aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, improving soil fertility, and enhancing food production, particularly in the field of legumes.
For her part, Ghaouti indicated that this visit by the Indian Ambassador aimed, in particular, to examine the component dedicated to agronomic research, with a view to its integration into the future bilateral action program. The discussions mainly focused on collaboration prospects in the fields of legumes, agricultural mechanization, and arboriculture, notably olive, citrus, and apple trees, she noted.
The Director of INRA expressed the mutual desire to soon develop a concrete action plan designed to strengthen cooperation between the two parties in the service of agricultural development in Morocco and India. Cooperation between INRA and Indian agricultural research institutions is part of a scientific partnership initiated in 1996, following an exploratory mission organized at the invitation of ICAR. It was formalized by a first INRA-ICAR agreement for the 1997-2001 period, before being reinforced within the framework of the intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Morocco and India.
This partnership has expanded to several areas, notably the exchange of genetic resources, biotechnology, biosaline agriculture, irrigation management, agricultural mechanization, technology transfer, capacity building, and researcher exchanges. Between 2013 and 2018, Moroccan-Indian cooperation was marked by the implementation of the IMILA project, endowed with a budget of 35.9 million dirhams, aimed at strengthening food security, improving the incomes of smallholder farmers, and promoting sustainable agriculture.
The cooperation has also placed significant importance on capacity building through the ICCR scholarship and e-ITEC training programs, which benefited seven INRA researchers between 2018 and 2024.