India and Argentina have moved to institutionalise their growing agricultural partnership with the signing of an ICAR–INTA Work Plan for 2025–2027, setting the stage for deeper collaboration across research, capacity building, and technology exchange.

The Work Plan was formally exchanged on Wednesday by Dr. M.L. Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and Mariano Agustín Caucino, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to India, marking a significant step in bilateral agri-science cooperation between two major food-producing economies.

Rather than a symbolic agreement, the three-year framework outlines operational collaboration across natural resource management, sustainable agronomy, and next-generation farm technologies, including zero tillage, mechanisation, micro-irrigation and fertigation systems. It also spans crop and animal biotechnology, livestock improvement, digital agriculture, biosafety and phytosanitary systems, and end-to-end value chain development.

Implementation will be driven through joint research programmes, germplasm exchange, expert missions, and structured training and study visits, enabling practical technology transfer rather than standalone research outputs.

Planned capacity-building initiatives cover greenhouse vegetable production, floriculture and temperate fruit systems, post-harvest physiology, functional food development, veterinary diagnostics, precision livestock farming, and waste-to-wealth technologies. The programme also includes collaboration on microbial feed enhancement, digital agriculture platforms, and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems, reflecting a shared focus on productivity, sustainability, and export readiness.

Germplasm exchange under the Work Plan will include soybean, sunflower, maize, blueberry, citrus, wild papaya species, guava, and selected vegetable crops, supporting crop diversification and climate-resilient breeding pipelines in both countries.

The two sides are also strengthening cooperation in oilseeds and pulses value chains, agricultural mechanisation—including zero-tillage systems, cotton harvesting machinery and drone technologies—and horticulture value chain development, encompassing infrastructure, planting material, and post-harvest systems.

In plant and animal health, the Work Plan envisages region-specific Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) elimination strategies, alongside enhanced collaboration on locust surveillance and management, leveraging technical exchanges and best-practice sharing.

For India and Argentina, the agreement reflects a broader shift toward science-led, market-oriented agricultural cooperation, linking research institutions directly to farm productivity, climate adaptation, and global value chain competitiveness.