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U.S., India Partner for Evergreen Revolution
FrontLines - November 2010
By Hope Bryer
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President Barack Obama, left, walks with Administrator Rajiv Shah through the Agriculture and
Food Security Expo in Mumbai, India. Confederation of Indian Industries President Hari Bhartia,
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and U.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer
were also in attendance.
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MUMBAI, India — After
nearly 60 years of U.S. assistance
to India, the two nations are taking
development cooperation to new
levels. This was one of the core
messages President Barack Obama
took to his first official state visit to
India earlier this month, where he
was accompanied by USAID
Administrator Rajiv Shah.
Over the course of three days,
Obama sought to bring the benefits
of expanded collaboration—
in areas from education to clean
energy—to Indians, as well as to
convince constituents back home
that India’s evolution as a middleincome
country would translate
into new opportunities for American
goods, and hence, jobs.
Recognizing India’s unique
position as an emerging global
power, the two nations have been
committed to working in partnership
to reach India’s development
goal of halving poverty by 2015.
Dialogue is also moving beyond
existing, albeit important, efforts
to promote agricultural productivity
and food security in the Asian
nation, home to over 1 billion people,
of which some two-thirds
depend on rural employment for a
living. Unveiling the “Evergreen
Revolution,” the countries highlighted
the capacity of American
and Indian innovation and partnership—
public and private—to
advance global food security and
prosperity.
On Nov. 7, a demonstration of
this strategic partnership convened
in a momentous occasion
for USAID—an Agriculture and
Food Security Exposition in
Mumbai. Shah escorted Obama,
along with U.S. Department of
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack,
through an array of innovative
agricultural exhibits on display
at St. Xavier’s College. The
event, co-hosted by USAID,
USDA, and the Confederation of
Indian Industries, provided an
opportunity for the president to
visit with Indian farmers who are
increasing their productivity and
linking more effectively to
markets.
As the delegation travelled
through the exhibit-lined courtyard
in the sweltering late morning
heat, one farmer demonstrated
how he receives crop
information on his cell phone,
while another showed how he
obtains information on market
rates at village Internet kiosks,
enabling him to better negotiate
the sale of his produce. A
woman farmer handed the president
a simple machine she uses
to strip corn cobs in a small
metal tube. Jokingly, the president
compared the tool to a TV
infomercial product, and then
remarked on how the device
reduced the time it takes to strip
corn by as much as 30 percent.
Obama has been committed
to addressing food security
around the world. Through his
USAID-led Feed the Future initiative,
the United States is
redoubling its commitment to
solving global hunger. The
innovations showcased at the
expo offer important insights on
new tools and technologies that,
when brought to scale, can transform
the agricultural landscape
in India and abroad.
The event also highlighted the
ways U.S. universities and corporations
are partnering with their
Indian counterparts to transform
Indian farming—the same kind
of collaboration that helped produce
the first Green Revolution in
the 1960s, which led to major
advances in agriculture and saved
millions of people around the
world from starvation.
Now, as farmers and rural areas
face the effects of climate change,
drought, population pressure, and
stagnating agricultural productivity
growth, the United States and
India are engaged in a new partnership
that has the potential to
create a second, more sustainable,
and greener revolution—one that
will benefit farmers and consumers
in India, the United States, and
around the globe.
Even though India has seen
accelerated growth over the past
decade (its economy grew at 6.1
percent in the last quarter of
2009) and has emerged as a
global player with the world’s
fourth largest economy in purchasing
power parity terms, the
nation is still home to around
one-third of the world’s poor.
Over 800 million people still
live on less than $2 a day.
As a result of USAID’s collaboration
with the Indian government,
it is expected that the
Indian food processing industry
will be enhanced and food
safety improved; approximately
1.5 million Indian farm households
will decrease water use
by a quarter and increase production,
yield, and net profit by
30 percent; new agricultural and
food security-related technologies
will be deployed; and realtime
information on crops,
weather, and market prices will
be available to 10 million
farmers.
“The partnership that we are
restarting and expanding on here
in India is really emblematic of a
partnership where two peer
nations work side by side to
develop the kinds of innovations
and solutions that can help
improve the lives for hundreds
of millions of people here in
India,” Shah stressed, “but also
improve the lives for hundreds
of millions of people in Africa
and even in the United States.”
As part of this new Evergreen
Revolution, the United States and
India will also seek collaborative,
breakthrough innovations in agricultural
research, technology, and
natural resource management to
improve food security in Africa.
India will share its expertise with
African farmers, and it is anticipated
that at least 10 Indiasourced
agriculture technologies
will be customized for deployment
in specific areas in Africa
with the hope of expanding
throughout the continent in the
coming years. ★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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