National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP)
The Government of India has launched the National Agricultural Innovation project with a credit support of the World Bank. The project will run up to June 2012. The ICAR is operating the Project. The overall objective of the project is to facilitate accelerated and sustainable transformation of Indian agriculture for rural poverty alleviation and income generation by the application of agricultural innovations through collaboration among public research organizations, farmers’ groups, NGOs, the private sector and the civil societies and other stakeholders.
The India National Agricultural Innovation Project contributes to the sustainable transformation of Indian agricultural sector to more of a market orientation to relieve poverty and improve income. The specific aim is to accelerate collaboration among public research organizations, farmers, the private sector and stakeholders in using agricultural innovations. The project has four objectives.
1. Strengthens the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as the catalyzing agent for managing change in the Indian National Agricultural Research System (NARS) by focusing on: 1.1 Information, communication and dissemination system; 1.2 Business planning and development; 1.3 Learning and capacity building; 1.4 Policy and gender analysis and visioning; 1.5 Remodeling financial management and procurement systems; and 1.6 Project implementation.
2. Funds research on production-to-consumption systems.
3. Funds research on sustainable rural livelihood security.
4. Supports basic and strategic research in the frontier areas of agricultural science features
The project will have a strong and transparent governance strategy for efficient working. Institutional and implementation arrangement will be fully streamlined to follow modern financial management, procurement system, knowledge management, and a results framework and monitoring which will ensure continuous progress and achieving the expected output. Systematic economic and financial analysis will be pursued along with close monitoring of environmental and social safe guards. Another major component of the project is a strong institutional learning and capacity building plan for self-renewal of National Agricultural Innovation System. The plan includes comprehensive training need assessment, harnessing modern ICT in knowledge and education dissemination management for agriculture, capacity building to deal with globalize agricultural market and economy, capacity building for visioning and foresight etc.