IIM Kozhikode, AARDO to promote sustainable agriculture, rural development in 30+ countries

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode has collaborated with the African Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO) to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development in 33 members including 31 countries in the African Asian Region. Professor Debashis Chatterjee, director IIMK and Manoj Nardeosingh, Secretary General of AARDO signed an agreement in this regard.

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Under the agreement, IIMK and AARDO will cooperate and collaborate with each other to address the challenges in agriculture and sustainable rural development; through research, publication, consultancy and advisory. They will also focus on advancing new knowledge and its sharing, innovative solutions, interventions and capacity enhancement to benefit and strengthen rural communities of these 33 members, which include 31 countries.

“The agreement also endeavors to recognise the need for enhancing the self-reliance, economic resilience and social well-being of the people through ensuring sustainable livelihoods, improved quality of life and healthy environment in the Member Countries,” said an official statement from IIMK.

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Knowledge support and managerial professional development in the areas of fisheries, energy, livestock, sericulture, aquaculture, transportation, sustainable agriculture, rural settlement food processing and value-addition, water and waste management, diffusion and transfer models or channels for effective adoption of innovative, affordable and appropriate management practices are also part of the agreement.

Objectives of collaboration

Moreover, both IIMK and AARDO will organize international, regional and On-The-Spot (OTS), in-country training programmes, workshops, seminars to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Member Countries.

It will also conduct research, implement development projects jointly, exchange experts, specialists, create exchange programmes with universities, institutes in member countries and provide technical support in project formulations and consultancy, to make this coming together a success for developing countries in the Asian-African region coming under the umbrella of AARDO, the statement added.

Speaking on the collaboration, Nardeosingh added, “I am happy with the signing of this MoU with IIM Kozhikode. It will now bring regular interaction between the officials of member countries with the learned faculty members of IIMK through different technical programmes, which would bring better management skills to the officials in addressing the issues and challenges being faced in the rural areas of AARDO member countries. AARDO would immensely benefit from the advanced scientific management methodology and tools to improve the life of rural areas.”

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Expressing happiness on the growing collaborations, Chatterjee added, “Coming together of these two institutions for the greater good of the common people has tremendous potential to make difference to the lives of billions of people of two continents- Africa and Asia which are bound by similar legacies and aspire for a bright future. IIM Kozhikode seeks to contribute the Indian Management wisdom for solving ever-changing technological Meta trends, which will overwhelm the rural life and agriculture sector in the new world order, driven by the rising Asia and aspiring Africa by means of successfully implementing studied Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Rural Development practices.”