India and Brazil are seeking to boost their partnership in the agriculture sector by rolling out a programme, Maitri 2.0, that intends to promote technological innovation and exchanges of best practices.
About Maitri 2.0- spotlight of India, Brazil Partnership
As per the official statement given on Monday, September 22, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) rolled out a second edition of the India-Brazil Cross-Incubation Programme in Agritech (Maitri 2.0) here. M L Jat, Secretary (DARE) and Director General (ICAR), and Kenneth Nobrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India, have attended the event along with senior officials and representatives from leading Brazilian research and innovation institutions.
The ICAR’s Director General highlighted that the programme is a two-way learning platform for collaboration between Indian and Brazilian innovators. Furthermore, the statement cited that by bringing together innovators, startups, and institutions from both countries, the programme will facilitate building resilient food systems and strengthening farmers. Maitri 2.0 intends to boost incubator linkages, exchange best practices, promote co-incubation, and unfold new opportunities in sustainable agriculture, digital technologies, and value-chain development.
77-year-old partnership between India and Brazil
In his remarks, Jat noted the 77-year-old partnership between India and Brazil and highlighted their shared role in global platforms such as BRICS and G20, and the recent ICAR–EMBRAPA agreement as a landmark for collaborations across the agri-food value chain.
In addition, he mentioned ICAR’s transformation from having 74 patents in 1996 to over 1,800 annually, encouraged by incubation centres and more than 5,000 licensing agreements. Nobrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India, underscored the strategic significance of constructing synergies between the agritech ecosystems of India and Brazil.