The U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative (AKI)
The U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative (AKI) was launched in 2005 by President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Singh to strengthen the Indian agricultural knowledge system in areas of mutual interest. With the involvement of universities and private sector, the initiative is focused on building human and institutional capacity, promoting sustainable use of water resources, effectively applying biotechnological approaches, and ensuring strong markets and processing chains. More information on the AKI is available at the Foreign Agriculture Service's Web site.
CSREES is also supporting the Structuring Agricultural Marketing Systems project in India through collaboration with India 's National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), responsible for agricultural marketing-related promotion and training. In partnership with USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service and Agricultural Marketing Service, CSREES is providing technical assistance to NIAM and state agencies in development of grades and standards, food safety warehousing, cold storage, and cold chain management. India's existing marketing news information and marketing extension system will also be upgraded to better serve farmers. This is being accomplished through the development and implementation of train-the-trainer workshops for NIAM and other government staff conducted by experts from several U.S. land-grant universities.
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