New Delhi: In a significant step towards strengthening India’s dairy sector, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 12 January 2026 to deepen collaboration in dairy research, innovation and extension.
The agreement aims to directly benefit millions of dairy farmers by improving productivity, sustainability, resilience and value addition through a stronger linkage between scientific research and field-level implementation.
The MoU brings together ICAR’s extensive scientific and research expertise with NDDB’s vast grassroots experience in dairy development. It covers the entire dairy value chain—from production and fodder development to processing, value addition and marketing. A key focus of the partnership is multidisciplinary research, technology validation under real farm conditions and capacity building to ensure that innovations reach farmers effectively.
Officials said the collaboration seeks to address emerging challenges such as low livestock productivity, climate change impacts, fodder scarcity and sustainable resource management in a structured and long-term manner. By aligning laboratory research with on-ground realities, the partnership aims to make dairy innovations more demand-driven and farmer-centric.
Farmer-Centric Focus
Empowering dairy farmers remains a central objective of the MoU. The partnership emphasises translating research outputs into practical, field-level solutions that can improve farm profitability and livelihoods. Joint training programmes will be organised for farmers, researchers and professionals to strengthen skills, awareness and adoption of best practices.
By reinforcing extension services and knowledge-sharing mechanisms, the collaboration seeks to ensure that scientific advancements directly contribute to higher productivity, better income stability and sustainability across diverse agro-climatic regions of the country.
Research, Innovation and Technology Integration
The ICAR–NDDB alliance promotes integrated research by breaking institutional silos. Priority areas include climate-resilient livestock systems, fodder security, improved feeding practices, manure and waste management, biogas utilisation, integrated farming systems and strengthening of dairy value chains.
Under the partnership, ICAR institutes will contribute advanced technologies and research outputs, while NDDB will facilitate large-scale field testing, validation and adoption through its extensive network. This approach is expected to keep research aligned with real-world challenges faced by dairy farmers.
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Leadership Vision
Senior leadership from both institutions highlighted the long-term vision of the collaboration. ICAR Director General Dr. Mangi Lal Jat stressed the importance of integrated farming systems, fodder security and sustainable solutions such as gaushala-based manure management. NDDB Chairman Meenesh Shah described the MoU as a step towards creating one of the world’s largest platforms for integrated dairy research.
The shared vision aligns with the national objective of Viksit Bharat, focusing on scalable, replicable and inclusive models of agricultural and dairy development.
Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing
Human resource development forms a core pillar of the agreement. The MoU provides for joint training programmes, workshops and skill development initiatives for scientists, extension personnel and farmers. Areas such as ration balancing, mineral mapping, ethno-veterinary medicine and total mixed ration practices will receive renewed emphasis.
Continuous knowledge exchange between ICAR’s research ecosystem and NDDB’s field network is expected to standardise best practices and improve overall sector efficiency.
A Natural Extension of a Shared Legacy
ICAR, India’s apex body for agricultural research and education, and NDDB, the institution behind the country’s dairy development and the White Revolution, have collaborated earlier on several nutrition and productivity initiatives. Officials described the new MoU as a natural extension of this shared legacy, aimed at building a more resilient, productive and farmer-centric dairy sector for the future.
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