Shri Takuro Takeuchi, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) India, paid a courtesy visit to Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW) at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi today. Dr. Chaturvedi extended his congratulations to Shri Takeuchi on his recent appointment as JICA Chief Representative in India and expressed optimism for deepened collaboration between India and JICA in agriculture and allied sectors.
Dr. Chaturvedi emphasized the critical role of states in advancing India’s agricultural development, noting that three ongoing JICA-assisted projects are currently being implemented in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana. He also highlighted the potential for further collaborative projects in other states.
Dr. Chaturvedi reiterated the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of positioning India as a global food basket. He outlined three key priorities for modernizing Indian agriculture: expanding export-oriented value-added horticulture products to access global markets, incentivizing precision agriculture through IoT and AI and developing robust digital public infrastructure. Dr. Chaturvedi underscored that these focus areas are essential for building a resilient, competitive and modernized agricultural sector.
Shri Takeuchi conveyed JICA’s commitment to promoting sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture, enhancing productivity, supporting crop diversification and advancing the application of new agricultural technologies such as controlled environment agriculture. He expressed particular interest in collaborating on technical cooperation, policy lending and the integration of cutting-edge technologies like drones and AI.
The meeting also highlighted opportunities for expanding research and educational collaboration through student exchanges between Indian and Japanese universities as well as capacity-building programs to enhance skills and knowledge in project states.
The meeting was attended by Joint Secretaries of NRM and Horticulture along with other senior officials and members of the delegation.
