A collaboration among Western Sydney University and ICAR has been started for research on climate-smart farming systems in India and Australia. The university has signed agreements with seven State Agriculture Universities, part of the agricultural education, research and extension system headed by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) - the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world.

Dr Rakesh Chandra Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), “We now have 23 partnership agreements between State and Central Agricultural Universities and Western Sydney University which enables research and capacity-building at scale. In addition to Dual Masters and PhDs with scholarships, the partnerships are leading research in climate smart farming systems in India and Australia.”

The signings were completed in New Delhi at Western Sydney University’s SDG Forum, themed “Partnership with impact – advancing the SDGs” with thought leaders such as Dr Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities; Dr Sharad K Jain, Former Director, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee; Mr Anuj Agarwal, Chief Operating Officer, ICICI Foundation, Ms Srivalli Krishnan, Senior Program Officer - Global Development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Hon Karlene Maywald, South Australian Water Ambassador talked about how they address SDGs in their organisations.

As inclusion of the SDG Forum, panelists discussed the importance of partnerships and collaborations between higher education institutions and corporations, governments, educational institutions, and nongovernmental organizations in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that aim to end global poverty, zero hunger, reduce waste, conserve water, improve health and education access, and build stronger institutions and partnerships by 2030.

As part of the visit, Western Sydney University hopes to strengthen and expand its highly successful partnerships with India across education, research, extension, and leadership. Sustainability is a core competency of the university, which has ambitious plans to address climate adaptation and social inequality across curriculum, operations, research, and engagement.

“It is always challenging to bring everything together. The main challenge is to map everything together in terms of academics, staff, technology and collecting data,” stated Professor Barney Glover AO, Vice-Chancellor and President at Western Sydney University.

“Things became more challenging after the pandemic and it was difficult to overcome such challenges on the grounds of agriculture and technology. The whole process takes time, from collecting data to conducting research, from bringing students and farmers together to use the latest technology, to growing crops, to reducing pesticide use, to setting up new laboratories. All of these things make the process more challenging,” added Professor Barney.