BGI and ICRISAT announce long-term collaboration

BGI (Shenzhen, China) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) (Hyderabad, India) have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for a long-term collaboration on applied genomics research and molecular breeding.

The partnership aims to enhance the precision of breeding programmes for semi-arid tropic crops by using next-generation sequencing technologies for sustainable food production particularly in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The collaboration is important for the development of improved varieties that can provide high yields, while at the same time meet the challenges of marginal environments and the threat of climate change and scarce natural resources in the area.

Dr William D. Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, said, “The signing of this agreement with BGI is significant in accelerating our crop improvement efforts towards improving the livelihood of poor people in the semi-arid tropics of the world. This is a strengthening of our ongoing fruitful and rewarding research partnership with BGI.”

Dr Hongsheng Liang, Director of BGI-Asia Pacific, said, “We really appreciate this opportunity to collaborate with ICRISAT again. With our dedication in genomics research and bioinformatics application, I expect that we could make more breakthroughs in the ‘omics’-related area as well as boost the further development of agriculture in India and other Asia-Pacific countries.”

For more information please visit http://en.genomics.cn