ICRISAT and CGIAR Champion Multifunctional Landscapes Approach at AERA Annual Conference
ICRISAT December 23, 2025
ICRISAT Session at AERA Annual Conference calls for systems thinking, governance reforms and stronger inter-departmental coordination.
At the 33rd Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Research Association (AERA), held at ICAR–National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (ICAR-NAARM), Hyderabad, ICRISAT and CGIAR’s Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Science Program convened a high-level session on “Scaling Pathway for Multifunctional Landscapes Approach for Transforming Agri-Food Systems.”
The session brought together over 150 researchers, practitioners and policymakers to explore how landscape-scale, systems-based approaches can drive sustainable and equitable transformation of agri-food systems, particularly in dryland and rainfed regions.
Joining the inaugural session and the guest of honour, Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT, underscored the centrality of climate-resilient varieties, women’s leadership, and innovation ecosystems to the future of agriculture.
MFL as a strategic shift for fragile regions
As convener of the session, Dr Shalander Kumar, Principal Scientist – Economist, ICRISAT, framed Multifunctional Landscapes as a necessary strategic shift for rainfed and ecologically fragile regions.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr Ramesh Singh, Principal Scientist – Multifunctional Landscapes, ICRISAT, shared success stories from ICRISAT’s landscape work with farmers and governments in Odisha, Maharashtra and the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.
A call for a new cadre of ‘systems professionals’
A high-level panel discussion co-chaired by Dr N. K. Tyagi, Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board and Director, ICAR-Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal and Dr S. S. Kalamkar, Director, Agro-Economic Research Center, Anand, Gujarat and moderated by Dr Shalander Kumar, ICRISAT called for a new cadre of systems professionals.
The panel comprising Dr K. H. Anantha, Principal Scientist, ICRISAT, Dr C. A. Ramarao, Principal Scientist, CRIDA, Dr Gopal Kumar, Deputy Country Representative, IWMI and Dr Yella Reddy, Vice President, ICID, broadened the debate, stressing that the main bottlenecks to scaling landscapes are not only technological, but institutional and human.
They agreed that the biggest gap is the lack of inter-departmental coordination and the absence of a new cadre of professionals trained in systems thinking, hydrology, data analytics and socio-institutional processes.
An interactive Mentimeter-based policy reflection, facilitated by Dr Abhishek Das and Dr Nagarjuna Reddy of ICRISAT, captured real-time perspectives from the audience on strategic shifts, governance innovations and institutional capabilities required to advance the landscape approach at scale.
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