At NAIP, we are aware of the growing importance of access to information in the global competitive economy. Competitiveness and access to information are of greater relevance to poor-population groups to prevent them from further marginalization. The quantum of new information and the rapid rate at which the existing knowledge is becoming obsolete may pose a threat to the traditional and indigenous knowledge of our country.

Thus, the NAIP shall strive for striking a balance between utilization of the existing/ indigenous knowledge, creation of new knowledge and protection of useful traditional knowledge through documentation, validation, dissemination and utilization.

India’s agricultural sector is composed of a large number of small individual entrepreneurs. Farmers are becoming increasingly dependent on other entrepreneurs for services, inputs, implements, marketing and processing. The capacity of these large numbers of entities to adjust to the rapid changes in the institutional, economic and political environments, and inter-collaborations is highly crucial for the success of agricultural development.

Capacity building and strengthening of partnerships will be major elements in all the Components of the NAIP. Capacity building applies to individual farmers, farmers’ groups/ organizations, and agrarian institutions and businesses, which support them. Partnerships refer to collaborations among public sector institutions, farmers’ organizations, self-help groups, NGOs and the private sector.

The NAIP has a built-in awareness that women farmers, whose number and contributions are significant in the Indian agriculture, have to be increasingly involved in the development process.

Participatory mode of technology development, learning and action taking shall be the essential ingredients for capacity building and project management in the NAIP.

With the increasing importance of marketing in the Indian agriculture, enhancing the business skills of agricultural research institutions assumes high significance. There is a need to develop business development units/ groups as models in potential institutions for business planning, and market development for commercialization of agro-technologies.