The three-day Dryland Congress 2026 concluded in New Delhi with the adoption of the Delhi Declaration on Drylands (3D), which sets out a shared agenda for transforming dryland agriculture through collaboration, knowledge exchange, innovation and collective action across the Global South. The declaration was endorsed by participating governments, institutions, partners and delegates at the closing plenary, coinciding with the United Nations Day for South–South Cooperation.
Dr M.L. Jat, Secretary of DARE and Director General of ICAR, emphasized the need for foresight in dryland agriculture efforts and called for ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research to lead this work. He stressed the requirement for robust data and information systems for dryland agri-food systems, as well as common innovation grounds or living laboratories connecting research with practice and policy.
Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT, highlighted the strategic importance of drylands for global food security and called for translating deliberations into concrete action through short- and long-term priorities. The Congress resulted in new partnerships including agreements with the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and ICRISAT exchanged MoUs with Avior Life Sciences, NIFTEM, Wipro Limited, and the Angul and Rayagada District Administrations of Odisha.
The ISSCA Global Awards 2026 recognized 17 agricultural innovations from 34 countries across Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Mega Award for Transformative Excellence was presented to ICARDA Lebanon for TAAT Wheat Compact Technologies, CIMMYT Mexico for e-Agrology 360, and Odisha Livelihoods Mission for Women-Led Sustainable Farming. Additional awards were distributed across categories including Crop Improvement & Production Technologies, Natural Resource Management & Climate Resilience, Agribusiness & Market Systems, Digital Agriculture, and Livestock Improvement & Production Technologies, with 16 Best Poster Awards presented to students and research scholars.
The Congress featured sessions on South–South and triangular cooperation, with panel discussions involving national agricultural research systems from Ethiopia, Senegal, Brazil, China and India, along with representatives from CGIAR, FARA and APAARI. The event concluded with a renewed commitment to translate scientific knowledge into action, scale proven innovations and strengthen partnerships for resilient dryland agriculture across the Global South.