The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in India participated at the Maru Manthan, an annual international dialogue forum on desert agrifood production systems, on 9 and 10 February 2024 in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The annual international dialogue is co-organized by the Desert Resource Centre and Urmul Seemant Samiti and brings together desert communities, and representatives from the government and civil society organizations to discuss, share knowledge and highlight the vital role of camels in desert livelihoods and ecosystems. The international dialogue aligns and promotes the objectives of the United Nations International Year of Camelids (IYC) 2024.

Mr Takayuki Hagiwara, FAO Representative in India was invited to deliver the keynote address at the international dialogue. Promoting the IYC 2024, Mr Hagiwara highlighted the importance of desert agrifood systems in India. “FAO’s primary mandate is to transform agrifood systems in India and working in the livestock sector is one of its primary objectives.  FAO recognizes the significance of camelids in India and therefore, we aim to include the camelid sector as an integral part of our work in the country,” shared Mr Hagiwara.

He also emphasized that Rajasthan is a project state for FAO under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – 6 cycle funded Green-Ag project and FAO looks forward to exploring grounds of collaboration to work on comprehensive livestock production systems, share technical expertise and be part of the desert alliance. Mr Hagiwara was also invited to be part of the panel discussion on policy discussions on taking forward the lessons relevant to desert ecology. He highlighted the need to recognize the changing aspirations of the communities and the need for sustainable solutions that match these aspirations. The Desert Alliance’s key focus aligns with FAO’s principles of collaboration, innovation, investments, and ecosystem approach.

Maru Manthan 2024 included exhibitions that showcased the various innovations and products related to desert ecology, pastoral production systems, and innovative solutions tailored to desert communities. During the two-day international dialogue, Mr Hagiwara, was accompanied by Dr Manoj Mishra, Lead – Agri-investment, FAO India and Mr Kundan Singh, Economist, FAO and interacted with various other organisations such as Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Unnati, and SELCO Foundation to first-hand witness their work.

The two-day deliberation enabled in-depth discussions and developed action points on desert ecosystems, facilitated avenues for knowledge-sharing, and collaboration, and created a strong desert alliance pushing for policy dialogue in the sector in India.

The FAO team led by Mr Hagiwara also visited the three project villages under the GEF 6 Green-Ag project in Jaisalmer on 10 February. These are Damodra village which lies completely on the outside of the Desert National Park (DNP), Kanoi village which is partly inside and partly outside the DNP and Nimba village which is inside the DNP. The visits helped to understand the different kind of challenges that exists in the ecosystem concerning livelihoods, water availability and landscape management.

On 11 February, the FAO team visited Narayanpura village in the Phalodi district to see the Common Facility Centre set up for sheep shearing and storage of sheep wool. The centre is market-linked and works on a service fee for washing and shearing sheep. Further, the grading and sorting of sheep wool is also carried out at the centre which helps in providing employment opportunities for rural women. The team also visited the Chirana and Grandy villages where biogas plants have been installed by SystemaBio, and solar-powered chilling units installed for the camel milk value chain, respectively.

The FAO team also met with Mr Radhesyam Narwal, Joint Director - Agriculture, Jaisalmer, Mr Pratap Singh, District Collector of Jaisalmer, and the district team of State Rural Livelihoods Mission. They also visited an Integrated Livestock Development Centre in the Rasla village of Barmer, managed by BAIF, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), Jodhpur to understand their work that explores its relevance to the GEF 6 Green-Ag project.

Camelids play a significant role in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to the fight against hunger, eradication of extreme poverty, the empowerment of women and the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems therefore combating desertification, halting, and reversing land degradation and stemming the loss of biological diversity.

Image credit:  Sunil Kumar, Foundation for Ecological Security