Dryland Congress 2026 Adopts Delhi Declaration on Drylands

The Dryland Congress 2026 closed in New Delhi on 13 September 2026. It ran for three days. The closing plenary adopted the Delhi Declaration on Drylands, written in short as 3D. Governments, institutions, partners and delegates at the Congress endorsed it. The declaration sets a shared agenda for dryland farming across the Global South through partnership, knowledge exchange, innovation and joint action.

A closing day with a United Nations link

The final day fell on the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. The day opened with a commemoration ceremony for it. Messages came from the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization. Ms Dima Al-Khatib, Director of UNOSSC, also sent a message. The theme of the Congress was Transforming Dryland Agriculture with South-South Cooperation.

What the leaders said

Dr M. L. Jat spoke at the concluding session. He is Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He asked that ICAR-NIAP be given the mandate to lead foresight work on dryland agriculture. He also pressed for strong data systems and for living laboratories that link research with policy. Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT, called drylands strategically important for world food security. The Co-Chairs of the Congress were Dr D. K. Yadava of ICAR and Dr Stanford Blade of ICRISAT.

The first ISSCA Global Awards

The Congress presented the ISSCA Global Awards 2026. This was the first edition of the annual award. It drew 170 nominations from 34 countries in Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, West Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Sixteen Best Poster Awards went to students and research scholars.

Partnerships announced

New agreements were announced with the Global Crop Diversity Trust. ICRISAT exchanged memoranda of understanding with Avior Life Sciences, NIFTEM and Wipro Limited. It also signed with the district administrations of Angul and Rayagada in Odisha.