AIMA is pleased to share the rich content of CIMA 2023, the first Congress held in India.

Attendees saw the rich and varied landscape of northeast India as they traveled by train and bus between two host institutions – 13-15 October 2023 at Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences (near Solan, Himanchal Pradesh) and 16-18 October 2023 at Punjab Agricultural University (Ludhiana, Punjab).

You can read reflections from attendees who Zoomed in and who traveled to India HERE.

View of Shoolini University from the CIMA 2023 meeting location. Plated meal featuring millet prepared by renowned chef, Nishant Choubey (14 October 2023).

AIMA anticipated World Food Day (16 October) during the International Year of Millets (2023) with a demonstration by chef, Nishant Choubey. It is easy to see why Eat With India describes him as “sustainable chef.”

A bus transferred CIMA 2023 attendees from the Himalaya foothills to the plains of Punjab and the Punjab Agricultural University. There, administrators and faculty welcomed attendees to the many university museums including the Museum of the Green Revolution and the Crop Improvement Museum, among others (stay tuned for reports on each). PAU administrators dedicated a new museum honoring Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush, rice-breeder and 1996 World Food Prize laureate during CIMA 2023.

Tours of two Punjab Agricultural University museums, Museum of the Green Revolution (left) and the Museum of Crop Improvement (right).

A highlight included an evening at the Museum of Social History and Rural Life of Punjab and a talk by the architect of the museum, S. S. Sekhon.

Museum of Social History and Rural Life of Punjab (left) and the architect of the museum, S. S. Sekhon, speaking to CIMA 2023 delegates.

Delegates to CIMA 2023 at the Museum of Social History and Rural Life of Punjab.

The Punjab leg of the conference concluded with a tour of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Jalandhar. This agricultural research station focuses on locally-appropriate technology and delivers information to farm families through short term and vocational training.

Farm fields next to the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Jalandhar with a farmer discussing a training course in artificial insemination, and the concluding tea hosted by PAU administrators and faculty at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Jalandhar (next to a prototype bus stop in background that, when installed, delivers agricultural information while it shelters travelers).

Stay tuned for summaries of site visits, links to recorded presentations, and the conference proceedings.