The SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC) has the mandate for agricultural research and development (R&D), knowledge sharing, information dissemination, policy support and capacity enhancement through the establishment of regional networks of relevant institutions, professionals, policy makers, and other stakeholders for promoting sustainable, inclusive, and resilient agricultural development in the South Asia. SAC envisions a hunger-free South Asia, and its mission is to provide evidence-based technical and policy solutions to the SAARC Member States for the sustainable transformation of the food and agricultural systems that contributes to reduce poverty, and end hunger and undernutrition in the region.

South Asia a home to 1.9 billion people (as of 2021), is one of the poorest regions in the world. The region constitutes one-third of the world’s poor with about 70 percent living in rural areas and primarily dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. The region accounts for 35% of the undernourished population globally and thus has one of the greatest burdens of hunger in the world (Dizon, Josephson et al. 2021). Moreover, the region has 40% of the world’s stunted children and some of the world’s highest rates of anemia among women. Addressing these challenges of hunger and undernourishment is therefore fundamental; not only for the regional prosperity of South Asia; but also, for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reach the target of zero hunger globally. Food and agriculture systems can play fundamental role towards this end.

The agricultural and rural development landscapes in South Asia have multitudes of common challenges:  mass poverty and ignorance as attendant evils, growing scarcity of land and water, income inequalities, prevalence of small-scale farming undertakings, increasing incidences of climate-change induced disaster and shocks, limited technological advancement, inadequate access to modern inputs and technologies, poor connectivity, and weak market infrastructures. Besides, globalization and rapid urbanization, deteriorating resources-base, increasing trend of out migration of the agricultural work force, dwindling investments in agricultural research and development are some of other emerging challenges, threating the sustainable growth of the food and agriculture sector and achieving food security and nutrition for all.

SAC strengthens the Member State’s collective efforts to achieving poverty alleviation and zero hunger goals by the transformation of agri-food systems in the region towards more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable farm undertakings through prioritized areas of operations in natural resources management (NRM), crops, livestock, horticulture, and fisheries sectors.