US and India, in cooperation, are concentrating on advancements in the field of food processing under an initiative, which was declared during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington last year (2005).

The partnership, which is called US-India AKI (Agricultural Knowledge Initiative), seeks to bump up agricultural production, as per Ellen Terpstra, who is the deputy under secretary with farm & foreign agricultural services.

During its initial three years, this program will focus on developments in food-processing, biotechnology, marketing, & water management in the country. This program will help Indian universities to develop services for the extension of community farm delivered via agricultural universities based programs.

In June 2006, AKI board had selected fifteen contenders from India who will participate in Norman Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program. This has brought policy-makers and research scientists from developing countries to US for pro tem scientific training.

The training program aims to assist those specialists in gaining the knowledge requisite for the adoption of new farm technologies in their respective countries. Specialists will also be trained as to how to address the hurdles to the espousal of those technologies, like "ineffectual" policies & regulations.

As per a Research Analyst's view at RNCOS, who has recently researched a report on "Process Food Market - Asia Pacific (2006-2007)", "Indian food-processing industry is growing at a rapid pace and the partnership between US and India will future lead to further growth in this sector."

Related Market Research Reports:
Indian Food and Drinks Market: Emerging Opportunities
Indonesian Food, Beverages and Tobacco Market Forecast till 2011
US Wine Market Forecast to 2012