About AARDO

1. AARDO was formed in 1962 as an autonomous inter-governmental organization and has 33 members from Asia and Africa.
2. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
3. The main objectives of AARDO are

• Developing understanding among members for better appreciation of each other’s problems
• To collectively explore opportunities for coordination of efforts in promoting welfare and eradication of thirst, hunger, illiteracy, disease, and poverty amongst rural people.

1. AARDO also promotes collaboration with various international organizations for the economic and social welfare of the rural community.
2. It enjoys observer status in FAO, IFAD, UNCTAD, UNESCO, ICA, CIRDAP and UNDP.

Functions of AARDO

1. To hold regional and international conferences, workshops, seminars and meetings to enable the exchange of ideas and experiences among the member countries and to find new areas of collaboration.
2. To organize and facilitate the conduct of regional, international and in-country training programmes to strengthen the institutional capacity of member countries in sustainable agriculture and rural development and promote networking among these countries.
3. To initiate research and studies of common interest and disseminate data/statistics and information to member countries.
4. To provide technical and financial support to its member countries for undertaking pilot projects for experimentation and replication.
5. To promote dissemination of information on agriculture and rural development through the multi-media approach.
6. To pursue environment and climate changes in the context of rural development.

India and AARDO

1. India is one of the founder members of AARDO and is the largest contributor in terms of membership contribution.
2. India also provided funds for building for AARDO secretariat in Delhi and also significant financial assistance for maintenance of the building.
3. It also offered 70 fully paid training scholarships for human resource development programme for AARDO under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) to the organization.
4. In 2016, India and AARDO signed MoU under which capacity building programmes for AARDO member countries for the triennium 2015-2017 had been undertaken.
5. Recently India and AARDO held a workshop in Kochi that focussed on food security, agriculture, and fisheries.

Way forward

Considering the growing competition between India and China in the African continent, an effective coordination and cooperation with AARDO will prove to be an effective driver in bringing the mutually beneficial relationship with several African countries and ensure sustainable development for both.

Practice Questions

1. Give a brief account on African Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO) and evaluate the relationship between India and AARDO.