DOCSLIB.ORG

Download 192.96 KB

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Download 192.96 KB ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TAR: RES 36472 PROPOSED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE SEVENTH AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES RESEARCH AT INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTERS November 2002 ABBREVIATIONS AARNET – Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center Regional Network ADB – Asian Development Bank ANRR – agriculture and natural resources research ANRRD – Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations AVRDC – Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center CGIAR – Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CIAT – International Center for Tropical Agriculture DMC – developing member country EA – Executing Agency IARC – international agricultural research center ICAR – Indian Council of Agricultural Research ICRISAT – International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics IFPRI – International Food Policy Research Institute ILRI – International Livestock Research Institute IPGRI – International Plant Genetic Resources Institute Lao PDR – Lao People’s Democratic Republic M&E – monitoring and evaluation NARS – national agriculture research system NGO – nongovernment organization PAANSA – Policy Analysis and Advisory Network of South Asia PRC – People’s Republic of China RETA – regional technical assistance SAI – South Asia Initiative SWNM – soil, water, and nutrient management TA – technical assistance USAID – United States Agency for International Development WTO – World Trade Organization NOTE In this report, “$” refers to US dollars. This report was prepared by Pratima Dayal, Senior Agriculture Specialist, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Social Sectors Division, Regional and Sustainable Development Department. I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been providing support to agriculture research since 1975, as a means of enhancing crop and livestock productivity, fostering environmental sustainability of agricultural systems, and reducing poverty in much of rural Asia. A policy on agriculture and natural resources research (ANRR)1 was formulated and approved in 1995, which reiterated the strong need for sustained assistance to research and particularly to the member centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The ANRR policy also recommended channeling ADB support for ANRR directly to the international centers through an annual regional technical assistance (RETA) modality that supports a package of high priority research proposals from international agricultural research centers (IARCs). Accordingly, the first RETA was approved in 1996 for $5.2 million,2 and five more RETAs have been approved since, the last one being in 2001.3 2. During 2002, 11 IARCs submitted 14 research proposals to ADB for funding. These were reviewed by the members of the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (ANNRD) Committee4 at a meeting held on 4 April 2002. The following criteria were endorsed for selecting proposals for funding: (i) linkage and likely impact of the proposal on poverty, including indirect impact, such as through capacity building for national agricultural research and extension systems, and for policymakers; (ii) direct relevance to ADB operations; and (iii) readiness and completeness of the proposal. The Committee also decided to additionally consider the capacity and past performance of the sponsoring IARC and the emphasis in the proposal on technology transfer to farmers and national partners. Accordingly, each proposal was evaluated, and four were selected for inclusion in the proposed RETA for the Seventh Agriculture and Natural Resources Research at International Agricultural Research Centers. These include three research projects submitted by CGIAR centers—the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)—and one by a non-CGIAR center—the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC).5 II. ISSUES 3. Despite the dramatic economic transformation that swept Asia in the last half of the 20th century, the Asia and Pacific region still accounts for more than half of the world’s 1.2 billion poor, who live in extreme poverty and subsist on less than $1 a day. Measured by the headcount ratio, the incidence of poverty is the highest in South Asia, where, despite increased urbanization, a vast majority of the poor still live in rural areas. Poverty and rural economic advancement therefore assumed the highest priority in the international development agenda, and various summits have proclaimed strong commitments to poverty reduction. The United Nations Millennium Declaration of September 2000 adopted poverty reduction as its main agenda and pledged to bring down the numbers of people living in extreme poverty to half by 2015. ADB declared poverty reduction as its overarching goal in March 2000 and initiated partnership agreements with its developing member countries (DMCs) to achieve this objective. 1 ADB. 1995. The Bank’s Policy on Agriculture and Natural Resources Research. Manila. 2 ADB. 1996. Regional Technical Assistance for Agriculture and Natural Resources Research at CGIAR Centers. Manila. 3 ADB. 2001. Regional Technical Assistance for the Sixth Agriculture and Natural Resources Research at CGIAR Centers. Manila. 4 In the reorganized structure of ADB, the responsibility for review and short-listing of RETA proposals has been vested in the ANRRD Committee, which is comprised of select nominees from the regional and other key departments. 5 The TA first appeared in ADB Business Opportunities on 11 July 2002. 2 4. It is widely accepted in the development community that growth in the agriculture sector is key to poverty reduction in Asia because of the large percentage of the poor who live in rural areas and are directly or indirectly dependent on it for employment, income, and nutrition. The impact of agricultural growth on rural society was amply demonstrated by the “green revolution” that took place in the 1970s and 1980s in Asia, under which cereal production doubled and rural incomes increased substantially. The green revolution was the first major attempt at applying modern science and technology to agriculture in Asia. But after more than three decades, the package of technologies and the model that was applied have been largely exhausted, and in many instances new challenges have emerged that need to be addressed in order to reduce poverty and keep pace with food demand in rural Asia. 5. It is estimated that, during the next 30 years, Asia’s population will increase by 1.5 billion and the food requirement by 40–50%. The challenge is formidable, because future production will have to come largely from increasing cropping intensity and productivity from not so well- endowed lands; problems of degraded lands, soil, and water management will have to be addressed; ecological and resource management concerns will have to be integrated into the new technology options; and agriculture will have to be diversified to include vegetables, fruits, livestock, fisheries and a range of export crops. According to the estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,6 more than 550 million hectares of arable lands are degraded in Asia. These include areas that are prone to drought, desertification, soil erosion, loss of fertility, and depletion of forest cover. In many of these areas, existing technologies cannot support further increases in production, and new technological options are needed to increase food production and reduce poverty. There is therefore a major need and opportunity for supporting and catalyzing innovations in technology, enhancing capacities in national research and extension systems, and supporting appropriate public policy to boost growth in the agriculture sector. 6. ADB has been supporting agricultural research through an annual RETA since 1996 and has so far approved six umbrella RETAs for a total of $31.7 million involving 14 CGIAR centers. In December 2000, the Operations Evaluation Department reviewed ADB’s policy on ANRR and evaluated the investments made in agricultural research from 1975 through 2000.7 The study concluded that the policy on ANRR and support to agricultural research continued to be relevant to ADB’s operations and development objectives and should be continued. On research investments, the study evaluated a subset of projects funded by ADB in four of the major recipient CGIAR centers and concluded that ADB financing had paid high dividends: a total economic surplus of $4.2 billion was directly attributable to ADB funding, and there was an average internal rate of return of 65% for all funds invested for the projects. The study also confirmed that the RETA modality is an effective means of channeling funds to the IARCs; and that the IARCs had demonstrated their comparative advantages and proficiency in undertaking research, in leveraging additional funds, and in building capacity of the national agricultural research systems (NARSs). Appendix 1 provides a summary of all assistance provided by ADB to the IARCs, including CGIAR. 7. The proposed RETA will be the seventh umbrella RETA for agriculture and natural resources research at international agricultural research centers and is aimed at assisting the participating DMCs in achieving the commonly shared goals of sustainable agricultural development, improving rural incomes, and reducing poverty. This is
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2012 Speaker Bios
    BORLAUG SUMMER INSTITUTE ON GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY SPEAKER BIOS Philip Abbott Dr. Philip Abbott is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. He teaches courses on mathematical programming, international trade, trade policy and agricultural development, macroeconomics and mathematical economics. His current research focuses on international trade and international agricultural development, and four of his students have won national awards for the quality of their dissertations. Phil has consulted for several domestic and foreign government agencies, including the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. He has been on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and the Journal of Development Economics. In addition, Phil has published numerous articles and studies. Recent publications include studies on Tariff Rate Quotas, Globalization, Wheat-Importing State Agricultural Commodity Production and Trade, Implications of Game Theory for International Agricultural Trade, American Journal of Agricultural Economics. He has been on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and the Journal of Development Economics. Notably he also serves on numerous committees including The International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium and The USDA–USTR Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Grains, Feeds and Oilseeds. Jay Akridge Dr. Jay T Akridge was appointed Dean of the Purdue University College of Agriculture in 2009. As dean he is responsible for administering academic programs in the College of Agriculture, the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and a number of state regulatory services. Prior to being named dean, Dr. Akridge was the James and Lois Ackerman Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue and served as director of the Center for Food and Agricultural Business and the MS-MBA in food and agribusiness management program.
    [Show full text]
  • Norman Borlaug
    Norman Borlaug Melinda Smale, Michigan State University I’d like to offer some illustrative examples of how scientific partnerships and exchange of plant genetic resources in international agricultural research have generated benefits for US farmers and consumers. 1. It is widely accepted that the greatest transformation in world agriculture of the last century was the Green Revolution, which averted famine particularly in the wheat and rice-growing areas of numerous countries in Asia by boosting levels of farm productivity several times over, lowering prices for consumers, raising income and demand for goods and services. Most of us here are familiar with the history of this transformation. • You will remember that the key technological impetus was short- statured varieties that were fertilizer responsive and didn’t fall over in the field when more of the plant’s energy was poured into grain rather than the stalk and leaves. • Less well known is that the origin of the genes that conferred short- stature in wheat was a landrace from Korea--transferred to Japan, named Daruma, and bred into Norin 10. Norin 10 was named for a Japanese research station, tenth selection from a cross. Later, Norin 10 was brought as a seed sample by an agronomist advisor who served in the MacArthur campaign after WWII. At Washington State University it was crossed to produce important US wheat varieties. The most extensive use of Norin 10 genes outside Japan and the US was by Norman Borlaug, who won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder of the World Food Prize (won, for example, by Gebisa Ejeta).
    [Show full text]
  • The Payoff to Investing in Cgiar Research
    THE PAYOFF TO INVESTING IN CGIAR RESEARCH October 2020 (revised) Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, and Xudong Rao >>> Table of Contents KEY FINDINGS I What motivated us I What we did I What we found III Implications of our findings V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY VIII THE PAYOFF TO INVESTING IN CGIAR RESEARCH 1 1. Introduction 2 1.1 Report Roadmap 6 CONTEXT FOR THE ASSESSMENT 7 2. Evolving Structure of Global Agriculture, Agricultural R&D, and the CGIAR 8 2.1 Global Perspectives on Food, Agriculture, and R&D 8 2.2 The Global Incidence of Hunger and Poverty 11 2.3 The (Economic) Geography of Agriculture and Food Production 13 2.4 The (Economic) Geography of Agricultural and Food R&D Spending 15 Rising private-sector presence 17 Agricultural R&D versus total R&D 17 CGIAR spending 18 3. CGIAR Research Institutions and Investments 20 3.1 A Potted (Economic and Institutional) History of the CGIAR 20 Funding history 20 CGIAR spending breakdowns 23 3.2 Sources of Support for CGIAR Research 26 3.3 Previous Evaluation Reports 30 THE RETURNS TO CGIAR RESEARCH 34 4. Concepts, Methods, Measures and Data for the Analysis 35 4.1 Concepts and Challenges 35 4.2 Overview of the Evidence 36 4.3 Standardizing the ROR Metric 37 4.4 Selecting Data for the Analysis: Filtering 39 <<< 5. Evidence on the Returns to Investments in CGIAR Research 43 5.1 Distribution of Estimated BCRs 44 5.2 Regression Analysis 47 5.3 The BCR for CGIAR research 50 6. The Benefits From Investments in CGIAR Research 53 6.1 Scaling ROR Evidence: From BCRs to Benefits 53 6.2 Directly Estimated Benefits 58 6.3 Ground-Truthing Benefits 64 The (approximate) value of productivity growth 64 Simple approximate benefit-cost ratios 67 6.4 Reservations About the ROR Evidence 69 7.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental and Social Management Framework Summary
    Language: English Original: English PROJECT: TECHNOLOGIES FOR AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION COUNTRY: MULTINATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK SUMMARY Date: June 2017 Team Leader: J. N. CHIANU, Agricultural Economist, OSAN.0 Team Members: E. ATTIOGBEVI-SOMADO, Agronomist, OSAN.2 D. IHEDIOHA, Agro-Industry Specialist, OSAN.1 B. ABDULAI, Procurement Specialist, ORNG/ORPF H. DJOUSSOU-LORNG, Agricultural Economist, OSAN.2 F. ONDOBO, Agribusiness Specialist, OSAN.2 R. BAKO, Disbursement Assistant, ORNG O. IKUFORIJI, Consultant, Environment & Climate Change, OSAN.3 Appraisal Team Sector Manager: P.AGBOMA, OSAN.2 Sector Director: C. OJUKWU, OSAN Regional Directors: J. KOLSTER, ORNA A. BERNOUSSI, ORWA M. KANGA, ORCE E. FAAL, ORSA ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK (ESMF) SUMMARY Project Name: TECHNOLOGIES FOR AFRICAN AGRICULTURE TRANSFORMATION Project Number: P- Z1-A00-016 Country: MULTINATIONAL Department: AHAI Division: AHAI.2 Environmental Category: 2 1. Introduction TAAT is a flagship program of the African Development Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy designed to mobilize proven agricultural technologies that will increase production and value addition of key agriculture commodities. The program aims to overcome two key challenges attributed to the adoption of agriculture technologies i.e., limited consideration of newly emerging agriculture technologies (required to boost agricultural production) by regional member countries (RMCs) causing them to fall short of their impact targets and poor commercialization
    [Show full text]
  • CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers
    Plant Variety Protection and Technology Transfer: The benefits of public-private partnership Perspectives of the CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers Lloyd Le Page, CEO Consortium Office, Montpellier, France. CGIAR Consortium: Who and where we are Consortium of 15 International Agricultural Research Centers that operate in over 200 locations world wide Formed in 2010 as part of reform of the CGIAR, this year 40 years old Consortium Office established in Montpellier, France in March 2011 IFPRI World Agro- CIMMYT Forestry CIAT Bioversity CIP ICARDA Africa Rice ICRISAT IITA IWMI ILRI World Fish CIFOR IRRI Our Vision Task : ❶To reduce poverty and hunger, ❷improve human health and nutrition, and ❸enhance ecosystem resilience How: • high‐quality international agricultural research • partnership and leadership Photo: CGIAR CGIAR Research Programs Main organizational mechanism for planning and conducting research Built on three core principles • Impact on system‐level outcomes • reduced rural poverty • improved food security • improved nutrition and health • sustainably managed natural resources • Integration across CGIAR core competencies • Appropriate partnerships at all stages of R&D CGIAR Research Programs CGIAR Research Programs Intellectual Assets and the Consortium The Consortium and its member Centers regard results and outputs of our research and development activities as goods for the public at large (IPGs) – committed to their widespread diffusion and use – seek to achieve maximum possible access, scale and
    [Show full text]
  • Technology and the Africa Rice Center
    Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative University of New Mexico http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu Debate Technology and the Africa Rice Center ISSUE: Should genetic modification be used to further economic development? In Africa, the rice industry is represented by the Africa Rice Center, formerly known as West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA). The mission of the center is to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, through research, development, and partnership activities aimed at increasing the productivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways that ensure the sustainability of the farming environment. The association started in 1970 and today boasts twenty-two African nations as members and partners with many international organizations, including the United Nations, European Commission, and the World Health Organizations. In carrying out its mission, the center recognizes three key barriers, including (1) low productivity and sustainability of rice, (2) poor quality of the marketed product, and (3) unfavorable market and policy environment. To overcome these issues, the center established a strategic plan, including the use of research and development protocols to bridge genetic diversity and produce new variations of rice and disease-resistant crops. The center's current technologies allowed for the introduction of NERICA (New Rice for Africa) rice varieties. NERICA was created by crossing O. glaberrima and O. sativa, two species of rice that demonstrate different strengths and weaknesses when grown in Africa. Rice farmers had long hoped to combine the best traits of the two species, but efforts had been fruitless. In the early 1990s, WARDA breeders turned to biotechnology in an attempt to overcome the infertility problem.
    [Show full text]
  • CGIAR at the World Food Prize Flyer
    CGIAR at the World Food Prize The World Food Prize will take place in October 2018 at their headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. This prestigious event, including the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue and the World Food Prize Laureate Award Presentation, is a unique opportunity to showcase how CGIAR science is tackling humanity’s greatest challenges and to create more sustainable food systems. CGIAR will have a strong presence at the World Food Prize this year to celebrate our shared history and to showcase the future of CGIAR research in these five transformative areas: Nutrition, Genomics, Economics, Information and the Environment. In recognition of this year’s theme Rise to the Challenge, CGIAR will participate in: A pathway for research to 2030 A CGIAR Plenary Session, Borlaug Dialogue Rise to the Challenge: ‘A pathway for research to 2030’ – how will the global community implement high impact research to respond to humanity’s greatest challenges in: food security, environment, health, climate and jobs. What new strategies are required in agricultural research for development to deliver impact at scale by 2030 and to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? To deliver what are some of the most promising, future-facing innovations in 5 global transformation areas: Nutrition, Genomics, Economics, Information and the Environment? Date and time: October 17, 14:10-15:10 PM Framing and moderation: Elwyn Grainger-Jones, Executive Director, CGIAR System Organization Speakers: Dr. Noelle Cockett, President of Utah State University Hon. Dan Glickman, Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and Vice President and Executive Director, Aspen Institute Congressional Program Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • IWMI Strategy 2014-2018
    STRATEGY 2014 International Water Management Institute 2018 Solutions for a water-secure world HAMISH JOHN APPLEBY/IWMI Copyright © 2014 by IWMI. All rights reserved. IWMI encourages the use of its material provided that the organization is acknowledged and kept informed in all such instances. HAMISH JOHN APPLEBY/IWMI Contents Strategy 2014-2018 Key messages .................................................... 5 Message from the Board Chair and Director General .......... 6 Shifting global context steers IWMI’s vision and mission ....... 8 ‘A water-secure world’ as our vision Delivering water and land management solutions as our mission Meeting development challenges through the CGIAR framework ........................................... 14 Catalyzing impact ............................................... 17 Implementing IWMI’s vision .................................... 18 A think tank driving innovative research and generating ideas for solutions A provider of science-based products and tools A facilitator of learning, strengthening capacity and achieving uptake Putting plans into practice ...................................... 23 Tailoring solutions to regional priorities Operational implications ........................................ 26 Linkages with the CGIAR Research Programs Partnership strategy Institutional growth Strategic research, product development and service delivery Impact pathways and targets Solutions for a water-secure world 3 Key messages Strategy 2014-2018 1) IWMI is committed to the aims of reforms made by CGIAR
    [Show full text]
  • The Worldfish Center, Located on the Island of Penang
    The WorldFish Center, with administrative headquarters on the island of Penang, Malaysia, is a world-class scientific research organization. Our mission is to reduce poverty and hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture. We have offices in 8 countries and engage in collaborative research with more than 200 partners in more than 25 countries. The Center is a nonprofit organization and a member of the Consortium on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). SENIOR/PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST – CLIMATE CHANGE You will be a natural or social scientist with a PhD and strong track record of research related to climate change impacts, adaptation or mitigation in a developing-country agriculture or natural resource management context. Your research demonstrates a commitment to interdisciplinarity and you have a strong track record in project or programme management and in securing research funding. You will lead the WorldFish Center’s programme of research on climate change, so you will need to have an international profile as a climate and development researcher and be good at collaborating with others to achieve greater impact. A major part of your responsibility will be to co-ordinate the Center’s role in the CGIAR CCAFS programme in South Asia and in East and West Africa and to ensure that science from this programme is published in leading peer-reviewed journals and is also taken up in adaptation and mitigation practice, to benefit poor and vulnerable people dependent on aquatic agricultural systems (AAS). AAS include fisheries, aquaculture, wetland rice, horticulture, coastal plantation crops, so experience of coastal or wetland agriculture or fisheries and aquaculture is an advantage.
    [Show full text]
  • CGIAR System Council Composition
    CGIAR System Council Composition Ex-officio non-voting members Chair of the System Council Juergen Voegele Ph.D Senior Director, Agriculture World Bank Co-Chair Appointed by the System Council for each meeting from amongst its voting members Voting members, July 2016 – June 2019 No Organization/Country 20 Voting seats Member Alternate (optional) 1 African Development Dr. Chiji Ojukwu Mr. Ken Johm Bank Director of Agriculture Lead Agricultural Economist 2 Australia Mr. Andrew Campbell Ms. Mellissa Wood Chief Executive Officer General Manager, Global Australian Centre for Programs International Agricultural ACIAR Research (ACIAR) 3 Bill & Melinda Gates Member nomination Mr. Tony Cavalieri Ph.D Foundation pending Senior Program Officer, Agriculture Development 4 Canada Mr. Michel Gagnon Mr. Christophe Kadji Director, Food Security Deputy Director, Global Division Programs and Initiatives Global Issues and Food Security Division Development Branch Global Affairs Canada Global Issues and Development Branch Global Affairs Canada 5 East Asia and Pacific* CHINA INDONESIA Dr. Feng Dongxin (China, Indonesia, Director of International Malaysia, Philippines Cooperation and Thailand) CGIAR System Council Composition Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) 6 European Commission Mr Bernard Rey Deputy Head of Unit, Unit C1 – Rural Development, Food Security, Nutrition – European Commission, DG International Cooperation and Development 7 Germany (and Belgium) Mr. Dr. Stefan Schmitz Head of Directorate 12 – Food, Agriculture and Rural Development Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development 8 Japan Ms. Satomi OKAGAKI Ms. Masashi TAKIZWA Senior Deputy Director, Deputy Director Global Issues Cooperation Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Division, International Government of Japan Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Global Issues Cooperation Affairs of Japan Division 9 Latin America and TBC Caribbean* (Brazil, Colombia and Peru) 10 Mexico Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • The History and Usefulness BI Descriptor Lists.Pdf
    The history and usefulness of Bioversity International’s Supported by the CGIAR descriptor lists IMPACT ASSESSMENT BRIEF NUMBER 3 Bioversity This brief describes an assessment of the Each DL is itself an International’s history and usefulness of descriptor lists (DLs), important“ tool; together, they series of Impact which have been published by Bioversity Assessment Briefs International since 1976. The assessment aimed constitute the basis for a aims to inform to develop an understanding of how the DLs standardized documentation readers about the have developed over time, how useful they system that provides an major results of are to a range of users globally, and their value evaluations carried in promoting collaboration and information internationally agreed format out by the centre. exchange among organizations. The Briefs summarize DLs are scientific standards for document- ” conclusions and ing plant genetic resources (PGR)—genetic The assessment revealed that Bioversity’s methods of more material of plants that is of value for present and DLs not only are widely used and respected— formal papers future generations of people. Each DL is itself primarily because they have been developed published in peer- an important tool; together, they constitute the by large groups of crop specialists—but also reviewed journals. basis for a standardized documentation system are publically recognized as the standards that provides an internationally agreed format for PGR data collection and management. A and universally understood ‘language’ for PGR number of areas for improvement were identi- data. Ultimately, the adoption of DLs as a way fied, although many of them are either outside to record and store crop data led to a rapid, reli- Bioversity’s mandate or depend on human or able and efficient mechanism for information financial capital for implementation.
    [Show full text]
  • An Alliance for Accelerated Change Addressing the Nexus of Food, Agriculture, Health and Environment in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals
    an alliance for accelerated change Addressing the nexus of food, agriculture, health and environment in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals Today’s global challenges of poverty, malnutrition, climate The Alliance delivers research-based solutions that harness change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss call for new agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food research, solutions, innovations, and stronger partnerships systems to improve people’s lives. that can deliver higher impact. To respond to these The Alliance solutions will support the achievement of the challenges, and building on their complementary mandates Sustainable Development Goals, Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and long collaboration, Bioversity International and the Paris Agreement, and Bonn Challenge, among other International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) have joined international initiatives. forces to create an Alliance. The Alliance will: milestones In November 2018, Bioversity International and CIAT signed a Memorandum of Understanding that established the foundations of the Alliance, which will have one Strategy and Results Framework, one Business Plan, one Board, one Director General and one Senior Management Team. Juan Lucas Restrepo was appointed to lead the way as the Director General of Bioversity International in 2019, and Director General of the Alliance starting in January 2020. The Alliance Strategy and Results Framework is being finalized with input from cross-sectoral partners, and a thorough review of the demand against
    [Show full text]