The Current Strategy of the CGIAR Francisco Reifschneider Director CGIAR June 2, 2003

1. The Current Strategy of the CGIARFrancisco ReifschneiderDirector CGIARJune 2, 2003

2. Centrality of agriculture Agriculture in African Economies Ag GDP/total 70% 27% 40% 35% 12% 2% All developing Industri- alized LLDCs GNP Exports Employment

3. Agriculture is getting back on the development agenda • World Food Summit+5, 2002 • World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002 / WEHAB: 5 areas of importance (Kofi Annan) • World Water Forum, 2003

4. Challenges to agriculture • Doubling of food production in 40 years • Extreme poverty in rural areas • Reduce ecological footprint • Can food security gap be closed? • Case for agricultural research as a global public good stronger than ever before • Recovery from natural and man-made disasters

5. Cereal demand: Developing world accounts for 2/3 by 2020 Million metric tons 3000 Industrialized world 2500 Developing world 2000 1,675 1500 1,118 1000 560 500 822 725 664 0 1974 1997 2020 Baseline

6. Meat demand:Explosive growth in developing countries Million metric tons 350 300 Industrialized world 250 Developing world 213 200 111 150 100 32 114 98 50 77 0 1974 1997 2020 Baseline

7. Poverty • Predominantly rural phenomenon • >70% of the poor live in rural areas • It is multidimensional (lack of food, assets, credit, technologies, extension, and increasingly, knowledge) • Poor are powerless and voiceless • The poor risk being bypassed by the knowledge revolution

8. Natural resource degradation • 40% of world’s cropland already degraded • 20-30% of world’s forests cleared • 40% of fish stocks fished to their limit • Ecological footprint of agriculture is large and growing

9. Changing context and agricultural research • Intellectual property rights • Environmental and social concerns • Market security • Accelerating pace of scientific change • Speed of change itself • Private sector investment in S&T • Investments are large (30 to 40%) and growing, but outputs are localized • Steep decline in public investments, but still 60% • CGIAR investments only 1.8% of public agricultural R&D • Emergence of strong NARS, dismantling NARIS • New ‘threats’ and ‘opportunities’ (climate change, AIDS, globalization, ICT, etc.)

10. Role for international agricultural research • Agricultural research is a driver of growth in rural areas • Partnerships are essential • Importance of knowledge sharing, building national capacities • Provision of public goods

11. Provision of public goods

12. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

13. A strategic alliance for the 21st century • Created in 1971 • 62 public and private members • 4 co-sponsors(World Bank, FAO, IFAD, UNDP) • 16 CGIAR Centers • Partners in academics, CSO, PS, NARIS (in N+S) • 8,500 scientists/staff in over 100 countries • Total budget 2002: US$ 357 million

14. The CGIAR Centers

15. Five CGIAR research pillars(2002) • Increasing productivity (34%) • Strengthening NARS (23%) • Protecting the environment (18%) • Improving policies (15%) • Saving biodiversity (10%)

16. CGIAR contributions of yesterday: Green Revolution • Diffusion of knowledge through collaboration of ARIs, NARS, NGOs, extension services… • Impact: since 1950s Asia more than doubled yields of staple crops • High yielding varieties averted food crisis looming in the 1960s • Saved land • Still spreading • but changing external environment

17. Broadening CGIAR research agenda • Twin pillars of research for development: germplasm improvement and natural resource management • Simultaneous achievement of productivity, environmental, and social goals

18. CGIAR contributions of today: Rice-Wheat Consortium of Indo-Gangetic Plains 500,000 • Low-till farming in rice-wheat systems • Total area: 23 million ha • Example of yield increase • 1.64 to 3.34 tons/ha in India • Partnership for impact (4 countries, 5 Centers, 6 ARIs) • Resource conserving Growth in area devoted to low-till farming (in ha) 300,000 100,000 12,000 1200 98- 99 00- 01 01- 02 99- 00 02- 03

19. CGIAR contributions of today: Quality Protein Maize (QPM) • Has twice the amount of lysine, tryptophan – essential amino acids • QPM planted on one million hectares, in 20 countries, boosting food, nutrition, health and income security • In Ghana, record yields of 7 tons/ha achieved

20. Vision for a new CGIAR • Agile, world-class knowledge alliance • Working at frontier of science, linking science and the poor • Provider of public goods that will not be addressed by private sector research • Partnerships as key element • US universities, GREAN Initiative, FONTAGRO platform etc. • Resource mobilization (finance, knowledge, intellectual property)

21. CGIAR reform program • Increase research impact through internal and external alliances • Increase efficiency in policy formulation and decision-making • Harness cutting edge science to help meet international development goals • Service provision in a more effective mode

22. Strategic consensus with Co-sponsors and members • World Bank: “Reaching the Rural Poor” strategy acknowledges importance of S&T • FAO: Strategic Framework for FAO 2000-2015 calls for cooperation to eradicate food insecurity and rural poverty • IFAD: Strategic Framework 2000-2006 emphasizes critical role of agricultural science to reduce poverty and conserve natural resources • USAID: strategy aims at revitalizing agricultural programs with emphasis on science-based solutions • IDB: recognizes strategic importance of the agricultural sector for overall growth

23. New CGIAR strategic framework is in development • To meet CGIAR goals facing new opportunities and threats • Formulation and drafting will be a broadly consultative, participatory process involving as many stakeholders as possible • Lead to action plan for implementation in the short and medium term • To help define the strategic niche for Challenge Programs in the CGIAR’s research and development agenda

24. CGIAR Challenge Programs • Approach: time-bound, innovative multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary, and multi-country • Focus: tackling problems of global significance in agriculture and allied sectors • Water and Food • Biofortified Crops for Improved Human Nutrition • Challenge programs are: • building new and strengthening ongoing partnerships • strengthening research for development • addressing Millennium Development Goals

25. Objectives: breeding and diffusion of new crops with improved micro-nutrient content 6 staple crops (beans,cassava,maize,rice,sweet pot.,wheat) 11 additional crops (incl.: barley,sorghum,millet,lentils) Nutrients: iron, zinc, beta-carotene About 40 partners (incl.: 8 CGIAR Centers, 4 leading ARIs) 3 geographical regions: LAC, Africa, Asia Initial funding: US$ 46 million (first 4 years) Biofortified crops for improved human nutrition

26. Water and Food • Objectives: increasing water use efficiency in agriculture while protecting the environment • Partnership: 18 members (6 NAROs, 4 ARIs, 5 CGIAR Centers, 3 international NGOs) • Matrix structure: 5 research themes (incl. crop water productivity improvement) and 7 benchmark river basins in LAC, Africa, Asia (incl. Nile, Karkheh, Sao Francisco) • Minimum core budget: US$ 120 million (first 6 years) • Some 75% of total funding is organized as open, competitive grant financing

27. Challenges of CPs • Resource mobilization • Strategic priorities • Effective governance model • Transaction costs • Science quality • Global public policy issues (PPP, IPR) • Major experiment

28. The way forward • Agricultural development pivotal for economic growth, poverty reduction, food security and proper environmental management • Existing partnerships have to be strengthened for increasing impacts (MDGs); new partnerships have to be formed • Public good research is and will be vital • CGIAR reform process, partnerships and external environment: harnessing the opportunity is a must