CGIAR

CGIAR arose in response to the widespread concern in the mid-20th century that rapid increases in human populations would soon lead to widespread famine. Starting in 1943, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Mexican government laid the seeds for the Green Revolution when they established the Office of Special Studies, which resulted in the establishment of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 1960 and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 1963 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation, developing high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties that dramatically increased production of these staple cereals, and turned India, for example, from a country regularly facing starvation in the 1960s to a net exporter of cereals by the late-1970s. But it was clear that these foundations alone could not fund all the agricultural research and development efforts needed to feed the world's population. In 1969, the Pearson Commission on International Development urged the international community to undertake "intensive international effort" to support "research specializing in food supplies and tropical agriculture".

In 1970, the Rockefeller Foundation proposed a worldwide network of agricultural research centers under a permanent secretariat. This was further supported and developed by the World Bank, FAO and UNDP, and CGIAR was established on May 19, 1971, to coordinate international agricultural research efforts aimed at reducing poverty and achieving food security in developing countries.

CGIAR originally supported four centres: CIMMYT; International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT); and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The initial focus on the staple cereals—rice, wheat and maize—widened during the 1970s to include cassava, chickpea, sorghum, potato, millet and other food crops, and encompassed livestock, farming systems, the conservation of genetic resources, plant nutrition, water management, policy research, and services to national agricultural research centers in developing countries. By 1983 there were 13 research centers around the world under its umbrella.[10]

By the 1990s the number of centers supported by CGIAR had grown to 18. Mergers between the two livestock centers the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD) and the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA)) and the absorption of work on bananas and plantains into the program of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI; now Bioversity International) reduced the number to 16. Later another center (ISNAR) was absorbed, reducing the total number of supported centers to 15.[11]

The reduction in the number of supported centers was not enough to address problems facing the group. These included the logistics of funders and the group alike in dealing with a large number of centers. This led to the creation of three classes of centers, divided into high, medium, and low impact delivery.

At the same time, a number of aid recipient countries like China, India, and Malaysia created their own development agencies and developed cadres of agricultural scientists. Private donors and industries also contributed, while research institutions in the rich world turned their attention to problems of the poor. CGIAR, however, failed to embrace these changes in any effective way.

Seeking to increase its efficiency and build on its previous successes, CGIAR embarked on a program of reform in 2001. Key among the changes implemented was the adoption of Challenge Programs as a means of harnessing the strengths of the diverse centers to address major global or regional issues. Three Challenge Programs were established within the supported research centers and a fourth to FARA, a research forum in Africa:

• Water and Food, aimed at producing more food using less water;[12] (Including Basin Focal Projects)
• HarvestPlus, to improve the micronutrient content of staple foods;[13] and
• Generation, aimed at increasing the use of crop genetic resources to create a new generation of plants that meet farmers and consumers needs.[14]

Since CGIAR was established there have been large changes in the agricultural research "landscape". Fluctuations in food and energy prices and in financial markets are adding uncertainty to the environment in which farmers and consumers operate. Climate change will have a wide range of impacts on agriculture, with changes in growing conditions for crops, livestock, and fish and the pests and diseases that affect them. Droughts and storms are expected to increase in frequency and severity, undermining the efforts of farmers, foresters and fishers.[15] This will have a large impact on food security.[16]

In 2008, CGIAR embarked on a change process to improve the engagement between all stakeholders in international agricultural research for development—donors, researchers and beneficiaries—and to refocus the efforts of the centers on major global development challenges.[17][18] A key objective was to integrate the work of the centers and their partners, avoiding fragmentation and duplication of effort.

CGIAR components include the CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, the CGIAR Fund,[19] the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC)[20] and partners. Research is guided by the CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework.[21] The CGIAR Consortium unites the centers supported by CGIAR; it coordinates limited research activities of about fifteen research projects (See list below) among the centers and provides donors with a single contact point to centers. The CGIAR Fund aims to harmonize the efforts of donors to contribute to agricultural research for development, increase the funding available by reducing or eliminating duplication of effort among the centers and promote greater financial stability. The CGIAR ISPC, appointed by the CGIAR Fund Council, provides expert advice to the funders of CGIAR, particularly in ensuring that CGIAR's research programs are aligned with the Strategy and Results Framework. It provides a bridge between the funders and the CGIAR Consortium. The hope was that the Strategy and Results Framework would provide the strategic direction for the centers and CGIAR Research Programs, ensuring that they focus on delivering measurable results that contribute to achieving CGIAR objectives. However the research programs were designed prior to the Framework being ready, so now some refitting will have to take place to get the programs inline with it.[22] A biennial Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD)[23] provides a forum for closer engagement of developing countries and partners in developing and guiding the research and development agenda of the CGIAR Consortium and the CGIAR Fund. The first GCARD was held in Montpellier, France, in March 2010.[24]

The CGIAR Consortium was established in April 2010. It is based at the Agropolis campus in Montpellier. The CGIAR Fund was established in January 2010 and is based in Washington, DC.

The CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers was established in April 2010 to coordinate and support the work of the 15 international agricultural research centers supported by CGIAR.[25] It plays a central role in formulating the CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework (SRF)[26] that guides the work of CGIAR supported centers on CGIAR funded research and developing CGIAR Research Programs under the SRF. The work of the CGIAR Consortium is governed by the Consortium Board, a 10-member panel that has fiduciary responsibility for CGIAR Research Programs, including monitoring and evaluation and reporting progress to donors.[27] CGIAR Research Programs are approved and funded by the CGIAR Fund[2] on a contractual basis through performance agreements.[28]

CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) are multi-center, multi-partner initiatives built on three core principles: impact on CGIAR's four system-level objectives; making the most of the centers' strengths; and strong and effective partnerships.

The following research programmes have now been approved (lead centers shown in brackets):

• CCAFS - Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security[29] (CIAT)[30]
• FTA - Forests, Trees, and Agroforestry (CIFOR)[31]
• GRiSP - A Global Rice Science Partnership (IRRI)[32]
• Aquatic Agricultural Systems[33] - Harnessing the Development Potential of Aquatic Agricultural Systems[33] for the Poor and Vulnerable (WorldFish)
• Maize (CIMMYT)
• RTB - Roots, Tubers and Bananas[34] (CIP)[35]
• WHEAT[36] - Global Alliance for Improving Food Security and the Livelihoods of the Resource-poor in the Developing World (CIMMYT)
• More Meat, Milk and Fish[37] by and for the poor (ILRI)[38]
• WLE - Water, Land and Ecosystems[39]
• A4NH - Agriculture for Nutrition and Health[40] (IFPRI)
• Dryland Cereals[41] (ICARDA)
• Dryland Systems[42] - Integrated agriculture systems for the poor and vulnerable http://humidtropics.org/</ref> - Integrated systems for the humid tropics (IITA)[43] in dry areas (ICARDA)
• Humidtropics
• PIM[44] - Policies, Institutions, & Markets (IFPRI)
• Grain Legumes for Health & Prosperity[45]
• FiSH - Fish in Agri-Food Systems (WorldFish)

A new strategy and results framework was approved in 2015 and the portfolio of research programs revised. The systems programs dryland systems, aquatic agricultural systems, and Humidtropics ceased to be standalone programs, even though they were seen as what was new to the reformed CGIAR, but were not given a real chance to take off and prosper, mainly due to funding reductions, but also because of a refocus on commodity value chains. These commodity programs were renamed to, for example, RTB Systems Program or Rice Systems Program. Some work of the earlier systems programs were incorporated, but most was lost.