Over 1,000 international and Moroccan scientists and policymakers attended the CGIAR Annual General Meeting in Marrakech from December 5-8, 2005. As part of these discussions, participants approved new approaches in which agricultural research, technology and food policy initiatives will better stimulate economic growth in the Central, West Asia and North Africa region and beyond.

The purpose of the Meeting was to generate support for a new CGIAR research agenda aimed at improving the livelihoods of low-income people in developing countries through sustainable agriculture.

“This is a region where agriculture began, and it is a major contributor to the bread basket of the world” said Ian Johnson, CGIAR Chairman at the opening of the Science Forum. “With over 40 percent of the CWANA population dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, agriculture and agricultural research have major roles to play in improving their livelihoods and enabling poor people to break the bonds of poverty.”

In his speech, he challenged the CGIAR to do more to combat the new and emerging threats to agriculture such as avian flu and a virulent form of stem rust fungus, Ug99, that is threatening global wheat production. He urged participants to consider actions that will further enhance the effectiveness of the CGIAR as a catalyst of research-based development, while sharpening its focus on science and moving forward on aligning research programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

New CGIAR Research Priorities

The new agenda includes five CGIAR research priority areas which are fully compatible with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

• Sustaining biodiversity for current and future generations
• Producing more and better food at lower cost through genetic improvements
• Reducing rural poverty through agricultural diversification and emerging opportunities for high-value commodities and products
• Promoting poverty alleviation and sustainable management of water, land, and forest resources, and
• Improving policies and facilitating institutional innovation to support sustainable reduction of poverty and hunger

“These research priorities were identified after rigorous evaluation coupled with a broad-based consultation strategy,” said Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Chairman of the CGIAR Science Council. “We focused on how research can accelerate poverty reduction keeping in view CGIAR’s comparative advantage and the continuing need for generating international public goods.”

Science and Economic Growth

A further highlight of the meetings was a presentation on “Scientific Capacity and Economic Growth: Implications for the CGIAR,” by François Bourguignon, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President.

He walked participants through the global research-and-development (R&D) landscape, reviewing conditions of science and technology (S&T) in developed, middle-income and low-income countries.

Bourguignon posed two provocative questions to his audience. First, does research conducted by CGIAR on maize, rice and wheat which is paralleled by private and public sector research in OECD countries make producers in low-income countries more self-sufficient and competitive? Second, how can CGIAR research speed up the process of diversification and competitiveness gain of the rural economy? Participants noted hybrid business environments (relating to intellectual property) may be a model that could be considered, as well as different partnership models for research in high-value commodities (including public, private, and civil society).

World Food Situation

Once very two years, the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) a CGIAR Center, unveils a major research report. This year’s report on “The World Food Situation: An Overview,” was presented by Joachim von Braun, Director General, IFPRI. He outlined four overall steps essential for cutting hunger and poverty in half by 2015:

• Strengthening governance of the food and agriculture system for action on the ground
• Scaling-up public investment for agriculture and rural growth
• Taking targeted steps to improve nutrition and health, and
• Creating an effective global system for preventing and mitigating disasters

“We must push ourselves not just to cut hunger in half, but to eradicate it completely,” concluded von Braun.