Technical Advisory Committee Forty-Eighth Meeting, 13-20 March 1989: Report of the Meeting

Abstract

Report of TAC 48 held at CIMMYT in El Batan, Mexico, March 13-20, 1989, Alex McCalla presiding. The Committee acted on a number of center medium term plans and related issues. In endorsed for transmittal to the CGIAR the revised MTP of ICRISAT, and with some modifications to be made by the center, the MTP of WARDA. Both of these plans were considered previously at TAC 47. ICARDA's strategic plan and MTP were reviewed. TAC asked the center for revisions in both to be considered at TAC 49. Consideration of comparable documents from CIMMYT produced a similar result. The request for revisions of the MTP focused on the growth scenario.After considering IRRI's strategic plan a third time, TAC endorsed it. The Third EPR and First EMR of IRRI, first reviewed at TAC 43, were formally sent to the CGIAR without revision of TAC's earlier commentary. A draft MTP for IRRI was also considered. TAC made comments and asked that a completed version be submitted at TAC 49.In a joint meeting with center board chairs, TAC discussed a draft by its chairman of three chapters of the paper on the expansion of the CGIAR. The chair of the Standing Committee for Priorities and Strategies also reported. Terms of reference for the preliminary assessment of non associated centers were approved (Annex VI). The Chairman of the task force on tropical forestry research reported on priorities identified by his group. He also summarized proposals from the Bellagio II Conference concerning the implications for TAC should the CGIAR expand to include forestry research.TAC received a progress report on work with the CGIAR Secretariat from its standing committee on resource allocation. TAC suggested changes in terms of reference and guidelines for external review of IARCs, to be discussed with center directors before completion (Copies in Annexes IV and V).