C GI A R . A N N U A L R E P O R T. 0 9 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS CONSULTATIVE GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ■ ■ ■ AR AB FUND FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ■ ■ AUSTRALIA ■ ■ AUSTRIA ■ BANGLADESH ■ ■ BELGIUM ■ ■ BRAZIL CANADA ■ CHINA ■ ■ COLOMBIA COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNIT Y FINLAND ■ ■ CÔTE D’IVOIRE DENMARK AR AB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT GERMANY ■ ■ FOOD AND ■ AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS INDONESIA ■ FORD FOUNDATION ■ FR ANCE ■ ■ GULF COOPER ATION COUNCIL INDIA ■ INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TRIBUTE TO CGIAR MEMBERS INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE ■ INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTUR AL DEVELOPMENT ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IR AN ■ ■ IRELAND ■ ■ ■ ISR AEL KENYA ■ ITALY ■ ■ ■ JAPAN ■ ■ ■ KELLOGG FOUNDATION ■ ■ ■ REPUBLIC OF KOREA MEXICO NIGERIA MOROCCO NORWAY ■ ■ LUXEMBOURG MALAYSIA ■ NETHERLANDS ■ NEW ZEALAND OPEC FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL PERU ■ DEVELOPMENT ■ ■ PAKISTAN ■ PHILIPPINES ■ ■ PORTUGAL ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION SOUTH AFRICA ■ ROMANIA SPAIN ■ RUSSIAN FEDER ATION ■ SWEDEN ■ ■ ■ SWITZERLAND ■ ■ SYNGENTA FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE THAILAND TURKEY ■ ■ ■ SYRIAN AR AB REPUBLIC ■ UGANDA UNITED KINGDOM UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGR AMME UNITED STATES OF AMERICA UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGR AMME WORLD BANK An enduring commitment to agricultural research is necessary to ensure that the knowledge generated by scientists of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and their research partners finds appropriate and sustainable application by end users such as farmers, forest and fishing communities, and national agricultural research systems. Such dedication is fundamental to transforming research into development results. Since 1971, the CGIAR partnership has steadfastly supported research to reduce hunger and poverty in the developing world. The reforms to the CGIAR adopted in 2009 promise to strengthen its research to meet the challenges of a new era. The CGIAR thanks its Members as of December 2009 for their ongoing support to agricultural research for development through the CGIAR. The reforms to the CGIAR adopted in 2009 promise to strengthen its research to meet the challenges of a new era CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 1 CONTENTS CGIAR PERSPECTIVES Message from the Chair and Director 2009: At the Tipping Point Special Section: Key Questions about the CGIAR Winds of Change: Real Change Comes to the CGIAR Science Council: Primed for Partnership Alliance of the CGIAR Centers: Alliance to Consortium 3 PARTNERS’ PERSPECTIVES Global Forum on Agricultural Research: The CGIAR Reform in a Changing World International Federation of Agricultural Producers: Partners for Livelihoods 16 19 35 41 CENTERS SUPPORTED BY THE CGIAR CGIAR CHALLENGE PROGR AMS ACHIEVEMENTS Science Awards: Recognizing Excellence in 2009 Performance Measurement: Centers Measure Up in 2009 CGIAR in the Media: Newsworthy and Noted A Global CGIAR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE 2009 CGIAR FINANCIALS WHO’S WHO CGIAR Members The CGIAR in 2009 The CGIAR, 1971–2009 53 65 ABBREVIATIONS 71 2 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS CGIAR Perspectives CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 3 Message from the CGIAR Chair and Director 2009 AT THE TIPPING POINT International agricultural research crosses the threshold into a new era of achievement and impact through collaborative science focused on development results Katherine Sierra CGIAR Chair What especially distinguishes the award winners are their high-quality science, open sharing of knowledge, selfl ess teamwork and innovative partnerships that, taken together, power a relentless drive from research to results. Our focus on results. In 2009, the CGIAR’s collaborative research on crops, livestock and natural resource management offered many new examples of our focus on results derived from better crop varieties and other technologies, as well as from improved policies. Some of the outcomes are featured in the pages that follow. The products of CGIAR research are highly relevant to challenges that have seized the attention of world leaders in recent years, particularly global food security and climate change. Our work addresses other mounting problems as well, including the rampant destruction of biodiversity, worsening water scarcity and soil degradation, and the continuing exclusion of women from agricultural development — issues that have yet to gain the attention they deserve, even though resolving them is critical for securing food supplies and finding climate change solutions. The point is that climate change, hunger, rural poverty and poor management of natural resources are all closely linked and must be dealt with together through a comprehensive agenda of research for development. That was a central message underlying the CGIAR’s persistent efforts throughout 2009 to ensure that farms, forests and fisheries figure prominently in the Ren Wang CGIAR Director One of our most gratifying duties as chair and director is the annual presentation of CGIAR awards. These recognize a small cross-section of professionals whose dedication and outstanding work reflect the essence of what our organization is about (see pages 42-43). The awards ceremony itself is always a brief, formal affair held in the context of major meetings with CGIAR stakeholders. The moment is one of special significance for us and many others because it highlights the qualities that account in large part for our historic and more recent achievements, which are the same qualities upon which our future performance depends. 4 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS new climate agreement that will replace of the Kyoto Protocol after 2012. A collective voice for inclusion. Alarmed that climate negotiators had so far ignored agriculture, our researchers marshaled strong evidence in 2009 that it is both part of the climate change problem and part of the solution. Their case rested in part on detailed estimates of climate change impacts on agriculture in developing countries, as well as of the likely costs of adaptation. Those and other efforts culminated in a series of events held during the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which took place at Copenhagen, Denmark, in December. They included Agriculture and Rural Development Day, the first such event in the history of the UNFCCC, and Forest Day 3, which reflected growing commitment to mitigating climate change by slowing and reversing deforestation and forest degradation. An event organized jointly by the CGIAR, World Bank and other partners drew on outcomes from both days to produce a joint statement that stressed the importance of confronting hunger, rural poverty and the climate change threat by means of an integrated approach that embraces agriculture and forestry. Reinforcing that message, CGIAR researchers at COP15 tabled a comprehensive strategy that promises to translate the climate change threat into an unprecedented opportunity for reducing hunger and poverty in developing countries. It calls for more rapidly deploying technologies now available — like hardier crop varieties and more efficient ways to manage water, trees, soils, livestock, fish and forests — as well as for new research needed to develop more potent climate change solutions in the future. Toward a new era of impact. The CGIAR will be better able to pursue comprehensive solutions to the problems of climate change, poverty and food insecurity, as a result of far-reaching reforms approved by our Members late in 2008. In 2009, we made steady progress in creating the major building blocks of a revitalized CGIAR, as described on pages 12-13. A transition management team guided the reform process, in close consultation with various groups responsible for the individual elements of change. We are extremely grateful to all who took part for their generous contributions of resources, time and ideas. By midyear, they had prepared a set of founding documents, which lay the groundwork for the new CGIAR. These included a draft constitution for the Consortium of the CGIAR Centers and draft frameworks for developing the strategy that will guide our results-oriented research, for establishing the CGIAR Fund, and for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of our more balanced partnership. The Executive Council of the CGIAR gave its approval to the reform elements, opening the way for further refinement and final decisions at our Business Meeting in December. During that meeting, CGIAR Members unanimously endorsed a declaration of the key principles and components of the reform. These will be implemented in 2010 under the leadership of the Consortium Board. The appointment of its new chair, Carlos Pérez del Castillo was announced during the Business Meeting. After building momentum throughout the year, the CGIAR reforms thus reached a tipping point, which we believe marks the beginning of a new era of achievement and impact through collaborative research for agricultural development. As the reforms go into effect, they will bring important shifts in familiar roles and patterns of work, including the functions of the CGIAR chair and director, with 2009 being the final year in which these titles apply. But the reforms will also reaffirm the outstanding qualities of our scientists and partners, which the CGIAR awards have celebrated year after year. KATHERINE SIERRA CGIAR Chair REN WANG CGIAR Director CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 5 Special Section key questions ABOUT THE CGIAR Answers tell how the CGIAR addresses some of the most pressing problems in developing countries today: hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and the degradation of the ecosystems upon which rural communities and global society depend 6 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO CONVERT RESEARCH INTO BENEFICIAL RESULTS ON THE GROUND? The products of CGIAR research include improved varieties and breeding lines of major food crops and new knowledge, methods and tools that can enhance the management of crops and livestock, their diseases and pests, and vital natural resources. Some of those products have rewarded us with extraordinary results, as with the widespread adoption in Asia of high-yielding rice and wheat varieties. Together with better farming practices, they have brought dramatic production increases since the 1970s. The impacts of other CGIAR research have been more modest but still significant. Successful outcomes depend on the quality of our science and on its relevance to people’s needs. Just as important is the character of the collaboration through which we develop and share research products with our national partners, who do the hard work of making them available to farmers on a large scale and often in remote locations. Over the years, the CGIAR Centers have built up an extensive array of partnerships with diverse actors in research for development. These are not just virtual, long-distance arrangements but reflect the presence of Center scientists throughout the developing world, where they work closely with national partners in the field. Since the effectiveness of our collaboration depends on the capacity of individual colleagues, we have made a major commitment to training, providing this service to more than 75,000 people over the past 3 decades. During the early years of the CGIAR, our work focused sharply on boosting food production through crop improvement and related agronomic research. Those efforts gave rise to global networks for delivering experimental genetic materials to national agricultural research institutions, which provide farmers with the finished products of crop breeding through national extension agencies. In recent years, active collaboration with the private sector has extended the reach and effectiveness of our research on both crop and livestock production by making better products more widely available. As the CGIAR expanded its research during the 1990s in pursuit of sustainable development, we broadened our partnerships to include more national institutions and civil society organizations. New partnerships proved to be indispensible for translating the results of research on natural resources into development outcomes. The results of that research often consist of complex, knowledge-based products, whose development and promotion demand intensive interaction with diverse actors — found all the way from local communities to national governments and beyond. To ensure that research results truly address local needs, CGIAR researchers and their partners have developed and promoted farmer-participatory methods that fuse knowledge derived from formal science with what farmers know from experience. Such methods have proved especially useful for fostering innovation in regions where marginal and diverse growing conditions greatly complicate the development and spread of new technologies. Results in agricultural research come not just from new technologies but also from better policies that offer rural people the means and incentives to invest in sustainable agricultural production and resource use. To create more enabling conditions, CGIAR Centers conduct policy research and strive to influence decision making by widely disseminating results from policy analysis as well as two-way communication with key institutions. CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 7 WHAT IS THE CGIAR DOING TO IMPROVE CROP AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTIVITY? Sustainable improvements in the productivity of smallholder farming are “the main pathway out of poverty,” according to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2008. And that is precisely the goal toward which the CGIAR directs most of its collaborative effort. While agricultural research is not the only ingredient required for success, it is an especially potent one, as numerous impact studies have shown. In recent decades, improved varieties have accounted for as much as half of the crop productivity increases achieved in developing countries. Many of those varieties have resulted from research at CGIAR Centers on major cereals, roots and tubers, and various grain legumes. Improved animal breeds adapted to tropical and subtropical conditions have also had a profound impact on livestock and fish productivity. For smallholder farmers, the appeal of improved crop varieties lies not just in their higher yields but also in their resistance to diseases and pests and their adaptation to environmental stresses like drought. Those traits translate into more stable yields over time, which are just as important as higher yields for many farmers, particularly those with little or no access to irrigation and chemical inputs. CGIAR research aimed at reducing the devastating disease burden on livestock is similarly important for making production more efficient and resilient. Over the past 15 years or so, annual rates of growth in cereal production in developing countries have declined markedly — in the case of wheat, for example, to about 1%. This is well below rates of population growth and far from sufficient to meet projected demand in the coming decades. With land and water becoming less available to agriculture, rising demand for wheat and other staples will have to be met primarily by sustainably intensifying production. Climate change will complicate the task by depressing production as a result of higher temperatures, more intense disease and pest outbreaks, and more severe weather. The CGIAR Centers pursue various strategies to meet the challenge. One strategy is to seek novel ways to break through current yield ceilings by, for example, fundamentally altering photosynthesis in rice and wheat. Another is to boost the hardiness of new crop varieties and livestock breeds by deploying more stress resistance genes that scientists fi nd in heretofore underutilized genetic resources such as the wild cousins of crops and livestock and then transfer using new tools from biotechnology. A third option is to concentrate on closing yield gaps — the difference between crop yields that researchers know are possible with optimal management of improved varieties and those obtained by farmers using their current practices. This is partly a matter of strengthening plant-breeding “pipelines” and seed systems, so that farmers can replace their current varieties more rapidly with improved ones. But just as important, if not more so, are much-needed improvements in farmers’ management of crops, purchased inputs and natural resources. Among the many options that CGIAR researchers have helped develop are conservation agriculture, better integration of nitrogen-fixing legumes into cropping systems, more effi cient fertilizer application, and innovations in irrigation and water harvesting. In livestock research, they concentrate on improving the use of major crops for animal feed and of leguminous forages, fodder trees and shrubs, which help livestock thrive while nourishing exhausted soils. 8 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS WHAT IS THE CGIAR DOING TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE? Harsh and variable weather has always been one of farmers’ biggest worries. So, CGIAR researchers have spared no effort to develop crop varieties and farming practices that offer rural people in developing countries at least basic protection. Though it has taken a while for this research to bear fruit, drought- and flood-tolerant crops, and resource-conserving practices like conservation agriculture, have reached farmers’ fields and are spreading rapidly. Convincing evidence of human-induced climate change has lent greater significance and urgency to this work. CGIAR scientists project negative impacts on agriculture, especially in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where farmers and consumers are most vulnerable. The recent food price crisis has provided new cause for concern, casting serious doubt on the world’s ability to feed a future population of 9 billion people in the face of climate change and the rampant degradation of land and water resources. In response to this multifaceted challenge, the CGIAR has created a new program on climate change, agriculture and food security, which complements and builds on work already under way, while broadening the partnerships on which a more concerted effort must be based. Under the banner of this new program, our researchers will intensify the development and promotion of hardier crops; better ways to manage trees, livestock, water, soil and fish; and new policies that foster the adoption of climate-proofing technologies. They will also improve our understanding of climate change and its impacts, opening the way for more accurate scenarios to guide the development of new and more robust practices that better enable the rural poor to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Whether these and other efforts prosper depends to a great extent on political commitment to a new global climate accord and to increased support for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. For that reason, the CGIAR and its partners are working hard to position farming, forests and fisheries in climate negotiations taking place under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Together, these three sectors account for about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. But they also hold significant potential for reducing emissions while, at the same time, adapting to climate change impacts. With respect to forests, that message has apparently gotten through. It now seems likely that so-called REDD schemes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation will figure importantly in a new climate regime. To help secure successful outcomes at the international and national levels, CGIAR scientists seek to identify the best practices for estimating and managing carbon stocks in tropical forests and the most effective policies, governance arrangements and payment mechanisms for implementing REDD schemes. Agriculture has yet to be fully incorporated into the climate agenda. Even so, CGIAR researchers have made a strong case that, along with forestry, it is both part of the climate change problem and part of the solution. They will continue to press the case for greater investment in agricultural renewal on behalf of rural people in developing countries, who account for three-fourths of the world’s 1 billion poor and hungry and who will bear the brunt of a harsher climate. The climate agenda is only beginning to consider impacts on fisheries and possible opportunities in aquaculture. A recent CGIAR study has, however, identified several fishery-dependent countries in tropical Asia, Africa and South America most at risk from climate-induced disruption to fisheries (see Future Shock for Fishers on page 34). CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 9 HOW IS THE CGIAR LEVER AGING AGRICULTUR AL RESEARCH TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH AND NUTRITION? in 1994 a multidisciplinary effort to determine the tools scientists would need to develop crops rich in micronutrients. Since 2003, the CGIAR has pursued a collaborative program to develop staple food crops with more vitamin A, zinc and iron to reduce micronutrient malnutrition in South Asia and Africa. Orange sweet potato that is rich in vitamin A was recently disseminated through pilot programs in Uganda and Mozambique. Preliminary results indicate that women and children consumed substantially more orange sweet potato as a result of the intervention, more than doubling their vitamin A intake. This bodes well for the development of nutrient-rich staple foods, which is just one approach to contributing to better nutrition and health. In 2006, the CGIAR endorsed a combined platform on agriculture and health as a basis for further research, capacity strengthening and policy communications — within and beyond the CGIAR — on agriculture, nutrition and health. The goal of the platform is to promote and coordinate research on the two-way linkages between agriculture and health, with the aim of alleviating food and health insecurity through enhanced policy and program effectiveness. In recent years, strong links have developed with the health sector, notably with the World Health Organization. The geographic focus of the platform is sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In 2009, multi-partner studies were launched on cross-sector cooperation to prevent and control Rift Valley fever in East Africa, improve homestead food production in Cambodia and Burkina Faso, and predict and adapt to aflatoxin risk under climate variability and change in West Africa. Another ongoing study seeks to estimate the direct effect of malaria infection on the productivity and income of agricultural workers in Nigeria. In India, following stakeholder consultation, a new initiative addresses the enduring paradox of persistently high child malnutrition in a country that has sustained rapid economic growth over the past 2 decades. These projects and other initiatives by CGIAR Centers and partners have paved the way for the forthcoming Mega Program on agriculture, nutrition and health. Linking agriculture and health is essential for reducing poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Agriculture is the primary livelihood for most of the world’s poor, who are also the most vulnerable to ill health. Agriculture can expose its practitioners to occupational hazards and worsen the spread of water-related disease, and a significant proportion of the global burden of disease is linked to livestock. Nutrition is thus a pivotal link between agriculture and health — an input and an outcome of policies and programs in both sectors. Recognizing that agricultural research could be leveraged to improve nutrition, the CGIAR launched 10 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS HOW WILL THE CGIAR DO ITS WORK DIFFERENTLY? The food, fuel and financial crises have, along with mounting environmental concerns regarding climate change and worsening natural resource scarcity, ushered in a new era of complexity for development and raised the bar for the efforts of agricultural research to provide solutions to poor farmers and consumers. Amid uncertainty in this new global context, one thing is clear: Business as usual is no longer an option. So, the CGIAR is changing to better meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. In December 2009, the CGIAR adopted a new business model that streamlines governance structures and emphasizes a results-oriented research agenda. The new model establishes a balanced partnership between those who do research and those who fund it. The two core pillars of this new partnership are the CGIAR Fund, which harmonizes donor contributions and increases the quantity of funding available, and the Consortium of the CGIAR Centers, which unites the international agricultural research Centers under one legal entity. The two pillars will be linked by a new results-oriented research agenda that will guide the work of the entire system. This will be set out through the Strategy and Results Framework with clear priorities and development targets that will engender greater coherence in Center research. The strategy will be implemented through a set of large research initiatives, or Mega Programs, that will emphasize a programmatic approach to agricultural research to draw together the strengths of Centers and their partners to deliver research with development impact on the ground. Under the new business model, funding will be directly linked to results through performance agreement contracts that finance Mega Programs. These contracts — between the Consortium and the Fund, and the Consortium and their research partners — will provide clear incentives to deliver results and make both the funders and the implementers of CGIAR research accountable for development outcomes. Monitoring and evaluation will come under a unified framework, streamlining review processes, clarifying core responsibilities and reducing duplication while ensuring the CGIAR’s accountability to stakeholders and meeting the fiduciary requirements of the Fund and the Consortium. Greater emphasis will be placed on partnerships and engagement with users of research. The biennial Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) will help to achieve this by replacing the CGIAR’s annual general meeting with broad consultation and engagement with stakeholders so that their input can inform the development of the Strategy and Results Framework. The GCARD process will help ensure that the strategy aligns with national and regional priorities. Partners will also be involved in designing and implementing Mega Programs. These changes — the Consortium to unite the Centers, the programmatic approach to research agenda setting, the Fund to harmonize donor investments for scaled-up impact, and a system open to partners and stakeholders — promise to bring new strategic focus and effectiveness to the CGIAR. See pages 12-13 for more details on how the new model was developed in 2009. CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 11 WINDS OF CHANGE Real change comes to the CGIAR as the elements of the new business model take shape Food and financial crises in 2008, combined with concern over the mounting development challenges facing developing countries because of climate change and natural resource depletion, brought the winds of change to the CGIAR. A change management process led to the approval of a new business model for the CGIAR at the December 2008 Business Meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, that would allow the CGIAR to operate more effectively and efficiently, grow its resource base, and better provide agricultural research solutions for development. The model provided a basic sketch of the elements of such a new CGIAR. Over the course of 2009, CGIAR Members, Centers and partners were engaged in the task of translating this sketch into detailed blueprints for each of the new elements and how they would fit together. A transition management team (TMT) composed of Stephen Hall, executive chair of the Alliance of the CGIAR Centers; Mark Holderness, executive secretary of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR); Jonathan Wadsworth, senior agricultural research advisor of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development; and Ren Wang, CGIAR director, led the process throughout 2009 with guidance from the CGIAR Chair Katherine Sierra, who also chaired the TMT. In addition, a group of advisors provided the TMT with guidance on specific topics: Isabel Alvarez, director of the Research and Extension Division, Natural Resources Management and Environment Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (on connecting the new CGIAR with multilateral organizations), Derek Byerlee, CGIAR Science Council member (on scientific matters), and Vicki Wilde, director of the CGIAR Gender & Diversity Program (on gender and diversity matters). Iftikhar Mostafa, governance advisor of the CGIAR Fund Office served as secretary to the TMT while Rudy Rabbinge, Science Council chair served as advisor to the chair of the TMT. The team had a demanding “to do” list over the course of the year, each member leading where comparative advantage dictated: ■ Develop a framework for accountability across the new system (Wadsworth). ■ Establish the Consortium of the CGIAR Centers (Hall). ■ Create the new CGIAR Fund (Wang). ■ Develop the Strategy and Results Framework (Hall). ■ Launch the Global Conference for Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) (Holderness). ■ Design a monitoring-and-evaluation system (Wadsworth). ■ Address systemwide issues and foster culture change across the system (all TMT). The Alliance of the CGIAR Centers pursued the development of the Consortium of the CGIAR Centers. A consortium planning team was established to help manage the transformation of the Alliance into the Consortium. Supported by consultants, the team developed design options for the Consortium, drafts of the Consortium constitution, a Board charter, and terms of reference for a new Consortium chief executive officer. The Alliance oversaw the development of a proposal for the design, location 12 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS and functions of a Consortium Office and a review of possible opportunities for common administrative, financial and research support services for Consortium Centers. The Alliance further appointed a team to develop the Strategy and Results Framework in consultation with partners and stakeholders (see page 15). The CGIAR Secretariat took the lead in developing the institutional setting for the new CGIAR Fund with the World Bank as trustee. This work included articulating Fund goals, its operational mechanism and fiduciary responsibilities, the key expectations of the trustee, trusteeship scenarios, the roles and responsibilities of the Fund, the accountabilities of the governing bodies of the Fund, the responsibilities of the Fund Office, and procedures for the Funders’ Forum. These items were developed into the Fund framework document. A prototype performance contract between the Consortium and the Fund was developed in close collaboration with the Alliance. GFAR took the lead in developing the GCARD process with consultations in the second half of 2009 culminating in the inaugural GCARD in March 2010 in Montpellier, France. The consultation process engaged an estimated 2,000 research and development workers through regional e-consultations and regional face-to-face meetings that resulted in regional reports and a global synthesis paper setting out issues and priorities for agricultural research for development. The consultations provided important input to align the Strategy and Results Framework with regional and subregional priorities and global challenges. Jonathan Wadsworth took the lead in addressing system accountability and developing procedures for monitoring and evaluating research. Discussions on accountability focused on moving from the CGIAR founding principles of donor sovereignty, Center autonomy and decision by consensus to a new operational mode based on empowerment, clear rules, contractual arrangements and controls. The relationships binding the Consortium, Centers and Fund were developed around the concepts of mutual accountability for outputs and shared responsibility for outcomes and were woven into the key founding documents for the new CGIAR and the joint declaration for outcomes between the Consortium and Fund. A systemwide monitoring-and-evaluation framework was developed to articulate the responsibilities, timing and reporting of various evaluations, including independent evaluation, with harmonized and simplified procedures. Over the course of 2009, the Science Council laid the foundation to transform itself into the Independent Science and Partnership Council (see page 14). In addition to developing these elements, the transition management team actively engaged in building support for reform among CGIAR Centers, donors and partners. CGIAR members met to take stock of progress at two Executive Council meetings. Several informal and electronic consultations were held to bring the different elements of the CGIAR system together and ensure that change was on the right track and provided an opportunity for stakeholders to express their views on reform. This effort culminated in the approval of the founding documents for the new CGIAR — including the joint declaration, Consortium constitution, Fund framework document, and monitoring-and-evaluation framework — at the CGIAR Business Meeting in December 2009. A draft of the Strategy and Results Framework was submitted to the meeting for consideration. The new Consortium Board chair, Carlos Pérez del Castillo was announced in conjunction with the Business Meeting. This final CGIAR Business Meeting marked the end of one era and the beginning of another for the CGIAR. Clear and concrete progress in developing the elements of the CGIAR was made in 2009. As the year closed, the task for 2010 remained to make the core elements — the CGIAR Fund and Consortium — fully operational with an active research portfolio. To learn more about how the new CGIAR will function, see page 11. CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 13 Science Council PRIMED FOR PARTNERSHIP A year of more fully engaging CGIAR scientists with colleagues outside the system foreshadowed the new Independent Science and Partnership Council In 2009, the work of the Science Council focused on creating conditions for a more outward-looking CGIAR and more inclusive thinking within the CGIAR in relation to global science. The Science Forum held in June 2009 at Wageningen in the Netherlands brought together more than 300 scientists from advanced research centers, national agricultural research systems, nongovernmental organizations and every CGIAR Center — from 55 countries in all — to explore recent scientific advances in six domains: (1) resilient natural resource systems; (2) the future of food: developing more nutritious diets and safer food; (3) information and communication technologies transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation; (4) beyond the yield curve: exerting the power of genetics, genomics and synthetic biology; (5) eco-efficiencies in agro-ecosystems; and (6) agriculture beyond food: science for a bio-based economy. Parallel workshops examined each domain regarding its real potential for development impact, the most pressing research needs, and the kinds of partnerships and linkages to nurture. Besides the published proceedings, another output of the meeting that may yield benefits in years to come was the exposure of scientists outside of the CGIAR to its mission-oriented research. The meeting also celebrated the career of 2009 World Food Prize laureate and Science Council member Gebisa Ejeta. The collective networks of Science Council members embrace many scientific and related communities that can contribute to CGIAR programs, including the emerging universities and strong national agricultural research systems of the South. As the private sector continues to invest large sums in improving staple crops, the Science Council organized in 2009 a joint meeting with private sector partners to look at issues that arise in public-private partnerships. By contributing expert studies on the stewardship of the intellectual property of third parties — and the liabilities of poor stewardship — it addressed a key concern of private partners engaged in development-oriented research. A staged review in 2009 of social science in the CGIAR produced a hard-hitting report that will be of value when forming new teams of scientists for Mega Programs and framing policy-related activities. In the new CGIAR, the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) will, like the Science Council before it, provide independent scientific advice to the CGIAR Fund Council and assist the scientific judgments of the Consortium Board. It will relinquish some of the former Science Council role in evaluating Center performance, concentrating more directly on assessing the relevance and quality of science in new Mega Program proposals. The ISPC will also have a strengthened role in providing foresight perspectives for the development of future strategy, mobilizing science to enhance research that addresses CGIAR goals, and assessing system impacts for the information of its investors. A strong ISPC with broad expertise and an able secretariat will be necessary to carry out these expanded duties. Fortified with commitment from the donor community, support from Centers, demand from CGIAR members and cooperation on the part of all players in international agricultural research, the ISPC will be equal to the task. RUDY RABBINGE Science Council Chair 14 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Alliance of the CGIAR Centers ALLIANCE TO CONSORTIUM A transitional year saw the Alliance of the CGIAR Centers designing the consortium that will replace it and the framework of the research program it will execute The Alliance of the CGIAR Centers recommitted itself in 2009 to moving forward with the reform of the system. The Alliance was active on two fronts: designing its successor Consortium of the CGIAR Centers and developing the CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework. One Alliance team had been established at the Annual General Meeting 2008 in Maputo, Mozambique, to design a constitution for the Consortium based on interviews with Center leadership and benchmarking with similar organizations outside of the CGIAR. The Executive Council commented on the Alliance-drafted constitution, as did an Alliance-donor reference group, after which a revised version was formulated in appropriate legal language for final approval by the Alliance. A task force with representatives from the Alliance, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and CGIAR donors searched for and selected the Consortium Board, the chair of which gave a welcoming address via video link to the CGIAR Business Meeting in Washington, DC, in December 2009. The Alliance commissioned a proposal for the design, location and functions of the Consortium Office. It submitted the results of this work to the Consortium Board, along with a review and analysis that the Alliance had commissioned, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, of the opportunities for common administrative, financial and research support services. A second Alliance team worked on developing the Strategy and Results Framework and related Mega Programs. It engaged in various background research activities and consultations and produced four progress reports to generate and report on feedback and comments provided by a range of partners and stakeholders. The Alliance submitted a draft report on the Strategy and Results Framework for consideration at the Business Meeting 2009. The report highlighted what was new about the strategy and how Centers would work together in the future. For the first time in the nearly 40-year history of the CGIAR, the strategy — an evidence-based, results-oriented strategy focused explicitly on poor people — will apply to the whole CGIAR system. It will address current and emerging threats to the global food system at scale through research that produces global public goods. Partnership and gender inclusion are conceived as working at the system level in ways that will undergo further development with partners. The new strategy, currently a work in progress, will integrate traditional approaches, such as commodity programs, in a systems framework. As the portfolio of Mega Programs promises to create further synergies across the system, the Alliance articulated a rationale for sharply increasing system funding. With input from meetings with partners and stakeholders, including the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development, the Alliance pursued the next steps toward developing the Strategy and Results Framework and the portfolio of Mega Programs derived from it. The Consortium will lead this work in the future. GUIDO GRYSEELS Alliance Board Chair STEPHEN HALL Alliance Executive Chair CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 15 Partners’ Perspectives 16 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS THE CGIAR REFORM IN A CHANGING WORLD The Global Forum on Agricultural Research helps steer CGIAR reform by managing the new biennial Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development as well as address their fragmented nature and numerous bottlenecks. The reform of the CGIAR, an important GFAR constituency, is an opportunity for collective international action and research to be directed more effectively toward large development outcomes. Strategies, plans and implementation must reflect local and national priorities and commitments and the needs of end users. To ensure that the CGIAR’s new focus aligns with the development needs of poor farmers and consumers and with the roles of national and regional agencies, GFAR manages the new Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD), a biennial process that replaces GFAR triennial conferences and CGIAR annual general meetings. GCARD establishes innovative cycles of consultation and action to transform agricultural research for development around the world and build the complex jigsaw of partnerships that pull together civil society, public and private research institutions, farmers’ organizations, universities, the CGIAR, United Nations agencies, and funding agencies. Throughout 2009, six regional research fora conducted consultations in the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia and North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus, and Europe.1 Consultation occurred in three phases: regional reviews of priority needs and national and regional policies conducted by expert consultants, electronic consultations, and face-to-face dialogues. These were combined into regional syntheses to help shape CGIAR programs and align them with the work of others and to build the global framework for reforming and strengthening agricultural research for development. The draft CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework was presented and discussed during each face-to-face dialogue, enabling national and regional stakeholders to contribute directly to molding the new CGIAR. Over 2,000 stakeholders took part in GCARD regional consultations. In addition to research themes, common priorities were identified for boosting the value of research around the world. These included improving research-for-development partnerships with end users; strengthening investment and capacity development in agricultural research, education and innovation; formulating knowledge, information and advice in agri-food systems; making better forecasts of future needs to better address them; recognizing the role of women in agriculture and research; benefiting the poor through public-private partnerships; defining new roles for fast-growing economies; and managing risks and system resilience in times of change. The first GCARD — held in Montpellier, France, in March 2010 — is the beginning of a continuing process of discussion and partnership toward transforming agricultural research for development and thereby, through our collective efforts, abolishing hunger and poverty. The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) is an initiative bringing together all those concerned about the future role of agriculture for open and inclusive dialogue and action on strategic issues in agricultural research for development. Since its inception in 1996, GFAR has mobilized partners across science and society to reform and strengthen agricultural research and innovation systems to bring global impact to benefit the poor. Despite past benefits from agricultural research, hunger and poverty still afflict one in six people, most of whom live by agriculture. To overcome enormous economic, social and environmental challenges, we must greatly increase investments and capacity in agricultural research, innovation and outreach systems MARK HOLDERNESS Executive Secretary Global Forum on Agricultural Research 1 Asia-Pacifi c Association of Agricultural Institutions (AAPARI), Forum for the Americas on Agricultural Research and Technology Development (FORAGRO), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA), Central Asia and Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (CACAARI), and European Forum for Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD) CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 17 PARTNERS FOR LIVELIHOODS The International Federation of Agricultural Producers promotes partnerships of farmers and research institutions to leverage agriculture research for the greatest impact Regular collaboration between researchers and farmers’ organizations makes it possible for farmers to offer the active and continuous participation that is crucial for designing well-oriented and efficient research projects. Formalized partnerships that provide positions for farmer representatives in the governance structures of research institutions, for example, lend farmers the stature necessary to leverage fundamental changes in strategies for research development with long-term benefits. By reconnecting agricultural research with farmers’ needs and concerns, farmers can play a pivotal role in ensuring that the research is relevant to farmers and that the results can be translated into implementable practices that they can understand. Partnerships also maximize the effective use of resources and reduce costly duplication of effort. Coordinated partnership strategies further nurture the credibility of the results. Partnerships strengthen stakeholders’ ability to take a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to research that concretely improves food security and farmers’ livelihoods by addressing socioeconomic issues, including through initiatives to organize farmers, improve markets, and promote equitable legal and political frameworks. A broad range of extension services can be put in place on the ground through collaborative projects between research centers and farmers’ organizations. While IFAP stresses that government support of agricultural research is critical to creating a public resource that is accessible to farmers, in the absence of government-run extension services, partnerships can offer services that effectively contribute to agricultural development and the efficient dissemination of research results. Where government-run extension services exist but are hamstrung in periods of budgetary constraint, partnerships may help defray costs and complement public investments in agricultural research and extension. Research is a major asset toward the development of solutions that make farmers stronger and better able to adapt to challenges. Research can help farmers increase their revenues, strengthen their bargaining power in the marketplace and improve agricultural production in sustainable ways, while establishing and sustaining food security for all. This convergence of farmers, researchers and the world’s agricultural institutions is the only way to translate commitments into action and promises into results, thereby improving farmers’ livelihoods throughout the world. The farmers’ organizations around the world that form the membership of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) believe that agricultural research should have one main focus: improving farmers’ livelihoods and incomes. With that in mind, partnerships in agricultural research play critical roles in ensuring effective impact on the ground. Supporting collaboration between farmers’ organizations and research centers helps incorporate farmers’ views in every step of the process, from defining agricultural research priorities to disseminating research results. AJAY VASHEE President International Federation of Agricultural Producers 18 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Centers Supported by the CGIAR CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 19 FARMERS’ CALL Allowing farmers to select crop varieties for national release fast-tracks improved cultivars’ contributions to food security in Senegal The lag between the development of an improved crop variety to its official release can be as long as 14 years in sub-Saharan Africa because functional variety-release systems are lacking in most countries. Stakeholders have long called for changing this inefficient system, which limits farmers’ access to new varieties. Farmer participatory varietal selection can shorten that lag. In 2009, the government of Senegal issued a decree recognizing participatory varietal selection as part of the official pre-release process. The decree came in response to a recommendation from the Africa Rice Center and demand from farmers. The impact of this decision was immediately felt in Senegal as 16 new rice varieties selected by farmers were released for widespread cultivation. Fifteen of these varieties were developed by AfricaRice, including 11 for irrigated systems and four for upland (dryland) conditions. Senegal is one of the biggest rice markets in sub-Saharan Africa, annually consuming 800,000 tons. National production satisfies only 20% of this demand, with the remaining 80% met with rice imports at a cost of US$240 million. In the wake of the crisis caused by soaring prices for food, particularly rice, that caused several riots in the country, the government launched an ambitious plan to make Senegal self-sufficient in rice by 2015. The sustainable intensification of irrigated rice production in the Senegal River valley, which accounts for almost 70% of national rice production, was selected as a major priority. Irrigated systems have the highest yield potential because of better water control and reliability. Using technologies developed by AfricaRice and its partners, irrigated systems in Senegal and Mali have produced tremendous yield increases over the past 20 years, from approximately 2 tons per hectare to nearly 6 tons in 2008. However, attainable yields in these systems can be 8-12 tons. AfricaRice has developed high-yielding short-duration varieties under the name of Sahel that are suitable for double cropping in rice irrigation schemes. Three Sahel varieties are grown in more than 70% of the Senegal River valley. To enable farmers to get the most out of improved varieties and enhance the sustainability of irrigated rice farming in Senegal, AfricaRice has introduced an integrated crop-management package that includes options for improved fertilizer, weed and water management; efficient postharvest technologies; and decision-making tools. Studies have shown that rice farmers’ adoption of these technologies, though only in part, brought a 60% increase in farm yields and an 85% increase in profits. To reduce postharvest losses from manual threshing and ease workloads, especially for women, AfricaRice and several partners developed a rice thresher based on a prototype from the International Rice Research Institute. Since its commercial release in 1997, it has become the most widely used thresher in the Senegal River valley, adopted by 80% of those exposed to it. Its contribution was recognized in 2003 when the president of Senegal presented its development team with his special prize for scientific research. Participatory varietal selection enables scientists to develop varieties that suit local conditions and meet farmers’ needs. africa rice center | headquarters: cotonou, benin | www.africaricecenter.org 20 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS BIG ON LITTLE MILLET New recipes for Indian foods substitute little millet for traditional ingredients to produce comparable fi nal products more cheaply and sustainably Minor millets, long a focus of Bioversity International’s work in India, are now being used to make products that offer lower costs, higher profits, better nutrition and greater environmental sustainability. Partners included women in Karnataka State, members of self-help groups that make a range of snacks and foods for sale to boost household incomes. A project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development enlisted their help to test new recipes for paddu (dough balls traditionally made from a slightly fermented mixed flour of rice, black gram, chickpea and pigeon pea) and laddu, which are a bit like doughnuts made from chickpea flour. Both have been adapted to use millet, with flour from little millet (Panicum sumatrense) replacing rice flour in paddu and foxtail millet flour (Setaria italica) replacing half of the chickpea flour in laddu. The results are very encouraging. Grinding rice to make paddu took longer than grinding little millet, and it took 9 minutes to bake rice-based paddu, half as much again as the 6 minutes needed for the millet-based mix. So the new recipes save time and energy. Further, the millet paddu expanded more while baking to give a larger final product and hence more profit. Similar savings were seen with laddu. Roasting millet flour to golden brown took 35 minutes, 5 minutes quicker than with chickpea flour, and cooking up a batch took only 20 minutes using millet dough, only two-thirds the 30 minutes required for chickpea laddu. Cooks were happy, as millet fl our made their jobs quicker and easier and burned less fuel. But what would consumers think? The project brought in a panel of trained food testers from the food laboratory of the University of Agricultural Sciences at Dharwad to assess the traditional and millet-based dishes, and the millet-based dishes passed with flying colors. To top it off, millet flour is generally cheaper than the ingredients it replaces. Whereas chickpea flour costs about 50 rupees per kilogram, millet flour costs just a quarter as much, at 12-14 rupees per kilogram. So using millet reduces the cost of ingredients, the time it takes to make the food and the amount of fuel used to produce a final product that is every bit as good as the original. Farmers win because they have more options in the crops they can grow and sell. The women who produce the food win by having products that make their lives easier and earn them more money. Urban consumers win with foods that are familiar, tasty and healthy and that can be made from local materials. Growing the raw materials is also better for the wider environment, because they are adapted to local growing conditions and so less likely to need energy-intensive and possibly polluting inputs. “Our pilot studies showed us that we really ought to call these minor millets nutritious millets instead,” says project leader Stefano Padulosi. “Now we are discovering that the lessons learned are much more widely applicable. That helps to increase the impact of our research.” Women plant finger millet (Eleusine coracana) beside a mixed crop field of finger millet and pigeon pea (Cajanus cajanus). bioversity international | headquarters: rome, italy | www.bioversityinternational.org CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 21 UP CLOSE WITH AFRICAN SOIL A digital soil map of Africa is under development to measure soil degradation and guide local choices of research-enhanced techniques to reverse it Researchers from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture embarked on a ground-breaking initiative in 2009 called the African Soil Information Service (AfSIS), which will permit far better targeting of integrated soil fertility management, water harvesting and other practices that have emerged from recent research and can enhance eco-efficiency across the continent’s diverse agricultural landscapes. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the AfSIS project forms part of a larger effort to create a digital soil map of the globe. This map, according to a recent article in Science, “is essentially a spatial database of soil properties, based on statistical sampling.” The authors explain that the spatial distribution of the properties, which are measured in laboratories, is determined on the basis of field sampling. In the case of AfSIS, which covers 18.1 million square kilometers, this sampling is being carried out by survey teams in 60 “sentinel landscapes,” each measuring 100 square kilometers and together representing the variability of the entire project area in terms of climate, topography and vegetation. Using data collected in the sentinel landscapes, the digital map will be able to estimate soil properties accurately at locations not sampled. Within about 4 years, AfSIS should be generating high-resolution, up-to-date information on such soil properties as depth, texture and organic matter content. It will also provide useful tools that draw on such information, such as an indexes of land degradation and soil fertility. As the digital soil map takes shape, researchers will add another powerful feature that involves the delivery of soil management recommendations for specific locations, based on recent research results. For this purpose, the project will carry out diagnostic trials at sites in the sentinel landscapes to pinpoint major soil constraints such as specific nutrient deficiencies. Next, it will conduct agronomic trials to validate best-bet options for integrated soil fertility management determined through previous research. The results will take into account the various economic and social conditions that influence the adoption of those technologies. In the project’s first year, researchers developed and tested methodologies such as protocols for field surveys and diagnostic trials, and they started collecting data for analysis. The final product of their labors will be an indispensable tool for soil management, providing farmer associations, extension services, researchers and other users across the continent with reliable information about actual soil status and, therefore, the type and amount of amendment needed. AfSIS should enormously boost efforts to halt soil degradation in Africa, which is rapidly undermining essential ecosystem services such as food production, hydrological cycling and biodiversity conservation. Demand for those services will increase dramatically in the next few decades, as Africa’s population doubles. Reversing land degradation is thus one of the continent’s most pressing imperatives. The African Soil Information Service promises to boost efforts to halt soil degradation in Africa, which is rapidly undermining essential ecosystem services. international center for tropical agriculture (ciat) | headquarters: cali, colombia | www.ciat.cgiar.org 22 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS The Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows industrialized countries to meet their emission targets by financing projects in developing countries that act as carbon sinks. However, establishing forestry projects under the CDM has proved difficult. “Designing forestry projects for the CDM is very complicated, and this has acted as a deterrent,” explains Markku Kanninen, a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). “So we designed a project to help organizations and communities in Latin America overcome the barriers.” Funded by the Spanish government and managed by CIFOR and the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE, by its Spanish abbreviation), a project to strengthen CDM projects in the forestry and bio-energy sectors in Latin America, called FORMA, began in 2005. FORMA’s aim was to improve understanding of CDM projects in the forestry sector; provide technical, scientific and financial support to selected projects; and develop tools and guidelines to formulate and assess projects. FORMA identified 10 projects to work with over 2 years. Project leaders attended workshops at CATIE headquarters in Costa Rica to acquire skills and knowledge to help them negotiate the complexities of joining the CDM. “The documents the project developers had for guidance were written in scientific language and were dense with equations,” explains Zenia Salinas, who managed the FORMA project at CATIE before moving to the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund. FORMA helped project developers interpret CDM documents, work out how to measure carbon stocks, assess the social and environmental impacts of their projects, and ensure their land was eligible. HELPING HAND An initiative helps forestry projects in Latin America meet the design and validation requirements necessary to collect carbon-offset credits Scientists examine a project in Colombia for compliance with Clean Development Mechanism rules for afforestation and reforestation. “Six of the projects are now well on the way to being recognized, or already have been recognized, by the CDM or voluntary carbon markets,” says Salinas. “All the feedback we received confirms that FORMA improved our partners’ capacity to design and present projects.” Forestry schemes constitute a tiny fraction of CDM projects because project developers face many technical barriers, especially the complexity of assessing carbon stocks. During the FORMA project, scientists developed a tool to calculate the amount of carbon that will be saved or sequestered by forestry projects. The tool for afforestation and reforestation approved methodologies (TARAM) is currently being used and refined by the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund. “TARAM has helped us to estimate emission reductions for our whole portfolio,” explains fund analyst Mirko Serkovic. “We have had feedback from our projects that TARAM, although complicated for first-time users, is ultimately very useful.” Auditors also are using TARAM, among them German company TÜV SÜD, which recently validated the Campo Verde Project, a FORMA project in Peru and the first commercial reforestation scheme using native species to be validated under the voluntary carbon standard. By August 2009, the project had planted 919 hectares out of the planned 18,900 hectares. “This project seeks to break the cycle of deforestation in the Amazon, whereby the exploitation of high-value timber is followed by a period of cattle ranching and, once the land is exhausted, by its abandonment,” says Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, executive vice-chairman of Sustainable Forestry Management and chairman of Ecosystem Services. center for international forestry research (cifor) | headquarters: bogor, indonesia | www.cifor.cgiar.org CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 23 EVERYONE WINS Dissemination ramps up for conservation agriculture, which slashes fuel and water costs, enhances soil fertility, and cuts carbon emissions to mitigate climate change For nearly 40 years, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT by its Spanish abbreviation) has tested and fine-tuned agronomic practices that improve soil quality and encourage a seed’s full potential to germinate, grow and produce grain. One such practice is conservation agriculture (CA), which combines reduced tillage, adequate residue retention, and sensible crop rotations. In 2009, there were 150 families in Central Mexico using CA practices on over 1,000 hectares. They experienced savings of US$110-300 per hectare in 2008, compared with the costs shouldered by farmers who sowed conventionally. They also experienced many CA ecological benefits, such as increased soil organic matter, reduced soil erosion, and lower carbon dioxide emissions. CA also cuts farmers’ fuel costs and consumption and requires up to 25% less water than conventional practices. In Mexico, CIMMYT is gathering and sharing CA information using key training locations that support nearly 60 CA plots on farmers’ fi elds. Participating farmers receive crop management assistance from private partners or government technicians, who are a vital part of the CA outreach and research initiative. Information gathered from these plots is uploaded to Conservation Earth, a prototype interactive online database. This virtual globe shows the exact location and conditions of each farm plot, facilitating later analysis. CA research and outreach in Mexico receives funding and support from at least 10 public, private and governmental organizations and institutions. CIMMYT’s CA activities are supported by long-term trials on Mexican research stations. Run continuously since the early 1990s, the trials compare CA practices with other maize and wheat cropping practices and look at effects on yield, soil quality and other system factors. Results from these experiments clearly show that CA practices produce stable and high yields over time and improve soil health. They also underline the dangers of improper or partial application of CA methods. Maize grown in long-term trials at CIMMYT’s El Batán research station shows contrasting tolerance to severe drought in 2009, as conventionally grown maize struggles to survive (right) and plants sown using conservation agriculture flourish (left). In 2009 over 40 training and capacity-building events were centered on these plots, and since 1996 over 80 researchers from 20 countries have benefited from such events. A new generation of researchers has taken note of CA’s importance, and 15 students have recently worked with CIMMYT on issues related to the long-term trials. CA work in Mexico complements efforts in Africa and Asia. In South Asia, 3 million hectares of irrigated wheat are sown using zero tillage after puddled rice, which is a stepping stone to full CA. The Cereal System Initiative for South Asia introduces and promotes improved seed and cropping practices like CA to South Asian smallholder farmers to reduce hunger and strengthen food and income security. Jointly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development, the initiative brings together public and private sector organizations to support international agricultural research. international maize and wheat improvement center (cimmyt) | headquarters: texcoco, mexico | www.cimmyt.org 24 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS GOING NATIVE An emerging market for native potatoes is good for consumers, processors and business, and, with the help of participatory market chain innovation, for improving the lives of small-scale farmers. Andean farmers have a deep understanding of potato diversity. and a negotiated price that leaves them with a profit margin of 20-40%. “Selling our native potatoes to industry has changed our life,” says Victoriano Meza, a farmer in Pomamanta, a rural community in the Central Andes in Peru. One of hundreds of farmers benefitting from a new boom in the market for native potatoes, he has earned enough additional income to build a house for his family and equip it with satellite internet so that, he says, “my children can learn quickly and get a better future.” Nolberta Inostroza, a farmer in Chicche, another community in the Central Andes, tells a similar story. “Now I produce and sell with less work, earn more, and take pride in sharing my native potatoes,” she says. In 2009, demand for native potatoes reached 2,000 tons in Peru, generating close to US$1 million in revenues for farmers. Demand for native potatoes has revealed the need to improve quality and increase yields while safeguarding the sustainable and natural production methods valued by consumers. CIP scientists, nongovernmental organizations and farmers jointly work to develop environmentally friendly fertilization and pest management, as well as better postharvest techniques. Another critical step to consolidate the market is to position the potato in the political agenda of Andean countries. Interested stakeholders have joined together to form lobbying platforms such as newly created national potato days in Peru and Ecuador, as well as several quality norms for potatoes and their processing. A decade ago, native potatoes were largely unknown in urban markets. But their superior nutritional and cooking qualities appealed to new trends in consumer taste and held great potential for increasing and diversifying incomes for poor smallholder farmers in the Andes. To unleash the potential of native potatoes, the Papa Andina Initiative of the International Potato Center (CIP) and its partners applied the participatory market chain approach, a methodology developed by CIP to trigger innovation along pro-poor market chains by enhancing stakeholder collaboration and trust. The approach helps link poor farmers to new competitive markets to increase their gains and improve their livelihoods. In Peru, CIP invited researchers, farmers, private companies and gourmet chefs to participate in market chain innovation for native potatoes. Their efforts led to the launch of several new products. T’ikapapas are native potatoes that have been washed and bagged for sale in supermarkets. The product has won prestigious international prizes like the BBC World Challenge and UN Seed Awards. Colored native potato jalca chips were developed industrially after an original experiment by CIP scientists, opening a promising niche at airport duty free shops in Lima. Following the United Nations International Year of the Potato in 2008, large multinationals took interest in the emergent native potato market. The Papa Andina Initiative facilitated an innovative partnership of farmers, nongovernmental organizations and a multinational company that included training farmers to boost their bargaining power and helping corporations find effective ways to meet their Corporate Social Responsibility mandate. The resulting supply chain has given over 200 farmers access to a stable market international potato center (cip) | headquarters: lima, peru | www.cipotato.org CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 25 LEGUME REVOLUTION A research partnership has generated new varieties of lentil, chickpea, field pea and faba bean for the Ethiopian highlands, multiplying farm yields and profits Research collaboration between the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) has helped spark a “legume revolution” in one of Africa’s most populous countries. The benefits are seen across Ethiopia but especially in the highlands, where huge gaps exist between potential and actual crop yields. Lentils are important in the highlands, but yields are limited by waterlogging, plant diseases, frost and the growth cycle of traditional varieties. The new varieties address each constraint. When planted early under the improved ridge-and-furrow system, they yield over 3 tons per hectare, or six times as much as traditional landraces. To develop the new varieties, ICARDA shipped several hundred germplasm and breeding lines to EIAR’s Debre Zeit Research Center for testing and selection. Ten lentil varieties selected from this material are now grown in Ethiopia, including Alemaya, a high-yielding, widely adapted variety that is the most popular in the country. Ethiopian farmers have been quick to adopt the new varieties and expand lentil cultivation. In the past 10 years, the lentil area has doubled and production has tripled from 31,000 tons to 94,000 tons. With assured, high-quality harvests, entrepreneurs have set up many small processing units in the Sendafa and Ginbichu areas of the highlands to supply split lentils to Addis Ababa and other markets. vulnerability to disease, primarily ascochyta blight, wilt and root rot. Now, four high-yielding kabuli varieties that resist multiple diseases have been developed from ICARDA material and released for cultivation. Between 2001/02 and 2006/07, the chickpea area increased by 23% and production by 60%. Ethiopia’s chickpea exports have grown in volume and even more in value. ICARDA-EIAR collaboration has similarly improved other legume crops. Traditional faba bean varieties are being replaced by improved varieties, and faba bean production in Ethiopia increased by 47% from 2001/02 to 2006/07. Eight new varieties of field pea from ICARDA have been released for commercial production, and several others are used as parents in the EIAR breeding program. Expanded legume cultivation has generated massive benefits. Poor farm households enjoy better nutrition with protein-rich legumes and higher income from crop sales. Because legumes improve soil fertility, cereals grown after legumes require less fertilizer. Surveys show evidence of improved living conditions, better education for children and asset building, with subsistence farmers opening bank accounts, which was once unheard of in Ethiopia. Farmers using new legume technologies now supply certified seed to public seed companies and large cooperatives for resale to other farmers. Exports of lentil, chickpea, faba bean and field pea increased from 16,000 tons in 2005 to more than 100,000 tons in 2008, generating foreign currency earnings for Ethiopia and diversifying exports away from coffee. Growth in the domestic market has brought new marketing opportunities, new processing units and thousands of new jobs. Researchers evaluate new lentil lines for resistance to fusarium wilt at a test site in Ethiopia. Farmers in Ethiopia’s highlands traditionally grow desi chickpea varieties. Kabuli varieties, which could potentially quadruple yields to 4 tons per hectare and fetch higher market prices, were ruled out by international center for agricultural research in the dry areas (icarda) | headquarters: aleppo, syrian arab republic | www.icarda.org 26 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS CLIMATE OF OPTIMISM Interdisciplinary teams of researchers foresee likely success as they consider their options for helping farmers adapt to climate change using available technology Earth science modelers have been warning of climate change for years, but 2009 brought the issue to a head. Scientists the world over met and met again, special symposiums and workshops were organized, and world leaders convened in Copenhagen to discuss global measures to cope with the looming threat. Chief among the possible diverse effects of climate change are those on natural resources and food-production systems. As at other agricultural research institutes, interdisciplinary teams of crop modelers, geographic information system experts, crop physiologists and plant breeders at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) convened to find solutions to the problem. Using a range of tools driven by weather data, the scientists initiated research to test this hypothesis: “In the medium term (2010-2050), ICRISAT is well placed to mitigate the challenges and exploit the opportunities that are posed by climate change through (1) the redeployment and retargeting of the existing germplasm of its mandate crops and (2) the application of existing knowledge on crop, soil and water management innovations.” While the work initiated during this meeting in May 2009 continues, early outputs support the hypothesis. Specifically, ex ante analysis showed the following: ■ Climate change will modify the length of the growing period across the regions of interest, but this can be largely mitigated by retargeting and redeploying existing germplasm. ■ Predicted temperature increases have, through their effect of speeding crop development, worse effects on crop production than the relatively small changes in rainfall of ±10%. ■ Yield gap analyses show that the negative impacts of climate change can be largely mitigated through a dual strategy of (1) farmers’ greater application of improved crop, soil and water management innovations and (2) better targeted approaches to crop improvement that are more explicitly focused on adapting to climate change. Between 2005 and 2007, ICRISAT partnered with national agricultural research organizations and meteorological agencies, other CGIAR Centers, and leading climate researchers worldwide to develop and initiate eight proof-of-concept projects centered on managing both current and possible future climate-induced risk in sub-Saharan Africa. Three more such projects have since been funded. Of particular importance is the project funded by the Asian Development Bank, which has expanded this work to Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Three key lessons have already emerged from ongoing projects: ■ Current season-on-season rainfall variability has a strong influence on farmers’ perceptions and practice. ■ New climate-driven tools are very useful for characterizing climate-induced risk and supporting farmer decision making. ■ Institutional and information support mechanisms to enable the effective use of climate information are essential. Access to more detailed information on ICRISAT’s research on climate change adaptation is available at www.icrisat.org/aes-climatechange-sat.htm. Farmers may not be able to avoid climate change, but ICRISAT and its partners are working hard to provide them with more stable crop yields in an unpredictable future. To get ahead of climate change, ICRISAT has ready-adapted products such as early, extra-early, and super-early chickpea cultivars. international crops research institute for the semi-arid tropics (icrisat) | headquarters: patancheru, india | www.icrisat.org CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 27 Nowhere is agriculture more important than in sub-Saharan Africa. Most Africans live by farming, and the sector supplies 30-40% of gross domestic product and almost 60% of export earnings. Yet, public investment in agricultural development in Africa has lagged behind that of other developing regions. African governments spent only 5-7% of their national budgets on agriculture between 1980 and 2005, while their Asian counterparts plowed in 6-15%. Aware that hunger and malnutrition afflicted about one-third of their people, African leaders committed in 2003 to spending at least 10% of their budgets on agriculture and to expanding the sector by at least 6% per year. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) was born, and would generate demand for evidence-based policy options and analytical capacity. At the request of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which lead the initiative, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) collaborated with local experts to produce more than 100 background documents on agricultural growth and investment options for poverty reduction. Some 20 countries have adopted national policy documents and investment plans based on this work. IFPRI worked with four CGIAR-supported sister Centers — the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, International Livestock Research Institute, International Water Management Institute, and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics — to develop the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS), an economic information system to aid African policymakers and their international partners. INFORMATION IN DEMAND A new economic information system for Africa enables evidence-based policymaking that prioritizes public investment in agricultural development across the continent A renewed commitment to evidence-based decision making is driving agricultural growth across Africa. Here, Zambians harvest locally developed high-yielding cassava. Driven by demand from national governments, the Economic Community of West African States, and the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, ReSAKSS has produced more than 27 working papers and 18 accompanying issues briefs. Its interactive platform for tracking more than two dozen key indicators is a major destination for information on agricultural development, growth and poverty reduction across Africa (www.resakss.org). IFPRI worked with the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Secretariat to raise the profile of African agriculture and garner support for CAADP among donors. This has secured financial commitments to further strengthen local capacity to sustain the transition to evidence-based policy planning. Eighteen governments have so far signed a CAADP Compact and adopted official policy documents prepared with technical assistance from IFPRI. Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Niger and Senegal have committed more than 10% of their budgets to agriculture. Ten countries have achieved or exceeded 6% agricultural growth. “The CAADP agenda reflects a fundamental shift in the way Africa’s leadership looks at agriculture and its potential contribution to ending poverty and hunger,” observes Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, chief executive officer of the NEPAD Secretariat. A November 2009 external evaluation commissioned by bilateral donors found that CAADP stakeholders working across Africa, subregionally and in individual countries agreed overwhelmingly that IFPRI’s efforts added value to national policy, program design, budgeting, funding, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. IFPRI’s assistance to Africa’s agricultural resurgence is in keeping with the CGIAR’s vision and the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty and hunger. international food policy research institute (ifpri) | headquarters: washington, dc, usa | www.ifpri.org 28 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Aflatoxins are chemical poisons produced mainly by the fungus Aspergillus flavus in maize, groundnuts, cassava and yam chips. They undermine human health, are potent causes of cancer, suppress the immune systems of humans and livestock, and stunt the growth of children. Trade suffers, too, with US$1.2 billion in global commerce lost annually to contamination from fungal toxins. African economies bear nearly $450 million of that loss. Aflatoxins are a target of nontariff barriers to international trade in agricultural products, as shipments contaminated above permissible levels are rejected. To address aflatoxin contamination in Africa, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners have developed a safe and natural biocontrol method that dramatically cuts aflatoxin contamination in African food crops. The resulting product is called aflasafe® , which is a trademark of IITA. Collaborating with the United States Department of Agriculture‘s Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS), IITA demonstrated the ability of several safe strains of the Aspergillus fungus naturally found in Nigeria to significantly reduce concentrations of aflatoxins in maize. On-station trials of aflasafe® in Zaria, Ikenne, Mokwa and Ibadan showed a drop in aflatoxin contamination in maize by 50-99%. With aflasafe® , a mixture of four atoxigenic native strains of A. flavus — strains that do not produce aflatoxins — are applied to crops and throughout a growing area to alter the fungal community so that crops become less contaminated with aflatoxins. When properly applied, these native atoxigenic strains competitively exclude aflatoxin producers and persist ATOXIGENIC ASSETS A new product introduces into crops and fields benign fungus strains that outcompete their aflatoxin-producing cousins to keep grain fit for consumption and trade A maize farmer happily shows a tub of Aflasafe ® before applying it in his field. for several years to provide multi-crop and multi-year protection against aflatoxins after a single application. This competitive exclusion principle of biological control will be used as a new type of intervention strategy, initially in Nigeria, to mitigate the negative effect of aflatoxins on human health and trade. Competitive exclusion works by applying selected native atoxigenic strains to outcompete and exclude afl atoxin-producers during the colonization of grains, thereby reducing levels of aflatoxin contamination. IITA and USDA-ARS have identified several atoxigenic strains native to Nigeria and Kenya that are useful for reducing aflatoxins. Similar atoxigenic strains of A. flavus native to Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Senegal are also being identified for aflatoxin biocontrol. In 2009, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control provisionally registered aflasafe ® and permitted the treatment of up to 100 hectares of farmers’ fields. Farmers participating in the field trials of aflasafe ® attest that the quality of their maize grain significantly improved after the product’s application in their fields. On average, the farmers who treated their maize field with aflasafe ® achieved nearly 80% aflatoxin reduction in grains at harvest. All grain harvested from treated fields passed Nigerian aflatoxin safety standards. In contrast, maize harvested from more than a quarter of the untreated fields was considered unsafe to eat. The trials were coordinated by the Kaduna State Agriculture Development Program and funded by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation and the European Union’s MycoRed project. international institute of tropical agriculture (iita) | headquarters: ibadan, nigeria | www.iita.org CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 29 FEED PLUS FOOD New varieties of sorghum are bred to better meet the needs of India’s 208 million livestock farmers for animal feed, as well as to feed its growing human population Throughout the tropics, a lack of feed keeps farm animals underweight and underproductive, thereby preventing some 600 million poor farmers and herders from meeting fast-rising global demand for milk and meat. But thanks to a partnership between India´s National Research Centre for Sorghum (NRCS), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), new varieties of sorghum are being developed that can provide both nutritious food for humans and high-quality feed for livestock. The single most important source of animal feed on many small farms in Asia and Africa is not grass but rather the stalks, leaves and other residues of crop plants after harvesting. In India, for example, 44% of the feed that annually sustains all the country´s cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep and camels is made up of such crop wastes. The rest comes from planted forages and a shrinking area of pastures and other common lands. Expensive feed concentrates — the mainstay of livestock production in rich countries — are used only occasionally. Although crop residues (also known as stover) have become the main source of feed for farm animals in developing countries, crop breeders have continued to focus their efforts solely on increasing grain yields and not on improving the yield and quality of stover. The NRCS-ICRISAT-ILRI partnership seeks to redress this oversight by focusing on sorghum, an important staple crop in India that is grown on nearly 10 million hectares throughout the country. The researchers incorporated fodder quality traits in India´s sorghum crop breeding trials and, in so doing, led breeders to identify sorghum varieties that give high yields of both grain and stover, as well as improved stover quality. The result is dual-purpose, food-plus-feed sorghum varieties that are now helping India’s 208 million livestock farmers close the livestock feed gap and feed India’s growing human population. The initiative has proved groundbreaking in demonstrating that traits for stover fodder quality and quantity can be incorporated into existing breeding programs to improve grain yields and has led the way for similar work on other major crops such as millet, groundnut, rice, maize and cowpea. New initiatives are also beginning for wheat and various leguminous crops. Small-scale entrepreneurs in India are developing new livestock feeds using new dual-purpose, food-plus-feed sorghum varieties. international livestock research institute (ilri) | headquarters: nairobi, kenya; addis ababa, ethiopia | www.ilri.org 30 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS INTENSIVE YET SUSTAINABLE Irrigated rice fields are found to be fertile after continuous cropping for decades using chemical fertilizers, which debunks the notion that intensive rice farming is unsustainable Limited scope for expanding rice production area necessitates intensive rice farming to meet growing demand. However, some people contend that modern, intensive farming is unsustainable. It is said to degrade soil, eventually causing it to lose its ability to support crops. In the case of rice, this is untrue. Most rice, unlike other major food crops, is grown on submerged soil, which supports fundamentally different biological and chemical processes and requires different management practices. Conclusions on the sustainability of intensive rice farming must therefore consider the unique features of rice production compared with other major food crops. Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) established experiments in the 1960s that subsequently served as “living laboratories” for strategic research quantifying the sustainability of intensive rice farming. One of these experiments, the Long-Term Continuous Cropping Experiment, had by the end of 2009 produced 137 crops of irrigated rice with fallows of only 3 weeks between harvesting one crop and planting the next. A report published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal by Roland Buresh, Mirasol Pampolino and Eufrocino Laureles of IRRI and Hermenegildo Gines of the Philippine Rice Research Institute used findings from four long-running experiments to show that, with proper fertilizer management, continuous rice cultivation on submerged soils can sustain soil organic matter and the capacity of soil to supply nitrogen that is available to plants. In fact, in all four experiments, total organic carbon and total nitrogen in the topsoil — which serve as measures of soil organic matter — were not only consistently maintained but even increased slightly during 15 years. “The floodwater overlying soil during rice cultivation is a favorable environment for the growth of aquatic biomass such as algae, which, upon death, settle onto the soil and add carbon to soil,” explains Buresh. In addition, organic matter in submerged soil decomposes more slowly than in aerated soil. Thus, under intensive rice cultivation, soil organic matter is maintained. Furthermore, the unique properties of the flooded rice system help sustain soil fertility because of biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil and floodwater organisms convert atmospheric nitrogen into a nutrient usable by plants. The nitrogen produced through biological fixation per hectare per crop is equivalent to all the nitrogen in a 50-kilogram bag of urea fertilizer. The findings reveal that farmers need not apply crop residues to fields to maintain soil organic matter as long as the nutrients that have been removed are replaced by appropriate applications of chemical fertilizers. Contrary to widely held belief, the long-term application of manufactured fertilizer does not damage soil health. The unique features of flooded soils help sustain intensive irrigated rice systems that now occupy 24 million hectares in tropical and subtropical Asia, on which 1.5 billion rice farmers and consumers depend. But more research is needed. “Scientists must increasingly develop management practices to ensure continued sustainability as irrigation water becomes limited,” Buresh concludes. Farm workers transplant rice in plots of the Long-Term Continuous Cropping Experiment, the longest—duration rice experiment in the world. international rice research institute (irri) | headquarters: los baños, philippines | www.irri.org CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 31 Gujarat is one of India’s driest states and long had one of the country’s most volatile agrarian economies. Because public irrigation was limited, the government encouraged groundwater irrigation by subsidizing farm electricity supply during the 1970s and 1980s. However, by the 1990s this policy had bankrupted the government electric utility and severely depleted Gujarat’s aquifer. The agricultural economy continued to falter. During the past decade, however, Gujarat’s agricultural economy has turned around, thanks to a clutch of initiatives. One such is the Jyotirgram scheme, under which the electric utility imposed strict rationing on farm power supply, but dramatically improved its quality and reliability. Agricultural production boomed, but continued reliance on groundwater irrigation brought a looming crisis of groundwater depletion. Agriculture in Gujarat may now look forward to a sustainable future. This is because the water advisor to the chief minister of Gujarat has given the green light to a plan to manage aquifer recharge, which will help to sustain the state’s increasingly groundwaterbased agricultural economy. Developed by an expert task force chaired by Tushaar Shah, a senior fellow at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the plan has a budget of US$700 million. Over the past decade, IWMI scientists in the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program have intensively researched the issues of groundwater depletion and recharge. IWMI research was at the heart of the Jyotirgram scheme, which is now being replicated in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab . Other areas of IWMI focus have been the energy-groundwater nexus and the socioeconomic impact of groundwater recharge. A HANDLE ON THE PUMP After the rapid growth of irrigated agriculture in Gujarat severely depleted its aquifer, the Indian state now has a plan to sustain this vital resource Two articles by Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar, one of India’s most influential journalists, in the Sunday Times in May 2008 summarized key ideas and arguments from Shah’s 2009 book, Taming the Anarchy: Groundwater Governance in South Asia. This media coverage prompted the water adviser to Gujarat’s chief minster to contact Shah and invite him to chair a task force on managing groundwater recharge. The task force report, entitled First approximation report to increase ground water resources through artificial recharge in Gujarat State, was submitted in August 2009. The water adviser has accepted its recommendations in principle and will soon forward them to the chief minister. The plan acknowledges that groundwater is the basis of the agricultural revolution in Gujarat, which may be the first Indian state to accept recharging severely depleted aquifers as a legitimate use of surface water Groundwater irrigation has made agriculture one of Gujarat’s most important economic sectors. reserves. The task force report has broad ownership, with representation from the Groundwater Board, Irrigation Department, Agriculture Department and electric utility. News coverage has made the general public more aware of the importance of groundwater and its recharge, and highlighted the potential for replicating Gujarat’s success in other states. Elements of the plan are now being piloted. Fully implemented, the plan will cover 4-5 million hectares in the regions of Kutch, North Gujarat and Saurashtra. Nearly 2 million smallholder farmers stand to benefit from improved groundwater supply for irrigation. Many more households will benefit from reduced fluoride contamination of drinking water. international water management institute (iwmi) | headquarters: battaramulla, sri lanka | www.iwmi.cgiar.org 32 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS The message that agroforestry is widespread came through loud and clear when a report on global tree cover was released during the 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry in August 2009. The World Agroforestry Centre study shows that over 1 billion hectares of agricultural lands — or 43% — have more than 10% tree cover, and that these areas are home to almost a third of the 1.8 billion people who live on farmland. Some 600 million hectares of agricultural lands have more than 20% tree cover and 160 million hectares more than 50%. The release of the report during the congress in Nairobi, Kenya, which was attended by over 1,200 participants from across the world, further signified agroforestry’s coming of age. From a vaguely defined concept, it has matured into a robust, science-based discipline and a land use that can address many of the world’s most pressing problems. Trees provide farmers with a range of goods and services from fruit to livestock fodder and fuelwood to green fertilizer. Previously, researchers could only guess at how much land was devoted to agroforestry. This study now provides some solid figures — and a clear message about the importance of agroforestry. It used remote sensing data to analyze the extent of tree cover on agricultural lands and its relationship with population density and climate. “Before we conducted the study, the only figures available were guesstimates,” explains Richard Coe, co-author of Trees on Farm: Analysis of Global Extent and Geographical Patterns of Agroforestry. These varied wildly, with one as low as 50,000 hectares and another at over 307 million hectares, the latter figure being based on the assumption that 20% of agricultural lands are covered with trees. DATA ON TREES A new study, Trees on Farm , measures the extent of tree cover on agricultural land and demonstrates that agroforestry is being practiced extensively worldwide Farmers in Zambia plant fertilizer trees to improve the health of soils. Agroforestry is a feature of agriculture landscapes throughout the world, but the extent to which it is practiced varies from region to region. It is particularly significant in Central America and less so in East Asia. There is a strong positive correlation between tree cover and humidity, but the relationship between tree cover and population density is less clear. This is presumably because such other factors as markets, government policies, development programs and local history also influence tree cover on farmland. The study has several limitations. For example, tree cover estimates are based on computer analysis of remote sensing at 1 square kilometer per pixel. Fifty percent tree cover in a square kilometer could mean one large block of trees — in other words, a small forest — or an even scattering across farmland. And the analysis provides no information about the nature and use of trees on farmland. The global figures for tree cover are almost certainly conservative. There are large areas of agroforestry that are excluded from agricultural lands, such as jungle rubber systems in Indonesia and cocoa agroforestry in West Africa. These areas are usually classified as forests, not as agricultural lands, in global land cover databases. Trees on Farm contains some important messages for politicians, climate-change negotiators, development specialists and others in a position to influence policy. world agroforestry centre | headquarters: nairobi, kenya | www.worldagroforestrycentre.org CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 33 FUTURE SHOCK FOR FISHERS A worldwide study is the fi rst to identify which fishery-dependent countries are the most vulnerable to climate change — and they are already poor same time, lowering water levels as rainfall decreases and evaporation increases. In South Asia, worsened bleaching of coral reefs, caused by rising ocean temperatures, is of grave concern. Other threats come from changes in river flows resulting from reduced snowfall and melting glaciers. Scientists predict a nearly two-thirds reduction in the summer fl ows of the Ganges River, for example, which could diminish what are now highly productive river and fl oodplain fisheries. In addition, Bangladesh could see its coastal catch reduced, as a result of predicted increases in the frequency and intensity of tropical storms. Across Southeast Asia, inland freshwater habitats could be damaged by saltwater intrusions as sea levels rise. In northern South America, climate change will alter coastal upwellings, which sustain huge catches of anchovies, sardines and other small fish. Evidence of changes induced by the warming effects of El Niño events indicates that a rise in ocean temperatures can cause a decline in Peruvian anchovy populations, though sardine numbers may tend to increase. “The problems driven by climate change are bad enough by themselves,” says Steve Hall, director general of WorldFish. “What will make them much worse are the economic and institutional weaknesses of the vulnerable countries identified in this study. Fisheries are already under tremendous pressure from overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and other factors. Climate adaptation measures must go hand in hand with efforts to confront other threats if these countries are to succeed in building sustainable livelihoods for fish-dependent people.” Millions of people who depend on fisheries in Africa, Asia and South America could face greater hardship as a result of climate change, according to a study conducted by the WorldFish Center with funding from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. The 10 most imperiled places are the coastal African nations of Guinea and Senegal; the landlocked Africa states of Malawi and Uganda; Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Yemen in tropical Asia; and, in South America, Peru and Colombia. “Countries in temperate regions will see the most pronounced climate change impacts on fishing,” says Edward Allison, director of policy, economics and social science at WorldFish and the lead author of the paper. “But people in the tropics and subtropics will likely suffer most, because they depend so heavily on fish and have limited capacity to develop other sources of income and food. We believe it is urgent to start Fishing communities in the tropics and subtropics will likely suffer the most from the effects of climate change effects on fisheries. identifying the most vulnerable countries, because the damage will be greatly compounded unless national governments and international institutions act now to include the fish sector in plans for helping the poor cope with climate change.” Two-thirds of the most vulnerable nations are in tropical Africa, where fish often supply more than half of animal protein consumed. Along coasts, climate variations can significantly alter the flow of nutrientrich waters — known as upwellings — that sustain fish populations. In eastern and southern Africa, rising temperatures in freshwater lakes over the past century have already reduced fish stocks. Future climate change is expected to worsen this trend while, at the worldfish center | headquarters: penang, malaysia | www.worldfishcenter.org 34 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS CGIAR Challenge Programs CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 35 challenge program on climate change, agriculture and food security | www.ccafs.cgiar.org ONE FINE DAY The Alliance of the CGIAR Centers prepared a synthesis of CGIAR work that delivered a positive message: “We have the knowledge right now to make vast improvements to agricultural systems — improvements that can compensate for the negative impacts of climate change.” Decision-makers are urged to take the steps needed to put this research into action. Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD) took place midway through the conference in Copenhagen. This event was facilitated by the newly established Challenge Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and the Global Donor Platform, in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, University of Copenhagen, Earth Systems Science Partnership, Global Forum on Agricultural Research and International Federation of Agricultural Producers. Over 350 participants included representatives of governments, United Nations and international agencies, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and farmers. The first full-day focus on agriculture at the conference, ARDD brought together the “biggest names on the global agriculture scene” as The Ecologist reported on 14 December. Jeff Sayer, a member of the CGIAR Science Council, noted, “ARDD was playing catch up and used science to argue — apparently successfully — for remedying the present lack of attention given to agriculture in the climate change negotiations.” ARDD aimed to build consensus on ways to fully incorporate No agriculture, no deal: Agriculture must be a part of any climate change agreement. 36 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS agriculture into the post-Copenhagen climate agenda and to discuss strategies and actions needed to address climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture. ARDD was an excellent example of what CGIAR collective action can deliver. The CGIAR communications unit worked with the Global Donor Platform to organize a large group of communicators including those from four Centers. CGIAR Chair Katherine Sierra opened the day, emphasizing the need for comprehensive national strategies on agriculture and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Roundtable panelists included directors general from two Centers. Six of the twenty stalls at the Ideas Marketplace were led by CGIAR scientists. The consensus developed at ARDD was further elaborated with the forestry community at a side event. Forestry and agriculture are where poverty reduction, food security and climate change come together, and this must be recognized in agreements after the first Kyoto commitment period ends in 2012. Agriculture and Rural Development Day places farmers’ concerns prominently on the agenda at the United Nations climate change negotiations in Copenhagen As the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development recently reported, significant progress was made inside and outside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations in relation to agriculture, forestry and food security, even though the overall outcome of the 15th Conference of the Parties was disappointing. The CGIAR played, together with a multitude of partners, a key role in putting agriculture on the agenda in 2009. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) facilitated the production of a series of policy briefs on the nexus of agriculture and climate change, and participated in numerous events leading up to the conference. IFPRI analyses show that unchecked climate change will have widespread impacts on crop production, food security and nutrition. They estimate the costs of alleviating those impacts to be at least US$7 billion per year. challenge program on water and food | www.waterandfood.org FISHING SEASON The landless poor benefit alongside farmers when communities organize themselves to collectively enhance and manage fi sh stocks in seasonal floodplains holdings. Large flooded beels, as many seasonal floodplains are called in Bangladesh, offer potential as communal fishing resources, the benefits from which can be extended throughout the village when communities agree to share access to them. One premise of CBFC is that fish production from beels can be enhanced by stocking them with locally important fish species, providing local communities with affordable fish for home consumption and sale. CBFC motivates collective action by sharing investment costs among participants. Success depends on communities’ ability to agree to share resources and on the suitability and sustainability of community arrangements to manage the stocked fish. It is vital that communities set up committees to stock and manage water bodies held in common during the flood season. “Fish culture is managed by a floodplain management committee made up of representatives from all communities surrounding the floodplain, with the participation of landowners and the landless,” explains Natasja Sheriff, the project leader. The CBFC Project has improved livelihoods in the village of Melandi, Rajshahi, where beneficiaries include 34 landowners as well as 80 fishers and landless households. As the local floodplain, Beel Mail, is publicly owned, the project provided financial support to permit the Melandi Fishing Cooperative to lease the beel from the government. With the support of local fishery authorities, who hope to try the same successful The Communitybased Fish Culture Project explored how to maximize opportunities for poor landless families during the flood season. approach elsewhere, the cooperative has secured a lease extension until 2013. “There was no system before,” says Mohd. Azharul Islam Bablu, a local landowner. “Fishers could catch and eat whatever fish came naturally. Now fish production is sustainable, and increased production allows fishers to lead better lives.” Farmer and fisher Mujibur Rahman reports that, whereas before the project a team of fishers might land fish worth 500 taka, now they can land fish worth “1,000, 2,000 or even 2,500 taka.” He adds, “To build my house I saved money from farming and fishing, but mostly from fishing.” “Though the project was successful in Melandi, the complexities of access to and ownership of land, water and fishing rights can create serious challenges,” cautions Sheriff. “Applying lessons from the project may help to develop a suite of options from which to select those most appropriate for local conditions and needs.” Seasonal floodplains in Asia and Africa provide livelihoods for millions. In Bangladesh, fl oodplains occupy 3 million hectares, or nearly a fifth of the country’s 14 million hectares of agricultural land, which must be productively managed to feed a national population of 140 million. Several projects of the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) have improved the productivity of rice for those with land in floodplains. However, many poor people with no land must depend on wage labor or fishing. The CPWF’s Community-based Fish Culture (CBFC) Project, led by the WorldFish Center, explored how to maximize opportunities for poor landless families during the flood season. While land ownership is clearly demarcated during the dry season, when farmers grow rice, deep flooding during the wet season submerges borders between CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 37 generation challenge programme | www.generationcp.org MIDLIFE METAMORPHOSIS As the Generation Challenge Programme matures, its past research on modern breeding technology supports the creation of tools and their delivery to partners countries, including a comprehensive set of support services to help breeders access marker technologies and learn how to integrate them into their selection scheme. A notable molecular breeding success is the development of rice cultivars for Asia that tolerate submergence. Recent ex ante analyses confirm the potential of this technology to have impact on breeding in developing countries (see www.generationcp.org/ sp5_impact/exante-norton). As a first step, the platform will pilot 14 existing projects, or user cases, for molecular-assisted breeding covering eight crops across 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia: Angola, Burkina Faso, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The development of the IBP is driven by demand, and the specific needs of use cases will help mold and prioritize the tools and services the platform offers. Once the platform attains suitable functionality (probably by the end of 2012), it will be open to any institutes working in crop breeding to meet development goals that ensure food security. The IBP is jointly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, and European Commission. Several of the use cases are in the seven challenge initiatives that are the main focus of the GCP in Phase II. Each initiative pairs one or more of nine crops with a The Integrated Breeding Platform pulls together existing molecular breeding efforts and provides tools and technical support to enhance plant-breeding efficiency in developing countries and beyond. With the beginning of the second and final phase of the 10-year Generation Challenge Programme (GCP), the emphasis shifted in 2009 from exploration and discovery to application and impact. The Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP), which was launched in September 2009, is 5-year, multi-partner project that will pull together existing molecular breeding efforts and provide tools and technical support to enhance plant-breeding efficiency in the developing world and beyond. Molecular breeding is an advanced approach that employs genetic markers to select plants with desirable traits. When combined with reliable phenotyping, or observing actual crop traits when grown, it is a precise, rapid and cost-effective method whose efficiency has been extensively reported by the private sector working across several crops. The online IBP is a one-stop shop providing solutions and innovations in plant breeding for developing trait, primarily to improve drought tolerance. To ensure focus and maximize impact on plant breeding by 2013, each initiative targets no more than two or three priority countries. With at least half of the GCP research budget now devoted to challenge initiatives, they represent a clear shift from a broad set of activities toward a more focused agenda geared for impact. “The service aspects of the platform are very attractive,” notes Paul Kimurto of Egerton University in Kenya. “Access to markers, germplasm and molecular analysis systems is a constraint for most breeding programs. Therefore, standardized technology and specialized services through contracted laboratories — where all the administrative and logistic details as well as negotiations with suppliers are taken care of — would be a big step ahead. It is a brilliant concept whose time has come.” 38 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS harvestplus challenge program | www.harvestplus.org GEM OF A CROP Pearl millet’s ability to thrive on marginal land and its nutritional profi le attract public and private partners to research on raising its iron and zinc content of them came from the private sector, with at least 60 based on hybrid parents and breeding lines from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). With funding from the HarvestPlus Challenge Program, ICRISAT began enhancing the iron and zinc content of pearl millet in 2004. More than 5,000 lines have been screened, and several with iron exceeding 100 parts per million and zinc exceeding 50 parts per million are being further analyzed. More than 50 seed companies are involved in developing and marketing pearl millet hybrids in India. Twenty of them, capturing more than 80% of the pearl millet hybrid seed market, are members of the ICRISAT-Private Sector Hybrid Parents Research Consortium. The consortium seed companies provide grants to partly support ICRISAT’s research and participate, along with public sector research organizations, in information exchange. The consortium provides a ready platform for rapidly disseminating improved breeding lines and hybrid parents. The seed companies’ close contacts with famers allow them to assess their needs, which depend on farming practices in various target regions. While some pearl millet lines and populations may have high iron content, this can be dramatically affected by agronomic conditions across regions. For this reason, in 2009, ICRISAT went one step further to expand the role of the private and public sectors as research partners to test new micronutrient-dense lines and prospective hybrids in multiple locations. Five state agricultural universities in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra Pearl millet is the dietary mainstay for millions of poor households in India, which is the world’s largest producer of this crop. Pearl millet is extremely adaptable to adverse growing conditions and has a superior nutritional profile compared with other grains, containing at least 10 times more iron and 50% more zinc than rice. Meanwhile, in north and northwestern India, 70% of children under 5 are anemic, mainly from iron deficiency. Pearl millet thrives in these drier regions, which account for more than 85% of the total area devoted to this crop. Pearl millet is thus a natural candidate for providing not only dietary iron but also much-needed zinc through biofortification, or breeding crops with higher micronutrient content. The Indian private sector plays a vital role in developing and disseminating new varieties of high-iron and -zinc pearl millet. More than 80 pearl millet hybrids are cultivated in India today, compared with no more than 6 before 1990. Most Pearl millet is a natural candidate for providing not only dietary iron but also much-needed zinc through biofortification. and Rajasthan representing the diverse regions where pearl millet is grown, and seven consortium seed companies with test locations in these states, joined the HarvestPlus research efforts in multilocation evaluation to identify high-yielding and micronutrient-dense lines and hybrids. Several promising hybrids and breeding lines were identified in 2009, generating considerable enthusiasm and promising greater progress as the collaborative network matures. This prompted two additional seed companies to join the biofortification research effort. This partnership between two CGIAR entities, state agricultural universities and private seed companies is likely to grow and should accelerate the development of high-yielding and biofortified pearl millet varieties and hybrids for release in India by 2012. CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 39 sub-saharan africa challenge program | www.fara-africa.org/networking-support-projects/ssa-cp BRAND NEW IN AFRICA Marketing and trademark partnerships centered on the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site strengthen links and improve incomes all along the value chain Enter the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA-CP), which strives to bring together the various stakeholders in the agricultural value chain through the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site. SSA-CP is a researchdriven effort to address the common interests of all those along the value chain. The turnaround came when innovation platforms (IPs) were created in response to market demand. Clear win-win benefits stimulated the participation of the private sector, and credit institutions like Equity Bank and Mecrego, as well as various processing firms, started to show interest. As a result, SSA-CP IPs produced several products with added value. Some shining examples include the Mamera trademark, which has been registered for the IP for sorghum growers in Uganda, Kasiksi banana wine in the Democratic Republic of Congo; tropical mixed fruit juice, jam and crisps in Rwanda; and corn oil in Chahi, Uganda. Mamera has successfully penetrated supermarkets with its fermented nonalcoholic porridge, bushera. The trademark will be used for a number of other products that will be produced by the Bubare sorghum growers IP, including malted sorghum flour, a ready-to-use flour for homemakers and small commercial bakers. Potato traders organized themselves into the Kampala Potato Traders Group and signed agreements with the Chahi and Bufundi potato IPs. Equity Bank took note and agreed to support the value chain by accepting accounts and handling cash transfers from traders to farmers. Farmers have so far opened over 120 accounts, each depositing an average of 1.8 million Ugandan shillings (US$870) in the bank. When maize farmers got into the act by tying up with Phinta Investment Ltd., hybrid maize production in an IP area in Uganda increased from less than 1 hectare in 2008 to 200 hectares in 2009. Further, when the price of maize in the country recently dropped from US$0.40 per kilogram to 0.10, the price never went below US$0.25 in the IP area. One of the most important benefits derived from the new IPs is brand recognition. The Mamera brand on bushera from Kabale District in Uganda, for example, gives it a clear edge over bushera made elsewhere. Success breeds new challenges. When they emerge, new stakeholders come on board to constitute task teams to study the issues and derive solutions. The process brings new hope to farmers only recently caught in a downward spiral of poverty. The face of the agricultural economy of sub-Saharan Africa is changing. Until recently, agricultural development was driven largely by supply. Farmers did not know for whom they were producing crops or how to deal with unstructured markets. As a result, the quality of agricultural produce was low. Moreover, collective marketing was practically unknown, and traders were not organized. Production would increase only when markets appeared promising. Even when yields were high, farmers faced many risks: price fluctuations, poor market access, weak infrastructure and perishability. Frequently, production was further hampered by untimely marketing, poor postharvest handling and preservation methods, storage pests, and the lack of modern processing technology. So it was natural that farmers were amenable to the overtures of middlemen and their agents when they offered to undertake market functions like bulking, sorting, grading, packing and transporting. Innovation platforms produced several products with added value, including bottled sorghum porridge, marketed under the Mamera trademark. 40 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Achievements CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 41 Science Awards 2009 RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE CGIAR awards celebrate dramatic advances in strengthening food and nutrition security, as well as in natural resource management Vegetable Center have labored jointly across the Sahel to improve local vegetable varieties and create viable systems for their production, using inexpensive drip irrigation and traditional water-harvesting techniques. Market gardens have proved highly profitable, giving returns of up to US$1,500 from an area of only 500 square meters. Women capture most of the profits, since they dominate vegetable production and marketing. Water front and center. The Sahelian market gardens show how smallholder farmers in dry regions can improve the productivity of land and scarce water resources alike. The scientist who put water productivity at the center of renewed debate about global food security received the award for Outstanding Scientist. He is David Molden, deputy director general for research at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Molden coordinated the recent Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, which encompassed 50 years of global experience. The study’s findings are considered the benchmark for gauging future efforts to cope with water scarcity in agriculture. In addition to leading the development of a conceptual framework for the assessment, Molden ensured that a widely dispersed team of more than 1,000 scientists stayed on track and translated their key findings into a compelling set of messages for policymakers. False dilemmas debunked. Two pioneering studies, whose results struck down persistent false dilemmas in development, shared the award for Outstanding Scientific Article. A study published nearly 2 years ago in The Lancet (arguably the world’s top biomedical journal) was the first ever to give direct evidence that interventions to improve nutrition in early childhood are not only crucial for disadvantaged children’s physical development but can have positive effects on their economic productivity and incomes in adulthood. For decades, some experts have insisted that such interventions, while clearly good for children, compete with investments in economic growth. To test this assumption, lead author John Hoddinott, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and his colleagues interviewed individuals in rural eastern Guatemala who had received nutritional supplements under a program carried out 25 years earlier. Using cutting-edge statistical analysis, the authors showed that providing nutritious supplements to children before the age of 2 had a significant effect on their hourly wage rate as adults. The second study, published during 2008 in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, belies the widely held notion that intensive agriculture is necessarily incompatible with soil health. Based on analyses of soil samples collected over 15 years from experiments begun in the 1960s, Roland Buresh, a senior soil scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and his colleagues determined that continuous rice monoculture on submerged soils consistently maintained or actually increased soil organic matter (see Intensive Yet Sustainable on page 31). Staggering record of success. The scientists responsible for maintaining a continuous supply of new rice varieties for irrigated production were recognized with the award for Outstanding Scientific Support Team. Under the leadership of Parminder Virk, a senior plant breeder at IRRI, the Irrigated Rice Breeding Team has developed hundreds of new rice lines since the late 1970s that offer higher yield potential, better grain quality, and resistance to diseases and insect pests. The CGIAR presented seven awards at the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development held in late March 2010 in Montpellier, France. The awards highlight an emerging vegetable boom in the West African Sahel, trailblazing research on human and soil health, key advances in confronting water scarcity, and extraordinary successes in rice improvement. The vegetable boom, driven by the spread of market gardens in Niger and other countries of Africa’s dry Sahelian region, is offering subsistence farmers an innovative solution to chronic hunger. The two international Centers leading the vegetable drive were recognized with the award for Outstanding Partnership. Over the past decade, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the World 42 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS One variety that epitomizes the team’s contribution is IR64, which has been estimated to occupy more than 13 million hectares in 12 countries. It is among the 300 IRRI breeding lines that have been released as more than 600 varieties in all of the major rice-growing countries of Asia and other regions. Tools for rural learning. As growing numbers of farmers in developing countries take up new rice varieties, they are gaining assistance in building new knowledge about improved production and processing techniques. One approach that has proved extraordinarily successful for that purpose in Africa is the Rice Rural Learning Initiative, which earned the award for Outstanding Communications. Launched by the Africa Rice Center and many partners in 2005, the initiative has demonstrated how farmer-tofarmer videos, combined with the use of mass media, not only convey information about improved practices effectively but also stimulate further innovation. Under the leadership of Paul Van Mele, a learning and innovation specialist at AfricaRice, the initiative has developed a set of 11 videos with farmers, translated them into 33 African languages and distributed them to more than 600 organizations in 44 countries. In addition, the content has been developed into radio scripts, which have been distributed to more than 300 radio programs with a combined audience of 850,000 rural people. A way with words and weeds. One of the Rice Rural Learning Initiative videos shares a new approach for dealing with weeds, which are among the most serious constraints on African rice production. The scientist who developed the approach and helped prepare the video — Jonne Rodenburg, weed specialist at AfricaRice — received the award for Promising Young Scientist. Outstanding Scientist David Molden IWMI Promising Young Scientist Jonne Rodenburg AfricaRice (far left) Outstanding Scientific Article John Hoddinott IFPRI Outstanding Scientific Article Roland Buresh IRRI Outstanding Partnership Vegetable production in the Sahel, by the World Vegetable Center and ICRISAT Outstanding Scientific Support Team The Irrigated Rice Breeding Team IRRI Outstanding Communications Paul Van Mele AfricaRice (second from left) Outstanding Agricultural Journalism Busani Bafana Inter Press Service, Africa Since Africa’s smallholder rice farmers can rarely afford to use herbicides, they need alternatives, including improved varieties. Rodenburg has focused much of his work, quite successfully, on identifying rice varieties that possess resistance to parasitic weeds as well as a strong ability to compete with weeds generally. Journalism serving agriculture. Another professional who has put his way with words at the service of African agriculture is Zimbabwean journalist Busani Bafana, recipient of the award for Excellence in Agricultural Science Journalism. In a story entitled A Better Banana for Africa, which Bafana wrote for the Inter Press Service Africa, he reports on efforts in Kenya to improve banana yields and health, which are keys to “Africa’s potential banana boom.” A letter endorsing Bafana’s nomination lauds the reporter for his efforts to “portray the realities of the agricultural sector, with a particular emphasis on the voices and experiences of the small farmers who are the backbone of the continent’s food security.” CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 43 Performance Measurement CENTERS MEASURE UP IN 2009 CGIAR monitoring and evaluation tracks Center research results and potential to perform in the future as measured by institutional and fi nancial health achievement of outputs and output targets as defined in Centers’ medium-term plans. Figure 1 shows a composite measure of Center research publications that aims to reflect, in a balanced way, Centers’ ■ contribution of knowledge to a wide international audience and the quality and usefulness of that knowledge, as determined by peers in the internationally recognized journal database Thomson Reuters ISI; ■ contribution of peer-reviewed knowledge and information for targeted stakeholder audiences (not including major international journals); and ■ research quality and originality, as shown by their ability to reach top-quality journals with a portion of all publications. In 2009, Center scientists published on average 1.2 articles in high-quality journals listed in Thomson Reuters ISI and another 1.1 externally peer-reviewed articles elsewhere, for a total of 2.3 externally peer-reviewed articles per scientist. Of scientifi c papers Centers publish in refereed journals and conference and workshop proceedings, 47% listed developing country partners among the authors. Interested CGIAR stakeholders can track the 2009 outputs of individual research projects by visiting http://www.cgiar.org/publications/ performancemeasurement/index.html, which provides rich insight into Centers’ research products in 2009 and before, in terms of materials, policy strategies, practices, capacity and other kinds of knowledge. Research outcomes. Centers were asked to report on their most significant research outcomes in terms of external use, adoption or influence on partners, stakeholders and clients in 2009. The interim Independent Science and Partnership Council (previously the Science Council) assessed and scored Center-reported outcomes on a scale of 1-10 by their linkage to research outputs and the significance and magnitude of outcome. Figure 2 shows the 2009 results along with the average results over the 3 years 2007-2009. The top five research outcomes in 2009 are briefly described on pages 46-47. Culture of impact assessment. The CGIAR Performance Measurement System tracks Centers’ efforts to document impact from past research and institutionalize a culture of impact assessment among their researchers and partners. The interim Independent Science and Partnership Council assessed Center’s reports on a scale of 1-10 using three criteria: (1) ex-post impact assessment (epIA) studies and advancement of epIA methods (weighted at 45%); (2) building a culture of impact assessment at the Center, AFRICARICE BIOVERSITY CIMMYT ICRISAT ICARDA CIP Research outputs. The Performance Measurement System measures outputs primarily in terms of publications, while also collecting data on the PUBLICATION SCORE IN 2009 AVERAGE PUBLICATION SCORE IN 2007-2009 44 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS IWMI WORLD AGROFORESTRY WORLDFISH CIAT CIFOR IFPRI IITA ILRI IRRI CGIAR reform will extend to monitoring and evaluation. Under the new accountability framework, the Consortium of the CGIAR Centers is responsible for monitoring and evaluating Centers and their contributions to Mega Programs, and for reporting to the Fund Council on the performance of Mega Programs toward obligations set out in their performance agreements. Performance measurement will be adapted to these changing conditions as they become more clearly developed and implemented. In the meantime, the CGIAR Performance Measurement System remains in place. Full 2009 performance measurement results are publicly accessible at http://www.cgiar.org/publications/ performancemeasurement/index.html. FIGURE 1 Composite Score on Publications 10 8 5.4 5.1 4.8 4.5 10.0 8.5 7.4 7.6 6.5 6.6 7.0 7.3 6.5 5.8 6.0 6.3 7.9 6.2 5.7 6.3 5.3 5.7 SCORE 5.0 5.0 3.7 4.3 6 4 2 0 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.8 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4 Assessment of Centers’ Research Outcomes 10 8 RATING 6 4 2 0 8 6 8 6 8 7 9 8 7 6 9 8 7 7 6 7 7 7 6 6 9 8 9 8 7 8 8 7 7 Centers’ Culture of Impact Assessment 10 8.2 8.4 7.5 7.4 7.1 7.1 7.5 7.1 7.5 Overall Governance Score 100 86.1 85.9 78.1 73.9 79.7 79.9 85.6 90.2 93.0 95.1 85.0 92.9 81.3 73.4 81.3 85.9 93.6 87.5 80.8 78.3 98.4 93.5 94.1 82.1 95.7 90.8 95.7 95.6 92.0 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.1 7.1 8 6 4 2 0 7.8 7.5 7.6 8.1 80 6.6 6.2 5.8 7.3 6.0 6.1 SCORE SCORE 5 60 40 20 1.5 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.5 AFRICARICE BIOVERSITY ICARDA CIMMYT ICRISAT CIP IWMI WORLD AGROFORESTRY WORLDFISH CIAT CIFOR IFPRI IRRI IITA ILRI RATING IN 2009 RATING AVERAGE IN 2007-2009 IWMI WORLD AGROFORESTRY WORLDFISH IMPACT CULTURE IN 2009 IMPACT CULTURE AVERAGE IN 2007-2009 OVERALL GOVERNANCE SCORE IN 2009 OVERALL GOVERNANCE SCORE IN 2008 including communication, dissemination and capacity enhancement (20%); and (3) the quality of one published epIA study during the past 3 years that effectively demonstrates the impact of the Center’s research on poor and food-insecure people and the environment, as judged by peer reviewers appointed by the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (35%). Figure 3 shows the 2009 score and the average score for 2007-2009. Institutional health. Measures of Center governance, culture of learning and change, and diversity are used as indicators of institutional health. The governance indicator is a summary score of a range of governance policies and practices modeled on the recommendation of the 2006 Stripe Review on Corporate Governance and the CGIAR Guidelines on Center Governance. Centers scored on average 88 points out of 100 (Figure 4). Two-thirds of the Centers raised their score in 2009 over the previous year, most significantly the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and WorldFish. Most of the Center boards have at least two members with professional qualifications in financial management, and 11 Centers provide their full board with information on key financial indicators every quarter to help members fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. Women occupied 28% of management positions at Centers in 2009, up from a 3-year average of 26%, despite only six Centers’ bettering the 3-year average in 2009 (Figure 5). A vibrant culture of learning and change is critical for Centers’ long-term success. Sustaining the quality and relevance of research depends on Centers’ regular investment in developing staff, securing staff satisfaction, evaluating its own effectiveness, and expanding its human and intellectual capital by seeking greater diversity. The average score is 54 points out of 100 on a checklist of Center practices (Figure 6). Financial health. Centers’ fi nancial health is measured by two core indicators: long-term fi nancial stability (adequacy of reserves) and cash management on restricted operations.1 Only one Center fell below the stability benchmark, and all Centers met the cash-management benchmark (Table 1). 1. Long-term financial stability (adequacy of reserves) is computed as unrestricted net assets less net fixed assets divided by operating expenses per day excluding depreciation. The lower benchmark is 75 days, which shall be increased to 90 days over time. Cash management on restricted operations is computed as restricted donors’ accounts receivable divided by restricted donors accounts payable, expressed as a ratio. CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 IWMI WORLD AGROFORESTRY WORLDFISH 45 AFRICARICE BIOVERSITY CIMMYT ICARDA ICRISAT IFPRI CIAT AFRICARICE BIOVERSITY ICARDA CIMMYT ICRISAT CIFOR CIFOR CIAT IFPRI IRRI IITA ILRI IRRI IITA ILRI CIP CIP 0 77.2 7.5 FIGURE 5 TABLE 1 Percentage of Management Positions Occupied by Women 80 70 60 PERCENT 50 40 30 20 10 AFRICARICE 0 20 22 10 14 25 33 29 32 17 18 23 17 17 0 5 27 71 57 50 43 40 33 22 22 44 36 25 25 17 16 Financial Health Long-term financial stability (benchmark ≥ 75 days) 152 82 56 175 153 90 121 132 108 161 151 206 140 165 118 Cash management on restricted operations (benchmark < 1) 0.8 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.6 TOP 5 RESEARCH OUTCOMES The top five research outcomes in 2009, as assessed by the interim Independent Science and Partnership Council, are to (1) improve cassava marketability as a cash crop, (2) enhance national partners’ capacity in crop breeding assisted by molecular techniques, (3) sharpen estimates of methane emissions from livestock in Africa, (4) validate and extend to Asian rice farmers water-saving irrigation technology, and (5) domesticate a novel oilseed tree for African smallholders. Center AfricaRice Bioversity CIAT CIFOR CIMMYT BIOVERSITY ICARDA CIMMYT ICRISAT CIP IWMI WORLD AGROFORESTRY WORLDFISH CIAT CIFOR IFPRI IRRI IITA ILRI CIP ICARDA ICRISAT IFPRI PERCENTAGE OF MANAGEMENT POSITIONS OCCUPIED BY WOMEN IN 2009 AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF MANAGEMENT POSITIONS OCCUPIED BY WOMEN IN 2007-2009 IITA ILRI IRRI IWMI World Agroforestry WorldFish FIGURE 6 Culture of Learning and Change Score 100 88 100 80 SCORE 60 45 57 70 56 46 47 37 21 40 32 60 44 44 51 46 50 62 52 56 37 60 52 51 35 67 65 50 53 40 20 AFRICARICE BIOVERSITY IWMI WORLD AGROFORESTRY WORLDFISH ICARDA IFPRI IITA ILRI CIMMYT ICRISAT CIAT CIFOR IRRI CIP 0 2009 SCORE 2008 SCORE 1 Cassava for cash. In response to demand for specialty traits in cassava, scientists at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) used conventional plant breeding to develop a waxy cassava starch without amylase. CIAT’s discovery of an amylase-free mutant spurred the development of a public-private partnership with National Starch, a subsidiary of AkzoNobel, which is a global supplier of specialty starches with operations in 22 countries. CIAT and National Starch signed a collaborative agreement in 2009 to research and evaluate the properties of waxy cassava, aiming to create new uses 46 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS 23 Building biotech capacity. Many countries hope that biotechnology research in agriculture can boost productivity and strengthen food security, but see it constrained by the lack of trained staff, suitable laboratory facilities, specialized equipment and technical expertise. The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas responded by developing the capacity of national programs to use biotechnology with targeted training, scientist-to-scientist exchanges and collaborative research. From 2007 to 2009, capacity building directly benefited 241 young researchers, students, junior scientists and technicians from 30 countries. An integrated multidisciplinary approach across national and regional centers, universities and advanced research institutions has widened the adoption in national agricultural research systems of molecular characterization and diversity analysis for drought, salt and heat tolerance; molecular marker-assisted that add value and benefit farmers. This collaborative agreement encourages the use of cassava as a cash crop along with its traditional use as a food crop. The new cassava will fetch a premium price, bringing higher income per hectare and strengthening markets for cassava products. The collaboration is an example of how a public-private partnership can enable the public sector to help poor farmers while earning profits for the private sector. backcross breeding to enhance water-use efficiency, pest and disease resistance, yield, and quality; and improved in vitro regeneration protocols for genetic transformation. The Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique of Morocco, for example, now uses molecular markers to analyze the genetic diversity of wheat, olive, sugar beet and alfalfa, and this work is being extended to other crops. Measures of livestock methane. African countries can now develop more sophisticated estimates of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions following Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approval of 18 new methane-emission factors for African domestic ruminants developed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The IPCC had previously assumed, for lack of data, an average of 32 kilograms of methane per animal per year for all African ruminants, irrespective of production system, diet type or other factors. 5 4 refine estimates of their livestock systems’ contribution to global methane emissions. This will benefit poor livestock keepers in Africa, who could be hurt by miscalculated policies designed to reduce GHG emissions by cutting herds. Irrigate less for more. The International Rice Research Institute and partners started systematically investigating in 2002 a form of intermittent irrigation called alternate wetting and drying (AWD), which can save 30% of water input without compromising rice yield. Research enhanced understanding of agro-hydrology, soil and plant responses to water stress, and appropriate nutrient and weed management. Since 2004, IRRI has organized training to enhance national partners’ capacity to carry out participatory research to validate AWD and develop extension materials to help farmers implement it. Tens of thousands farmers in Bangladesh, more than 60,000 in the Philippines and thousands in Vietnam’s An Giang Province have adopted AWD. A study conducted by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute reports a consequent reduction in water use of 15-30%, cutting costs by US$67-97 per hectare. Adoption potential exists in most of Asia’s irrigated rice area, especially where water can become scarce and farmers have to pay for pumping. AWD promises to help alleviate the water scarcity that is otherwise likely to affect 15-20 million hectares of irrigated rice by 2025. Seeds of hope. Allanblackia is an indigenous African tree with seed oil excellent for food spreads such as margarine. As current wild harvesting in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania extracts only small volumes, domesticating allanblackia is a goal of the Novella Project, a public-private partnership of the World Agroforestry Centre, Unilever, World Conservation Union, TechnoServe, and forestry research institutes and companies in Ghana and Tanzania. The aim is to bring the best traits found in the wild — regular fruiting, large fruit and vigorous growth — together in superior trees that smallholders can sustainably and profitably cultivate. Unilever estimates the current market potential for oil at more than 100,000 tons annually and aims eventually to use allanblackia for 10% of its vegetable oil needs. Since the World Agroforestry Centre was invited in 2004 to bring to the initiative its experience in domesticating wild fruit trees, researchers have characterized the genetic diversity of allanblackia, identified superior traits and individuals, and developed improved vegetative propagation for multiplying allanblackia planting material. A participatory approach to domestication (local collection and selection of germplasm) is being applied to maximize livelihood benefits for farmers. Market supply chains have been established for seed, and smallholders planted 22,000 trees in 2009. ILRI has actively improved GHG emission factors for African domestic ruminants since 2005. Combining state-of-the-art spatial information on animal numbers, production systems and seasonal feed use with detailed models of animal production, ILRI was the first to disaggregate methane emission factors by production system for all African countries. With the IPCC’s adoption of the factors, 12 for cattle and 6 for sheep and goats, African countries can now CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 47 CGIAR in the Media FIGURE 1 NEWSWORTHY AND NOTED The CGIAR boosted its presence in the media in 2009, as outlets covered research on an array of subjects affecting food security and rural poverty in a changing world CGIAR Press Hits in 2009 3,500 3,000 NUMBER OF ARTICLES 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL 3,204 2,453 1,519 1,778 2,000 1,809 1,407 1,127 1,442 1,257 908 1,239 MAY JUNE MONTH IN 2009 JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER Source: Meltwater News, 2010 Throughout the year, CGIAR communicators highlighted to the public the relevance and impact of agricultural research and demonstrated how research translates to results on the ground, earning over 20,000 press hits globally in 2009. Collaboration between the CGIAR Secretariat Communications Team and the 15 CGIAR Centers to promote agricultural research contributed significantly to this coverage. The following are main CGIAR stories promoted to the media through this collaboration in 2009. A spike in September (Figure 1) coincided with the passing of Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution. African soils revealed. In January, the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture launched the African Soil Information Service, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (see Up Close with African Soil on page 22). Media outreach surrounding the launch resulted in about 40 news agency, print, broadcast and online stories, including original stories by Kenya’s Business Daily, Time magazine, Nature, Science and Reuters. Sea change. February saw the promotion of a WorldFish Center study on the expected implications for the poor of climate change impacts on fisheries worldwide. The study identified fishery-dependent countries that were most vulnerable (see Future Shock for Fishers on page 34). Nearly 50 news stories resulted, including coverage by Agence France-Presse (AFP), Bloomberg, BBC News, Reuters, New Scientist, Nature Reports Climate Change, Voice of America, and Radio France Internationale’s Quotidien de la Mer program. Wheat stem rust. In March, a story promotion centered on a Borlaug Global Rust Initiative workshop in Mexico. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the 48 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS United States government and others, the initiative is coordinated by Cornell University in the USA, with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT by its Spanish abbreviation) and International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) playing major roles. At the workshop, wheat experts from 40 countries reported on advances in monitoring the spread of a new stem rust pathogen Ug99, in developing wheat lines with durable resistance to it, and in gearing up national seed systems to replace susceptible varieties with resistant ones to forestall a rust pandemic in the Middle East and South Asia. Media outreach gave rise to more than 40 stories from nearly a dozen news services, including Spain’s EFE, AFP, Associated Press and Reuters; a similar number of print publications, such as the Guardian and New Scientist in the United Kingdom, The Hindu in India, and El Universal and La Jornada in Mexico; and various online outlets. Conservation through carbon. The promotion of a study by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and partners that quantifi ed the potential of carbon payments to safeguard threatened tropical mammals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulted in significant global media coverage, including stories by several wire services, such as Associated Press, Reuters and AFP, as well as original online stories by BBC News, Discovery News and Scientific American Online. Cropland to pasture. Another climate change story cited a prediction by the International farmer-to-farmer extension generated strong media interest in June. Carried out by Africa Rice Center researchers, the study was published in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. Extensive media coverage included an interview broadcast by Channel Africa of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), a New Scientist article and numerous online stories. Reclaiming land. Another story promoted extensively in sub-Saharan Africa in June concerned an innovative approach to reclaiming degraded lands. Developed by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), it includes rebuilding the fertility of degraded soils, water management and general land reclamation using drought-tolerant trees and annuals, with significant involvement of women farmers. The story was picked up by the BBC World Service, Voice of America, a number of African newspapers such as Nigeria’s Financial Standard, and online outlets. Afghan rehabilitation. Media outreach carried out during July regarding CGIAR research to support agricultural renewal in Afghanistan stoked interest in CIMMYT and ICARDA wheat improvement to bolster the country’s food security. Coverage included an Inter Press Service story and a Voice of America interview. VIPs for women scientists. A visit in August by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack with African Women in A study by the Center for International Forestry Research and partners showed that forest conservation would preserve the habitat of some of the world’s most threatened mammals Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) that by 2050 climate change will have rendered nearly a million square kilometers of African farmland unsuitable even for subsistence crops, with important implications for the role of livestock in human livelihoods. Several wire services, including Bloomberg and the Pan African News Agency, covered the study, and the BBC World Service aired an interview with the ILRI researcher. The promotion generated extensive online pickup, including by The Citizen in South Africa, The Straits Times of Singapore and Scientific American. Farmer to farmer. A story promotion on using radio and video to drive innovation in agriculture and CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 49 role of agroforestry in climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as in combating hunger and poverty in developing countries. Prominently covered was a new study that used detailed satellite imagery to show that nearly half of all farmed landscapes worldwide include significant tree cover (see Data on Trees on page 33). Highlights included stories by several wire services, including China’s Xinhua News Agency and Spain’s Agencia EFE; extensive online coverage, including excellent stories by TIME.com and New Scientist Online; radio interviews broadcast by Radio France Internationale, Voice of America and others; and newspaper articles published in Kenya and many other countries around the world. Dry discussions. Climate change and new developments in monitoring and assessing dryland degradation constituted the story promoted in connection with the global scientific conference Understanding Desertification and Land Degradation Trends, which took place in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event was organized by the Dryland Science for Development Consortium, in which ICARDA and ICRISAT play key roles. The promotion resulted in significant coverage, including stories in six languages reaching 18 countries. Highlights of the coverage were wire stories by AFP, Agencia EFE, Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur and the Inter Press Service; interviews broadcast by BBC Network Africa, the Earthbeat Program of Radio Netherlands and SABC’s Channel Africa; and original stories on the United Kingdom’s SciDev.Net and Argentina’s La Nación. A visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development program in Nairobi highlighted the importance of putting women at the center of efforts to reduce hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural Research for Development in Nairobi generated significant media interest. In presentations to the dignitaries, Kenyan women scientists stressed the importance of putting women at the center of efforts to reduce hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. This message was conveyed by BBC Network Africa, several top regional wire services and a number of African newspapers, including Kenya’s Nairobi Star and Uganda’s Daily Monitor. Water management. Important new research findings presented in August by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) at World Water Week in Stockholm drew strong media coverage. An IWMI report called for restoring neglected irrigation systems in Asia to prevent the need in coming decades for massive food imports. Highlights of the coverage included a front-page story in the Guardian and stories in the Financial Times and New Scientist in the United Kingdom, France’s Le Figaro and Le Monde, the Irish Times, and in India, the Hindustan Times. The promotion generated several wire stories and radio interviews by the BBC World Service and others. Focus on agroforestry. The Second World Agroforestry Congress, jointly hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre and the United Nations Environment Programme in August, generated significant media interest in the 50 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS A comprehensive new study of irrigation in Asia by the International Water Management Institute and partners warns that, without major reforms and innovations in the way water is used for agriculture, many developing nations face the politically risky prospect of having to import more than a quarter of the rice, wheat and maize they need by 2050. At Agricultural and Rural Development Day and Forest Day, events held in conjunction with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings in December, dignitaries, farmers, researchers and development experts called on negotiators to address food security, rural poverty and the threat of climate change through an integrated landscape approach. Anticipating climate change. A story promotion conducted in November centered on a report published in the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Systems on the use of simulation models to project the likely impacts of climate change on East Africa’s vital maize and bean harvests over the next 2 to 4 decades. Revealing great diversity within and between countries, the results guide countries toward seizing opportunities to intensify farming in favored locations and cushioning the blow on rural people in more vulnerable areas. The promotion yielded coverage by several international outlets, including a story by Deutsche Presse-Agentur that was picked up by more than a dozen major publications, notably Die Zeit, Berliner Zeitung and Focus magazine. Climate conference. In the run-up to the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15), the CGIAR launched a blog called Rural Climate Exchange (http://cgiarclimatechange.wordpress.com/), which created a steady stream of news on agriculture and climate change, emphasizing CGIAR research and advocacy. During the first week of COP15, four CGIAR experts on climate change held a press briefing to launch a report prepared by the CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. A dozen journalists attended the event, including reporters from the BBC, The Economist, Reuters and SciDev.Net, who placed stories in key international outlets. Several prominent journalists also attended Agriculture and Rural Development Day on December 12 (see One Fine Day on page 36), including reporters from the Associated Press, Reuters, Der Spiegel in Germany, Inter Press Service, Nature News, ABC Radio in Australia and Bloomberg. CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 51 A GLOBAL CGIAR Placement markers are approximate and indicate city locations. CENTER REGIONAL OFFICES CGIAR MEMBERS (as defined through December 2009) 52 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Executive Summary of the 2009 CGIAR Financial Results CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 53 The 2009 financial outcome1 presented here is an aggregation of the audited financial statements of the 15 Centers and the 5 Challenge Programs supported by the CGIAR. These statements are prepared and audited in accordance with fiduciary management and reporting standards approved by the CGIAR to guide the Centers, and they are consistent with relevant international standards. The aggregation, analyses and reports, including this summary, were produced through a joint effort of a team from the International Rice Research Institute, comprising Norman A. Macdonald, Melba M. Aquino, and Rodelita D. Panergalin, and the CGIAR Fund Office. 1. The outcome is reported in United States dollars. 54 From Research To Results Executive Summary of the 2009 CGIAR Financial Results Background The extensive reforms that the CGIAR approved in 2008 were in transition to full implementation in 2009. A major component of the reforms was a change in the financing architecture of the CGIAR anchored on establishing the CGIAR Fund to serve as a new multi-donor, multiyear funding mechanism providing financing to priority areas of agricultural research. Although the Fund was not yet operationalized in 2009, this new financing architecture caused significant anxiety on the part of the Centers about both the quantity and the quality of funding expected in 2009. The structural changes called for in the reforms (e.g., establishing the Consortium of CGIAR Centers and the Fund Council and transforming the CGIAR Secretariat into the Fund Office) also promised important changes in fiduciary oversight and management in the system. In addition, external factors — the food price crisis and the financial crisis — raised considerable concern about CGIAR funding in 2009. Overview The financial results indicate that these concerns did not have the adverse impact on the quantity and quality of CGIAR funding that was feared. Total System 2 revenues in 2009 were $629 million, an increase of $76 million (14%) from $553 million in 2008. The improvement in revenue came from increases in contributions from Members and non-members for both the research program and transition management. Contributions increased by $75 million to $606 million. This increase takes into account a $2 million foreign exchange gain on contributions not denominated in US dollars. Expenditure in 2009 was $603 million, an increase of $61 million (11%) over 2008. The net result was a surplus of $26 million. Typically, Centers use an operating surplus to build reserves. In comparison with the financing plan approved at the 2008 Annual General Meeting, actual total revenues for $629 million are 16% higher, and the $26 million surplus compares with a planned deficit of $35 million. Overall Financial Outcome A summary of the CGIAR program outcome for 2009, compared with the approved and the actual outcome for 2008, is shown in Table 1. Highlights of the System’s 2009 financial performance are shown in Exhibit 1 with comparative information for the previous 4 years. Contributions Of the total contributions of $606 million, 34% was unrestricted, lower than the 36% unrestricted funding in 2008 in percentage terms but $13 million (7%) higher in absolute terms. Correspondingly, restricted contributions increased by $62 million from $339 million in 2008 to $401 million in 2009, or 66% of funding in 2009. Exhibit 2 shows contributions to the CGIAR by source and type. 2 The CGIAR System comprises the 15 Centers supported by the CGIAR, Challenge Programs and System Offices. cgiar. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 55 TABLE 1 FIGURE 1 Summary of 2009 CGIAR-Approved Program vs Actual Outcome ($ million) CGIAR contributions, 2009 ($ million) Actual 2009 Outcome Expenditure Centers Challenge Programs System-level activities Total expenditure Revenue Funding Centers Challenge Programs System-level activities1 Subtotal funding Earned income Total revenue Net operating result 1 System Offi ce units, governance and transition management 2 CGIAR Annual General Meeting 2008 1 2009 Plan Approved at AGM082 Actual 2008 Outcome 250 200 150 220 213 Centers Partners 530 29 25 19 603 508 24 34 10 576 474 34 18 16 542 100 50 0 EUROPE 121 92 79 78 33 NORTH AMERICA INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 125 92 28 19 20 9 8 NON-MEMBERS PACIFIC RIM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOUNDATIONS 534 53 19 606 23 629 26 473 38 10 521 20 541 (35) 463 52 16 531 22 553 11 2009 2008 and foundations stayed at about the same as in 2008. Included in overall contributions was $7.6 million from 15 donors for transition management, as shown in Table 2.3 Members contribute in their national currency, which Centers then report in US dollar equivalent. In 2009, the impact of exchange rate movements on contributions was a net gain of about $2 million, compared with a net loss of about $3 million in 2008. The movement of the US dollar against selected currencies of contribution and expenditure during 2009 is shown in Table 3. Contributions from the top 15 Members accounted for 66% of funding in 2009. The United States of America was the largest donor, followed by the World Bank. India was the highest contributor among developing countries. The top contributors among all Members and those among developing countries in 2009 and 2008 are shown in Table 4. Resource Allocation Total CGIAR expenditure in 2009 increased by $61 million (11%) to $603 million. The following paragraphs summarize at the System level, resource allocation by object of expenditure and by CGIAR developing region. As shown in Figure 1, the increase in 2009 contributions came mainly from North America and non-members, especially the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The United States of America increased its contribution by $21 million (36%) from $58 million in 2008 to $79 million in 2009, while Gates increased its contribution by $18 million (42%) from $43 million in 2008 to $61 million in 2009. Changes in contributions from other member groups were as follows: Europe increased by $7 million (3%), the Pacific Rim increased by$5 million (18%), developing countries decreased by $1 million (5%), and international and regional organizations 3 A separate report on the use of these contributions, Implementing Change and Reform in the CGIAR, was published in May 2010 and shared with contributing donors. 56 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS TABLE 2 TABLE 3 CGIAR Transition Management Funding, 2009 ($ million) Movement of USD versus Other Major Currencies Contribution Currencies Currency Currency Unit per USD 2008 2009 Movement1 Australia Canada China France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands New Zealand Norway Rockefeller Foundation Switzerland United Kingdom USA World Bank Total 0.21 0.08 0.03 0.04 1.13 0.07 0.15 0.50 0.27 0.15 0.50 0.24 Expenditure Basket Currency Currency Unit per USD 2008 2009 Movement 1 YEN GBP CAD NOK SEK CHF 90.38 0.69 1.22 7.06 7.77 1.06 92.24 0.63 1.01 5.81 7.19 1.04 2% -9% -17% -18% -7% -2% EUR2 COP INR NGN KES PHP 0.71 2,251.71 49.72 141.07 84.00 47.69 0.70 2,064.63 46.89 152.35 79.17 46.42 -1% -8% -6% 8% -6% -3% 1 Negative movement indicates depreciation of the USD vs the other currency. 2 Euro is prominent in both expenditure and contributions. CAD = Canadian dollar, CHF = Swiss franc, COP = Colombian peso, EUR = euro, GBP = United Kingdom pound, KES = Kenyan shilling, INR = Indian rupee, NGN = Nigerian naira, NOK = Norwegian kroner, PHP = Philippine peso, SEK = Swedish kroner, USD = United States dollar, YEN = Japanese yen. TABLE 4 1.61 0.15 2.46 7.60 Top Member Contributions ($ million) 2009 Industrialized Countries and Multilateral Organizations United States of America World Bank Canada United Kingdom European Commission 78.9 50.0 42.4 41.6 40.7 United States of America World Bank United Kingdom Canada European Commission 2008 58.0 50.0 45.4 34.1 32.6 Expenditure by Object. As shown in Figure 2, the pattern of expenditure by object did not change significantly from 2008, with personnel cost maintaining the largest share at 42%. Expenditure by Region. As shown in Figure 3, the allocation of expenditure by region in 2009 broadly reflects the pattern seen in the past several years, confirming the CGIAR’s focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Developing Countries India China Mexico Colombia Brazil 7.2 3.1 1.2 1.1 0.8 India Nigeria China Kenya Mexico 7.5 2.6 1.1 1.0 0.8 CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 57 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 Expenditure by Object Travel 7% Collaboration & partnerships 18% Depreciation 6% Collaboration & partnerships 16% Travel 8% Depreciation 3% Expenditure by Region Central and West Asia & North Africa 7% Latin America & Caribbean 13% Latin America & Caribbean 12% Central and West Asia & North Africa 10% 2009 Personnel 42% 2008 Personnel 44% 2009 Sub-Saharan Africa 51% 2008 Sub-Saharan Africa 47% Supplies & services 27% Supplies & services 29% FIGURE 4 Asia 29% Asia 31% Center Perspectives The contribution increase noted at the System level is the aggregate of a range of outcomes at individual Centers. Total contributions for 12 Centers increased in 2009, as was the case in 2008. Contributions to WorldFish and Bioversity decreased by 7% and 3% respectively. ICRISAT remained at the same level. Financial results (contributions plus Center-earned income, less expenditure) showed that 12 Centers ended the year with a surplus, as in 2008. As a percentage of total revenues, AfricaRice and CIMMYT had surpluses of 12%, IWMI and IFPRI had surpluses of 11% and 8% respectively, and eight Centers had surpluses of 5% or less. Bioversity, IRRI and WorldFish had defi cits of 2% or less, which were planned as measures to increase investments in research. Figure 4 illustrates the financial results by Center. Exhibit 3 provides the 2009 financial results by Center and for the System as a whole, including results for those portions of Challenge Programs implemented by CGIAR partners, and compares these with 2008. Exhibit 4 provides an overview of the System’s finances (expenditure allocation and financing). Exhibit 5 summarizes the System’s overall financial position from 2005 to 2009. Summary of Challenge Programs During the year, $58 million was available for Challenge Programs, compared with $45 million in 2008, or an increase of 29%. Expenditure of $54 million in 2009 resulted in the net increase of $4 million to the cumulative balance of Challenge Program funds. Exhibit 6 summarizes Challenge Program funding and expenditure. Financial Results by Center 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 -0.5 -1.0 6.1 4.7 3 $ million 2.6 2.2 2.1 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.2 1.2 0.6 -0.2 -0.2 -0.5 WORLD AGROFORESTRY AFRICARICE WORLDFISH CIMMYT ICRISAT IITA ICARDA POSITIVE OUTCOME DEFICIT OUTCOME Conclusion The increase in funding demonstrates a global recommitment to agriculture and donor support for the reforms, as well as the Centers’ continuing strong capacity for fi duciary management. The positive results further strengthen the financial position of the Centers, positioning them to better cope with both internal and external challenges in the coming years. 58 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS BIOVERSITY IFPRI IWMI ILRI CIAT CIFOR IRRI CIP EXHIBIT 1 CGIAR Program and Resource Highlights Actual Revenues ($ million) Agenda funding (of which unrestricted) Earned income Total 450 43% 10.3 460 426 42% 22.4 448 495 36% 25.2 520 531 36% 22.3 553 606 34% 23.3 629 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Agenda funding ($ million) Members Europe North America Pacific Rim Developing countries Foundations International and regional organizations Subtotal Non-members Total 197 91 24 15 14 72 413 37 450 169 88 22 14 14 74 381 45 426 222 91 22 15 12 76 438 57 495 213 92 28 20 8 78 439 92 531 220 121 33 19 9 79 481 125 606 Top three Member contributors USA USA World Bank World Bank United Kingdom United Kingdom EC USA USA World Bank World Bank United Kingdom USA World Bank Canada Staffing (number) Internationally recruited Nationally recruited Total 1,100 6,774 7,874 1,115 7,039 8,154 1,096 6,986 8,082 1,163 6,904 8,067 1,238 6,922 8,160 Object of expenditure Personnel costs Supplies & services Collaboration & partnerships Travel Depreciation 45% 27% 16% 8% 4% 452 47% 27% 14% 8% 4% 458 44% 30% 15% 7% 4% 506 44% 29% 16% 8% 3% 542 42% 27% 18% 7% 6% 603 Total expenditure ($ million) Expenditure by region Sub-Saharan Africa Asia Latin America & the Caribbean Central and West Asia & North Africa 46% 30% 14% 10% 8 48% 29% 14% 9% (10) 48% 29% 13% 10% 14 47% 31% 12% 10% 11 51% 29% 13% 7% 26 Result of operations [surplus/(deficit) in $ million] Center financial information ($ million) Unrestricted net assets excluding fixed assets 158 145 159 165 199 Liquidity indicators Working capital (days expenditure) Current ratio 155 1.9 149 1.8 161 1.7 150 1.6 159 1.6 Adequacy of reserve indicator Net assets excl. fixed assets (days expenditure) 137 124 127 123 134 Fixed asset indicators Capital expenditure ($ million) Capital expenditure/depreciation 15.8 101% 16.8 107% 18.7 110% 21.2 119% 30.9 95% Efficiency of operations indicator Indirect cost ratio 21% 20% 20% 19% 17% CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 59 Cash management on restricted operations Restricted accounts receivable ratio 0.80 0.46 0.33 0.36 0.18 EXHIBIT 2 CGIAR Funding by Member, 2009 ($ million) Unrestricted 60 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Restricted 2.3 1.7 0.9 40.7 0.5 3.3 13.2 3.5 2.9 0.8 6.2 3.0 0.2 2.5 6.7 10.1 20.3 118.8 27.7 55.0 82.7 7.9 13.6 1.1 0.9 23.5 42.4 78.9 121.3 13.1 16.1 1.5 2.1 32.8 2.3 10.6 6.4 40.7 4.8 5.3 23.8 9.7 6.3 0.8 14.5 15.5 0.4 2.6 15.0 19.7 41.6 220.0 Total EUROPE Austria Belgium Denmark European Commission Finland France1 Germany1 Ireland 1 Italy1 Luxembourg Netherlands1 Norway1 Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland 1 United Kingdom1 Subtotal NORTH AMERICA Canada1 United States of America1 14.7 23.9 38.6 5.2 2.5 0.4 1.2 9.3 0.1 0.7 0.01 0.3 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.01 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.03 0.02 3.5 152.7 0.5 0.5 8.9 5.5 4.3 2.0 10.6 6.2 3.4 8.3 12.5 0.2 0.1 8.3 9.6 21.3 101.2 Subtotal PACIFIC RIM Australia1 Japan Korea, Republic of New Zealand1 Subtotal DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Bangladesh Brazil China1 Colombia Cote d’Ivoire Egypt, Arab Republic of India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Kenya Malaysia Mexico Nigeria Pakistan Peru Philippines South Africa Syria, Arab Republic of Thailand Turkey Uganda Subtotal Total Member Countries FOUNDATIONS Ford Foundation IDRC Kellogg Foundation Rockefeller Foundation1 Syngenta Foundation 0.01 0.8 2.4 1.1 0.2 6.4 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.1 1.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.3 15.0 240.0 0.5 3.6 0.3 1.5 2.1 8.0 0.1 0.8 3.1 1.1 0.01 0.5 7.2 0.2 0.6 0.3 0.1 1.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 18.5 392.7 0.5 3.6 0.3 2.0 2.1 8.5 Subtotal INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ADB AfDB Arab Fund FAO Gulf Cooperation Council IDB IFAD OPEC Fund UNDP UNEP World Bank1 Subtotal Total Organizations Non-members Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Others 1.3 50.0 51.3 204.5 3.1 0.7 1.3 4.2 0.7 1.5 9.1 0.5 2.4 4.7 28.2 276.2 3.1 0.7 1.3 5.5 0.7 1.5 9.1 0.5 2.4 4.7 50.0 79.5 480.7 Subtotal Grand Total 1 Includes contribution for CGIAR transition management. 0.5 0.5 61.0 63.5 124.5 61.0 64.0 125.0 205 401 606 EXHIBIT 3 Financial Results by Center ($ million) 2009 Center AfricaRice Bioversity CIAT CIFOR CIMMYT CIP ICARDA ICRISAT IFPRI IITA ILRI IRRI IWMI World Agroforestry WorldFish Subtotal System level System-level activities Unallocated Member funding Subtotal Less inter-Center activities Subtotal System level Total Plus Challenge Program partners Total CGIAR Program Agenda funding 1 22.3 35.7 48.0 23.6 48.8 32.7 31.8 47.8 62.5 48.9 54.7 48.1 28.2 33.5 17.3 584 Earned income 0.1 0.1 1.2 0.3 1.6 0.6 1.3 4.2 0.6 3.8 3.8 1.8 0.5 3.0 0.4 23 Total revenue Expenditure 22.4 35.8 49.2 23.9 50.4 33.3 33.1 52.0 63.1 52.7 58.5 49.9 28.7 36.5 17.7 607 19.8 36.3 47.0 22.7 44.3 31.8 32.5 49.9 58.4 51.3 57.3 50.1 25.7 34.9 17.9 580 Result 2.6 (0.5) 2.2 1.2 6.1 1.5 0.6 2.1 4.7 1.4 1.2 (0.2) 3.0 1.6 (0.2) 27 Agenda funding 12.5 37.0 46.3 21.3 40.8 27.4 30.1 48.0 49.9 48.4 39.9 37.5 26.1 29.3 18.6 513 Earned income 0.3 1.1 1.9 0.6 2.3 0.5 1.8 2.6 0.4 2.9 4.2 0.3 0.7 2.0 0.7 22 2008 Total revenue Expenditure 12.8 38.1 48.2 21.9 43.1 27.9 31.9 50.6 50.3 51.3 44.1 37.8 26.8 31.3 19.3 535 10.9 37.9 47.3 20.6 41.7 27.6 32.0 47.9 48.3 51.0 42.6 41.4 25.2 28.3 20.8 523 Result 1.9 0.2 0.9 1.3 1.4 0.3 (0.1) 2.7 2.0 0.3 1.5 (3.6) 1.6 3.0 (1.5) 12 18.9 (0.7) 18.2 (20.3) (2.1) 582 24.0 606 23 23 18.9 (0.7) 18.2 (20.3) (2.1) 605 24.0 629 18.9 18.9 (20.3) (1.4) 578 24.5 603 (0.7) (0.7) (0.7) 27 (0.5) 26 16.1 (0.6) 15.5 (15.8) (0.3) 513 18.3 531 22 22 16.1 (0.6) 15.5 (15.8) (0.3) 535 18.3 553 16.1 16.1 (15.8) 0.3 524 18.3 542 (0.6) (0.6) (0.6) 11 11 1 Funding may differ from Centers’ audited financial statements due to system-level adjustments. CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 61 EXHIBIT 4 Center Finances, 2009 ($ million) Expenditure allocation Financing Member funding Reserves Non- Inter-Center members activities Total funding 1 Earned income Addition / (Draw) Center Personnel Supplies & services Collaboration & partnerships Travel Depreciation Total Europe North America Pacific Rim Developing Intl & regnl countries Foundations organizations AfricaRice Bioversity CIAT CIFOR CIMMYT CIP ICARDA ICRISAT IFPRI IITA ILRI IRRI IWMI World Agroforestry WorldFish Subtotal System-level System-level activities Unallocated Member funding Subtotal Less inter-Center activities Subtotal System-level 6.4 20.6 22.6 9.4 17.9 12.7 12.4 23.6 25.3 19.9 19.3 19.6 12.0 14.3 8.8 245 5.6 7.3 8.9 5.5 12.9 10.9 10.9 12.9 10.0 18.0 15.1 13.0 8.0 13.1 3.8 156 5.7 6.3 10.3 5.5 8.1 4.3 4.1 7.7 18.2 8.3 6.2 10.6 2.8 3.7 3.4 105 1.0 1.6 2.9 1.7 2.4 2.4 3.8 3.5 4.1 3.7 3.2 3.8 2.3 3.0 1.7 41 1.0 0.5 2.3 0.6 3.0 1.5 1.3 2.2 0.8 1.4 13.5 3.1 0.6 0.8 0.2 33 19.8 36.3 47.0 22.7 44.3 31.8 32.5 49.9 58.4 51.3 57.3 50.1 25.7 34.9 17.9 580 18.9 4.0 21.4 16.0 14.1 10.3 13.8 10.0 12.9 23.6 13.3 15.2 9.0 16.1 14.1 7.3 201 4.1 4.3 1.9 9.0 1.7 9.1 6.3 3.9 6.9 14.3 19.1 26.7 6.3 2.5 4.0 4.5 120 0.3 6.4 1.0 1.5 1.6 4.5 1.3 2.7 1.5 1.1 0.4 0.3 6.3 1.2 0.5 1.9 32 0.5 1.2 0.8 0.9 0.1 2.4 0.8 2.4 5.4 0.6 0.1 0.4 2.0 0.9 0.4 0.8 19 0.0 (0.7) (0.6) 0.2 0.8 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.8 0.7 0.3 1.4 0.5 0.2 0.3 8 0.5 2.6 7.3 4.8 2.9 2.8 3.1 6.7 5.3 7.1 4.6 2.9 6.0 3.8 3.9 1.7 65 13.5 1.4 2.6 13.1 1.9 15.9 5.4 5.7 13.7 14.2 7.4 5.0 17.6 2.7 9.4 1.0 117 2.4 0.5 1.9 0.3 3.1 1.3 0.1 1.3 0.9 3.7 2.8 0.4 0.8 0.9 0.1 20 22.3 35.7 48.0 23.6 48.8 32.7 31.8 47.8 62.5 48.9 54.7 48.1 28.2 33.5 17.3 584 18.9 (0.7) 18.3 0.1 0.1 1.2 0.3 1.6 0.6 1.3 4.2 0.6 3.8 3.8 1.8 0.5 3.0 0.4 23 2.6 (0.5) 2.2 1.2 6.1 1.5 0.6 2.1 4.7 1.4 1.2 (0.2) 3.0 1.6 (0.2) 27 (0.7) (0.7) 18.9 (20.3) (1) 4.1 0.3 0.5 0.5 13.5 (20.3) (20.3) (2) (0.7) 4 0 1 (1) 1 13 (20) Total Plus Challenge Program partners Total CGIAR program 245 10.3 255 156 6.6 163 105 4.4 109 41 1.7 43 33 1.5 34 579 24.5 603 205 15.0 220 121 0.4 121 33 19 8 0.2 79 0.4 79 117 8.0 125 0 582 24.0 23 27 (0.5) 33 19 9 0 606 23 26 1 Funding may differ from Centers’ audited financial statements due to system-level adjustments. 62 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS EXHIBIT 5 CGIAR System Financial Position ($ thousand) 2005 Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents Accounts receivable Members Employees Others Inventories Pre-paid expenses Other current assets Total current assets 346,719 348,024 6,580 943 3,401 3,140 4,063 1,812 435,985 4,593 6,001 5,539 22,280 20,952 26,689 4,105 4,726 3,727 83,907 56,363 65,101 79,766 3,437 27,171 5,833 4,354 2,283 482,895 68,824 3,765 30,729 4,662 4,165 2,437 594,821 221,853 255,899 329,054 360,051 480,239 2006 2007 2008 2009 Noncurrent assets Net property, plant and equipment Investments Other assets Total noncurrent assets 125,734 1,223 46,642 77,869 78,277 41,020 7,076 126,373 76,177 52,819 6,748 135,744 78,507 61,265 2,279 142,051 75,892 80,204 3,704 159,800 Total assets Liabilities and net assets 472,453 474,397 571,729 624,946 754,621 Current liabilities Accounts payable Members Employees Others Accruals and provisions Total current liabilities 119,497 14,514 44,430 24,086 202,527 112,065 19,024 49,254 25,938 206,281 172,599 19,727 63,378 30,563 286,267 196,601 17,890 86,142 32,869 333,502 230,828 19,770 136,122 39,667 426,387 Long-term liabilities Total liabilities Net assets 31,897 42,383 48,016 46,184 51,548 234,424 248,664 334,283 379,686 477,935 Unrestricted Unrestricted net assets excl fixed assets Fixed assets Unrestricted net assets 157,966 77,869 235,835 145,089 78,277 223,365 158,867 76,177 235,044 164,599 78,507 243,106 198,752 75,892 274,644 Restricted Total net assets 2,194 238,029 2,368 225,733 2,402 237,446 2,154 245,260 2,042 276,686 CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 63 Total liabilities and net assets 472,453 474,397 571,729 624,946 754,621 EXHIBIT 6 Summary of Challenge Programs, 2009 ($ million) Funds Available Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation European Commission France Italy IFAD Sweden Switzerland Syngenta Foundation United Kingdom USA Zinc Project Consortium World Bank Earned Income Total HarvestPlus 12.8 Water & Food 3.4 0.7 0.3 0.1 1.2 4.8 Generation 5.4 10.2 SSA 2.2 0.7 CCAFS Total 18.2 15.8 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.3 1.6 1.0 12.7 0.04 0.3 6.3 0.3 58.2 0.1 1.0 3.2 0.04 0.3 2.0 0.2 19.6 0.1 0.4 0.04 4.7 2.0 12.5 2.0 0.1 22.9 2.9 0.3 0.3 Expenditure AfricaRice Bioversity CIAT CIMMYT CIP ICARDA ICRISAT IFPRI IITA ILRI IRRI IWMI WorldFish HarvestPlus Center Others Water & Food Center Others Generation Center Others Center SSA Others CCAFS Center Others Center Total Others 0.02 2.0 1.0 0.4 0.03 0.6 4.8 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.2 5.1 1.4 8.6 18.8 0.8 23.8 24.6 2.3 8.9 1.3 10.2 2.3 0.3 0.3 1.1 1.1 0.7 0.3 2.0 0.1 0.3 1.4 0.5 1.4 0.5 0.3 0.8 4.9 2.8 1.1 0.7 2.6 5.6 1.1 0.5 2.2 5.1 1.4 4.3 6.8 (3.9) 7.5 3.6 (0.5) 0.8 0.8 (0.5) 29.2 24.5 53.7 4.5 37.9 42.4 0.1 Subtotal Total 2009 balance 2008 cumulative balance 2009 cumulative balance 10.2 7.6 9.5 17.1 5.8 6.6 12.4 2.5 64 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Who’s Who CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 65 CGIAR MEMBERS (as defined through December 2009) COUNTRIES Australia Austria Bangladesh Belgium Brazil Canada China Colombia Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Egypt, Arab Republic of Finland France Germany India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kenya Korea, Republic of Luxembourg Malaysia Mexico Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Pakistan Peru Philippines Portugal Romania Russian Federation South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Thailand Turkey Uganda United Kingdom United States REPRESENTATIVES Nick Austin Elisabeth Foerg Nurul Alam Joseph Kalders Elisio Contini Hélène Corneau Huajun Tang Arturo Vega Tiemoko Yo Lars Christian Oxe Ayman Abou Hadid Tuula Pehu Michel Dodet Marlene Diekmann Subbanna Ayyappan Wahjudi Wardojo Jahangir Porhemmat Emma Leonard Yakov Poleg Gioacchino Carabba Keiichi Sugita Romano Kiome Hong Kil Moon Miguel Marques Abdul Shukor bin Abdul Rahman Pedro Brajcich-Gallegos Zouttane El-Madani Wijnand Van Ijssel Andrea Stewart Baba Yusuf Abubakar Ruth Haug Muhammad Qureshi Miguel Barandiaran Nicomedes P. Eleazar Jorge Braga de Macedo Nicolae Hristea Olga Glukhovtseva Joseph Sebola Paloma Melgarejo Philip Chiverton Carmen Thoennissen Adel Safar Margaret Yoovatana Masum Burak Denis Kyetere Jonathan Wadsworth Robert Bertram ORGANIZATIONS Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Austrian Development Agency Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) Canadian International Development Agency Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources Ministry of Foreign Affairs Agricultural Research Center Ministry of Foreign Affairs French National Institute for Agricultural Research Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development Indian Council for Agricultural Research Forestry Research & Development Agency Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization Irish Aid Ministry of Agriculture and Science Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development Administration Ministry of Finance Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Foreign Affairs New Zealand Agency for International Development Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria Department of Agriculture Ministry of Science and Higher Education Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences Department of Agriculture Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Department of Agriculture Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs National Agricultural Research Organization Department for International Development United States Agency for International Development 66 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS FOUNDATIONS Ford Foundation International Development Research Centre Kellogg Foundation Rockefeller Foundation Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Charles Bailey Jean Lebel Rick Foster James K. Nyoro Marco Ferroni INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS African Development Bank Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development Asian Development Bank European Commission Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Gulf Cooperation Council of the Arab States Inter-American Development Bank International Fund for Agricultural Development OPEC Fund for International Development United Nations Development Programme United Nations Environment Programme World Bank Aly Abou-Sabaa Al-Hamad Abdulatif Katsuji Matsunami Marc Debois Alexander Müller Hilal Ambusaidi Hector R. Malarin Rodney Cooke Suleiman Al-Herbish Philip Dobie Angela Cropper Juergen Voegele CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 67 THE CGIAR IN 2009 CGIAR CHAIR Katherine Sierra Vice President, Sustainable Development Network, World Bank EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Chair: Katherine Sierra Co-sponsors: Juergen Voegele (World Bank) Rodney Cooke (IFAD) Alexander Müller (FAO) Alliance of the CGIAR Centers Executive Chair: Stephen Hall Science Council Chair: Roelof (Rudy) Rabbinge Global Forum on Agricultural Research Chair: Adel El-Beltagy OECD/DAC Americas: Robert Bertram (USA) Asia-Pacific: Hong-Kil Moon (Korea) Europe: Marc Debois (EC) Ruth Haug (Norway) Jonathan Wadsworth (UK) DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Americas: Eliseo Contini (Brazil) Asia-Pacific: Mangala Rai (India) CWANA: Jahangir Porhemmat (Iran) Regional Fora: Mario Allegri (FORAGRO) SSA: Baba Yusuf Abubakar (Nigeria) FOUNDATIONS Marco Ferroni (Syngenta) PARTNER William Niebur (Private Sector Committee Chair) EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, EXCO Ren Wang CGIAR SECRETARIAT Iftikhar Mostafa Jason Yauney CGIAR DIRECTOR Ren Wang STANDING COMMITTEES ADVISORY COMMITTEES SCIENCE COUNCIL Roelof (Rudy) Rabbinge, Chair Beatriz da Silveira Pinheiro Gebisa Ejeta Ken Fischer Hans Herren Jeffrey Sayer Derek Byerlee (ex-officio) STANDING PANEL ON IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SPIA) Derek Byerlee, Chair Ross Conner Mywish Maredia Zenda Ofir STANDING PANEL ON MONITORING AND EVALUATION (SPME) Ken Fischer, Chair Osvaldo Feinstein Paul Vlek SCIENCE COUNCIL SECRETARIAT Temporarily vacant, Executive Director Chris Deane, Senior Agricultural Research Officer Peter Gardiner, Senior Agricultural Research Officer Sirkka Immonen, Senior Agricultural Research Officer Timothy Kelley, Senior Agricultural Research Officer COSPONSORS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVES Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Alexander Müller International Fund for Agricultural Development: Rodney Cooke United Nations Development Programme: Philip Dobie World Bank: Juergen Voegele 68 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS Haruko Okusu, Agricultural Research Officer James Stevenson, Agricultural Research Officer Muriel Pougheon, Administrative Coordinator Anastasia Saltas, Administrative Assistant Nathalie Silvestri, Administrative Assistant Irmi Braun-Castaldi, Travel Coordinator Anna Maria Ventresca, Travel Assistant Genetic Resources Policy Committee (GRPC) Carlos Correa, Chair Teresita Borromeo Orlando de Ponti Benito Oldala Eliasi Emile Frison Anthony Gregson Dan Leskien Chee Yoke Ling Shadrack Moephuli Mahmoud Solh Carl-Gustaf Thornström Partnership Committee Private Sector Committee William S. Niebur, Chair Gisele d’Almeida Ergilio da Silva, Jr. Bernward J.H. Garthoff Peter Jeffries Raul Montemayor Surampudi Sivakumar Jan-Kees Vis Knut Hove, ILRI Gordon MacNeil, CIAT Nigel Poole, ICRISAT John Skerritt, IWMI Peter van der Zaag, CIP Elizabeth Woods, IRRI Alliance Executive (AE) Stephen Hall, WorldFish, AE Chair Pamela Anderson, CIP Colin Chartres, IWMI William Dar, ICRISAT Ruben Echeverria, CIAT Emile Frison, Bioversity Dennis Garrity, World Agroforestry Hartmann, IITA Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Papa Abdoulaye Seck, AfricaRice Carlos Seré, ILRI Frances Seymour, CIFOR Mahmoud Solh, ICARDA Joachim von Braun, IFPRI Robert Zeigler, IRRI Investor Relations Lystra Antoine, Senior Financial Officer/ Investor Relations Guillermo A. Eschoyez, Consultant Abena Akuffo-Akoto, Consultant Iman Hassan, Program Assistant Sabrin Jemil Aman, Team Assistant Information and Corporate Communications Laura Ivers, Senior Communications Officer Nathan Russell, Senior Communications Officer Danielle Lucca, Information Officer Catherine Mgendi, Media Specialist Amelia Goh, Junior Professional Associate Barbara Eckberg, Program Assistant Alliance of the CGIAR Centers Office Anne-Marie Izac, Chief Alliance Officer Fiona J.C. Chandler, Scientific Liaison Officer Veronica Lazzari, Program Assistant Central Advisory Service for Intellectual Property Victoria Henson-Apollonio, Manager Kay Chapman, Program Assistant Irina Curca, Program Assistant Chief Information Office Enrica Porcari, Chief Information Officer Tania Jordan, Technical Coordinator Antonella Pastore, Project Coordinator Michael Marus, Systems Development Specialist Internal Audit Gerardo Carstens, Acting Director Aidan Moore, Associate Director Erwin Lopez, Senior Internal Auditor Virginia Maria Salazar, Senior Internal Auditor Andrew Orlin, Internal Auditor Pauline Aluoch, Program Assistant Bill Fabian, Program Assistant Yunuhe Reyes, Program Assistant CGIAR SYSTEM OFFICE CGIAR Secretariat Ren Wang, Director Feroza Vatcha, Administrative Officer Josephine Hernandez, Senior Executive Assistant Anne Macharia, Team Assistant Governance and Partnerships Iftikhar Mostafa, Governance Adviser Manuel Lantin, Science Adviser Harry Palmier, Senior Liaison Officer1 Daniel Rocchi, Senior Liaison Officer2 Maria Iskandarani, Technical Specialist Jason Yauney, Operations Analyst Maria Eugenia Herrera Lara, Evaluation Specialist Salvacion Rabanillo, Program Assistant Finance Shey Tata, Lead Finance Officer Loriza Dagdag, Finance Officer Yenny Andrade Castillo, Program Assistant CENTER COMMITTEES Alliance Board (AB) Guido Gryseels, ICARDA, AB Chair Andrew J. Bennett, CIFOR Julio Berdegue, CIMMYT Getachew Engida, AfricaRice Ross Garnaut, IFPRI Remo Gautschi, WorldFish Anthony Gregson, Bioversity Lynn Haight, World Agroforestry Bryan Harvey, IITA 1 Special appointment, Institut de recherche pour le développement, France 2 Special appointment, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, France cgiar. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 69 THE CGIAR, 1971-2009 CGIAR CHAIRS, 1971-2009 Katherine Sierra, 2006Ian Johnson, 2000-2006 Ismail Serageldin, 1994-2000 V. Rajagopalan, 1991-1993 Wilfried Thalwitz, 1990-1991 W. David Hopper, 1987-1990 S. Shahid Hussain, 1984-1987 Warren Baum, 1974-1983 Richard H. Demuth, 1971-1974 CGIAR DIRECTORS, 2001-2009 Ren Wang, 2007Francisco J.B. Reifschneider, 2001-2007 SCIENCE COUNCIL CHAIRS, 2004-2009 Roelof (Rudy) Rabbinge, 2007Per Pinstrup-Andersen, 20042006 INTERIM SCIENCE COUNCIL CHAIR, 2001-2003 Emil Q. Javier, 2001-2003 TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES, 1971-2003 Shellemiah Keya, 1996-2003 Guido Gryseels, 1995-1996 John Monyo, 1985-1994 Alexander von der Osten, 1982-1985 Philippe Mahler, 1976-1982 Peter Oram, 1971-1976 CGIAR EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES, 1972-2001 Alexander von der Osten, 1989-2001 Curtis Farrar, 1982-1989 Michael Lejeune, 1975-1982 Harold Graves, 1972-1975 SCIENCE COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 2004-2009 Temporarily vacant, 2009Ruben Echeverria, 2004-2009 TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIRS, 1971-2001 Emil Q. Javier, 2000-2001 Donald Winkelmann, 1994-1999 Alex McCalla, 1988-1994 Guy Camus, 1982-1987 Ralph Cummings, 1977-1982 Sir John Crawford, 1971-1976 70 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS ABBREVIATIONS AB ADB AfDB AFP AfSIS AE AGM ARDD AWD BBC CA CAADP CATIE Alliance Board of the CGIAR Asian Development Bank African Development Bank Agence France-Presse African Soil Information Service Alliance Executive of the CGIAR Annual General Meeting of the CGIAR Agriculture and Rural Development Day alternate wetting and drying (intermittent irrigation) British Broadcasting Corporation conservation agriculture Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Centre), Costa Rica community-based fish culture Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical International (International Center for Tropical Agriculture), Colombia Center for International Forestry Research, Indonesia Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), Mexico Centro Internacional de la Papa (International Potato Center), Peru 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC Challenge Program on Water and Food of the CGIAR Central & West Asia and North Africa Development Assistance Committee of OECD European Commission Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) epIA ex-post impact assessment FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FORAGRO Fondo Regional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, (Forum for the Americas on Agricultural Research and Technology Development), Guatemala GCARD Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development GCP Generation Challenge Programme of the CGIAR GFAR Global Forum on Agricultural Research GHG greenhouse gas GRPC Genetic Resources Policy Committee of the CGIAR IBP Integrated Breeding Platform of the GCP ICARDA International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Syria ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, India IDB Islamic Development Bank IDRC International Development Research Centre IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAP International Federation of Agricultural Producers IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute, United States IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria CWANA DAC EC EIAR Embrapa International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya IP innovation platform IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IRRI International Rice Research Institute, Philippines ISPC Independent Science and Partnership Council of the CGIAR IWMI International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries REDD reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries ReSAKKS Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System SABC South African Broadcasting Corporation SPIA Standing Panel on Impact Assessment of the CGIAR SPME Standing Panel on Monitoring and Evaluation of the CGIAR SSA-CP Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program of the CGIAR TARAM tool for afforestation and reforestation approved methodologies TMT Transition Management Team of the CGIAR UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change US, USA United States of America ILRI CBFC CDM CGIAR CIAT CIFOR CIMMYT CIP COP15 CPWF CGIAR. ANNUAL REPORT. 2009 71 72 FROM RESEARCH TO RESULTS PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS Cover 1 and CD: Neil Palmer/CIAT P1: Neil Palmer/CIAT P3: Mike Goldwater/CGIAR G&D Program P4: CGIAR P6: Neil Palmer/ CIAT P7: Mike Goldwater/CGIAR G&D Program P8: Dominic Chavez P9: Neil Palmer/CIAT P10: Neil Palmer/CIAT P11: Neil Palmer/CIAT P14: IRRI P15: Neil Palmer/CIAT P16: Neil Palmer/CIAT P19: Mike Goldwater/CGIAR G&D Program P20: R. Raman/AfricaRice P21: S. Padulosi/Bioversity International P22: Neil Palmer/CIAT P23: Zenia Salinas P24: CIMMYT P25: S. De Haan/CIP P26: Geletu Bejiga/ICARDA P27: ICRISAT P28: Michele Pietrowski/IFPRI P29: R. Bandyopadhyay/IITA P30: Stevie Mann/ILRI P31: Gene Hettel/IRRI P32: Sharni Jayawardena/IWMI P33: World Agroforestry Centre P34: A. Ribier/WorldFish Center P35: Neil Palmer/CIAT P36: Neil Palmer/CIAT P37: Mark Prein/WorldFish Center P38: IRRI P39: Wolfgang Pfeiffer/HarvestPlus P40: SSA-CP P41: Neil Palmer/CIAT P43: Photos courtesy of CGIAR Science Award 2009 recipients P49: CIFOR P50: AWARD P51: IWMI (far left photo); Neil Palmer/CIAT (other photos) P53: Neil Palmer/CIAT P55: Neil Palmer/CIAT P72 and Cover 3: Curt Carnemark/World Bank PRODUCTION CREDITS Design: Patricia Hord.Grafik Design Editing: Peter Fredenburg Printing: District Creative Printing Inc Production: CGIAR Fund Office CGIAR Fund Office 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 USA TELEPHONE: 1 202 473 8951 FAX: 1 202 473 8110 EMAIL: cgiar@cgiar.org cgiarfund@cgiar.org www.cgiar.org www.cgiarfund.org Printed on environmentally friendly paper September 2010