3.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW
3.2 CURRENT PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES OF THE CGIAR IN LAC
3.3 OTHERS IARCS'S INVOLVED IN LAC
3.4 SYSTEMWIDE INITIATIVES
There is a presence of all 16 CGIAR centers in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Of these, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Centro Internacional del Maiz y el Trigo (CIMMYT), and Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) have their headquarters located in the region. These three centers represent approximately 27% of all the core budget of the CGIAR ($90 millions out of $325 millions, in 1996). Nevertheless, only 45% of these resources ($40 millions) are spent in regional programs, the rest being spent in activities outside of the region (Table 1). As a consequence, the resources spent by the three centers in the region represent about 12% of all resources available to the system.
On the other hand, the total expenditures of the system in the region is of the order of $58 millions, or 18% of the total resources of the system. Out of the total, $40 million, or 70%, are spent by the 3 centers located in the region. The remaining $18 million correspond to activities executed by other centers in LAC.
Table 1: Total and Regional Expenditures (in $ million)
|
|
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
||||
|
$ |
% |
$ |
% |
$ |
% |
$ |
% |
|
|
(1) Total CGIAR |
254.1 |
100.0% |
264.7 |
100.0% |
286 |
100.0% |
325 |
100.0% |
|
(2) Total CGIAR in LAC |
47.4 |
18.7% |
47 |
17.8% |
49 |
17.1% |
58 |
17.8% |
|
(3) Total CCC1 |
87.4 |
34.4% |
73.8 |
27.9% |
74.8 |
26.2% |
90.1 |
27.7% |
|
(4) TOTAL CCC in LAC |
33.8 |
13.3% |
34.2 |
12.9% |
34.2 |
12.0% |
40.1 |
12.3% |
|
(2)/(1)2 |
18.7% |
|
17.8% |
|
17.1% |
|
17.8% |
|
|
(4)/(3)3 |
38.7% |
|
46.3% |
|
45.7% |
|
44.5% |
|
1 Total expenditures of CIAT, CIMMYT and CIP (CCC)
2 Percentage of total CGIAR's expenditures in LAC
3 Percentage of total CCC's expenditures in LAC
According to the information shown in Table 2, CIAT is the Center that spends the largest share of its resources in LAC (71% of expenditures). CIMMYT and CIP only spend 27% and 25% of its resources in the region, respectively. Other important centers in the region, both in terms of absolute amount of resources spent in the region and in relative terms of its budgets, are: CIFOR, IPGRI, ILRI, IFPRI and ISNAR. With the exception of ILRI, all of these spend at least 20% of their resources in LAC. ILRI, spend only 8% of its resources in the region, contributing with more than $8 millions in activities.
Table 2: 1996 Regional Expenditures (in millions US$)
Nine ecoregions have been defined by the CGIAR for the region: (1) warm arid & semiarid tropics, (2) warm subhumid tropics, (3) warm humid tropics, (4) cool tropics, (5) warm arid and semiarid subtropics with summer rainfall, (6) warm subhumid subtropics with summer rainfall, (7) warm/cool humid subtropics with summer rainfall, (8) cool subtropics with summer rainfall, and (9) cool subtropics with winter rainfall.
1. International Potato Center (CIP)
2. Centro Internacional Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT)
3. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)
a) CIAT, CIMMYT and CIP
Until the end of the 1980s the activities of the CGIAR in LAC evolved mainly arraigns commodities: wheat and maize, in the case of CIMMYT, potatoes and sweet potatoes in CIP, and CIAT dealt with beans, pastures, cassava and rice. Since the beginning of the 90s, the focus has changed substantially from commodities to production systems within the context of an ecoregional approach.
According to CCC (1991), these 9 commodities (considering beef and milk as a function of research in tropical pastures) contribute to 59 percent of the calories for human consumption and 75 percent of the protein supply in the region. From 1966 to 1989, as shown in chapter II, production of most of these commodities has increased, particularly in wheat, rice, maize, beef and milk. The evolution has been less successful in cassava, beans, potatoes, and has declined somewhat in sweet potatoes.
CCC commodities are principally utilized as food. 64% of all calories produced are used as food. the other 36% as animal feed, for processing on other uses. Exceptions are maize and cassava which are also used for animal feed. These commodities are the "wage goods" in LAC, so that reduction in prices will greatly benefit consumers, particularly low-income consumers in the urban areas. If LAC would have to import these commodities, they would absorb a large share of foreign exchange earnings. In terms of a self-sufficiency index, only wheat has improved, as increases in production were less than the increases in consumption, which sometimes has been be very strong (e.g. milk, rice, etc.)
CIP's mission has been defined as to stimulate major increases in world food supply by providing access to the full potential of root and tuber crops. CIP promotes, through scientific research, the use of genetic resources and improved agricultural technologies that increase the production and use of potato, sweetpotato, and other root and tuber crops in developing countries. The Center also contributes to better management of agricultural resources in the world's mountain regions, an area where the potato is a significant contributor to the well-being of resource-poor farmers. CIP's principal task is to assure that high-yielding root and tuber crops such as potato and sweetpotato take their appropriate place in agricultural food systems. CIP's original mandate was expanded in 1985 to include sweetpotato and, more recently, other Andean roots and tubers.
CIP headquarters are in La Molina, outside of Lima, Peru's capital, in an irrigated coastal valley. CIP also has experimental stations in Huancayo in the high Andes and in San Ramón on the eastern, rainforest-covered slopes, taking advantage of Peru's varied geography and climate. The Center has another high Andes experiment station in Quito, Ecuador, and a worldwide network of regional offices and collaborators. Regional offices in Indonesia, India, Kenya & Tunisia. Liaison offices in China, Ecuador, Egypt, Nigeria and Philippines.
CIP has recruited an international team of more than 70 scientists from 25 countries, supported by nearly 500 nationally-recruited staff. Headquarters in Lima with 3 field stations. CIP resources have fluctuated between $18 and $25 million in the lasts years. Asia received almost 50 percent of its resources, with Latin America and the Caribbean in a second place, with 25 percent of the total.
Table: CIP, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
Year |
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
21.76 |
4.23 |
7.24 |
2.10 |
8.20 |
37.7% |
|
1993 |
21.53 |
4.57 |
11.54 |
3.20 |
2.23 |
10.4% |
|
1994 |
18.4 |
3.9 |
7.4 |
2.4 |
4.8 |
26.1% |
|
1995 |
21.1 |
3.4 |
10.3 |
1.5 |
5.9 |
28.0% |
|
1996 |
24.6 |
4.5 |
12.5 |
1.6 |
6.1 |
24.8% |
Source: CIP
CIP's research program for potato and sweetpotato includes the diagnostics of production systems; germplasm conservation and utilization; crop, soil, nutrient, and pest management; and post harvest storage, processing, and marketing. These activities represent the largest component of the Center's global research program, covering five regions and more than 25 countries. Since its inception, CIP has studied Andean root and tuber crops and the production systems in which they grow. Extreme poverty in the region has resulted in the rapid deterioration of biodiversity and land and water quality.
The loss of natural resources required for sustainable productivity further aggravates this dilemma. In response to the urgent needs of the Andean region, CIP is the convenor of an ecoregional research activity for sustainable Andean agriculture. This initiative is part of the CGIAR's program on Global Sustainable Mountain Agricultural Development, which was convened in response to the United Nation's Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) Agenda for Sustainable Mountain Development.
The Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN, the Spanish acronym) was founded in 1992. CONDESAN conducts its work at six benchmark sites and on the areas of biodiversity, soil and water resources, food systems, and policies. Work on biodiversity promotes in situ and ex situ maintenance of genetic resources of unique Andean root and tuber crops and the use of indigenous knowledge about their cultivation, properties, and utilization. This work is conducted through a consortium of institutions from the Andean region, including public, academic, private, and non governmental organizations, as well as international research centers and institutions from industrialized countries.
In 1995 an external review was conducted, with the main findings and recommendations being the following:
1. Is there a need for an international effort in potato and sweet potato research? Yes, because of (1) they are important in human food, (2) they are vegetatively propagated (important pest and disease implications), (3) they are not easy to breed, (4) there is no information on sweetpotato generated in developed countries, (5) genetic base is narrow, particularly in Asia and Africa. Therefore, it was considered that strategic research is urgently needed.
2. Is CIP's strategy correct? Activities and priorities are largely derived from NARS state needs, but they are too thinly and spread effort; this has eroded center's capacity to tackle major scientific challenges with a critical mass. Strategy should be oriented towards needs of the weaker NARS. Current strategy has only partially adjusted for change in institutional landscape. There is a need to move to more strategic research (germplasm and natural resource management).
3. Does CIP have a good record of achievements? Better since 1989
4. Is CIP governed and managed effectively? Yes
5. Should CIP take on additional responsibility in the CGIAJR.? No. Priority on germplasm collection.
6. Can CIP deliver? Yes. But currently CIP is attempting to be "all things to all people". Few important strategic challenges should be established.
The External Review also made recommendations suggesting CIP to disengage itself from technical assistance activities and non-research technology adoption activities, reinvest its matrix, and consolidate existing information into ex ante analysis to develop analytically valid strategies for each mandated commodity, desegregated by region
Future Orientations:
In its Medium-Term Plan 1998-2000, CIP has defined its new strategies and priorities. The balance between investments in potato and sweetpotato research will shift during the period from a 60:40 ratio to a ratio of 75:25. Prior to the ranking exercise, the number of projects was reduced from 36 to 20. It is expected that the new project structure should help CIP improve the management of its scientific resources.
CIP Research Projects 1998-2000
|
1. Integrated control of Late Blight |
Source: CIP, 1997.
CIMMYT's current research aims at the development of more efficient, more robust maize and wheat germplasm, through natural resource and economics research designed to enhance the sustainability of maize- and wheat-based production systems, and through a range of related research and training activities.
CIMMYT's budget is still recovering from the important decrease that it suffered in the early 90s. In 1996 total budget reached $28 million. LAC's participation in CIMMYT's budget has been quite stable over the last years. In 1996, 26 percent of its resources were invested in Latin America and the Caribbean. LAC is the second region in importance, after Asia, followed by SSA and WANA.
Table: CIMMYT, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
Year |
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
33.66 |
7.96 |
11.63 |
5.14 |
8.93 |
26.5% |
|
1993 |
32.78 |
8.23 |
11.12 |
4.87 |
8.56 |
26.1% |
|
1994 |
25 |
4.7 |
10 |
3.2 |
7.0 |
28.0% |
|
1995 |
22.3 |
4.5 |
8.7 |
3.3 |
5.8 |
26.0% |
|
1996 |
28.7 |
6.0 |
10.6 |
4.3 |
7.7 |
26.8% |
Source: CGIAR
In 1996 CIMMYT inaugurated its Plant Genetic Resources Center and expanded Applied Biotechnology Center. During 1996 CIMMYT also conducted a three days consultation event with more than 35 national system leaders and financial backers, all focused on our draft Medium-Term Plan, 1998 - 2002. The results of that consultation are being combined with input from CIMMYT staff obtained during a similar "in-house" set of meetings as we move toward a final draft plan
Medium-Term Plan of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) 1998 - 2000+
The Medium-Term Plan presents a program of research and training activities that follows on from the Center's Strategic Plan and its 1994-98 MTP. CIMMYT's research project portfolio has been organized 20 "megaprojects", classified as Global Projects, Regional Projects, Frontier Projects, and Special Focus Project (see Box).
CIMMYT's Research Project Portfolio
|
Global Projects: 1. Conservation and Management of Genetic Resources Regional Projects: 1. Improving Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa Frontier Projects: 1. Raising the Yield Potential of Wheat Special Focus Projects: 1. Wheat Germplasm Development in the Newly Independent States |
The last six years have witnessed the development of an applied biotechnology capability in CIMMYT, one closely linked to the work of the Maize and Wheat programs. The Applied Biotechnology Center is now well positioned to carry out its mission into the future. That mission is to do no less than make maize and wheat breeding even more effective through DNA marker techniques and the genetic transformation of these vital crops.
One of CIMMYT's strengths is its close, long-standing relationships with research partners throughout the developing world. This includes new arrangements with sister centers, as the recent agreement with ICARDA on joint research to improve and disseminate spring bread wheat, durum wheat, and facultative and winter bread wheat for West Asia/North Africa, as well as to share conservation responsibilities for wheat genetic resources.
CIAT's mission statement is to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty in tropical developing countries by applying science to the generation of technology that will lead to lasting increases in agricultural output while preserving the natural resource base. To fulfill this mission, CIAT scientists integrate two lines of investigation, one focusing on important crops for the developing world and the other on management of natural resources in key agroecosystems of Latin America.
Since its inception, the Center has worked on four commodities: beans, cassava, tropical forages, and rice. The work on the first three has a global reach, while that on rice encompasses Latin America and the Caribbean region.
During the last years CIAT has developed a strong capacity in geographic information systems (GIS), being one of the strongest in the region. In comparison with the other two centers in the region, CIAT is the strongest in GIS and natural resource management in general. This trend can be saw as a response to the relative lower importance of CIAT's traditional commodities, as well as the increasing importance of natural resources and ecosystem approaches.
CIAT is the most important Center in the region in terms of its resource allocation. It is also the center that allocates the greatest part of its budget in LAC (around 70 percent of the total). During 1996 its budget increased significantly, which allowed it to increase its activities worldwide, particularly in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Table: CIAT, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
|
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
31,9 |
6,7 |
3,7 |
|
21,53 |
67,5% |
|
1993 |
33,1 |
6,3 |
3,8 |
|
23,02 |
69,5% |
|
1994 |
30,4 |
5,8 |
2,2 |
|
22,4 |
73,7% |
|
1995 |
30,2 |
6,3 |
1,4 |
|
22,5 |
74,5% |
|
1996 |
36,8 |
5,9 |
4,3 |
0,3 |
26,3 |
71,5% |
Source: CGIAR
Crop Research: In crop improvement it draws on news tools and knowledge provided through biotechnology and virology research and on studies related to plant genetic resources.
Research on Agroecosystems: In recent years CIAT has launched an ambitious program of research on natural resource management. This endeavor is organized largely on the basis of two major agroecosystems in Latin America: hillsides and tropical lowlands (the latter includes forest margins and savannas). It also has developed databases and maps about the biotic and abiotic endowments and problems in Latin America and the Caribbean, becoming one of the most important sources of information in these matters.
Strategic Themes: Strength in a wide range of disciplines enables the Center to conduct pathfinding research on five strategic themes that cut across commodities and agroecosystems: genetic diversity, germplasm development, pest and disease management, production systems and soil management, and land management.
Inter-Center Review of Root and Tuber Crops (1996)
|
There are five centers involved in root and tuber research: CIP, CIAT, IITA, IPGRI and IFPRI. TAC's Comments: |
CIAT's Research Programs:
1. Bean Program: This program's research and development activities are designed to enhance the contribution of common bean to lasting food security in the developing world. Projects on Phaseolus genetic resources, bean yield stability, bean productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean region, and bean productivity in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Cassava Program: this program provides national institutions worldwide with technology, methods, and information that better enable the to foment the development of cassava as a source of food and raw material for industry. Projects on gene pool development, integrated crop management, product, process and market development, and institutional development.
3. Hillside Program: the goal of this program is to improve the welfare of rural communities in hillside by developing sustainable and commercially viable agricultural production systems. Projects on processes of soil degradation and regeneration, prototype systems for intensive but ecologically sound production, participatory research methods, and decision support systems.
4. Rice Program: This program's goals are increasing rice production and lowering the price, by developing and disseminating new technology, methods and information. Projects on improved lowland and upland rice gene pools, durable blast resistance, rice traits for enfanced weed control, resistance to Tagosodes and rice hoja blanca virus, components for integrated pest management, and information and technology sharing.
5. Tropical Forages Program: the goal of the program is to acquire, characterize, and improve grass and legume species that can be used as components of farming systems in the humid and subhumid tropics and to make these tropical forages available to national organizations. It includes projects on forage genetic resources, Brachiara improvement, widespread Arachis adaptation, Stylosanthes lines with disease resistance and high persistance, forages with high nutritive value, adaptive attributes of forages, forage components of known performance in production systems, and institutional support through networks, training and publications.
6. Tropical Lowlands Program: The goal of this program is to develop and test a diverse set of sustainable land use forms for the acid soil savannas and forest margins of tropical America.
7. Tropical America Ecoregional Program: The goal of this program is to enhance effectiveness of research in agriculture and natural resource management in tropical America by strengthening the region's capacity to define and understand productivity problems and to extrapolate results across agroecosystems
In 1995 CIAT was confirmed as the convenor of the Systemwide Soil, Water, and Nutrient Management Initiative. CIAT also plays an active role in the Systemwide Genetic Resources Program, the Systemwide Livestock Program, the Systemwide Integrated pest Management Initiative, Alternative to Slash and Burn, and African Highlands Initiative.
Medium Term Plan 1998-2000
In response to the dynamic environment, CIAT has proposed to make the following adjustments in its strategic directions: (1) new research partnerships with national research institutions, universities, NGOs, and other research agencies, public and private, will be emphasized rather than the traditional efforts in training and technology transfer; (2) the share of CIAT's effort devoted to germplasm conservation, assessment, enhancement, and understanding patterns of genetic diversity will increase; (3) development of finished varieties will receive less emphasis; (4) applied and adaptive research on crop management will be reduced; (5) emphasis on the enhancement of tropical soils and on integrated pest and desease management will be maintained; and (6) research on natural resource dynamics will be maintained. These shifts in strategic directions are summarized in the following table.
Shifts in the Percentages of CIAT's Effort Going to Strategic Research Areas:
|
Strategic Area |
Before 1996 |
Proposed in the MTP 1998-2000 |
|
Agrobiodiversity |
15.4 |
21.3 |
|
Genetic Improvement |
26.2 |
19.9 |
|
Pest and Desease Management |
6.9 |
7.6 |
|
Soils and Production Systems |
19.3 |
16.1 |
|
Natural Resource Dynamics |
16.2 |
19.5 |
|
Policy |
2.6 |
2.7 |
|
Strengthening NARS |
13.5 |
12.9 |
Source: CIAT's Medium-Term Plan 1998-2000.
CIAT's Project Portfolio 1998-2000
Saving Biodiversity:
1. Integrated Conservation of Neotropical Plant Genetic Resources. Objective: to integrate ex situ and in situ conservation of Phaseolus, Manihot, and tropical forages genetic resources.
2. Enhancing the Understanding and Use of Agrobiodiversity Through Biotechnological Methods. Objective: to contribute to the improvement and use of genetic resources, and to promote agrobiodiversity conservation through the integrated application of modem molecular and cellular biotechnologies.
Improving Productivity:
3. Bean Improvement for Sustainable Productivity, Input Use Efficiency, and Poverty Alleviation. Objective: to aid NARS to increase productivity through improved beans and crop management practices.
4. Meeting Demand for Beans in Sub-Saharan Africa in Sustainable Ways. Objective: to improve bean productivity in sub-Saharan Africa by deploying gene pools that help solve major production constraints and by supporting networks of NARS for applied research.
5. Genetic Enhancement of Cassava with a Global Perspective. Objective: to provide the basic understanding, tools, and enhanced germplasm for the sustainable genetic improvement of cassava.
6. Improved Rice Germplasm for LAC. Objective: to increase genetic diversity and enhance gene pools for higher, more stable yields with lower unit production costs of rice; and reduce environmental hazards.
7. Tropical Grasses and Legumes: Optimizing Genetic Diversity for Multipurpose Use. Objective: to identify superior gene pools of grasses and legumes for sustainable agricultural systems in subhumid and humid tropics.
Protecting the Environment:
8. Integrated Pest and Desease Management in Major Tropical Agroecosystems. Objective: to develop and transfer improved pest and desease management components that increase sustainable productivity for agricultural production systems and reduce environmental damage caused by excessive pesticide use.
9. Overcoming Soil Degradation Through Productivity Enhancement and Resource Conservation. Objective: to identify strategic principles for protecting and improving soil quality through the efficient and sustainable use of soil, water, and nutrient resources in crop-livestock systems.
10. Community Management of Watershed Resources in Hillside Agroecosystems of Latin America. Objective: to develop generic biophysical and socioeconomic databases, decision-support tools, and social organizational models that interest groups can improve, institutionalize, and adapt for planning research and development activities for specific locations.
11. Land Use Studies: Reconciling the Dynamics of Agriculture with the environment. Objective: to improve policy and decision making for sustainable land and environmental management in Latin America through the scientific analysis of land and environmental patterns, anticipated dynamics, and policy indicators.
12. Sustainable Systems for Smallholders: Integrating Improved Germplasm and Resource Management for Enhanced Crop and Livestock Production Systems. Objective: to reduce poverty by developing productive crop and livestock technologies and sustainable management practices in smallholder farming systems of Latin America, Asia, and Africa, where beans, cassava, and forages are important commodities.
Strengthening NARS:
13. Rural Agroenterprises: Linking Smallholders to Growth Markets for Improved Resource Management. Objective: to develop methodologies for designing and establishing small-scale, rural agroindustries that link market opportunities and processing technologies with environmentally sound production practices.
14. Enhancing Private and Public Linkages for Agricultural Research and Development. Objective: to help increase the effectiveness of national, regional, and global agricultural research and development systems by building partnerships, sharing information, developing human resources, and promoting collaboration between countries and institutions.
15. Methods of Farmer Participation in Research and Gender Analysis for Technology Development. Objective: to develop, apply, and disseminate participatory methods and principles of organizational design that would improve feedback form end-users of research to scientists at early stages in R&D and that would promote low-cost, sustainable, institutionalization of the approach by NARS.
Improving Policies
16. Assessment of Past and Expected Impact of Agricultural Research. Objective: to generate information that helps guide the allocation of CIAT resources, assists NARS in priority setting, improves the quality and efficiency of the Center's outputs, and indicates the returns to stakeholders' investments.
Ecoregional and Systemwide Programs
The Tropical America Ecoregional Program supports four research consortia:
1. Alternatives to Slash and Burn, a program in which ICRAF provides leadership, while CIAT convenes Latin America activities.
2. The Central American Hillsides Consortium, which is convened by CIAT and in which CIMMYT and IFPRI, as well and CATIE and IICA, participate.
3. The Savannas Consortium, which is covennes by PROCITROPICOS and in which CIAT participates, along with CIMMYT, ICRISAT, and IFDC.
4. CONDESAN, a consortium for the Andes, which is covened by CIP.
1. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
2. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI)
3. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
4. International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR)
5. International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
6. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF)
7. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM)
8. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Since its establishment, in 1993, CIFOR has focused LAC as one of its main targets, as well as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. CIFOR's research areas in Latin America are located in Centro America and in the eastern Amazonian (covering regions in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia).
Table: CIFOR, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
|
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
- |
|
1993 |
2,4 |
0,1 |
2,1 |
0,0 |
0,1 |
6,0% |
|
1994 |
4,5 |
0,5 |
2,6 |
|
1,6 |
35,6% |
|
1995 |
7,6 |
1,7 |
3,9 |
|
2,0 |
26,3% |
|
1996 |
9,4 |
2,3 |
4,3 |
|
2,7 |
28,7% |
Source: CIFOR
CIFOR's activities are organized around nine research projects:
1. Policies and forests
2. Forest ecosystem management
3. Natural forest management
4. Criteria and indicators
5. Plantation forests
6. Biodiversity and conservation
7. Livelihood and community forestry
8. Non-timber forest products
9. Global trends and changes
Box: CIFOR's Current Research Activities in Latin America and the Caribbean
|
Activities since the end of 1994. There are 16 research activities, one has ended, nine are in progress, and six should have began in 1996. Development of Policies for the conservation and sustainable use of forests 1. Livestock, latofolia forests and law of agricultural modernization in Honduras: the case of Olancho (finalized). 2. Study of forest policies in Central America (in progress) 3. Extra-sectoral influences on tropical forests in Bolivia, Cameroon and Indonesia (to be initiated) Ecology and Sustainable Management of Natural Forests 4. Project on Management of Forest Ecosystems (in progress) 5. Silviculture in natural tropical forest, synthesis of experiences and priorities for research (in progress). 6. Bibliography of management of neotropical natural forests (in progress) 7. Pilot study on ecology and silviculture of secondary young forests in the neotropical humid lowlands. Pilot study in Costa Rica (in progress). 8. Management of Secondary forests in tropical America: a research with emphasis on the forest-agriculture frontier (Amazon and Central America) (to be initiated). 9. Ecological and Silviculture Studies in the seasonal forests of the lowlands of Santa Cruz, Bolivia (in progress). Plantations in degraded sites with low potential 10. Adaptation of the PLANTGRO package for the selection of species for the conditions of the Brazilian Amazon (in progress) 11. TROPIS (Tree Growth and Permanent Plot Information System): Information System on tree growth. CATIE and other institutions (to be initiated). Conservation and management of biodiversity 12. Development and application of molecular trials for tree populations (in progress) 13 Modeling of two genetic effects of the fragmentation of tropical forests (to be initiated) 14. development of methods and strategies for the effective conservation in situ of forest genetic, in relation with the selective use of wood in situ of forest genetic resources, in relation to the selective use of wood (to be initiated). Management of non-timber forest products 15. Household economy and forest use: a case study in the Extractive reserve of Alto Jurúa, Arce, Brazil (to be initiated). 16. Contribution of the forest products "no maderables" to the socioeconomic development and its potential role in the sustainable management of forests (to be initiated). |
Source: Extracted from CIFOR-EMBRAPA, 1996.
In March 1996, a regional consultation on collaborative forestry research priorities in Latin America brought together scientists from throughout Latin America to identify key areas for cooperative work. Major areas of interests to the national institutions were identified (see Box) (CIFOR, 1997).
Box: Collaborative Research Priorities in Latin America and the Caribbean
|
Main Research Issues: 1. Extra-sector policy influences on forests and people. 2. Forest management and conservation at landscape level (forest ecosystem management). 3. Management of forest for the sustainable production of multiple goods and services. 4. Improved forestry options for degraded land and low-potential sites. 5. Conservation and management of biodiversity. 6. Forest valuation. 7. Household livelihoods, the potential for increased benefits from harvesting non-timber forest products. 8. Assessing the sustainability of forest management: developing criteria and indicators. CIFOR's role: CIFOR should work mainly as a catalyst and facilitator of national and regional initiatives, in issues such as documenting existent experiences, field monitoring, and knowledge diffusion, among others. |
Source: Extracted from CEFOR-EMBRAPA, 1996, and CIFOR, 1997.
Box: The CIFOR Forest Ecosystem Management Systemwide Initiative
|
Rationale: millions of people depend of forest - Forest Ecosystem Management (FEM) initiative recognize functional linkages between forests and agricultural landscapes and people. - FEM provides an essential tool for integrating CIFOR's biophysical and socioeconomic research into a holistic model. - The holistic nature of the problem demands coherent, interdisciplinary research. - Since 1993 working on the establishment of a series of long term global benchmark sites. - Use sites to improve understanding of forest ecosystem and socioeconomic dynamics Proposed Methodology: - Scope: capture international externalities from a Systemwide approach. - CIFOR is structured to work within whole ecosystems through "ecoregional benchmarks" or "baseline study areas" (one site, out of three, in Brazil). - Centers such as CIAT and CIP will be in a position to co-develop a comprehensive, spatial database to house both biophysical and socioeconomic primary and meta data from representative lowland and upland tropical forest ecosystem. Activities in LAC: In Latin America and the Caribbean, in partnership with CIAT, Brazil. Subsidiary areas are being explored in Bolivia, Peru and Mexico. Two Latin American foci, in Costa Rica and Manaus (Brazil) are being considered. |
Source: Extracted from CIFOR (1994)
Table: IPGRI, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
Year |
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1994 |
12,2 |
3.5 |
3,3 |
2,2 |
3,1 |
25,4% |
|
1995 |
14,5 |
3,6 |
3,9 |
2,6 |
3,6 |
24,8% |
|
1996 |
16,5 |
4,3 |
4,5 |
3,3 |
4,2 |
25,5% |
Source: IPGRI
IPGRI has a Regional Office for the Americas in Call, Colombia. (IPGRI, 1995) INIBBAP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, San Jose, Costa Rica. Its target for LAC was 22% of total operating expenditures, but actual expenditure was 25%.
Activities in the Americas (IPGRI, 1997)
1. Cooperation in research and training
The Spain/Latin America Cooperative Initiative for Research and Training on Plant Genetic Resources aims at bringing Spain and Latin America closer together through collaborative action. After initial development, a Follow-up Task Force was created, composed of representatives from INIA (Spain), CENARGEN (Brazil), Colegio de Postgraduados (Mexico), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, IICA and IPGRI. In 1996 work focused on promoting multilateral research on crops native to the region and pursuing a combined project on "Train-the-Trainers and Training Support Materials Development:
Cooperation also includes workshops such as the one conducted together with INIA (Spain): 'Workshop to Train Trainers and Develop Training Support Materials on Plant Genetic Resources' held in Bolivia in 1996.
Other selected project activities are: The networks REDARFIT and REMERFI approached the end of their first IDB-funded project 'Biodiversity, conservation and sustainable use of native fruit germplasm of tropical America'. The project involved work on the family Sapotaceae and the genus Passiflora, which aim at conserving diversity within species of these families; and for lima beans, the later in collaboration with Belgium and Costa Rica
2. National program development
In conjunction with the annual meeting of the REDARFIT network, held in July in Bolivia, IPGRI helped promote a national meeting to agree upon guidelines to establish a national plant genetic resources system. Through continuing technical and logistic support, Americas Group staff are providing critical impetus to help Bolivia establish the formal institutional structure necessary to adequately safeguard and make use of the country's unique and rich heritage of crop genetic diversity.
3. Genetic diversity
Germplasm acquisition - collecting missions: (1) Peanuts (INIAP, Ecuador; USDA; and IPGRI) aimed at collecting, increasing, characterizing and conserving the native peanut diversity of Ecuador; (2) In cocoa, the Americas Group provided support to CATIE to obtain 93 clones from the Mayaguez (Puerto Rico) collection, discontinued by USDA.
4. Documentation
Inventory of regional crop genetic resources collections: An up-to-date directory of genebank holdings in all of Latin America and the Caribbean will be compiled. This is part of an intensive 3-year effort of Americas Group staff to update the inventory of all the institutions holding crop genetic resources collections in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Box: Stripe Study of Genetic Resources in the CGIAR
|
The Panel made the following recommendations: 1. All work in the IARCs concerned with the conservation of genetic resources should be integrated into a single Sistemwide program, within which policies will be developed and coordinated. 2. The should be a central administration responsible for all genetic resources work in the CGIAR. The Panel recommends the reformulation of the IPGRI as the International Agricultural Genetic Resources Institute (IAGRI) 3. The should be a Genetic Resource Program Fund within the CGIAR which should provide the funds necessary to operate the Systemwide Genetic Resources Program. 4. IARCs germplasm collections should be held in trust and in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity. 5. IARCs should not seek to benefit financially from the commercialization of germplasm, but should work with NARS as their request, should opportunities for commercialization occur. 6. A standardized system of information management should be created by the CGIAR Genetic Resources Programmed to enable databases to be integrated throughout the System so as to simplify communications with NARS. |
Source: Extracted from FAO, 1994.
IFPRI was established in 1975 to help developing countries devise appropriate food policies and the policies needed to ensure the optimum use of new agricultural technologies. IFPRI aims at fostering sustainable economic growth and combating poverty through better government policies.
Table: IFPRI, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
Year |
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
13,36 |
5,37 |
5,53 |
0,61 |
1,84 |
13,8% |
|
1993 |
12,50 |
5,03 |
5,17 |
0,58 |
1,72 |
13,8% |
|
1994 |
8,6 |
3,5 |
3,6 |
0,4 |
1,2 |
14,0% |
|
1995 |
9,7 |
4,3 |
2,6 |
0,8 |
2,0 |
20,6% |
|
1996 |
16,2 |
7,0 |
4,4 |
1,6 |
3,2 |
19,8% |
Source: IFPRI
IFPRI has four research divisions and an outreach division that provide information and insights to developing-country governments and other institutions to help them make and implement appropriate policies. Research is undertaken primarily through integrated multicountry research programs, which usually consist of studies in several countries that produce synthesizable results of broad relevance in the developing world.
1. Environment and Production Technology Division (EPTD)
2. Markets and Structural Studies Division (MSSD)
3. Food Consumption and Nutrition Division (FCND)
4. Trade and Macroeconomics Division (TMD)
5. Outreach Division (OD)
Research Projects Underway in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment in Latin America.
The 202 Vision Initiative was launched in 1993 to identify solutions for meeting the world's food needs to the year 2020 and beyond while reducing poverty and protecting the environment. IFPRI sponsored one regional and three subregional workshops with Latin American researcher, analysts, and technical professionals, in Cali, Bogota, Mexico City and Buenos Aires.
2. Prioritizing Public Agricultural and Irrigation Investments in Latin America.
The goal of this project, funded by IDB, is to provide more systematic information abot agricultural investments and policy options and to present that information in ways that are useful to decisionmakers. The initial phase of the priority-setting aspect of this work is being undertaken jointly with IICA, working alos with PROCIS and collaborating closely with CIAT and several national agricultural research organizations. This work is assisting the Fondo Regional to finance high priority, strategic agricultural research. The project team is compiling 30 years of economic data on a range of agricultural commodities and incorporating that data, along with related agroecological variables, into a GIS framework. The project is analyzing the economic consequences of research on 15 key commodities, products that represent 90 percent of agricultural production in the continent.
IFPRI member are alos working with ISNAR throughout the region to provide a comprehensive and qualitative overview of the national institutions and investment patterns regarding agricultural research in Latin America and the Caribbean. This information will also be incorporated into the priority-setting work and will provide the basis for subsequent in-depth assessment of a range of research policy issues. IFPRI researchers are looking at the policies and institutions that are needed to lead to efficient increases in irrigated production while reducing resource degradation and releasing water for growing non-agricultural demands.
3. Macroeconomic Policy Reforms and Regional Trade Pacts in Latin America
Though there has been a substantial amount of research done on the impact of macroeconomic policy reform on stabilization, relatively little work has addressed the effects of these reforms on agricultural and rural performance. The program's goal is to provide guidance to policymakers on the effects that changes in the world trade system and regional integration schemes have on agriculture and the rural economy. The program conducted and analysis of the effects of the devaluation of the Mexican peso on trade and migration between the United States and Mexico. The project is also analyzing the effects of NAFTA and MERCOSUR regional trade agreements on the agriculture sectors. IFPRI staff are looking at agriculture in Argentina to assess the effects of MERCOSUR and the new economic model undertaken in 1991.
4. Alternatives to Slash-and Burn Agriculture
The primary objective of this multicountry research effort on arresting deforestation and resource degradation in the forest margin of the humid tropics in Latin America is to identify the technologies, policies, and institutional arrangements capable of slowing the rate of forest conversion and other natural resource degradation while improving the welfare of inhabitants of these areas. From field offices in Acre and Rondonia, project staff are analyzing the economic and social system that influence natural resource use at three levels: land user/household, meso (regional), and macroeconomic levels. In Brazil, IFPRI is working with a consortium of biophysical and social scientists from ICRAF, EMPRABA, CIAT, local NGO and local government, in a project that is part of the Alternatives to Slash and Burn Systemwide Program
5. Policies for Sustainable Development in the Central American Hillsides
IFPRI staff are working to understand what determines natural resource management practices in hillside region of Central America, the socioeconomic impacts of these practices, and the effects of key policy factors on resource management. Sponsored by IDB, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Swiss Development Corporation, and DANIDA, IFPRI is working with the IICA, CIMMYT, CIAT, universities and REDCAPA, and other national partners to implement this initiative.
ISNAR's mission is to strengthen NARS. It took a broad system approach. ISNAR's goal is improved performance of NARS through institutional development and organizational change, promoting appropriate agricultural research policies, sustainable research institutions, and improved research management. The emphasis of ISNAR's approach is to develop regional integration, establish mechanisms for collaboration and diffusion, and produce international public goods rather than providing assistance to individual countries.
Resource Allocation by Region
In 1996 ISNAR had a total budget of about US $10.5 million. As a small institute, demand for ISNAR's assistance is far in excess of its capacity to deliver. In responding to this demand, ISNAR is guided by approximate strategic resource allocations among regions: 40% to sub-Saharan Africa, 30% to Asia and the Pacific, 20% to Latin America and the Caribbean, and 10% to West Asia and North Africa. For Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as West Asia and North Africa, these target allocations are the same as they were during the 1980s. The other figures represent a slight reallocation from Africa to Asia, in line with recommendations for the CGIAR as a whole.
Table: ISNAR, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
|
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
10,71 |
4,29 |
3,21 |
1,07 |
2,14 |
20,0% |
|
1993 |
10,32 |
4,13 |
3,10 |
1,03 |
2,07 |
20,0% |
|
1994 |
6,5 |
2,7 |
1,5 |
0,7 |
1,5 |
23,1% |
|
1995 |
6,6 |
4,0 |
1,1 |
0,5 |
1,0 |
15,2% |
|
1996 |
11,2 |
6,1 |
1,4 |
1,2 |
2,6 |
23,2% |
Source: ISNAR
i) Comprehensive institutional development: 30% of ISNAR core resources
ii) Strengthening research policy and management components: 45% of ISNAR core resources
iii) Generation and dissemination of knowledge and information: 25% of ISNAR core resources
ISNAR's Programs and Activities
- Policy and System Development Program
- Management Program
- Ecoregional Initiatives
ISNAR's Activities in Latin America and the Caribbean (some of them as part of multi-national activities) (ISNAR, Annual Report 1995) are:
1. Regional Policy Workshop: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
2. Farmers organization. Bolivia
3. Natural Resources Management. Ecuador
4. Private sector research. Chile
5. Biotechnology. Cuba
6. Comprehensive institutional development. Ecuador
7. System Review. Paraguay
8. Plan Implementation, public awareness, planning. Uruguay
9. Planning, Monitoring and evaluation (PM&E). Several countries
10. Regional Forum
11. Regional project planning
12. Training in PM&E
Latin America and the Caribbean also benefits from several global projects, such as biotechnology, evaluation methodology, financing research, etc.
During 1995 ISNAR conducted the project: "Strengthening Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of Agricultural Research in LAC" (PM&E), which included training (with CIAT), pilot cases studies in Panama, Cuba and Venezuela, and a consultation meeting in Bogota, Colombia (September, 1995). Latino American NARS leaders identified agroindustrial demand and the management of natural resources as the two principal trends driving the orientation of NARS research in the next decade.
Strategic Directions for the 1990s
Based on its analysis of future trends and needs in national systems, ISNAR has identified five strategic directions to guide its programs and services in the 1990s.
1. Target services: ISNAR must respond to the changing needs of national systems at different stages of development. It will gradually reduce its assistance with comprehensive institutional development which it has traditionally provided through long-term, one-on-one relationships with individual countries. This will free up resources for a more flexible and cost-effective service of shorter duration, geared to strengthening specific management components in countries with similar problems.
2. Cover a wider range of research organizations: Taking into account the growing institutional complexity of national systems, ISNAR will work with a wider range of organizations. It will also put more emphasis on advising countries on how to develop system-level agricultural research policies and effective links between organizations.
3. Strengthen work on research policy: Given the more volatile policy environment of the 1990s, ISNAR will step up its work in the area of research policy. It will strengthen its capacity to advise national research leaders on establishing stronger links with policy-makers and their advisors. And it will continue to contribute to the policy dialogue on national agricultural research by providing and analyzing basic information on the evolution of national systems and their changing role in the global research system.
4. Forge strategic alliances: The number and variety of requests for ISNAR's specialized services far exceed the institute's current delivery capacity. To cater to the growing demand, ISNAR will intensify its efforts to forge strategic alliances with organizations having complementary expertise. These will include management training and consulting institutes, universities, development organizations, other international research centers, and advanced research organizations. They will collaborate with ISNAR on research, training, and product development and delivery.
5. Seek multipliers: ISNAR will reinforce its efforts to multiply the effects of its work. It will continue to produce tools, guidelines, and training modules for use by national systems and other organizations serving national systems. It will foster the exchange of management expertise and innovations among developing countries through seminars, publications, and cross-country consultancies. Through collaborative research and training it will expand its "invisible college" of individuals who can be called upon to provide services.
ISNAR Strategy, according to its 1997 MTP, considers:
- Meeting common needs
- Addressing NARS heterogeneity
- Responding to regional priorities: In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, ISNAR has identified the following issues: (1) serious des-institutionalization during the fiscal crisis of the 80s and early 90s, (2) new institutional models are being developed at the national level, (3) integration of agroindustrial demand and natural resource management, (4) partnership with the subregional organizations, (5) building NARS-NARS collaboration, and (6) strategy for small countries of the Caribbean.
ILRI's mandate is global. Its research products are designed to raise livestock productivity without depleting the natural resources on which farming depends. ILRI's mission is to enhance the well-being of present and future generations in developing countries through research that improves sustainable livestock production.
Table: ILRI, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
Year |
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1994 |
23,4 |
16,5 |
2,9 |
1 |
3,1 |
13,2% |
|
1995 |
25,7 |
18 |
4,0 |
0,7 |
3,1 |
12,1% |
|
1996 |
25,9 |
20 |
3,6 |
0,3 |
2,1 |
8,1% |
Source: CGIAR
ILRI expects to strengthen its links to the existing consortia in Latin America and the Caribbean and in West Africa and North Africa, (particularly in milk production).
Programs:
ILRI has comparative advantages in conducting programs in tropical crop-livestock systems and ruminant genetics, health and feed resources and strengthening collaboration with NARS. ILRI's program areas address primarily smallholder crop-livestock systems in arid, humid and highland agro-ecological zones and in transition from subsistence to a market economy.
ILRI is the lead center for a CGIAR System-wide Livestock Program to improve livestock feed resources and natural resource management in mixed crop-livestock production systems. To fulfill its global mandate, ILRI is expanding its research work to tackle high-priority livestock problems in Asia, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in sub-Saharan Africa.
Collaboration and partnerships:
1. Scientific networks. Currently, ILRI inter-disciplinary research teams are contributing to the Desert Margins Program, the Ecoregional Program for the Humid and Subhumid Tropics of SSA (EPTHA) and the East African Highlands Program. Through the medium term, ILRI will contribute to the Tropileche and CONDESAN consortia in Latin America and to subregional consortia in Asia and in the WANA region. The ILRI-led SLP will support livestock-related research by ecoregional consortia.
2. Multi-institutional initiatives. These include collaborative research on market-oriented smallholder dairy in East Africa and characterisation of indigenous animal genetic resources and involvement in the Confederation of Research Institutes Supporting Livestock Development in Tsetse Affected Areas of Africa.
3. System-wide programs. ILRI convenes the SLP and the Inter-Centre Training Programme for sub-Saharan Africa and contributes to the System-wide Genetic Resources Programme, the Systemwide Programme on Integrated Pest Management, the Property Rights and Collective Action Initiative, and the Systemwide Soil Water Nutrient Programme.
4. Outsourcing. ILRI favours outsourcing when another institute has capacity and comparative advantage to undertake research for which ILRI is responsible. ILRI will also contract research to private and public institutions in developed and developing regions. ILRI will contract with commercial companies to develop and market biotechnological products on condition that products remain affordable for resource-poor livestock owners.
Products: ILRI's research products include maps of bovine and protozoan genomes, improved vaccines and diagnostics, integrated disease-control strategies, economic and systems models, policy analyses, GIS-based decision-support systems, a tropical forage genebank, technologies for incorporating forages onto smallholder farms, systems that improve feed supplies for smallholder dairy producers, feeding strategies for multiple purpose livestock (dairy-draught cows), and animal traction technologies that improve the productivity of heavy clay soils.
Staff: 110 internationally recruited scientific and administrative staff work at ILRI, with interdisciplinary teams of scientists based in Nigeria (IITA Headquarters), Niger (ICRISAT's Sahelian Centre), Burkina Faso (CIRDES Centre) and India (ICRISAT Headquarters). 769 supervisory and support staff are recruited from Kenya and Ethiopia, ILRI's co-hosting countries, in about equal numbers. No staff in LAC. according to ILRI's Annual Report and Website.
ICRAF's purpose is to help mitigate tropical deforestation, land depletion and rural poverty through improved agroforestry systems. Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and other 59 research sites in 23 countries of the tropics in which it works.
Table: ICRAF, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
Year |
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
13,01 |
12,79 |
0,00 |
- |
0,22 |
1,7% |
|
1993 |
13,72 |
13,45 |
0,00 |
- |
0,27 |
2,0% |
|
1994 |
15,2 |
13,4 |
1,1 |
- |
0,7 |
4,6% |
|
1995 |
16,8 |
14,0 |
1,3 |
- |
1,5 |
8,9% |
|
1996 |
17,4 |
13,8 |
1,5 |
- |
2,0 |
11,5% |
Source: CGIAR
ICRAF Medium-Term Plan 1998-2000. 1997 (#137)
ICRAF's activities are organized under five programs:
1. Natural Resources Strategies and Policies (GIS databases, etc.)
2. Domestication of Agroforestry Trees
3. Ecosystem rehabilitation
4. System evaluation and disemination
5. Capacity and Institutional Strengthening
ICRAF works at 33 research sites in 18 countries, within 6 ecoregion:
- 4 ecoregional in Africa and West Africa
- Southeast Asia
- Humid Tropics of LAC: selva of Peru, southern Mexico and western Amazonian.
ICLARM is devoted to improving the productivity and management of aquatic resources for the benefit of users and consumers in developing countries.
Table: ICLARM, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
|
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
5,97 |
0,53 |
5,32 |
0,06 |
0,06 |
1,0% |
|
1993 |
7,13 |
1,35 |
5,70 |
0,04 |
0,04 |
0,5% |
|
1994 |
4,7 |
0,4 |
4,2 |
0 |
0,0 |
0,0% |
|
1995 |
6,9 |
0,4 |
6,2 |
0,2 |
0,1 |
1,4% |
|
1996 |
8,6 |
0,5 |
7,7 |
0,3 |
0,2 |
2,3% |
Source: CGIAR
ICLARM scientists were involved in 26 projects in 1995, at research sites throughout Asia and Africa and in the South Pacific. Given the research priorities for this institute, there is almost no work in the region, except for the project "Caribbean Marine Protected Areas: The Role of Marine Protected Areas in Fisheries Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Coral Reef Ecosystems". It operates in Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands.
ICARDA has a world responsibility for the improvement of barley, lentil and faba bean, and a regional responsibility in West Asia and North Africa for the improvement of wheat, chickpea, forage and pasture crips - with emphasis on rangeland improvement and small ruminant nutrition- and of the farming systems associated with these crops. ICARDA's mission is to improve the welfare of people through agricultural research and training in the dry areas in the poorer regions of the developing world, by increasing the production, productivity and nutritional quality of food to higher sustainable levels, while preserving or improving the resource base.
Total involvement of ICARDA in the region is by definition, almost nil, as can be observed from the following table on regional allocation of its budget.
Table: ICARDA, Regional Allocation (in $ million)
|
Year |
Total |
SSA |
Asia |
WANA |
LAC |
% LAC |
|
1992 |
20,55 |
- |
0,34 |
20,08 |
0,13 |
0,6% |
|
1993 |
21,12 |
- |
0,18 |
20,77 |
0,17 |
0,8% |
|
1994 |
22 |
- |
0,2 |
21,6 |
0,2 |
0,9% |
|
1995 |
23,4 |
- |
0,2 |
22,9 |
0,2 |
0,9% |
|
1996 |
23,2 |
- |
0,2 |
22,7 |
0,2 |
0,9% |
Source:
In 1992, TAC first discussed the proposal to encourage and fund two separate types of research activities: (1) global - strategic Systemwide research on a selection of commodities and subjects; and (2) ecoregional - strategic and applied research on natural resource conservation and management, production systems and location-specific aspects of commodity improvement.
Systemwide was defined as referring to inter-centre research or research-related activities on a regional or global basis, or some combination, thereof. It was recognised that such activities would generally involve organisations outside the CGIAR, for example, partnerships with NARS for the implementation of ecoregional approach.
The funding for CGIAR Systemwide initiatives would have two origins: (1) centre - specific funding; and (2) programme funding. This would promote partnership among centres, national programs and other institutions involved in the global agricultural research system.
Funding recommended by 1998 included seven ecoregional programmes and a cross-regional programme on alternatives to slash and burn agriculture. In addition, TAC proposed intercentre programmes on conservation of genetic resources, livestock and water management research.
The total allocation recommended was US$10 million (out of US$270 million), or 3.7% of CGIAR's core budget. For each programme, TAC identified convening centre which would have an initiating and facilitating role, but would not necessarily be the research leader. In "Review of Proposals for Systemwide and Ecoregional Initiatives" (1994), TAC envisaged that the Systemwide initiatives would have the following characteristics: (1) they would involve conscious effort to globalize methodologies to insure comparability of results across ecoregions; (2) they would involve locally relevant and responsible research within ecoregions, but with a global perspective in term of comparability of results and approaches; (3) they would be multisectoral and multidisciplinary in nature and scope, recognising the different sectors and disciplines across the System; and (4) they would consist of collaborative efforts involving two or more centres, and other parties as appropriate.
Systemwide activities (SWAs), initiatives or programmes seem to differ from ongoing inter-centre collaborations in three main aspects: (1) the entering into, by centres, of formal commitments of SWAs in contrast to the more flexible collaborative arrangements made by individual scientists and programme leaders; (2) the separate accountability to the Group required of SWAs; (3) the practice that has been adopted of showing the costs of SWAs in the CGIAR's annual financing plan, whereas those of regular inter-centre collaboration are usually not identified separately.
The 1996 CGIAR Research Agenda provided for six SWPs:
a) Genetic resources
b) Rice/wheat
c) Latin American ecoregion
d) Alternatives to slash-and-burn
e) Mountain agriculture
f) On-farm water husbandry in West Asia and North Africa
g) Global livestock programme
Summary of Systemwide Programmes in 1996
|
SWP Endorsed for Financing in 1996 |
Origin |
Objectives |
Centres Involved |
Budget for 1996 (Base is the 1996 Approved Research Agenda) |
Latin America and the Caribbean |
|
Genetic Resources |
Stripe Study of Genetic Resources in the CGIAR and accepted in MTM94 |
Setting up of a CGIAR genetic resources network, undertaking of public awareness activities, incorporation of work on livestock and aquatic genetic resources into the System, fostering of collaboration between centres |
IPGRI |
US$ 1.6 million |
Included |
|
Rice/wheat1 |
Rice/wheat initiative established in 1990 |
To overcome the lack of sustainable production in the 12 million ha of rice/wheat cropping systems of the Indo -Gangetic plain |
ICRISAT |
ICRISAT: US$ 400,000 |
Not included |
|
Latin America Ecoregion2 |
Implementation during 1996, but design still incomplete |
To delimit and prioritise target ecological zones (mid-altitude hillsides, acid-soil savannahs, forest margins), design and implement promising interventions, and monitor most of the resources to implementing the programme's research and training activities |
CIAT |
CIAT: US$ 4.9 million |
Included |
|
Alternatives to Slash-and-burn |
Consortium formed in 1992 |
To accelerate the development of sustainable land use to replace forms of slash-and-burn agriculture that cause deforestation and environmental degradation |
16 member agencies, including four CGIAR centres and nine NARS, ICRAF is the convening centre |
CIAT: US$ 200,000 |
Included |
|
Mountain Agriculture |
Workshop in 1992 |
To pursue three research areas as cross-continental themes: natural resources, policy studies and methodological research |
CIP (convening centre), CONDESAN, East African Highlands Initiative, ICIMOD in the Himalayas, ICRAF, other CGIAR centres and ASARECA (the regional NARS organisation) |
CIP: US$ 2.95 million |
Included |
|
Global Livestock Programme |
1993 |
To improve understanding of feed production for ruminant livestock and its utilisation in rainfed mixed fanning systems in priority ecoregions, through strategic and applied research on livestock feed development and associated issues of policy and natural resources management. |
ILRI |
ILRI: US$ 2.8 million |
Included |
Note: For a definition and classification of Systemwide Activities, see Annex B
1 This programme does not include Latin America and the Caribbean
2 ICRAF provides leadership, while CIAT convenes Latin American activities
The Global Livestock Programme in Latin America and the Caribbean is performed by a consortium led by the CIAT, working on improved legume-based feeding systems for small holder dual-purpose cattle production in tropical Latin America. Funding in 1996, for this particular component, was apparently US$ 770,000 for one scientist located at CIAT.
ICRAF is the convening centre for the Alternatives to Slash and Burn Programme in Latin America. It consists of the development, evaluation and dissemination of agroforestry systems that mitigate declining soil fertility, rehabilitate degraded pasture land and provide forest products through multisttrata systems. No information has been found regarding funding for 1996.
The Mountain Agriculture Programme has CIAT as a convening centre. It requires financing for US$ 750,000 and deals with cross-continental themes such as natural resources, policy studies and methodological research.
No further information is available for the Genetic Resources or the Latin America Ecoregion Programmes.
ECOREGIONAL PROGRAMMES
Other funds were endorsed for the design phases of a global water management programme; an initiative on soil, water and nutrient management; an inter-centre initiative on coastal zone management; an ecoregional initiative on desert margins; initiatives on research indicators and property rights/collective action; an initiative on integrated pest management; and ecoregional approaches to the humid and subhumid tropics/inland valleys of sub-Saharan Africa and to the humid tropics and subtropics of Asia.
Further added initiatives: (1) a cross-ecoregional SWP for sustainable mountain agriculture development (SMAD) incorporating the east and central African high lands initiative and the Andean programme; (2) an inter-centre initiative on coastal environments; (3) initiatives on research indicators, property rights and collective action, IPM, and soil, water and nutrient management (SWNM).
Initiatives including Latin America and the Caribbean in 1996
|
Centre |
Initiative |
Budget for 1996 |
|
CIAT |
Soil, water, nutrient management |
US$ 900,000 |
|
IFPRI |
Research indicators Property rights |
US$ 670,000 US$ 200,000 |
