5.1 REGIONAL INSTITUTIONS
5.2 SUBREGIONAL INSTITUTES
5.3 SUBREGIONAL COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS (PROGRAMAS SUBREGIONALES DE COOPERACIÓN, PROCIS)
5.4 REGIONAL FOUND AND REGIONAL FORUM FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (FORO REGIONAL Y FONDO REGIONAL DE TECNOLOGÍA AGROPECUARIA)
1. Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA)
2. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Besides CGIAR, there are others important institutions in the region, related to agricultural research: IICA, the IDB, and subregional centers, programas and networks.
First established in 1942, the Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) is the InterAmerican specialized institution in agriculture. Its mission is to stimulate, facilitate and support cooperation between its 34 member states and institutions to encourage a sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. The member states are: Antigua y Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belice, Bolivia, Brasil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estados Unidos de America, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, República Dominicana, St. Kitts y Nevis, Santa Lucia, San Vicente y las Granadinas, Suriname, Trinidad y Tobago, Uruguay y Venezuela.
IICA has 34 Technical Cooperation Agencies, one for each member, and five Regional Centers, located in Lima, Peru (Andean), Guatemala City, Guatemala (Central), Trinidad Tobago (Caribbean), Washington D.C. (North), and Asuncion, Paraguay (South).
Programs:
1. Socioeconomics Policies, Trade and
2. Science and Technology, Natural Resources and Agricultural Production
3. Animal and Plant Deseases
4. Sustainable Rural Development
In 1994 IICA initiated an institutional reform process, aimed to improve its strategic role in the region. In 1996 it implemented a new organizational structure. Five regional centers were established (North, Central, Caribbean, Andean and South); there was a reorganization of its Agencies for technical Cooperation, and the headquarters were restructured.
The IDB participates directly and indirectly in the regional agricultural research and development activities, through loans and grants for agricultural-related policies and investments, and for scientific and technological development.
1. Policies Related to Agricultural Sector
Objectives: The Bank assigns priority attention and support to efforts to accelerate development in this sector. It is the Bank's policy to encourage in the borrower countries increased attention to agriculture development (including livestock) and to provide support for development of sound agricultural policies and effective national strategies, as well as sectoral planning, long-term national and regional planning, the increased flow of coordinated resources directed to agricultural development and the generation of adequate levels of savings to support the sector's capital formation. The Bank's primary concern within the sector is for the overall improvement of the food system.
The Bank's broad objectives in this sector, in general order or priority, are:
- To assist member country efforts to increase agricultural productivity.- To support activities that improve the socio-economic well-being of agro-rural populations.
- To assist efforts that increase productivity and expand agricultural and food production in areas of comparative advantage for export, both within the region and to the rest of the world, and raw materials for national industrialization.
- To support planning and promotion of rational use of land and water, to encourage conservation practices that will protect the natural resources essential to a continuous self-sustaining agricultural system and encourage appropriate protection of ecological systems.
- To stimulate and support new initiatives aimed at increasing the future role of agriculture in the production of agro-based energy resources.
The Bank encourages an integrated approach to agricultural development. However, in addition to integrated projects, the Bank is prepared to support projects that advance objectives within individual sub-sectors of agriculture when appropriate progress and complementarity in other sub-sector activities related to the success of such projects can be demonstrated.
The Bank's program in agriculture shall be guided by a reasonable assessment of the following factors in each of the countries and sub-regions:
a) The characteristics, constraints, prospects and requirements of the sector.b) The country's own plans and policies for the sector.
c) The Bank's possibilities to significantly and realistically contribute to the development of the sector through financing as well as through the Bank's expertise as a development institution which facilitates the establishment of a constructive dialogue with each country aimed at improving the effectiveness of the resources allocated to the sector.
Fields of Activity: (1) Marketing and Agroindustry, (2) Research and Extension, (3) Credit, (4) Irrigation and Drainage, (5) Conservation and Watershed protection, (6) Agro-Based Energy Resources, (7) Farmer Organizations and Training.
2. Policies Related to Science and Technology
Objective: The Bank has been active in promoting progress in science and technology in Latin America. This it has accomplished indirectly through its lending and technical assistance resources, whereby it has helped to introduce scientific and technological advances and aided in modernizing economic activities and institutions, and directly through its loans for advanced and technical education and the development of science and technology.
The Bank may support institutions and activities other than those which have traditionally received support in the field of education, and without changing its operating policies and methods but bearing in mind the relevant considerations in each case and the guidelines given below.
Fields of Activity: (1) Development of a scientific and technological policy, (2) Creation of Demand for Applied Research Services and Personnel, (3) Support for Basic and Applied Research, (4) Technological Research Institutes and Institutes of Standards, (5) Emigration of Talent, (6) Multinational or Regional Institutions, (7) Transfer of Technology.
Coordination
The Bank, in implementing its program should take the initiative in assuring that it is working in harmony with the many international public and private organizations concerned with the promotion of science and technology in Latin America. Essentially, the responsibility for elevating science and technology belongs to the countries themselves.
1. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE)
2. Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI)
CATIE, established in 1973 in Costa Rica, is an international, non-profit civil association, whose purpose is research and education in agriculture and related resources in the American tropics, with emphasis on Central America and the Caribbean. As of 1995 current full members are the governments of Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and IICA.
Human Resources: CATIE has currently more than 50 Ph.D. level scientists, more than 70 M.S. level, and more than 60 B.S. or equivalent level scientists.
Financial resources: CATIE has a current annual budget in the order of US$ 16 million. Of this, about 55% arises from approximately 20 external cooperation projects. 45% of the rest is referres to as the core budget and arises from membership dues, surplus profit from CATIE's commercial farms, contributions from CATIE's foundation Fundatropicos, unrestricted or restricted contributions from the international community, and indirect project costs.
CATIE's work centers on the following areas: plant protection, watershed management, agroforestry systems, tropical forest management, silviculture, biodiversity management, conservation, natural ecosystem management, and socioeconomics.
The Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI), established in Trinidad Tobago in 1975, is a regional autonomous research and technology training institution the Caribbean, composed by: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.
CARDI's main activities are: applied research and production technology adaptation by product (traditional and non traditional exports and internal consumption) and natural resources management; marketing systems, technology transfer and management development.
In Latin America and the Caribbean there are several subregional cooperative programs (PROCIs), established and coordinated by IICA. Sometimes they have financial support from IDB. They work as networks of national research institutions on specific subjects. Current PROCIS are:
1. PROCISUR (Uruguay, 1978) Cooperative Programme for Agricultural Technological Development in the Southern Cone. It includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Works on biotechnology subprogrammes, genetic resources, natural resources and agricultural sustentability, and institutional development. Projects on research and reciprocal technical cooperation, international advising, training, studies and analysis related with strategy formulation on the technological development of the region.
2. PROCIANDINO (Ecuador, 1986) Cooperative Programme for Technology Research and Transfer in the Andean Subregion. It includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Main activities: cooperative research by means of network research (land management and preservation, phytogenetic and fruit and horticulture exports), reciprocal technical cooperation, specialized advising, training, information systems and documentation, and institutional development (policies, management and organization) and technology transfer.
3. PROCITROPICOS (Brazil, 1991) Cooperative Programme for Technology Research and Transfer in the South American Tropics: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela. Main projects: regeneration and sustainable management of degraded savanna lands; Amazon forest preservation; recovery, preservation and management of Amazon genetic resources; and information systems.
4. PRIAG (Costa Rica) Regional Programme for Agricultural Research in grains in Central America. It includes Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
1. Regional Agricultural Technology Fund
2. Regional Agricultural Technology Forum
Recognizing the high NARS heterogeneity, and the changing economic and technological environment in Latin America and the Caribbean, two new initiatives have emerged in the region through the last couple of years. These are the Regional Fund, coordinated by the IDB, and the Regional Fora, organized by the CGIAR.
The IDB is facilitating the creation of a Regional Agriculture Technology Fund to strengthen the agricultural technology generation and development capacity of Latin American countries. The Inter-American Development Bank and approximately 15 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, led by Colombia, are promoting the establishment of an endowment fund of approximately $200 million to finance high-priority strategic agricultural research. The fund is expected to generate an annual flow of resources of at least $ 10 million. The resources from the fund will be allocated on a competitive basis at the regional and subregional level. Funded research will focus on increasing productivity of food crops, the management of natural resources, and strengthening the institutional capacity on agricultural research policy and management. The fund would correct a shortage in the availability of sustainable medium- and long-term financing for regional agricultural research activities and restore responsibility for financing and decision-making on regional research priorities to the countries of the region.
The program would consist of the following components:
(a) The definition of policies and institutional consolidation, including consolidation and regulatory strengthening of the Agricultural Protection and Research System (APRS) with the goal of defining a concrete strategy for agricultural protection and technological innovation, alternative mechanisms for coordinating distribution of financial resources and increasing competitiveness in the sector, strategies to increase public-private sector cooperation, means to allow for the participation of unions, concrete recommendations for the organizational structuring and work methods of CORPOICA and ICA; and
(b) An investment component to develop technologies, which would finance institutional strengthening of the National Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, strengthening of CORPOICA (including a diagnostic study of its work methods and research priorities), competitive financing for strategic interagency programs and projects of the APRS so as to stimulate coordination among relevant sectoral agencies and more efficient use of resources, training (after a diagnostic study has been carried out), and determination of the investment needs of the APRS and ICA in terms of infrastructure, equipment, training and technical assistance in the areas of disease prevention, detection, control and eradication, as well as income normalization and crop protection. The investment component would finance the establishment of a complete team of permanent advisors to the National Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, as well as studies, seminars, conferences, and information dissemination activities related to that body. A competitive Agricultural Technology Development Fund would be established to support research, validation and technology transfer projects including the areas of marketing processes, post-harvest processes and business technological advisory services. Any national public or private sector institution or consortia (international or national) would be eligible to receive financial support from this fund. Financing would be provided to formulate a national strategic plan based on regional strengths and economic perspectives, as well as a rigorous diagnostic study to test that plan and its definition of work methods and priority research areas. The strengthening activities for ICA would include the areas of inspections and quarantines (through implementation of national inspection and monitoring stations), a epidemiological monitoring system for plants and animals, training in agrochemical and biological products use and control, a plant protection system, and maintenance of a germoplasm bank. Infrastructure works would be financed for a network of national laboratories and diagnostic centers. Specific priority campaigns would be carried out to eradicate or control diseases and plagues. Sanitary technology transfer service centers would be implemented.
As a result of the CGIAR's policy of strengthen interaction between the CGIAR and the regional NARSs, the "First Consultation Meeting CGIAR - Agricultural Research Systems of Latin America and the Caribbean" took place in Colombia, February 20-22, 1996. The objective was to develop a Regional Action Plan, in order to encourage and determine the priorities on cooperative research.
The Government of Colombia was responsible for this meeting organization, with the active support of the CGIAR through IFAD, ISNAR and the International Centers located in the region. The meeting took place in Tibaitatá. There attended more than 60 NARSs representative, from national agricultural research institutes, universities, private sector, and NGOs.
The Forum's participants made the following recommendations:
a) Establish a formal regional consultative mechanism which should be able to induce demand. NARS should be able to characterize demand,b) Develop financial mechanisms for needs that CGIAR cannot satisfy (Regional Fund)
c) NARS should establish direct relations with networks, agencies, Regional Fund, universities, international NGOs.
d) Develop information systems: Research projects, institutional capabilities, statistics, maps, experts on priority subjects, institutional contacts, successful experiences, etc.
Main results:
1. Establishment of the Regional Forum on Agricultural Research in Latin America and the Caribbean, which has two main functions. First, it will be used to institutionalize a dialogue between the CGIAR and the NARS in the region, complementing the active dialogue currently being developed between the NARSs of the region and each international center in particular. Secondly, the Forum is an important vehicle for contact and discussion between national systems, through which exists an exchange of experiences, priorities can be established, and joint cooperation programs can be developed. This second function could be more important than the first one. It was decided that the Forum will meet every two years, always seeking the participation of all institutional actors comprising the NARSs (national agricultural research institutes, the private sector, NGOs, universities and regional programs or centers).
2. Complementing to fee foregoing, an Executive Committee of fee regional Forum was established as a mechanism for quick and continuous coordination. It will responsible for developing and implementing activities agreed on in fee Regional Forum. The Executive Committee is constituted by the chairmen of fee three PROCIS, one representative from fee Caribbean, one from Central America, one form Mexico, one from Colombia, one from fee private sector, a representative of fee NGOs, one from fee private or public-private foundations, and a representative of universities in fee region. Every two years, at fee biennial meeting of the Regional Forum, a new Executive Committee will be elected for the following period.
3. The Technical Secretariat of fee Executive Committee for fee first period (1996-1998) will be located in COLCIENCIAS, Colombia. IICA was requested to strengthen its technical and logistic support to fee PROCIs, as well as to fee new Regional Forum.
4. The subregional level was considered to be fee most important operational and programming unit, in terms of developing a Regional Strategy for Agricultural Research Cooperation. This underscores fee need to strengthen fee PROCIs, and to promote fee development of similar mechanisms in Central America and fee Caribbean.
5. The possibility of establishing a regional Fund for Agricultural Research is being explored. This Fund is considered as complementary to fee funds feat are being channeled through the CGIAR system, and feat channeled through fee budget of fee NARS. This Regional Fund may also being seen as a financial instrument of fee Regional Forum and thus as a mechanism feat is complementary to it. fee Found is aimed at supporting joint ventures among NARS, and between NARS and fee CGIAR System.
6. In terms of regional priorities to guide international and regional cooperation in this field, three main steps were defined:
a) Recent experiences is assigning priorities at the subregional and regional levels were analyzed at the Tibaitá Meeting. From this analysis, conclusions were derived in terms of how to strengthen these mechanisms.b) Secondly, it was felt that the most urgent task with respect to the NARS/CGIAR dialogue is to contribute directly to the efforts being developed by TAC in reviewing the priorities of the international system for 1998-2000.
c) The Executive Committee will review and summarize priorities that have been established at the subregional level. This will be done in coordination with the various PROCIs and subregional groups. Work on regional priorities, developed with support from IDB as part of efforts to organize the Regional Agricultural Research Fund, will also be used.
7. The establishment of an institutional mechanism to facilitate interaction between the CGIAR and Latin America and the Caribbean, as a region, is an important result of the Tibaitatá Meeting. This function may be performed by the Executive Committee of the Regional Forum, which will begin to operate immediately. This complements the institutional mechanism existing at present, which consists of the two regional representatives in the CGIAR. This Executive Committee will also work in close collaboration with the Latin American and Caribbean members of TAC.
In terms of regional priorities two exercises were carried out. The first one was a discussion of the Regional Priorities as they emerge from the various subregional exercises (i.e. Procis, Caribbean, Central America). The Regional Priorities identified are as follows:
- Poverty alleviation- Food Security
- Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
- Strategic Research related to generic technologies, with special emphasis on the application of biotechnology.
- Characterization of Agroecosystems
Agricultural projects for exports and competitiveness of production systems
- The need to strengthen the institutional an planning capacity of NARS
Secondly, an exercise was carried out aimed at making observations on the TAC priorities as an input to the recent TAC review of the CGIAR priorities for 1998-2000. The result of this exercise is presented in a document entitled "Observaciones a las Prioridades del TAC desde la Perspectiva de América Latina y el Caribe, LAC", that was sent to TAC as an input to the policy-review exercises. This document makes a distinction between the Global CGIAR investment patter, and the region-specific investment patter, were interesting differences emerged.
Observations on TAC's Priorities form a LAC's Perspective
In the Table below information about CGIAR's and regional resource allocation is presented. Column 1 shows current global CGIAR resource allocation; column 2 shows current regional (LAC) CGIAR resource allocation; column 3 shows the "desirable" (according to the Forum's participants) regional CGIAR resource allocation; and column 4 shows the estimated current regional agricultural research system resource allocation. CGIAR's global annual expenditures are about US$ 300 million; TAC's estimates for LAC are about US$45 million; the Regional Systems is estimated to spend about US$25 million a year (excluding NARS).
Percentual Resource Allocation: Global and Regional
|
CGIAR's Basic Activities |
Worldwide |
CGIAR's LAC Allocation (96) (2) |
Desirable |
LAC's Regional System Allocation (4) |
|
1. Productivity Enhancement |
45 |
58.9 |
55.0 |
39.5 |
|
1.1 Germplasm Improvement |
21.0 |
37.9 |
40.0 |
5.3 |
|
1.2 Production Systems |
24 |
21.0 |
15.0 |
34.2 |
|
a) Crops System |
15.0 |
17.0 |
6.0 |
|
|
b) Animal Systems |
6.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
|
|
c) Forest Systems |
2.0 |
1.0 |
3.0 |
|
|
d) Fish Systems |
1.0 |
- |
3.0 |
|
|
2. Environment Protection |
16.0 |
7.8 |
10.0 |
28.7 |
|
3. Biodiversity Conservation |
10.0 |
10.6 |
13.0 |
15.8 |
|
4. Policy Improvement |
12.0. |
2.6 |
10.0 |
7.4 |
|
5. NARS Strengthening |
17.0 |
20.0 |
12.0 |
8.6 |
|
5.1 Training |
7.0 |
8.0 |
8.0 |
|
|
5.2 Information and Communications |
6.0 |
7.0 |
4.0 |
|
|
5.3 Organization and Management Support |
2.0 |
3.0 |
- |
|
|
5.4 Networks |
2.0 |
2.0 |
- |
|
(1) Percentage allocation according to TAC's survey data.
(2) Regional allocation from budget structure of CIAT, CIMMYT and CIP. There was also considered IRRI and ICRISAT's expenditures on genetic improvement, ICRAF and IIMI's expenses on environmental protection, IPGRI's expenses on biodiversity conservation, and ISNAR's expenses on NARS strengthening.
(3) The desirable resource allocation for LAC has been estimated considering future CGIAR's policies, alternative institutions, and LAC's requirements.
(4) The allocation of the Latin American Regional System has been estimated from the 1995 budget of the following regional programs and centers: PROCISUR, PROCITROPICOS, PRIAG, CONDESAN, CATIE y CARDI. Their aggregate expenditure is about US$25 million.
The comparison between columns 2 and 3 allows for the following considerations:
a) In Productivity Enhancement it was recommended to increase in resources for germplasm, and decrease resources for production systems. It is recognized that CGIAR has comparative advantages in fundamental research, public goods (such as biotechnology, molecular biology, genetic engineering), whereas the regional, subregional and national systems have comparative advantages working on local production systems. Recognizing that regional and national systems are already working on crop and livestock systems, it was proposed for the CGIAR to increase resource allocation for forestry and fishery systems.b) In Environment Protection the following types of works were proposed: water management, watershed management, ecosystem recovering, common property rights.
c) In Biodiversity Conservation, it was recommended that the International Centers will be accountable for maintaining the germplasm banks, and new species and in situ collections will be added. It is recommended to increase resources for biodiversity from 10.6% to 13%. This is above the global CGIAR's allocation for this item, in consideration to the high importance biodiversity has for LAC.
d) In Improving Policies and Strengthening NARS, the following consideration were made: (i) the public goods nature of CGIAR activities require a new approach in terms of political and institutional framework in order to facilitate their adoption, (ii) the implementation of these new policies and frameworks should produce institutional and organizational transformations in NARS; (iii) resource allocation in the regional system for LAC shows already an emphasis in policy analysis and improvement and institutional strengthening a asignación de recursos en el sistema regional para LAC muestra ya un énfasis de política y fortalecimiento institucional; (iv) there is an important regional and subregional capacity to make activities related to strengthening NARS; 8v) International Center's role in strengthening NARS is seen as more related to improving the ability for appropriability of international public goods, through specialized training and the development of strategic information systems. Because of these reasons, it is considered convenient to increase resource allocation for policy improvement from 2.7% to 10%, and decrease resources for strengthening NARS from 20% to 12%. It is seen as more efficient to look for support for strengthening NARS in sources different than CGIAR, such as LAC's regional system, technical cooperation from international agencies and multilateral bank.
Comments on TAC's criteria for commodity selection for future research:
a) Value of production at farm level: in addition, considering market prices and factors related to downstream activities.b) Poverty importance, either as producers or consumers: this is a too broad concept. It would be more useful to define the factors that explain that importance.
c) Probability of the research is successful in increasing productivity and protecting natural resources. Consider that for smallholders the problems is recovering resources rather than protecting them.
d) Probability of the research is made by other institutions. This is a very important criterion.
e) Regional resource appropriability for research. This complement the previous one in improving resource allocation.
f) Competitiveness. Its qualification would allow identify producers with higher potentiality.
