2.1. Mission and Goals
2.2. CGIAR Research and Research-Related Activities
2.3. Special Nature of International Research
The logical starting point for a review of CGIAR priorities is a careful assessment of the mission and goals of the CGIAR System. In this important task TAC made considerable progress while assessing a possible expansion of the CGIAR, which also required such an assessment.
The last goal statement, adopted by the CGIAR in 1986, reads as follows: "Through international agricultural research and related activities, to contribute to increasing sustainable food production in developing countries in such a way that the nutritional level and general economic well-being of low-income people are improved".
In assessing the proposed expansion of the CGIAR, TAC re-examined this goal and concluded that there were compelling reasons for redefining the goal and expanding the objectives of the CGIAR (TAC/CGIAR, 1990).
TAC suggested that the focus on food production should be modified to incorporate the concept of achieving food self-reliance in the developing world. This was an important change from the old concept of food self-sufficiency, and it has major operational implications:
· non-food commodities can be candidates for CGIAR support if they contribute to income generation, especially of low-income people, in ways that enhance their permanent well-being;· research by the CGIAR ought to reinforce both the comparative advantages of countries and regions regarding the production of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products, and their reliance on markets and trade to satisfy the basic food and nutritional needs of low-income people.
At the Mid-Term Meeting in Canberra in 1989, CGIAR members declared their intention to continue emphasizing the CGIAR mandate for research on sustainable agricultural production and "to expand this emphasis to include research on the optimal management of tropical and sub-tropical forest lands giving particular stress to the interaction of agriculture and forestry, and the use of forest resources as an important contributor to the rural economies, energy needs and (the) wealth of partner nations".
It is also important to point out that issues related to equity, and in particular gender equity, and to sustainability have received increased emphasis from the CGIAR and TAC in recent years.
As a result, TAC proposed to replace the CGIAR goal statement with a revised mission statement. The objectives associated with the 1986 goal statement have been revised and redesignated as goals.
The CGIAR mission statement now reads as follows: "Through international research and related activities, and in partnership with national research systems, to contribute to sustainable improvements in the productivity of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in developing countries in ways that enhance nutrition and well-being, especially of low-income people".
This mission statement implies a focus on:
· international research that complements and supports national research efforts;· other activities aimed at strengthening national research capacities, such as specialized training, institution building and information services;
· satisfying human needs from agriculture, forestry and fisheries, without degrading the environment or the natural resource base;
· the large numbers of poor people living in developing countries;
· the role of technological change in generating new income streams for the poor.
The ultimate aims are improved nutrition and economic well-being for low-income people, including women, landless labourers and poor producers and consumers in both rural and urban areas. Research should contribute to self-reliance by increasing the purchasing power of the poor through lower costs and prices and through greater equity in the distribution of incomes. It should also contribute to the quality of plant and animal products, to sustainability and stability in their supply, and to the prevention of environmental degradation through improved resource management.
These ultimate aims cannot be achieved solely through research and training. Success depends on many additional factors beyond the control of the CGIAR, such as efficient government policies, marketing channels for farm products, input delivery systems, and employment opportunities that bring purchasing power to the poor.
The goals of the CGIAR have been formulated as follows:
(i) effective management and conservation of natural resources (i.e. land, water, forests and germplasm) for sustainable production;(ii) improved productivity of high priority crops and their integration into sustainable production systems;
(iii) improved productivity of high priority livestock and their integration into sustainable production systems;
(iv) improved productivity of high priority trees and their integration into sustainable production systems;
(v) improved productivity of high priority fish and their integration into sustainable production systems;
(vi) improved utilization of crop, livestock, tree and fish products in both rural and urban areas through improved postharvest technology;
(vii) progress towards equity (including gender equity) as well as improved diets, nutrition and family welfare, through better understanding of the human linkages between production and consumption;
(viii) appropriate policies for the increased productivity of crops, livestock, trees and fish, and for the sustainable use of natural resources;
(ix) strengthened human resources and institutions for greater research capacity in developing countries' research systems.
The level and nature of the CGIAR's future involvement with each of these goals will vary greatly, but all are recognized as essential concerns. The aim is to contribute to the nine goals through research and institution building. Through research, the CGIAR Centres also contribute to science.
The nine goals are closely related to each other. The first five goals refer to the management of natural resources and the integration of improved commodities into sustainable production systems. The next three goals relate to the socioeconomic and policy environments. The last goal relates to all the other goals by focusing on the development of human resources and on institution building at national or regional level.
The nine goals converge on the central mission of the CGIAR through five major categories of activities:
· conservation and management of natural resources including germplasm conservation (biodiversity);
· germplasm enhancement and breeding;
· production systems development and management;
· socioeconomic, public policy and public management research;
· institution building.
Each of these categories includes specific activities which are elaborated in Section 2.2.
The CGIAR Centres use human resources, physical facilities, land, equipment and supplies to undertake research and related activities. These activities in turn form the building blocks of projects designed to produce outputs that contribute to one or more of the nine CGIAR goals. Research projects, which are of limited duration, may be based on several activities, and a single project may contribute to more than one goal. Projects are considered to be the concern of centres.
Activities, however, require specific skills and facilities that commit the centres, and hence the CGIAR System as a whole, for longer periods. The spectrum of activities within the whole CGIAR System is therefore an important concern of any priority analysis at the System level.
For an activity to be considered part of a CGIAR programme it must meet the following criteria.
The activity is research or research-related:
(i) research: discovery and/or development of new knowledge or technology;
(ii) research-related:· activity designed to enhance the effectiveness of research;
· collaboration with other research institutes;
· training in research methods;
· assistance in planning, organizing and developing research systems.
The activity is international in character and contributes to a priority programme consistent with CGIAR goals:
(i) international in character:· it must involve more than one developing country;· it requires movement of people, materials, information across national boundaries;
· is non-site specific and/or the results are potentially transferable;
· involves an opportunity for collaboration with developing country programmes and/or advanced institutions.
(ii) consistent with CGIAR goals: the activity is a necessary component of a programme that has been identified as a priority by TAC and the CGIAR.
The activity is undertaken by a CGIAR entity because the entity is better qualified to undertake it:
(i) core activities:· a centre can conduct an activity at a lower cost (more efficiently and effectively) than any other entity;· continuity (sustained effort) is critical to low cost and rapid pay off, and no other entity can assure the continuity;
· positive benefits exist in terms of rapid international exchange of materials and information which no one else can or is willing to do;
· positive inter-relationships with other centre activities (spillover effects);
· the potential pay off is high relative to costs.
(ii) complementary activities:
· are those which a centre can do as efficiently and effectively as any other institution, but for which it does not have the unique advantages indicated above; and,· those which exceed a centre's normal scope of core operations but in which the centre's involvement is steadily declining; often these are of a technical assistance nature.
Core activities represent a basic portfolio necessary for an international centre to carry out its functions effectively. In addition to research activities, core activities include institution building and the general administrative services which are essential for the efficient operation of a centre.
The activities classified as complementary are priority activities - though not at the same level of core activities - in relation to CGIAR priorities because they are considered important from a global or regional priorities donor point of view. They are retained to complement and expand the depth and coverage of the core activities either on a station or in collaboration with national research systems and advanced research institutions.
In developing the new resource allocation process, TAC prepared a tentative list of activities within each of the categories presented in Section 2.1. The list is based on the strategic and medium-term plans of the CGIAR Centres, and on work done by TAC in evaluating a possible expansion of the CGIAR (TAC/CGIAR, 1990). Below, each of the important categories of research and research-related activities is briefly outlined. It is important to note at the outset that the activities of all five categories are highly interrelated. CGIAR activities should all contribute to the improvement of sustainability of production and aim at strengthening the capacity of national research programmes.
Category 1: Conservation and Management of Natural Resources including Germplasm Conservation (Biodiversity)¹
¹The activities in this category are non-commodity specific.
1.1 - Ecosystem conservation and management
(i) Ecosystems analysis, ecological characterization and environmental concerns - the characterization, classification, mapping and analysis of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, especially in relation to the functioning and use of ecosystems including human use patterns and pressures, climate, hydrology, soil and landform.(ii) Biology and ecology of useful organisms and pests - study of the distribution, production and dynamics of economically important plants, animals and fish and of the weeds, insect pests and diseases which affect them, and vectors related to hazards to human health.
(iii) Land resources conservation and management - research on the maintenance or improvement of the potential productivity of the land resource base and its components especially the edaphic, climatic, hydrological and biological resources.
(a) Soil and landform - research on monitoring, maintaining or improving the physical and biological characteristics as well as chemical fertility of soils.(b) Water - research on the conservation and management of rainfall and/or irrigation water.
(c) Plants and animals - research on the factors affecting the productivity and conservation of natural vegetation including forests and rangelands, and research to monitor natural populations of wildlife.
(iv) Aquatic resources conservation and management - research on the maintenance or improvement of the potential productivity of the aquatic resource base, including research on the population dynamics of aquatic resources and their exploitation.
1.2 - Germplasm collection, conservation, characterization and evaluation: Collection and maintenance of in vitro (and in situ) germplasm collections and the distribution, characterization and documentation of collections.
Category 2: Germplasm Enhancement and Breeding
2.1 - Crops: Crop germplasm enhancement and breeding: incorporating primitive and novel germplasm into useful material for breeding purposes, as well as germplasm evaluation and conventional breeding.
2.2 - Livestock: Breed improvement.
2.3 - Trees: Tree germplasm improvement: breeding of improved trees including multipurpose trees and shrubs.
2.4 - Fish: Breed improvement.
2.5 - Techniques in molecular biology ¹: Development and application of modem methods in molecular biology such as genetic mapping and genetic markers to assist genetic enhancement and breeding programmes.
¹These techniques are applicable in a wide range of research activities, including categories 1 and 3. For convenience, this activity is placed under category 2.
Category 3: Production Systems Development and Management
3.1 - Baseline studies of production systems (including constraint analysis and monitoring of sustainability)2: Characterization of the socioeconomic and agricultural aspects of farming systems including analysis of constraints to production and sustainability.
2These are generic activities common to the crop, livestock, tree and fish production sectors.
3.2 - Development and management of farming systems ¹: Design and testing of farming systems and components for more productive and sustainable systems.
3.3 - Cropping systems
(a) Plant nutrition - crop and pasture nutrient requirements, the availability, cycling and uptake of nutrients (including the role of mycorrhiza and other symbionts), tillage and fertilizer management.(b) Plant protection (diseases, insect pests and weeds) - the economic control of diseases, insect pests and weeds of crop, pasture and tree species including systems for integrated pest management.
(c) Seed production - increase of seed of elite materials, its certification and release.
(d) Postharvest technology - the development of ways of treating commodities to reduce losses in the storage and marketing system and improve the quality and value of foods through processing.
3.4 - Livestock systems
(a) Livestock nutrition including studies on feeds, pastures and fodder - assessment of the nutritional status of livestock in relation to the availability of feed resources.(b) Animal health - epidemiology, biology, immunology and genetics of animal pests.
(c) Livestock reproduction - reproductive biology of livestock and the reduction of reproductive wastage from reproductive diseases and other causes.
3.5 - Tree systems
(a) Silviculture and tree production - the management of trees in agroforestry, plantation and natural forest systems to enhance and sustain productivity.(b) Tree nutrition - tree nutrient requirements, the availability, cycling and uptake of nutrients (including the role of mycorrhiya and other symbionts), and fertilizer management.
(c) Tree protection (diseases, insect pests and weeds) - the economic control of disease, insect pests and weeds of tree species including systems for integrated pest management.
3.6 - Aquatic systems
(a) Fish reproduction - reproductive biology of fish and the reduction of reproductive wastage from reproductive diseases and other causes.(b) Fish nutrition including studies on feeds - assessment of the nutritional status of fish in relation to the availability of feed resources.
Category 4: Socioeconomic, Public Policy and Public Management Research
4.1 - Economic and social analysis
(a) Human nutrition - study of the relationship between such factors as nutritional composition of commodities, food quality, income, price, socioeconomic characteristics and the nutritional status of people.(b) Gender, human health hazards and sociocultural organization - analysis of gender, health and sociocultural organization in agricultural communities.
(c) Microeconomic and social analysis - research to determine the economic and social effects and implications of technologies or policies as they affect people, by examining farm, household or village data.
(d) Market and trade analysis - research to determine the market level economic conditions that may result from various technologies, institutions or policies and to analyze the impact of trade and macroeconomic policy on markets.
(e) Impact assessment and priority setting - research to assess the impact of research including cost/benefit analysis and to improve the analytical basis on which research priorities are set.
4.2 - Policy analysis: Research to determine the desirability of alternative policies from the viewpoint of society, taking into consideration productivity, equity, sustainability, and environmental concerns.
4.3 - Governance and management of public systems (including irrigation systems):
Analysis of organizations for the management of public systems (including irrigation systems) and the development of innovations to improve their performance.
Category 5: Institution Building
5.1 - Training and conferences
(a) Training - human resource enhancement including specialized training courses, postgraduate research, study tours, etc.(b) Conferences and seminars - to foster the build-up of NARS capacities and the effective functioning of international research collaboration; fora for discussion of scientific cooperation among the partners in the global system (IARCs, NARS, specialized institutions); stimulating horizontal transfer of information and technology among national research systems.
5.2 - Documentation, publication and dissemination of information: Efforts to use systematically the global knowledge base in areas and disciplines of relevance to centres' research programmes and to make available to NARS relevant information on progress and output of centres' research programmes, through newsletters, publications, electronic media, and abstracting services.
5.3 - Organization and management counselling
(a) Research on organization and management of institutes - analysis of research and research management processes aimed at the development/enhancement of approaches, methodologies and tools for conducting these processes. The procedures generated relate to: biological/technological research, i.e. technology generation efforts and organization and management of NARS.(b) Institution building/advice to NARS - assisting NARS through the provision of advice and counsel. This covers a range of subjects/topics and includes the biological sciences (conduct of research) and the organization and management field (organization and management of NARS). Primary objective: build-up of NARS capacities (institution building).
5.4 - Networks: Organizing, coordinating, managing or backstopping of collaborative research efforts among various partners in the global research systems with the primary objective of building up national capacities; the objectives cover a broad range and include: research/technology generation (global germplasm network, global/regional/topic specific information exchange, etc.).
2.3.1. Activities with a Continuing Advantage at the International Level
2.3.2. Activities Justified over the Medium Term by the Current Lack of Capacity in the Developing Countries
International research has special advantages in a number of areas. Agroecological environments do not stop at national, nor indeed continental boundaries. Plant material tolerant of acid soils is potentially useful wherever acid soils are found in association with suitable climates, and the principles of managing vertisols are relevant whether in Africa or the Indian sub-continent. In determining priorities in international research, consideration should be given to the maximization of spillover effects. Over the longer term, supranational rationalization of research is a logical goal, with significant savings for partner nations.
Currently, weak national research systems demand more activities at the international level than comparative advantage will eventually dictate. Two types of activities are justified for the CGIAR: those with a continuing advantage at the international level, and those justified over the medium term by the current lack of capacity in the developing countries.
These include:
· assessing the changing research needs of global agriculture, fisheries and forestry;· the collation, processing and dissemination of scientific information;
· the collection, preservation and exchange of germplasm, and improvement of the methodology for its use;
· the enhancement of germplasm for crops, livestock, trees and fish dominant in the economic activity of many countries;
· the development of resource management and husbandry principles appropriate for agroecological conditions widely distributed around the globe;
· strategic research on production processes;
· specialized training.
Developing countries with strong national research systems will develop a capability in some of these areas. However, a large number of mainly small developing countries will remain unable to make the necessary investments in research facilities and specialized, higher education. The needs of small countries may be met through strong outward looking national programmes in larger countries, combined with effective networking. In other areas, a continuing international effort will be justified.
These include all of the above activities, plus:
· training at several levels required for effective research institutions: governance, managerial, scientific and technical;· assistance in institutional and human resource development;
· assistance in priority setting and in research strategy and programme formulation;
· transfer of research technology from the industrial countries and its application to the needs of the developing countries;
· methodology development and training in its application;
· technical assistance and financial aid for in-country applied and adaptive research, often through bilateral programmes administered by CGIAR institutions.
The need for international involvement in this type of activities will continue for many years, although there is no inherent advantage in conducting them at the international level. The need for direct support differs from country to country and region to region. China and India are increasingly capable in research; at the other extreme most national systems in sub-Saharan Africa remain particularly weak.
