Strong partnerships to address food security, poverty
Strong and dynamic partnerships will be key to addressing the challenges of poverty and food security in Africa, Dr Frank Rijsberman, CEO of the CGIAR Consortium, has said.
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He made the call when he delivered a paper at the just-ended Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW) in Accra, Ghana.
Speaking on the theme 'The challenge of food security and the evolution of CGIAR,' Dr Rijsberman outlined how partnerships were contributing to CGIAR's commitment to clear development outcomes for which it would be held accountable.
Dr Rijsberman highlighted the need for collaboration and co-ordination to ensure better alignment of research priorities, as well as to support uptake of new technologies.
He also mentioned the reformed CGIAR, which supports 16 cross-cutting research programmes, which are the collaborations of the CGIAR Consortium's 15 Research Centres, along with hundreds of other partners, all focused on achieving a food-secure future.
"The CGIAR Consortium is developing clear and standardised indicators for all of its research programmes, which will more clearly demonstrate the connection between our research and development outcomes, as well as the SDGs,” Dr Rijsberman added.
He noted, however, that that would only be possible through strong partnerships with implementers, as well as National Agriculture Research Systems (NARS), Sub-regional Organisations (SROs) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
Dr Rijsberman stated: “In 2012, CGIAR invested 53 per cent of its funding in Africa, so we are clearly committed to supporting our African partners to reduce poverty and improve food security in sustainable ways.”
Africa Agriculture Science Week, hosted by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in collaboration with the Government of Ghana, ran until Saturday, July 20, 2013 at the International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana. Representatives of 11 CGIAR Research Centres and six CGIAR Research Programmes were in attendance.