Montpellier, France: CGIAR welcomes the establishment of a new multi-year Netherlands-CGIAR partnership program to strengthen collaboration in agri-food system research for development.
The Netherlands just confirmed a new financial commitment to CGIAR’s work in agricultural research. This commitment includes an allocation of EUR 64.8 million (2017-19) towards Window 1 and 2 funding.
A second allocation of EUR 15 million (2017 – 2021) will go towards strengthening CGIAR and Dutch partnership opportunities. The contribution underlines The Netherlands’ long term commitment to CGIAR and to advancing agri-food system science and innovation to build resilient and sustainable food systems around the world.
The Netherlands contribution will support the following CGIAR Research Programs and Platforms: Genebank Platform; Agriculture for Nutrition and Health; Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security; Water, Land and Ecosystems; Forests, Trees and Agroforestry and Policy, Institutions and Markets including the CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research.
“Today, we recognize the Government of the Netherlands for their commitment to CGIAR and their endorsement that agricultural research has a vital role to play in achieving the sustainable development goals. Partnerships like this are absolutely critical in the multi-stakeholder context of food and agriculture,” said Elwyn Grainger-Jones, Executive Director of the CGIAR System Organization. “With this multi-year contribution, The Netherlands has ensured that their contribution can be utilized in the most efficient way and that it is strongly aligned to CGIAR’s long term vision.”
The Netherlands joined CGIAR in 1971 as a founding member and sharing a longstanding and fruitful partnership through which they have contributed financial, scientific and technical resources and expertise. CGIAR Research Centers and Research Programs have a long history of collaboration with leading Dutch universities, advanced research institutes and development organizations, including the IRC (formerly the International Water and Sanitation Centre), the University of Wageningen and The Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research, among others.
Most recently, The Netherlands hosted the CGIAR System Council meeting in Amsterdam in May 2017 and the secretariat of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) relocated to Wageningen University, The Netherlands in February 2017.
“We are looking forward to the great work we can do in partnership with CGIAR to create the knowledge base required for transforming food systems for the good of women, men and children in Africa and other developing and emerging economies,” said Dr. Melle Leenstra, Knowledge Policy Coordinator at the Food and Nutrition Security Cluster with the Inclusive Green Growth Department at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The agreement focuses on collaboration in key strategic areas including food, nutrition and health; inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth with a focus on pro-poor value chains and market transformations that better link farmers to markets and ecologically sustainable food systems for climate-smart, resilient agriculture.
_ _ _ _
CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services. Its research is carried out by 15 CGIAR Centers in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector. www.cgiar.org
For more information:
Samuel Stacey
Interim Communications Manager
CGIAR System Organization
S.Stacey@cgiar.org