The CGIAR Consortium has come a step closer towards working in partnership with French agricultural research organizations to reduce poverty, increase food security and nutrition and ensure sustainable management of natural resources.
At a joint meeting held at CGIAR Consortium headquarters in Montpellier, France on June 19, CGIAR Consortium staff and their French counterparts met to map out a strategy for closer cooperation.
In 2011, during the Intergovernmental Conference of the G20 on Agricultural Research for Development in Montpellier, the Committee on International Agricultural Research (CRAI)* and the CGIAR Consortium signed a joint declaration of intent for better coordination in pursing global agricultural research challenges.
In March 2013, the CGIAR Consortium signed a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration with CIRAD and IRD and a letter of intent with INRA
Plans for strengthening cooperation between the French agricultural research institutions and the CGIAR Consortium herald a new era in the relationship between international research organizations, this week’s meeting heard.
“Competition is a thing of the past,” said Patrick Caron, Director General for Research & Strategy at CIRAD. “We want to work with the CGIAR institutions. Objectively, we share a great many research themes and have common objectives in terms of development goals. None of our institutions can do this on our own. We have to have cooperation.”
A number of issues need to be ironed out in terms of funding, programming, information sharing and reporting. CGIAR Consortium CEO Frank Rijsberman underscored the importance of developing clear agreements on parameters, priorities and methods of working on shared agendas.
He said that the move of the CGIAR Consortium to Montpellier had cemented the relationship between French and CGIAR research organizations.
Rules and rights
The new stronger partnership between French and CGIAR researchers will be channeled through the CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs). It will be crucial to ensure alignment for work done by French research organizations and CRPs, the meeting heard. It will also be critical to establish rules for rights, duties and accountability.
Open access will be a key issue for the partnerships. The CGIAR Consortium is committed to open access and is moving steadily towards making all its research data and information broadly available. French research organizations are also well advanced along this path. Areas to be explored for this aspect of the French-CGIAR relationship include capacity building, financing of data collection and benefit sharing mechanisms.
Several CRPs are already collaborating with French research organizations and some have French partners on their steering committees. Others are ready to build new relationships and explore areas of joint engagement.
Among the CRPs that have existing links with French researchers is the Forests, Trees and Agroforestry program, which has a long history of collaboration through individual CGIAR Research Centers and joint projects. That relationship is now ready to be moved up to a new level, both sides agreed.
Bill Payne, Director of the Dryland Systems Program, highlighted French involvement in the development of this program, which was officially launched in April 2013. He identified cooperation in North and West Africa drylands as priority areas for joint research initiatives.
The CGIAR Research Program on Rice (Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP)), which already counts French research institutes among its many partners, is hoping to mobilize more French agricultural research expertise and work together on rice disease and productivity issues.
The Livestock and Fish Program is involved in several research initiatives with French partners, including joint work on small ruminant, pig and milk value chains, as well as genetic improvement programs for tilapia. Future cooperation is planned for milk value chain approaches in India and Central America. The Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) and French researchers are working together in the Limpopo, Mekong, Nile and Volta regions.
One area highlighted for future collaboration is the creation of post doctorate positions (post-docs). CIRAD has agreed to set up six post-docs for French scientists in CGIAR Research Programs, with support from French agricultural research funding agency the Agropolis Foundation. An option now being discussed is a reciprocal initiative, with CRP-funded post doctorate positions to match each French position. Issues to be defined include selection processes and harmonization for job descriptions and compensation packages.
“Increased mobility between French and CGIAR institutions is one way of ensuring greater collaboration,” said Rijsberman, who offered CGIAR Consortium support to facilitate the post doctorate program. “If we set it up in such a way, other French partners may join and if we set it up more broadly, more partners may join as well.”
* The Committee on International Agricultural Research (CRAI, by its French acronym) is the organ of consultation and coordination between the French agriculture research organizations (Cemagref, CIRAD, INRA, IRD, Agreenium) and the relevant ministries (Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural Affairs and Planning, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Ministry of Higher Education and Research). CRAI is chaired by Bernard Hubert, also President of Agropolis International.
More information:
2013 Annual Meeting between CGIAR and the French Research Institutions event page (with additional resources)
New headquarters for CGIAR Consortium — a global hub for agricultural research (re: CGIAR strategic partnerships with CIRAD, IRD, INRA, Agropolis Foundation and Agreenium)
FAO and CGIAR Consortium form strategic partnership (cgiar.org)
The CGIAR Consortium partners with French agricultural research organizations to address global challenges (cgiar.org)
Topic area Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement (cgiar.org)