News and Views From the Alliance Chairs

As the Chairs of the Alliance Board (formerly the Center Board Chairs) and the Alliance Executive (formerly the Center Directors Committee), we can confirm that 2006 is off to an excellent start. The Alliance of Future Harvest Centers of the CGIAR continues to build on the progress made by our colleagues in cooperation with key partners over the past few years.

This year will see Centers continue to emphasize improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their work, individually and collectively. Special attention will continue to be devoted to planning joint programs and activities, expanding partnerships, and maximizing the efficiency by which resources provided by CGIAR Members are used.

To help promote and facilitate the planning and implementation of Centers’ day-to-day collective activities, we have put in place the Future Harvest Alliance Office (FHAO) as an integral part of the CGIAR System Office. The FHAO began working in a decentralized, virtual mode in 2004 with two part-time staffers. We are pleased to share with you the first annual report of the work accomplished by this office. Click here to read the report.

It has become increasingly apparent, however, that the level of backstopping and support that this arrangement can provide is insufficient to meet the collective needs of the Centers. The decision was thus made last year to establish an office generously hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome. We are pleased to report after an extensive international search, Dr. Anne-Marie Izac will begin work as the full-time Chief Alliance Officer for the FHAO, beginning this month. For more information about Dr. Izac and the collective work of the Centers, please see the March 2006 FHAO Newsletter.

Members of the Alliance Board and Executive will join special guests at the International Center for Tropical Agricultural (CIAT by its Spanish acronym) for a two-day meeting on 26-27 April to advance several important issues on the Centers’ agendas. These include

• the research for development continuum,
• global public goods,
• sub-Saharan medium-term plans,
• climate change,
• agriculture and health,
• high-value goods for the poor,
• funding the new CGIAR research priorities, and
• performance assessment.

We look forward to reporting on continued progress in the months to come.