"Fulfilling the Promise: the Role for Agricultural Research" was the theme of the 2003 Sir John Crawford Memorial Lecture delivered by Susan Whelan, Canadian Minister for International Cooperation at AGM03.

The lecture honors the memory of Sir John Crawford, a founding father of CGIAR and attracted a standing-room only audience at the United Nations Conference Center.

"Agriculture has incredible power to promote sustainable development, and with sustainable development comes prosperity, peace and security," said Minister Whelan. "In rural areas, where most of the world's absolute poor live, agriculture is integrally linked to health, education, the private sector, water and the environment. There is a moral imperative to undertake agricultural research that will benefit the poor."

Minister Whelan covered a substantive range of topics. Beginning with a survey of contemporary challenges facing scientists and policy makers, the lecture provided fresh insights on new, inclusive forms of partnership needed to meet the challenges of our times.

While congratulating the CGIAR on its achievements, Minister Whelan challenged the scientists to rise to even higher levels of performance. Saying that experiences of the past must generate wisdom about the future, she questioned whether CGIAR's organization model ù based mostly on commodities and agro-ecologies ù was still the optimal one for addressing complex system dynamics common in smallholder agriculture?

Concluding on a philosophical note, she noted that investing in research is an act of faith; faith being "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." She underscored Canada's continuing faith in the CGIAR's research, and announced details regarding Canada's contribution to CGIAR - an increase of $5 million to the yearly $12 million Canadian contribution to CGIAR's core funding.

In his remarks, Ian Johnson, CGIAR Chairman noted that "The raison d'être of the Crawford Lecture is simple. It seeks to challenge all those involved in agricultural research and development to think outside the proverbial box. I am delighted that Minister Whelan has accomplished the task so well," he concluded.

At the conclusion of the lecture, Minister Whelan received a standing ovation.

Full text of the lecture is available at www.acdi-cida.gc.ca