Message from the Chairman and Director

Dear Colleague:

We are pleased to present the September edition of "CGIAR E-News."

Since our last communication, the CGIAR's family of scientists have continued their progress in delivering the benefits of modern science to poor farmers. The stories reported offer a partial snapshot of those achievements, demonstrating the effectiveness of the CGIAR alliance.

It has been a busy summer. CGIAR featured prominently at the World Bank's Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development European Forum 2004, including a breakfast briefing where IFPRI staff briefed participants about the CGIAR Global Open Agriculture and Food University initiative. Subsequently, we held a dialogue with new members of the European Union, hosted by the Government of France and held at the French Ministry of Research. In London, a CGIAR briefing was held for the Science and Technology Committee of British Parliament in the House of Commons. In July, the highlights were a launch of a new Japan-CGIAR Fellowship Program and the Japan Forum on International Agricultural Research for Sustainable Development (J-FARD). Taken together, these events have helped to strengthen our partnership with member countries.

The next meeting of the CGIAR Executive Council (ExCo) will be held during September 13-14, 2004, and our co-sponsor, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has graciously agreed to host the meeting at their headquarters in Rome.

Planning for the Annual General Meeting 2004 is advancing well, and we are working closely with our hosts in the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture (known by its Spanish acronym, SAGARPA) and with CIMMYT. A rich and substantive program is developing, including field visits to CIMMYT and partner institutions.

We hope to see you in Mexico and that you enjoy this issue of CGIAR's E-News. As always, we welcome comments which can be sent to cgiar@cgiar.org.

Cordially,

Ian Johnson CGIAR Chairman

Francisco Reifschneider CGIAR Director