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In contrast,
formal seed systems were more vulnerable to disruption because
they depended on centralized infrastructure, institutions and human
resources—assets that were often damaged by forces of nature,
or came under direct attack during conflicts. These systems are critical
for future agricultural growth, so this vulnerability requires special
attention.
Regional and international networks of expertise and gene banks
proved to be priceless safety nets that provided the knowledge
and materials needed to restore agrobiodiversity and re-establish
seed and food production systems. For example, gene banks helped restore
varieties of rice lost to conflict in West Africa and Cambodia as
well as for beans in Rwanda. This lesson is being carried forward,
for example, by ICARDA, IPGRI and regional partners who are gathering
and safeguarding agrobiodiversity in the conflict-prone areas of the
Middle East, and working with partners to put it to better use for
agricultural development. These vital safety nets deserve continuing
support. |
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| Rebuilding human and
institutional capacities |
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Restoring
the capacity of national institutions to conduct agricultural research
is vital for sustainable recovery. This has been a traditional
strength of the CGIAR Centers, and they have applied it vigorously
in all the crises situations described. Sometimes it meant building
a national system from the ground up, as in Cambodia and East Timor.
In other less dramatic but equally important cases it has required
decades of steady support to countries at risk through training, networking,
joint project partnerships, and technical assistance—such as
in the Nile Valley and Red Sea countries of Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan,
and Yemen, being helped by ICARDA since 1979 through support from
the EU, Government of Egypt, IDRC, IFAD and the World Bank.
Under intense time pressure to get food systems going again, the
Centers built broad partnerships to accelerate the speed and impact
of their work. In Rwanda, for example, they drew in regional network
partners to help train the new Rwandan staff who replaced those that
were killed or forced to flee. In Cambodia, the CIAP project worked
closely with NGOs, who took responsibility for many outreach functions
until national researchers killed by the Khmer Rouge could be replaced
and trained.
The CGIAR Centers found that the restoration of community bonds
is an important part of the recovery process. Refugees returning to
Rwanda were resettled in areas that were unfamiliar to them; ICRAF
taught them how to use agroforestry to restore the fertility of the
degraded lands they had been allocated. In the insurgency-plagued
central hill area of Nepal, CIMMYT (through SDC support) provides
seed and training to reinforce farmers' groups that collectively manage
and sell maize, stabilizing their incomes and food security.
Restarting the small-scale private sector is also crucial,
especially input supplies and markets. In Nicaragua and Honduras,
Seeds of Hope II fostered the emergence of small-scale private seed
enterprises. Similarly, tree nursery microenterprises have been fostered
in locations as diverse as Rwanda, Palestine
and Afghanistan. Sustainable aquafarming of black pearl, giant clam,
sea cucumber and coral, and ornamental fish and crustacean cultivation
are being encouraged by WorldFish in the Solomon Islands; these small-scale
livelihoods can alleviate the poverty that fuels ethnic conflict.
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