Executive Council (EXCO)

ExCo will hold its 12th meeting (ExCo12) in Madrid on May 16-17, hosted by Spain's National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA), Ministry of Education and Science. The meeting will review the final report from the ExCo ad hoc

Committee on Funding System Priorities. (A Members' Forum went into this issue at AGM06.) Other topics include EPMRs, the size and composition of ExCo, preliminary results of the 2006 Performance Measurement System, and a report from the new Science Council chair.

Alignment Forum

ExCo12 will be preceded by an Alignment Forum as proposed by Members at AGM06, who requested the CGIAR Secretariat to organize the Forum in a "workshop mode." The goal of the Forum will be to examine whether and how re-alignment between and Centers can result in:

• Increased efficiency across the System;
• Simplified Center governance;
• Improved Board accountability;
• Sharper programmatic focus.

Alignment issues have been discussed by the CGIAR for many years, and the Forum will base its discussions on the pros and cons of actual CGIAR experience. The outcome of these deliberations will serve as key input for further decisions by Membership.

Performance Measurement Update

In mid-March Centers completed their reporting for the 2007 Performance Measurement exercise, i.e. using 2006 data. The CGIAR Performance Measurement (PM) System collects data annually on each Center's research results (output, outcome, impact) and potential to perform (quality and relevance of current research, institutional health and financial health). A comprehensive Stakeholder Perception Survey (of CGIAR Members and Center partners) - the third component of the PM system - was conducted last summer. This year's preliminary PM results will be reported to ExCo12 and the final results will be made available to the full CGIAR Membership in June.

Senior Leadership Training

The third CGIAR Senior Leadership Program will be held at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 2 - 6, 2007. The program caters to current and future leaders from the CGIAR's key constituent entities -- board chairs, board members, directors general and senior managers of the research Centers and partner institutions, heads or members of CGIAR Member delegations, and other selected executives of the System. This peer group will wrestle with the current strategic and leadership challenges of the CGIAR, ranging from the level of the entire CGIAR System to the specifics of individual research institutions or programs. As in the previous two courses held at the Harvard Business School in 2004 and 2006, the emphasis of this program (which is customized to meet CGIAR needs) will be on:

• Strategy and change management;
• Leadership and managing people; and
• Hands-on training on media skills.

Rural Institutions

China's Executive Director at the World Bank, Jiayi Zou, CGIAR Chair Kathy Sierra, CGIAR Director Francisco Reifschneider, and senior World Bank officials were featured speakers in the first of two back-to-back workshops held in February in Washington DC on rural institutions, Priority 5c of current CGIAR System Priorities.

Rural institutions fall within the domain of several Centers and two Challenge Programs whose combined financial commitment in 2007 on research in this area is expected to be approximately US$26 million or 5 percent of the total projected System budget.

The first workshop, under the heading "Mobilizing Rural Institutions for Sustainable Livelihood and Equitable Development" was co-organized by the CGIAR Secretariat and the Social Development and Agriculture and Rural Development departments of the World Bank's Sustainable Development Network which is headed by Kathy Sierra. The second was organized by CIAT, IFPRI, and the Science Council Secretariat.

Kathy Sierra, inaugurating the first workshop, said that its purpose was to:

• Discuss current support for rural institutions;
• Present the latest research and initiatives in the field;
• Identify gaps in the research agenda; and
• Propose ways to strengthen linkages between research and development operations.

Jiayi Zou drew on insights gained from recent and past experience in China to set down some basic principles that determine how rural institutions will best develop. Senior Bank staff provided evidence from the field to illustrate their views on interventions that lead to effective performance by institutions. Francisco Reifschneider concluded the workshop with thoughts on the way forward, which included researchable areas of key interest.

Outcomes of the first workshop fed into the second which brought together Science Council Executive Director Ruben Echeverria, as well as several specialists from the Centers, the World Bank, and outside institutions. The experiences and ideas discussed at the two workshops will serve as inputs to the formulation of a draft "framework plan" for rural institutions research.

(Please also see http://www.cgiar.org/monthlystory/march2007.html.)

Risk Assessment Dialogue

The CGIAR Secretariat and the Evaluation Office of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) recently organized a day's dialogue at the World Bank on "New Directions in Risk Assessment." Besides invited GEF, CGIAR, and World Bank staff, representatives from UNEP, USDA/ARS, Brazil, evaluation experts, and the private sector (US Grains Council) participated in the dialogue. The event took place against the background of European legislation that will eliminate animal testing of ingredients of cosmetic products for human safety from 2009. Testing will involve a new system based on "non-animal" data. The new technologies will have potential impacts beyond cosmetics, and could be used in many other areas such as agricultural products, genetically modified organisms, chemicals, fertilizers, etc. The proposed new approach will meet the growing international demand for an end to animal testing. If, however, the new standards are only imposed in Europe, they are likely to serve as a protective trade barrier, with seriously negative consequences for developing country producers/exporters. The consensus emerging from the dialogue was that the new technologies should not be limited to any particular region, and that every effort should be made to ensure that developing countries - already facing problems in the international trade regime - should not be subjected to additional disadvantages. Following the dialogue, Unilever's Senior Vice President Bart Sangster gave a seminar on the issues involved. The dialogue is expected to stimulate detailed examination of the issues, with more workshops and other discussions that will engage a broader international constituency.

Challenge Programs

Forty-one concept notes for Challenge Programs in Cycle 2 were received by February 5. They have been evaluated by the Science Council and the most promising among them will be submitted to ExCo12. ExCo will invite proponents of concept notes approved by the CGIAR to submit pre-proposals.

To recap: A Challenge Program (CP) is a time-bound, independently governed program of high impact research that targets the CGIAR goals in relation to complex issues of overwhelming global and/or regional significance, and requires partnerships among a wide range of institutions in order to deliver its products. The CGIAR initiated Challenge Programs in May 2001 as part of the reform program launched at that time.

The following CPs are currently being implemented.

• Water and Food, which creates research-based knowledge and methods for growing more food with less water, and develops a transparent framework for setting targets and monitoring progress.
• Generation, which uses advances in molecular biology and harnesses global stocks of crop genetic resources to create and provide a new generation of plants that meet farmers' needs.
• HarvestPlus, an international, interdisciplinary, research program that seeks to reduce micronutrient malnutrition by harnessing the powers of agriculture and nutrition research to breed nutrient-dense staple foods.
• Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program, which addresses the most significant constraints to agriculture in Africa.

The first three of these will undergo an external review this year.

Japan Africa Capacity Building Program

Twenty-four African researchers are participating in the Japan Africa Capacity Building Program for African agricultural researchers. Ten of them are enrolled in on-the-job-training, and 14 in group program training. Host institutions providing the training include Africa Rice Center, CIAT, CIMMYT, and IITA. The objectives of the training program are to:

• Strengthen collaboration between Japan and international research organizations whose mission is African development; and
• Deliver Japanese know-how of agricultural research methods and technologies to Africa.

The program which was inaugurated in 2006 is sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and administered by the International Cooperation Center for Agricultural Education (ICCAE) at Nagoya University. ICCAE will also administer the second round of the program scheduled for 2007. Details will be available shortly.

CSO-CGIAR Pilot Competitive Grants Program

Following on the constructive and useful exchange of views and aspirations at the CSO-CGIAR Forum held at AGM06, the CGIAR launched a competitive grants program designed to strengthen CSO-CGIAR collaboration. A total of US$1 million is being made available for the pilot phase of this program with funding from the World Bank, USA, UK and Norway.

The overall goal of this initiative is to enhance the impact of agricultural research for achieving food security, improving natural resource management, and reducing poverty in developing countries through effective CSO-CGIAR partnerships. Its main objectives are to:

• Support innovative projects involving civil society partners and other stakeholders in agricultural research for development;
• Promote partnerships between the CGIAR and CSOs through the use of novel approaches; and
• Create new avenues by which a growing network of CSO and CGIAR partners can continue to learn from each other through active knowledge sharing.

One hundred and fifty concept notes were received when the CGIAR called for concept notes outlining potential partnerships between CSOs and Centers. The concept notes are currently being assessed by an external review panel. When the review has been completed, the most promising fifteen partnerships will be invited to submit full proposals by mid-June. These proposals will also be reviewed by an external panel. Final selections for grants will be announced in September, and grant agreements are expected to be signed in October.

Parliamentary Network

The significance of agriculture and agricultural research as catalysts of sustainable development was highlighted during a special session on "Achieving Growth through Agriculture," at the Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) Annual Conference held on March 15-17, 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Annual Conference, hosted by the Government and Parliament of South Africa, brought together 200 parliamentarians with civil society organizations, multilateral and bilateral agencies as well as World Bank and IMF representatives. Participants included World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo De Rato, President of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka, and South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. Several speakers including Bank President Wolfowitz highlighted the role of agriculture as an engine of growth.

The CGIAR together with the World Bank ARD organized the special session on agriculture. Speakers included Ms. Lulama Xingwana, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs of South Africa, Francisco Reifschneider, CGIAR Director, Mark Cackler, World Bank ARD Sector Manager and Monty Jones, Executive Secretary of FARA. The session was chaired by Billow Kerrow, MP, Kenya and Chair of the PNoWB East Africa. Francisco Reifschneider initiated the session, focusing on the importance of agriculture for achieving growth. He pointed out, however, that despite the critical importance of agriculture to development, Official Development Assistance (ODA) for agriculture remains low as compared to total ODA. Mark Cackler presented preliminary messages from the 2008 World Development Report showing how agriculture can be a highly effective instrument to reduce world poverty. Monty Jones referred specifically to Africa where, he said, new policiesare required to provide institutional and individual incentives for multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional and multi-stakeholder participatory approaches to research. Luluma Xingwana, presenting the South African perspective, emphasized the need to increase support to agriculture given its importance for fighting poverty. A lively debate followed the presentations.

Banana Research Exhibit

CGIAR Chair Katherine Sierra welcomed guests to the opening of the traveling exhibit "No End to the Banana" held recently at World Bank headquarters, the first venue in its North American tour. Its next stop is expected to be in Florida. The traveling banana exhibit was produced by Bioversity International, and has been displayed in various locations throughout Europe during the past year. The exhibition introduces the audience to the diversity of bananas and their uses, and shows how research can help both small-scale farmers and consumers. In introducing the exhibit, Richard Markham, Bioversity's Director for Commodities and Livelihoods, highlighted how biological diversity in banana production systems can be managed for multiple benefits, including enhanced productivity and increased incomes, better health and nutrition, and improved food security. He informed guests of Bioversity's work with diverse partners in both industrialized and developing countries to generate new technologies and test them in the real world of banana farms, communities and markets. These experiences are captured in appropriate knowledge products that are made available to farmers, researchers, decision-makers, and extension workers. For m ore information on banana research, please consult http://www.bioversityinternational.org/ .

CGIAR Web Site Update

In April 2006 the CGIAR web site moved to a new system for obtaining web logs and analyzing statistics and usage. The newly installed analyzer "AWSTATS" filters out "worms" and search engines and therefore returns a more accurate number of legitimate visitors. It now also allows the web team to obtain more accurate reporting on which pages are being viewed and by how many people. We would like to share with you a few key statistics reflecting the average monthly figures between May 2006 and February 2007:

• Number of visitors to the site (defined as each new visitor who was not connected to the site for the last 60mn) : 35,000 per month;
• Pages viewed on the site: 120,000 per month;
• Countries from which visitors most frequently visited the site: USA, Norway, China, India, Germany, UK, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, France, Philippines, United Arab Republic, Spain, Senegal, Kenya, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia;
• Top chapters/pages viewed on the site: Newsroom, Employment, Centers, Who we Are, Core Collection Database, Publications, Language Section, foreign language section, and Impact;
• Most constantly downloaded PDF files in the past five years remain the chapters from the book "Agricultural Biotechnology and the Poor," edited by Gabrielle Persley and Manuel Lantin.