CGIAR Council
The CGIAR Council is the strategic decision-making body of the CGIAR System that keeps under review the strategy, mission, impact and continued relevancy of the System as a whole.
Overview
Representatives of eligible CGIAR's Funders and developing countries meet as a CGIAR Council, governed by the CGIAR System Framework, to keep under review the strategy, mission, impact and continued relevancy of the CGIAR System in a rapidly changing landscape of agricultural research for development. The CGIAR Council consists of up to 20 voting members, comprising up to 15 representatives of eligible CGIAR’s Funders and 5 developing country representatives (either Funders, countries hosting a CGIAR Research Center, or countries with significant national agricultural systems); and 4 additional temporary voting members.
The CGIAR Council works collaboratively with the CGIAR Board to deliver on CGIAR’s mission benefiting from the inclusion of a number of CGIAR’s important partners who participate as either ex-officio non-voting members or as active observers.
The CGIAR System Framework defines the CGIAR Council’s functions according to the following overarching themes:
- Vision, Strategic Direction, and Advocacy
- Governance
- Partnership Engagement and Resource Mobilization
- Financial and Programmatic Performance
- Evaluations and Impact Assessment
Note: The CGIAR Council was known as the System Council prior to 15 June 2026. This earlier terminology is therefore used in titles of earlier meetings and documents.
Useful Documents
CGIAR Research Portfolio 2025-2030
The 2025-30 Research Portfolio is intended to accelerate and strengthen the implementation of CGIAR’s 2030 Strategy. It aims to raise the ambition for our science and innovation by bringing together and leveraging collective capabilities of all CGIAR Research Centers.
Composition
CGIAR Council
Led by a Chair who is appointed by the CGIAR Council for a four-year term, the CGIAR Council is comprised of the following voting members and alternates, ex-officio non-voting members and active observers.
Pursuant to the CGIAR System Framework, all CGIAR Council members and Active Observers act in the interests of the CGIAR System.
Every three years, eligible Funders and developing countries* consult and agree upon their constituencies, which may comprise one or more governments or organizations.
The rules and procedures governing how each constituency operates are determined by the constituencies themselves.
Leadership, Ex-officio non-voting members |
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Chair of the CGIAR Council Renaud Seligmann was appointed as the CGIAR Council Chair for a four-year term with effect from 1 January 2026. |
| Renaud Seligmann Director for Strategy and Operations of the Planet Vice Presidency |
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Co-Chair |
| Appointed by the CGIAR Council for each meeting from amongst its voting members |
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24 Voting members |
CGIAR CGIAR Council constituency selection process As per 01 January 2026 * Denotes one of the five developing country constituencies of the CGIAR Council; ** Denotes Funders that meet the criteria as per CGIAR System Framework; *** Denotes CGIAR Host Seat that meet the criteria as per CGIAR System Framework |
No | Constituency/ Country | Member | Alternate (optional) |
1 | African Development Bank | Martin Fregene Director Department of Agriculture and Agro-Industry | Innocent Musabyimana Chief Agricultural Technologies Officer and TAAT Coordinator |
2 | Australia | Suzie Newman General Manager, Partnerships, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) | Bosibori Bett Director, Multilateral and Strategic Partnerships, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) |
3 | Belgium | Carol Durieux Advisor food systems & food security, FPS Foreign Affairs -Development Cooperation | Boudewijn Vandenbossche Advisor food systems & food security, FPS Foreign Affairs – Development Cooperation |
4 | Canada | Tom Bui Director of Food Systems and Nutrition, Global Affairs Canada | Flora Mak Deputy Director, Food Systems and Nutrition, Global Affairs Canada |
5 | Denmark | Hanne Carus Chief Adviser, Department for Evaluation, Learning and Quality, Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Rilla Kirk Chief Adviser, Department for Evaluation, Learning and Quality, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
6 | East Asia and Pacific* (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand) | MALAYSIA Datuk Seri Isham Ishak Secretary General, Malaysia Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security | CHINA Zhai Lin Deputy Director General, Department of International Cooperation, CAAS |
7 | European Commission | Christophe Larose Head of Sector – Sustainable Agriculture Directorate-General for International Partnerships European Commission |
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8 | France*** | Bernard Hubert Chair, CRAI (Commission pour la Recherche Agronomique Internationale) | Jean Albergel Executive Secretary, CRAI (Commission pour la Recherche Agronomique Internationale) |
9 | Gates Foundation | Martien van Nieuwkoop Senior Director, Agricultural Development | Ruben G. Echeverria Senior Advisor, Agricultural Development |
10 | Germany | Ina von Frantzius Head of Unit Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) | Anna Berg Senior Policy Officer for Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) |
11 | India | M.L. Jat Secretary DARE and Director General ICAR Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Government of India |
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12 | Ireland | Mark Montgomery Deputy Director, Civil Society Unit, Irish Aid, Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland | Isabella Rae Agriculture and Food Systems Lead, Policy Unit, Development Cooperation and Africa Division – Irish Aid, Dept. of Foreign Affairs |
13 | Latin America and Caribbean* (Brazil, Colombia and Peru) | URUGUAY Gerardo Marchesini National Director, National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) | ARGENTINA Nicolas Bronzovich President, National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) |
14 | The Netherlands | Timmo Gaasbeek Senior Policy Officer Food Security, Department for Inclusive Green Growth, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
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15 | Norway | Ingvild Langhus Senior Adviser, Section of Food. Division of Climate, Nature and Private Sector (Norad) | Daniel van Gilst Senior Adviser, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) |
16 | South Asia* (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) | BANGLADESH Nazmun Nahar Karim Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) | SRI LANKA D. Wickramasinghe Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands, and Irrigation, Sri Lanka |
17 | Sub-Saharan Africa* (Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda) | NIGERIA Adamu Abubakar Dabban Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council for Nigeria | KENYA Patrick K. Ketiem Director General of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) |
18 | Sweden | AnnaKarin Norling Senior Research Advisor, Unit for Research Cooperation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) | Kristina Röing de Nowina Senior Research Advisor, Unit for Research Cooperation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) |
19 | Switzerland | Manfred Kaufmann Senior Advisor, Health and Food Section, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) | Enrichetta Placella Head, Health and Food Section, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) |
20 | United Arab Emirates** | H.E. Mariam Almheiri Chair, International Affairs Office, Presidential Court | Fatema AlMulla Senior Specialist, Development, International Affairs Office, Presidential Court |
21 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Laura Munro Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) | Alan Tollervey Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) |
22 | West Asia & North Africa* (Türkiye and Iran; Member and Alternate rotates each 2 years) | TÜRKIYE Mustafa Altuğ Atalay Director General for Agriculture Research and Policies, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry | IRAN Hassan Momeni Director General of Academic Relations and International affairs, Agricultural Research, Education & Extension Organization (AREEO) |
23 | The World Bank | Shobha Shetty Senior Advisor, Planet Vice Presidency | Marianne Grosclaude Practice Manager |
Ex-officio non-voting members |
| The following 6 CGIAR Council seats are additional to the 2 ex-officio non-voting members held by the CGIAR Council Chair and the Co-Chair, the latter of whom is appointed by the CGIAR Council each meeting from amongst the voting members. |
No | Organization | Member | Alternate (optional) |
24 | Chair of the CGIAR Board | Roel Merckx |
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25 | Executive Managing Director of the CGIAR System Organization | Ismahane Elouafi |
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26 | Crop Trust | Stefan Schmitz | Anne Clyne |
27 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Charles Spillane Chief Scientist | Selvaraju Ramasamy Senior Agricultural Officer with the Office of Innovation (OIN) |
28 | IFAD | Pieternel Boogaard Managing Director, Office of Technical Delivery, IFAD |
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Active Observers |
| Active Observers have the right to participate in deliberations of the CGIAR Council and to propose agenda items and make presentations for such deliberations. Active Observers do not have the right to vote. |
No | Organization | Member | Alternate (optional) |
29 | Global Forum on Agricultural Innovation and Research (GFAiR) | Ravi Khetarpal Chair | Joanna Kane-Potaka Executive Secretary |
30 | CGIAR Independent Science for Development Council | Lesley Torrance ISDC Chair |
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# | Invited Guests |
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Representatives of each of the following are invited to CGIAR Council meetings:
No | Organization | Member | Alternate (optional) |
31 | Japan | Takayuki Kawakami Senior Deputy Director, Global Issues Cooperation Division, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Kotomi Fujita Assistant Director, Global Issues Cooperation Division, International Cooperation, Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
32 | Mexico | Julio Antonio Berdegué Sacristán Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico | Santiago Ruy Sánchez De Orellana General Coordination of International Affairs Secretariat for Agriculture and Rural Development |
- Two CGIAR Center Representatives
- The Chair of the CGIAR Council’s Assurance Oversight Committee
- The Chair of the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment
- The Trustee of the CGIAR Trust Fund (the World Bank)
Meetings & Documents
The CGIAR Council meets in person at least twice a year and conducts business electronically between meetings. Additional meetings may be convened as needed. Explore past and upcoming meetings and access related documents on the link below.
Decision Register
Standing Committees
The CGIAR Council has two Standing Committees as follows:
1. Strategic Impact, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (SIMEC)
The purpose of SIMEC is to assist the CGIAR Council by providing advice and guidance on the gaps, challenges, and synergies relating to the System Council Advisory Bodies (SPIA, ISDC, and IAES), including their relationship with CGIAR’s internal Portfolio Performance and Project Coordination Units, and on the approval of CGIAR policies related to strategic impact, monitoring, and/or evaluation.
Membership of SIMEC shall be composed of a maximum of nine (9) persons who represent voting member constituencies of the CGIAR Council:
| # | Name | Constituency | Term end date |
| 1 | Timmo Gaasbeek (Chair) | The Netherlands | 10 July 2028 |
| 2 | Nikita Eriksen-Hamel | Canada | 30 June 2026 |
| 3 | Ruben Echeverria | Gates Foundation | 30 June 2026 |
| 4 | Thomas Miethbauer | Germany | 30 June 2026 |
| 5 | Tewodros Aragie Kebede | Norway | 3 May 2029 |
| 6 | Ravi Khetarpal | South Asia | 30 June 2026 |
| 7 | Manfred Kaufmann | Switzerland | 7 April 2028 |
| 8 | Alan Tollervey | United Kingdom | 30 June 2026 |
| 9 | Lauren Kelly | World Bank | 31 March 2028 |
The approved terms of reference are available here.
2. Assurance Oversight Committee (AOC)
The purpose of the AOC is to provide the CGIAR Council with assurance of the completeness and effectiveness of the Internal Audit Function and the independence of external audit functions, a structured reporting line between internal and external auditors and the System Council and oversight system-wide governance, risk management and internal controls.
The approved Terms of Reference are available here.
The AOC is comprised of up to five members, as appointed by the CGIAR Council:
| # | Member Name | Type of Member | Term (unless earlier determined by the CGIAR Council) |
| 1 | Honoré Ndoko |
Independent Member | Until January 31, 2028 |
| 2 | Rita O’Sullivan | Independent Member | Until June 30, 2027 |
| 3 | Muriel Uzan (Chair) | Independent Member | Until June 30, 2028 |
| 4 | Sarah Schmidt | CGIAR Council Member (Germany) | Until June 30, 2026 |
| 5 | Elmar Vinh-Thomas | CGIAR Council Member (Gates Foundation) | Until March 2, 2029 |