CGIAR System Council
The CGIAR System 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 System 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 System 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 System Council works collaboratively with the Integrated Partnership 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 System 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
At the System Council’s 20th meeting on June 12–13, 2024, Dr. Juergen Voegele, Vice President for the Planet Vice Presidency at the World Bank, was appointed for a third two-year term as Chair of the System Council, with effect from July 12th, 2024.
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 System Council
Led by a Chair who is appointed by the System Council for a four-year term, the System 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 System 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 current allocation of Funders is based on consultations undertaken in 2016.
The rules and procedures governing how each constituency operates are determined by the constituencies themselves.
Leadership, Ex-officio non-voting members | |||
| Chair of the System Council The System Council approved the appointment of Dr. Juergen Voegele as Chair of the System Council for a third term of two-years with effect from 12 July 2024. | Juergen Voegele Vice President for the Planet Vice Presidency at the World Bank | ||
| Co-Chair | Appointed by the System Council for each meeting from amongst its voting members | ||
19 Voting members*CGIAR System Council constituency selection process *As per latest update on 18 September 2023 | |||
| 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 | Wendy Umberger Chief Executive Officer, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) | Bosibori Bett Director, Multilateral and Strategic Partnerships, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) |
| 3 | Canada | Tom Bui Director of Food Systems and Nutrition, Global Affairs Canada | Flora Mak Deputy Director, Global Institutions Agriculture and Food Systems Division (MSF), Global Affairs Canada |
| 4 | Crop Trust & IFAD | Stefan Schmitz Executive Director of The Crop Trust | Pieternel Boogaard Managing Director, Office of Technical Delivery, IFAD |
| 5 | 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 |
| 6 | European Commission | Christophe Larose Head of Sector – Sustainable Agriculture Directorate-General for International Partnerships European Commission | |
| 7 | Gates Foundation | Martien van Nieuwkoop Senior Director, Agricultural Development | Ruben G. Echeverria Senior Advisor, Agricultural Development |
| 8 | 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) |
| 9 | India | M.L. Jat Secretary DARE and Director General ICAR Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Government of India | Sanjay Garg Additional Secretary (DARE) & Secretary (ICAR) |
| 10 | Latin America and Caribbean** (Brazil, Colombia and Peru) | BRAZIL Pedro Luiz Oliveira de Almeida Machado Coordinator, Embrapa Labex Europe, Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply | URUGUAY Gerardo Marchesini National Director, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA) |
| 11 | The Netherlands | Timmo Gaasbeek Senior Policy Officer Food Security, Department for Inclusive Green Growth, Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |
| 12 | 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) |
| 13 | South Asia** (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) | BANGLADESH Nazmun Nahar Karim Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) | SRI LANKA |
| 14 | Sub-Saharan Africa** (Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda) | NIGERIA Adamu Abubakar Dabban Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council for Nigeria | KENYA To be announced |
| 15 | Sweden | AnnaKarin Norling Senior Research Advisor, Unit for Research Cooperation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) | |
| 16 | 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) |
| 17 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Laura Munro Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) | Alan Tollervey Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) |
| 18 | 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) |
| 19 | The World Bank | Renaud Seligmann Director of Strategy and Operations, Sustainable Development Practice Group | Shobha Shetty Global Director of Agriculture and Food Global Practice |
Additional Temporary Voting members*** | |||
| No | Constituency/Country | Member | Alternate (optional) |
| 20 | 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 |
| 21 | Denmark | Hanne Carus Chief Adviser, Department for Evaluation, Learning and Quality | |
| 22 | 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 |
| 23 | United Arab Emirates | Mariam Almheiri Chair, International Affairs Office, Presidential Court | Fatema AlMulla Director of Partnerships and Special Projects at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment |
Ex-officio non-voting members | |||
| The following 6 System Council seats are additional to the 2 ex-officio non-voting members held by the System Council Chair and the Co-Chair, the latter of whom is appointed by the System Council each meeting from amongst the voting members. | |||
| No | Organization | Member | Alternate (optional) |
| 24 | Chair of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board | Patrick Caron | |
| 25 | Executive Managing Director of the CGIAR System Organization | Ismahane Elouafi | |
| 26 | Representative appointed by the Alliance/Centers – 1 | Roel Merckx Representative of the Alliance/Center Board Chairs | |
| 27 | Representative appointed by the Alliance/Centers – 2 | Essam Mohammed Representative of the Alliance/Center Directors General | |
| 28 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Selvaraju Ramasamy Head, Research and Extension Unit (AGDR) | |
Active Observers | |||
| Active Observers have the right to participate in deliberations of the System 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 Research and Innovation | Ravi Khetarpal Chair | Joanna Kane Potaka Executive Secretary |
| 30 | CGIAR Independent Science for Development Council | Lesley Torrance ISDC Chair | |
Invited Guests | |||
Representatives of each of the following are invited to System Council meetings:
| No | Organization | Member | Alternate (optional) |
| 31 | France (holding voting rights) | Bernard Hubert Chair, CRAI (Commission pour la Recherche Agronomique Internationale) | Jean Albergel Executive Secretary, CRAI (Commission pour la Recherche Agronomique Internationale) |
| 32 | Japan | Takayuki Kawakami | Fujita Kotomi Assistant Director, Global Issues Cooperation Division, International Cooperation, Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| 33 | 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 |
- The Chair of the System 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 System 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. The Council meets face-to-face not less than twice per year, and conducts business electronically between sessions. Additional meetings can be held if necessary.
Decision Register
Standing Committees
The System Council has three Standing Committees as follows:
1. Strategic Impact, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (SIMEC)
The purpose of SIMEC is to assist the System 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 System Council:
| # | Name | Constituency | Term end date |
| 1 | Alan Tollervey (Interim Chair) | United Kingdom | 30 June 2026 |
| 2 | Ruben Echeverria | Gates Foundation | 30 June 2026 |
| 3 | Nikita Eriksen-Hamel | Canada | 30 June 2026 |
| 4 | Manfred Kaufmann | Switzerland | 7 April 2028 |
| 5 | Lauren Kelly | World Bank | 31 March 2028 |
| 6 | Ravi Khetarpal | South Asia | 30 June 2026 |
| 7 | Thomas Miethbauer | Germany | 30 June 2026 |
The approved terms of reference are available here.
2. Assurance Oversight Committee (AOC)
The purpose of the AOC is to provide the System 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 System Council:
| No | Member Name | Type of Member | Term (unless earlier determined by the System 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, 2025 |
| 4 | Sarah Schmidt | System Council Member (Germany) | Until June 30, 2026 |
| 5 | Renaud Seligmann | System Council Member (World Bank) | Until September 10, 2027 |
3. Nominations Committee of the System Council
The Nominations Committee is a standing committee of the System Council. It is tasked with presenting nominees to the System Council for membership of the Integrated Partnership Board (IPB). It is also tasked with proposing to the System Council for approval the required competencies and diversity profile of the IPB, taking into account input from the IPB.
The approved Terms of Reference are available here.
| No | Representation | Nominated member |
| 1 | European Commission | Christophe Larose (Co-Chair) |
| 2 | Gates Foundation | Ruben Echeverria |
| 3 | Host Country Representative, Americas | Santiago Ruy Sanchez de Orellana |
| 4 | Host Country Representative, Asia | Aileen Tan Shau Hwai |
| 5 | Host Country Representative, Africa | Fikru Regassa |
| 6 | General Assembly of Centres | Akica Bahri |
| 7 | General Assembly of Centres | Cristina Rumbaitis del Rio (Co-Chair) |
| 8 | Independent | Andy Homer |
| 9 | IPB Chair | Patrick Caron |