CGIAR System Council
Led by a Chair who is appointed by the System Council for a 4-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 be comprised of 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.
Download: System Council Composition
Leadership, Ex-officio non-voting members | |||
| Chair of the System Council (Serves for a 4-year term effective from 12 July 2016) | Juergen Voegele Senior Director, Agriculture, World Bank | ||
| Co-Chair | Appointed by the System Council for each meeting from amongst its voting members | ||
20 Voting members, July 2016 – June 2021*CGIAR System Council constituency selection process * Based on decision SC/M7/DP4 to extend reconciliation of Funder seating | |||
| No | Constituency/Country | Member | Alternate (optional) |
| 1 | African Development Bank | Martin Fregene Director of Agriculture | Ken Johm Lead Agricultural Economist |
| 2 | Australia | Andrew Campbell Chief Executive Officer, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) | Mellissa Wood General Manager, Global Programs, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) |
| 3 | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Tony Cavalieri Senior Program Officer, Agriculture Development | Enock Chikava Deputy Director, Agriculture Development |
| 4 | Canada | Stephen Potter Director, Food Security Division, Global Issues and Development Branch, Global Affairs Canada | Christophe Kadji Deputy Director, Global Programs and Initiatives Food Security Division, Global Issues and Development Branch, Global Affairs Canada |
| 5 | East Asia and Pacific** (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand) | CHINA (July 2016-June 2019) Xifeng Gong Director of International Cooperation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) | INDONESIA (July 2016-June 2019) Syaiful Anwar Director of Social Economic Forest Policy and Climate Change Centre, Forestry and Environment Research Development and Innovation Agency |
| 6 | European Commission | Christophe Larose Head of Sustainable agriculture sector, DEVCO C1 – European Commission | |
| 7 | Germany and Belgium | Stefan Schmitz Head of Directorate 12 – Food, Agriculture and Rural Development Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development | Carol Durieux Attaché, expert agriculture, food security and water, FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation |
| 8 | Japan | Motoaki Komiya Deputy Director, Global Issues Cooperation Division, International Cooperation, Bureau, Ministry of Foreign, Affairs of Japan | |
| 9 | Latin America and Caribbean** (Brazil, Colombia and Peru) | BRAZIL (2019) Pedro Luiz Oliveira de Almeida Machado Coordinator, Embrapa Labex Europe, Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply | COLOMBIA (2019) Jorge Mario Diaz Luengas Executive Director, Agrosavia, The Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research |
| 10 | Mexico | Jorge Rueda Sousa Minister Counselor of Mexico’s Agricultural Office for Europe / SAGARPA Mission of Mexico to the EU | Miguel Narvaez Agricultural Counselor for Mexico’s Agricultural Office for Europe / SAGARPA Mission of Mexico to the EU |
| 11 | The Netherlands | Melle Leenstra Senior Policy Officer Food & Nutrition Research, Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |
| 12 | Norway | Daniel van Gilst Senior Adviser, Norad | |
| 13 | South Asia** (Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka) | INDIA (July 2016-June 2019) Dr. T. Mohapatra Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) & Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) | SRI LANKA (Jan. 2018-June 2019) N.A. Sisira Kumara Secretary, Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management BANGLADESH (July 2016-Dec. 2017) |
| 14 | Sub-Saharan Africa** (Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda) | NIGERIA (July 2016-June 2019) Yarama D. Ndirpaya | SUDAN (Jan. 2018- June 2019) Adil Omer Salih Abdelrahim KENYA |
| 15 | Sweden | Eva Ohlsson Senior Research Advisor, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency | Philip Chiverton Senior Consultant to Sida on CGIAR matters, C/O Unit of Research Cooperation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency |
| 16 | Switzerland | Michel Evéquoz Senior Advisor, Global Program Food Security Swiss Development Cooperation | |
| 17 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Alan Tollervey Team Leader, Agriculture Research, Research and Evidence Division DFID | Howard Standen Climate Change (Resilience and Inclusion) Adviser, DFID |
| 18 | United States | Robert Bertram Chief Scientist, Bureau for Food Security, USAID | Eric Witte Senior International Affairs Specialist, USAID |
| 19 | West Asia & North Africa** (Turkey and Iran; Member and Alternate rotates each 2 years) | IRAN (From 1 July 2018) Rasoul Zare Deputy Head, Research and Technology, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) | TURKEY (From 1 July 2018) H. Gazi Kaya Director of Agricultural Research and Policies, Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock (Note: previously member from July 2016-June 2018) |
| 20 | The World Bank | Mark Cackler Practice Manager, Global Practice for Agriculture | Michael Morris Lead Agriculture Economist |
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) |
| 21 | Chair of the System Management Board | Marco Ferroni | |
| 22 | Executive Director of the CGIAR System Organization | Elwyn Grainger-Jones Executive Director | |
| 23 | Representative appointed by the Centers – 1 | Nicole Birrell Convener of the Center Board Chairs | |
| 24 | Representative appointed by the Centers – 2 | Aly Abousabaa Convener of the Center Directors General | |
| 25 | Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations | Hans Dreyer Director, Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP) | |
| 26 | International Fund for Agricultural Development | Paul Winters Associate Vice President, Strategy and Knowledge Department | Malu Ndavi Lead Technical Specialist, Programme Management Department |
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) |
| 27 | Global Forum on Agricultural Research | GFAR Chair (or designate) | |
| 28 | CGIAR Independent Science for Development Council | Maggie Gill ISDC Interim Chair | |
Invited Guests | |||
Representatives of each of the following are invited to System Council meetings:
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