Launch of the CGIAR/France Action Plan to strengthen global food security, scale up nutrition, and advance sustainable agriculture

Paris, 26^th March 2025: On the sidelines of the “Nutrition for Growth” (N4G) Summit, representatives of France and CGIAR signed the consolidated CGIAR/France Action Plan. This partnership will further advance our shared goals of reducing poverty and gender inequality, combatting food insecurity and malnutrition, and preserving natural resources and biodiversity for sustainable agriculture.

The Action Plan was signed by France’s Minister Delegate for Francophonie and International Partnerships, Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, Minister for Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste; Minister for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Annie Genevard, and CGIAR’s Executive Managing Director, Ismahane Elouafi.

“Together, we will accelerate the sustainable transformation of agricultural systems, strengthen food and nutrition security, and advance agroecology in the face of urgent challenges facing global agriculture,” said Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR.

Building on the initial component of the Action Plan signed in 2021, this new agreement will strengthen CGIAR’s ongoing research for agricultural and rural development in the Global South alongside France’s agricultural research and training ecosystem.

The CGIAR/France Action plan aims to:

• Enhance the collaboration between  France and CGIAR to advance further agricultural research, training, and capacity building alongside research institutes and civil society in the countries of the Global South. These efforts will strengthen rural farmer’s resilience to challenges such as a changing climate and diminishing natural resources while enhancing food security and nutrition;
• Define the strategic role of CGIAR within France’s international science diplomacy strategy;
• Elevate the CGIAR-France partnership on the global stage, particularly during the French presidency of the G7 and the Africa-France summit in 2026.

France is the host country of CGIAR, and the updated CGIAR/France Action Plan reaffirms CGIAR’s status in Montpellier as an international hub for agricultural research and development while underscoring France’s important role as a key funder for CGIAR’s agricultural research in food security, nutrition, adaptation to climate change and the fight against poverty.

The agreement also aligns with CGIAR’s partner-led 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy, which seeks to enlist like-minded partners to drive a radical realignment of global food systems. In doing so, CGIAR aims to reduce hunger and malnutrition, create jobs and opportunities for women and youth, and support thriving, resilient livelihoods for rural farmers worldwide.