Over 130 participants from 25 countries met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to confirm partners and priorities at the launching of the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC). Dr Peter Carberry, Director of GLDC, set the framework, underlining that the Program’s approach is premised on how it can add value to what is already being undertaken. Linking initiatives and building on each other’s strengths will be a key focus of the approach.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, H.E. Dr Eyasu Abraha Alle, who inaugurated GLDC, supported the value chain approach noting that “Grain legumes and the sorghum and millets are what have been termed as ‘Smart Food’ because they are’ good for you, good for the planet, and good for the farmer’. However, they have received less attention and their value chains have not been as well developed. We need to do something different! Through partnerships like GLDC, we will build this whole industry from the consumer end and also develop the food processing industry and connect this right back to the farmers.”
