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Global Forum onAgricultural Research

Plan of Work 2009-2010

Executive Summary

The challenge A massive global response, sparked by the 2008 food crisis, is at last recognizing the need to invest coherently in agricultural development for the sake of humanity and the environment. Agricultural research needs to play its role as a key part of the solutions required. However, many research and innovation systems are under-resourced, poorly integrated and often not focused on the actual needs of societies. This results in a lack of awareness of their value, and so a lack of investment, capacity and infrastructure. The result is technologies are failing to reach those they could most benefit. Equally problematic is that knowledge and innovation available in rural communities is often not reaching others or being used to guide research appropriate to the needs of the poor.

The net result is that the generation and use of agricultural knowledge is failing to meet the

needs of the poor (WDR, CFA and IAASTD, 2008). A revolution is required in institutional investment, capacities, thinking and behaviour, to meet the world's rural development and food needs. To bring real change, agricultural innovation systems must bring coherent actions and interactions among many partners. Innovation itself needs to be embedded into wider development mechanisms and investments to achieve its desired impacts.

How does the Global Forum meet these needs? The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) was established to bring together all those involved in shaping and determining the future of agriculture. It puts farmers and the poor at the centre of agricultural research for development. GFAR brings together their voices and collective actions through coherent, inclusive and equitable processes, essential for delivering rapid and sustainable change. Different sectors represented in the Global Forum, and steering its activities, include intergovernmental agencies, international research centers, the NARS of all regions linked through Regional Research Fora, farmers’ organizations, civil society and private sector interests (through their own associations at regional and global scales), as well as the development funding agencies themselves.

The 2009-2010 Plan of Work GFAR is not a stand-alone institution, its actions are delivered through the many organizations, networks and agencies involved in, and accountable for, the generation and use of agricultural knowledge for development – i.e. the partners represented in this Global Forum. This Plan of Work brings coordinated actions to truly link agricultural science and society around the world. In 2009-2010, GFAR will bring concerted global action to bear in the four key areas of its operation:

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1. Advocacy for change Through the Global Forum, processes of wide stakeholder consultation will seek to establish a better and more integrated global framework for agricultural research for development, with increased investment in institutions explicitly oriented to meet the needs of the poor. Open and inclusive regional consultations in 2009 will culminate in the 2010 Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development, bringing the strengths and actions of each sector together in new ways to address common agendas. The CGIAR reform process will use the Global Forum to establish the development framework within which its new business and role will be defined through consultation and linkage with partners around the world The chronic need for investment in agricultural research and extension will be highlighted to policy makers and supported by evidence gathered by the Forum’s stakeholders. Active dialogue will help mobilize advanced science to better meet development needs, ensuring the views of civil society are heard directly in these processes.

2. Reshaping Institutions for the future The world’s agricultural research and innovation systems require both increased investment and innovative change to create new career opportunities, break down divides and meet the needs of the societies they serve. Activities fostered through GFAR will:

• Bring together and learn from innovative research funding mechanisms that engage civil society in research processes

• Actively encourage women and young professionals to build new careers in the sector and help them to directly influence its shape and focus

• Strengthen national, regional and global research fora to ensure the voices of civil society are effectively heard

• Steer and influence change in the CGIAR so that its role is embedded in helping to deliver development needs through its national partners.

3. Fostering inter-regional partnership The processes, values, communication systems and institutional interests of agricultural research and extension systems all constrain true partnership. Inter-regional action via the Global Forum breaks through these barriers, raises awareness of needs, avoids ‘reinvention of the wheel’, speeds take-up of new ideas and increases development impact. Key strategic themes are addressed through programmes of concerted action, mobilized among diverse organizations through GFAR, to generate and share knowledge and actively learn from others. Themes to be addressed in 2009-10 are:

• Climate change • Linking Farmers to Markets (for which

a separate large proposal is now available for support)

• Conservation agriculture • Crops for the Future • Learning networks in biotechnology

and commodity crops • The Global Horticulture Initiative

4. Bridging the knowledge gaps Turning knowledge into development impacts is complex, context specific and cross-cut with many social, cultural, economic and environmental considerations. GFAR will work to:

• Create coherence between information systems for agricultural research for development (CIARD)

• Strengthen regional agricultural information and learning systems

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• Share knowledge through the use of internet based tools and foster debate on key issues, sharing agricultural information and knowledge globally

• Better coordination, coherence and integration of activities

• Better understanding of real needs and greater accountability to the needs of the poor • Enable ‘Blended’ learning by linking

ICTs to community learning processes for agricultural development. And through these provide clear leadership and guidance to understand the complex multifaceted outcomes resulting from research adoption and learning.

• Cycles of action learning to improve the further uptake and value of innovations

• Leveraging of successful processes and programmes to achieve global impact

• Greater impact from research investment in development.

GFAR enables inclusive planning, prioritization, initiation and learning from agricultural research for development. By streamlining connection between rural communities and the institutions which serve them, we can reach millions of farmers and their dependents within a very short time frame. In this way the generation and use of agricultural knowledge can truly serve society and its development needs.

What can the Global Forum deliver? Working together, GFAR’s extensive stakeholder networks, together with the support of the funding agencies, will bring:

• Improved alignment of research with development aims

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GFAR in Context A Global Forum to shape the future of agriculture The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) brings together all those with the power to shape and determine the future of agriculture and puts the needs of the poor at the centre of agricultural research for development. GFAR provides the inclusive global platform for their voices and collective actions, an essential for delivering rapid and sustainable change. The Global Forum provides the mechanism and the opportunity that brings together the global agricultural research for development community to work coherently, inclusively and equitably, driven by the needs of the poor. Working together GFAR’s extensive stakeholder networks, together with the support of the funding agencies, bring:

• Improved alignment of research with development aims

• Better coordination of activities • More coherence and integration of

efforts • Active engagement with the intended

end-users of agricultural research for development

• Better understanding of real needs • Greater accountability to the needs

of the poor • Cycles of action learning to improve

the further uptake and value of innovations

• Greater linkage between research investment and development outcomes

• Leveraging of successful processes and programmes to achieve global impact.

This plan addresses the key strategic objectives of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research:

• Advocacy for change through agricultural research to meet the future needs of humanity

• Reshaping institutions for the future to link agricultural science and society

• Increasing ARD effectiveness by fostering inter-regional partnership and learning

• Bridging the knowledge gaps and enabling the poor to access critical knowledge to empower their own innovation and development.

The Global Forum’s actions are mobilized and delivered through the partnerships, collaborative networks and institutions brought together through the Forum, as determined by their representatives in the multi-stakeholder GFAR Steering Committee. The GFAR Secretariat facilitates, coordinates and supports the global platform and its actions. This Plan addresses the 4 Strategic Objectives of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) as defined in the GFAR Charter and builds on from the previous Business Plan 2007-8. These needs were articulated through:

• Stakeholder consultation in the GFAR Triennial Conference 2006,

• Independent external reviews of GFAR and of GFAR’s partnership programmes in 2007,

• A Strategic planning retreat involving representatives of all sectors in Alexandria, 2007,

• Implementation of processes processes of change and reform agreed by the GFAR Steering Committee in its meetings in Montevideo and Maputo, 2008,

• The Plan also incorporates actions in support of the change process of the CGIAR, a key stakeholder in the Global Forum.

GFAR is the global multi-stakeholder platform linking all those concerned about the future of agriculture and its role in development, bringing together, through very extensive networks, the perspectives of all stakeholders concerned with agricultural research for development. These include FAO, IFAD, the

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CGIAR, Regional Research Fora bringing coherence between the NARS of all regions, national farmers unions through IFAP and civil society and private sector interests through their own associations at regional and global scales, as well as funding agencies themselves. GFAR thus offers tremendous potential, unconfined by institutional interests, for inclusive planning, prioritization, initiation and learning from agricultural research for development and, on behalf of all stakeholders, for advocating needs and demonstrating the value of the sector to policy makers to stimulate the essential investment in this arena. This Plan of Work is put forward for support from the development donor community and for the active engagement of all those concerned about the future of agriculture and its role in development. The Global Forum is an inclusive mechanism for collective action, not a stand-alone

institution. The focus throughout is on improving the impact of agricultural research for development. Wherever possible, actions are linked to and offset by other resources from partners, adding value and engaging wider society into their programmes. The Plan is based around the concept of minimizing central costs, with activities delivered through the active institutions, networks and agencies involved in the generation and use of agricultural knowledge to help deliver desired development outcomes; the partners from all sectors who together make up this Global Forum. By streamlining connection between rural communities and the institutions which serve them, we can reach millions of farmers and their dependents within a very short time frame. In this way the generation and use of agricultural knowledge can truly serve society and its development needs.

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Strategic Objectives and Proposed Actions 2009-2010 1. Advocacy for change

Background This function becomes crucial as the global community seeks to address not just the current food crisis, but the massive challenges that lie ahead for humanity in continuing to feed itself in a viable and sustainable way. Change is urgently needed, as recently voiced in the World Development Report, IAASTD, CGIAR Change Management Process and Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food, as business as usual for agricultural research for development is not an option:

• Demographic pressures are growing fast

• Food demands are changing • Climate is changing • Land use is changing • Water resources are decreasing and

deteriorating • Soil resources are eroding and

degrading • Urbanization is rapidly advancing,

eating into fertile agricultural lands • Indigenous knowledge is disappearing. • And Agricultural productivity is

increasingly becoming intensified and continuous in terms of its cropping seasons

• Poor global coordination linking funding to research and research to the end user, traditionally much greater funding upstream and none to push the final pathway to end user for impact.

And resource-poor agricultural communities are increasingly marginalized in access to new information, knowledge, skills, technology and resources for development

There is an urgent need for the voices of the poor to be heard into the planning of and investment in agriculture and the role that agricultural research plays in advancing development. GFAR provides the basis for this collective movement for change.

GFAR’s stakeholders among the poor are clamouring for their voices and needs to be heard through open and inclusive processes. Smallholder food production is essential to the survival and fabric of rural and urban communities as well as for the income opportunities it provides. But change does not occur without investment. The generation, sharing and use of agricultural knowledge is an essential for empowering the poor to become food secure, increase their incomes and escape from poverty. GFAR provides the cross-institutional and inter-regional mechanism, the global partnership among all involved in agricultural research for development, to enable the critical long-term actions put forward in the Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA) on the Global Food Security crisis to be realized and for research to become embedded into processes resolving the challenges of agricultural development. Development and research mechanisms must become more integrated, as is already seen through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme with the embedded role of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa. A coordinated response to the global food crisis is now taking shape through international actions such as the Global Partnership on Agriculture and Food, and new large scale and multi-donor funds being established via the World Bank, UN, EU and others to assist countries faced with food crises The need for research institutions to increase their coordination and efficiency in serving development needs thus becomes paramount. GFAR was established to fulfill just this role, enabling multi-stakeholder advocacy and integration of research efforts for development. The time has truly come for the entire sector to deliver its value to society through coherent actions and for societies to invest in research

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they recognize as driven by their development needs. Specific objectives 1. Organize the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) Montpellier, February 2010 as an innovative mechanism based on wide prior stakeholder consultation, for shaping the ARD agenda globally, highlighting the need for investment in agricultural research systems that benefit the poor in developing countries and providing a partnership framework for realigning the international agricultural research system. 2. Provide the platform for cross-institutional advocacy for increased and more effective ARD investment towards achieving development goals in poverty alleviation, food security and environmental sustainability 3. Mobilize advanced science and predictive mechanisms to identify longer-term agendas and potential impacts.

Activities proposed 1. Via support to Regional Fora and stakeholder constituencies, organize reviews of regional research for development needs and current actions through consultancy and regional discussion sessions towards the 2010 Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD). Through these, foster inclusive and well-designed processes of agenda-setting, prioritization and programming within NARS1 and the reformed CGIAR, with the objective of increasing productivity and profitability for small-scale producers. Mechanisms entail open processes of consultation in each region, (processes led by GCARD Task Force and each organized through the relevant Regional Forum):

• Review and distil existing policy papers relating agricultural research to

1 GFAR considers National Agricultural Research Systems to incorporate all stakeholders active in research for development, including public research and extension organizations, farmers, universities, private sector companies and non-governmental organizations

rural development priorities for each region, which includes:

• Examining potential links to agricultural development initiatives and status of investments in each region that provide the enabling environment for take up of agricultural innovations

• Bringing together understanding of innovation pathways in each region and the actors required to enable the poor to benefit from agricultural innovations in key areas.

• Enable regional discussion of processes of strategy and results frameworks in ARD, helping realign the work of the CGIAR

• Organize conference facilities, structure, logistics and inputs with the conference hosts , the Government of France

For the 2010 Conference itself:

• Enable representation from other partners in discussion to establish a global frame for agricultural research for development

• Manage delivery of conference in Montpellier (through GCARD Task Force, contracted agency and local hosts)

Post-conference:

• Follow-on development of global framework for ARD and support to negotiation of partnerships required for implementation

3. Strengthen global investment in ARD

• Support and facilitate, through global and regional dialogues, the strengthening of the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative and link with similar exercises by other actors to examine returns on research investment and investment in agricultural innovation systems.

• Support, through involvement of GFAR‘s networks, FAO’s processes to document investment in extension around the world and to identify current investment needs.

• Contribute to processes towards development of the Global Partnership on Agriculture and Food, as they apply

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to the role and coordination of research and extension systemmeeting the needs of the poor

s in

. Accompanying actions towards the GCARD

tner the CGIAR Science Council

and enable

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3objectives:

• Par(ISPC) in organization of Science Forum on mobilizing advanced science for development (Wageningen, June 2009)young professionals and civil society representatives to participate. Support civil society participatiorepresentatives) into FAO conference on biotechnologies for the poor (South Africa, November 2009) Facilitate stakeholder invcomparative modelling of developmenparameters, research needs and likely impacts (via DEFRA Workshop, UK, 2009).

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New partnerships for a new era

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2. Institutions for the future

Background The generation and application of knowledge is critical to meeting the enormous global challenges facing agriculture, yet major concerns remain: the poor have been last to benefit from research (as recently documented in the World Development Report and IAASTD); Many apparently effective technologies have not been adopted and societies have been losing confidence in agricultural science.

In essence, why are research and extension institutions not effectively connected with those they are intended to benefit and so not valued and supported to the extent they should be in the societies?

GFAR’s premise is that these problems result from the fundamental gap between scientific knowledge, which is reductionist, trusted and validated by its method and local knowledge, which is holistic and trusted and validated by practical experiences and culture. The fundamental need is to link and reconcile these knowledge and their associated trust bases as sustainable development must value and capitalize on both. Through these processes, the poor can also directly change the nature of research and its focus, so that it becomes directly accountable to their needs and they become empowered to make their own informed choices in development. The gaps between research, education and extension are recognized globally and require fundamental overhaul. The national agricultural research and innovation systems of developing countries are largely under-resourced, lack essential capacities and require both increased investment and innovative change to break down institutional divides and put the needs of society and the poor at the very heart of their activity. This means active change in our research, education and extension institutions, to take a wider view of innovation systems in which

many actors each play a role and to break down the communication, control and power barriers between scientific innovation and that arising in the farmer’s field.

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GFAR’s focus puts the poor, and particularly the rural poor, at the centre of research and innovation processes, with research embedded in development processes, rather than starting from a technological perspective. To do so requires change in the way institutions and individuals are focused and behave, so that they become more open to true and equitable partnership and more willing to engage with knowledge and perspectives beyond their own walls. This is a revolutionary process for agricultural science. Given that existing institutions cannot change overnight, this needs to be achieved through evolution of thinking, institutional management and behaviours, resulting in progressive change among all involved. In recent years, GFAR has catalysed major new thinking in this regard. The 2006 GFAR

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Triennial Conference brought together a spread of issues around the implementation of innovation systems. The DURAS and PROLINNOVA initiatives, both created through GFAR, have explored exciting new ways to link local innovation with that from science that highlight equitable partnership and explore new ways by which research could better be funded. GFAR support has been central to the establishment of the Young Professionals in Agricultural Research and Development (YPARD) platform, bringing the voice of youth directly into agenda setting and thinking on innovative curricula and cross linkage has been established with the African Women in Agricultural R&D (AWARD) programme of the CGIAR, to help foster its global scale-out. GFAR’s engagement in the Change Steering Team, Partnerships Working Group2 and regional consultations towards CGIAR Change Management Process, identified a number of key areas by which a reformed international system might better undertake processes of research with its partners and embed its programmes in a wider frame of consideration towards desired development outcomes3. This will be built on in 2009-2010, through active regional dialogue and processes to foster active change in the system. A focus on research towards development outcomes entails equitable partnership with others, particularly those implementing change in the field, so that the international system plays its best possible role in supporting and strengthening the role of agricultural research in development. The CGIAR Change Management Partnerships Working Group recommendation for Strategic outcome-based planning for the CGIAR, subsequently taken up in the agreed Change proposal was that:

2 CGIAR (2008) The Future of Partnerships in the CGIAR. Report of Working Group 2 (Partnerships) to the Change Steering Team of the CGIAR, September 16, 2008, 78pp 3 GFAR (2008): The CGIAR and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research. 14pp

“Appropriate consultative processes with relevant non-member stakeholders should be organized at the CGIAR system level to define strategic dimensions and main priorities. WG2 considers the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR) to be the most appropriate institutional mechanism to oversee this process.” This strategic role is taken up in this Plan. However the CGIAR Change consultation also recognized that “to fully incorporate and ensure the active participation of all relevant non-member stakeholders and the availability of sufficient resources, GFAR will need to be reorganized and strengthened.” The need for strengthening GFAR’s capacity and broad stakeholder engagement is recognized and specific plans for strengthening the GFAR system of governance, stakeholder representation and operation were agreed at the GFAR 2008 Maputo Steering Committee. It was also recognized that in addition to the need for expansion of the GFAR Secretariat to take on these increased expectations and workloads, each of the Regional Research Fora that contribute towards the development of global agendas requires strengthening through additional key staff and greater involvement with civil society and policy groups. Support for these processes of change is also requested here. These additional core resources are essential to GFAR being able to fulfil the role and responsibilities now entrusted to it by the international ARD system.

Specific objectives Activities proposed aim to ensure that the voices of the poor are heard and responded to at all stages in institutional operation, from research planning, to implementation, to scaling-out and lesson learning from the research itself. This needs to happen in all constituencies of the Global Forum, so that they are strengthened at all levels to:

1. Engage civil society and local innovation into agricultural research systems

2. Strengthen the voices of civil society in regional and national research planning

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3. Steer and influence change in the CGIAR.

Activities proposed 1. Engage civil society and local innovation into agricultural research systems

• Enhance the equity of partnership with civil society (farmer organizations, NGOs, small enterprises etc) through coordinated learning from impact of innovative research funding mechanisms and models: DURAS, Research Into Use Programme, ProLinnova, FONTAGRO, AGRA and others.

• Build new career structures and

curricula priorities for agricultural education through direct engagement with the perspectives of young professionals, via support and involvement of the networks of Young Professionals in Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD) into programme setting and research prioritization.

• Through the GFAR networks, explore

the global scale-out of specific training initiatives for women in agriculture and rural development, leveraging the ongoing AWARD programme of the CGIAR Gender and Diversity Programme to inspire young people into agricultural research for development.

In 2009 we aim to influence wider change by providing a platform for global communication of the aims and activities of the AWARD programme, including young women documenting their own experiences and impacts with smallholders through multi-language video and in 2010, M&E and an outcome mapping learning workshop to take stock of AWARD impacts and outcomes, and capture lessons for other capacity building programs.

2. Strengthen the voices of civil society in national, regional and global research

• Foster the development of civil society linkages and involvement in regional agricultural research fora around the world to create truly multi-stakeholder platforms, active in research planning and policy (actions link with 1.1).

• Mobilize civil society organizations

around key issues through issues papers and direct engagement inputs.

• Strengthen representation of all

sectors in GFAR’s governance and programmes.

3. Steering and influencing change in the CGIAR

• Actively participate in the Transition Management Team steering processes of change in the CGIAR

• Foster the equitable involvement of

partners in Challenge programmes and formulation of the new Mega-Programmes supported through the CGIAR.

• Help catalyse engagement of other

partners into the Fund Council, ISPC and Consortium Board.

• Enable the participation of policy

makers and rural development actors (and assist their identification) in establishing the broader development frame within which the CGIAR defines its business and strategy and results frameworks for mega-programmes (directly integrated with 1.1)

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3. Increasing ARD effectiveness by fostering inter-regional partnership

Background Agriculture is highly context specific, yet agricultural issues have global resonance. One of the prime roles of the Global Forum is to strengthen partnership between regions, so that international learning is enhanced, technologies and inspiration spread more rapidly and confidence can be placed in ideas validated through very practical experience in other parts of the world.

Agricultural science is constrained by its own project processes, values, attribution systems and institutional interests, all of which constrain true partnership. How can inter-regional processes break through these barriers, avoid ‘reinvention of the wheel’ and hasten development impact through new ways of working?

GFAR does not implement programmes in its own right and is not a funding agency. It does however, provide a key vehicle for diverse partners to come together, share their experiences and find common cause and equitable partnership in addressing key themes. It provides an inclusive and objective mechanism for issues affecting the poor to be explored and innovative partnerships to be formed. Through equitable international partnerships and thematic networks, the poor can obtain ready access to new ideas and technologies that would otherwise remain unobtainable for many years. GFAR’s Global Partnership Programmes are an innovative way of working, based on mutual commitments to specific agendas and building on the different strengths of partners from all sectors in ARD. These principles allow the equitable development of ideas, contributed to by all and avoiding distortion of agendas through the power relationships determined by prior access to funding. Through such operation, they break down the barriers between research and extension institutions and other

sectors and help to foster real linkage between science and society.

Specific objectives Through providing support to nascent networks and partnership programmes GFAR enables implementing institutions to deliver subsequent development outcomes through open and effective partnership and the integration of resources and activities. Following a recent and very positive review of these programmes, it has been recently agreed that any such programmes for which GFAR’s central support is requested should follow specific principles, as detailed below.4 An important principle is that they are based around addressing desired development outcomes and working through partners from different sectors to understand and overcome the barriers to adoption of agricultural research outputs and understand how best to move from research products to development outcomes benefiting the lives of the poor.

4 Principles of GFAR’s partnership Programmes: 1. Build on on-going activities and strong

institutional commitments to conceptualize and address inter-regional or global concerns.

2. Are endorsed by partners in the regions concerned as aligning with their highest agricultural development priorities

3. Involve more than one region and link with the regional fora concerned

4. Include financial resource commitment from the regions concerned

5. Set out a clear pathway by which development impact will subsequently be obtained and show a specific focus on how the poor will benefit from the activity

6. Are developed and championed by a multistakeholder group, responsible and accountable for the implementation of the programme and ensuring that GFAR principles are maintained throughout

7. Directly involve partners from both research and wider society, representative of diverse backgrounds and perspectives and adding value to what the bodies concerned could achieve by themselves

8. Work to also cross-link related initiatives initiated and developed by the partners concerned

9. Demonstrate impact on individual and institutional behaviours in opening research systems out to new partners and perspectives

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A key purpose of these activities is to increase coherence, awareness and efficiency among actors in addressing major global themes e.g. by supporting and cross-relating initiatives in agriculture and climate change between FAO, CGIAR, IFAP and the Regional Fora.

Activities proposed These programmes are put into action through the commitment of the parties involved. They are not managed by the GFAR Secretariat but by lead agencies concerned with the theme. The GFAR Secretariat provides key mentorship and brokerage between institutions and plays a key role in monitoring progress and fostering new ways of working. Increasingly, as these programmes mature, the Secretariat facilitates learning about the programme among its members and monitors and shares the programme’s knowledge and outcomes with others through the GFAR networks. Funds are requested to enable the programme implementers to build connection with others, to further explore the ideas and activities required in each area, to catalyse and enable actions to be scaled up to achieve significant impact and to enable lesson learning from their outcomes. The Steering Committee of GFAR, representative of all regions and sectors, has prioritized (in order of significance) the following areas of partnership for inter-regional action in 2009-2010, each of which continue earlier engagement:

I. Climate change II. Linking Farmers to markets III. Conservation agriculture IV. Crops for the future V. Learning networks:

Biotechnology and commodity crops

VI. Global Horticulture Initiative

Details of proposed inter-regional partnership programmes I. Climate Change In 2008, GFAR co-sponsored scientific discussion of the linkage between climate change and agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region (with APAARI and JIRCAS) and a conference to examine the implications of climate change for dryland regions (with IDDC). This led to a presentation at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Poznan, as part of an initiative with the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), and the private sector platform CropLife International to raise the profile of agriculture in the global discussion in regard to climate change. Discussions in early 2009 are beginning to build concerted action with FAO, IFAP and the CGIAR (including the CC Challenge Programme) to bring together the key players in agriculture and climate change, towards development of the Copenhagen Conference and potential development of a global initiative generating and sharing the knowledge required for agricultural mitigation and adaptation to climate change. II. Linking Farmers to Markets Increasing income opportunities for the rural poor is essential to their escaping the dungeon of poverty. The IAASTD and WDR have confirmed that the poor are least able to access markets and are disadvantaged by a lack of knowledge of technologies and practices required to successfully access markets and add value to their produce. Numerous projects around the world are seeking to make markets work for the poor. However, these are generally localized and concerned with specific communities and activities in one region fail to learn from knowledge of what has worked in other situations. For five years, GFAR has been stimulating linkage between those working in this area around the world, linking farmer organizations, research and innovation agencies and those concerned with specific market chains, to learn from each others experiences and so establish and share the knowledge enabling equitable

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access to markets. Through these processes, an inter-regional steering team has generated a programme proposal that addresses key areas of capacity building at policy, regional and institutional levels. This is now in an advanced stage of preparation and is presented for funding consideration as a stand-alone programme. The full programme proposal is attached and would be managed by contract through an existing agency (GFAR retaining oversight, mentoring and review roles). III. Conservation Agriculture Degradation of soils and water resources present a major threat to increasing agricultural productivity, the more so in the marginal lands available to the poor. Efforts to introduce conservation agriculture practices have led to widespread adoption in many regions, but still only a fraction of arable systems are covered. The reasons for this are complex, but include competition for crop residue resources and relative costs of inputs. GFAR has for some time fostered interregional partnership to learn from experiences around the world on the value and implications (positive and negative) of conservation agriculture practices and these were further developed through a workshop co-sponsored with FAO in 2008. This has established a community of practice that aims to help link those working in this area in farming, research and knowledge transfer communities. There is now strong interest among CGIAR centres also in more concerted action in this area and CIMMYT is leading the development of joint actions between the international research system and other stakeholders. IV. Crops for the Future Minor and underutilized crops form an essential economic and nutritive lifeline for poor communities. They have considerable potential for market development, enabling the poor to directly benefit in niche markets, and are efficient providers of vitamins and a source of essential nutrients and dietary balance. In addition, many have uses in traditional medicine.

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GFAR has promoted minor crops for many years through the Global Facilitation Unit for Under-Utilized Species. Nonetheless, it is recognized that there is a strong need for greater coherence among organizations addressing this agenda and the GFU-UUS programme is now merged with the International Centre for Under-utilized Crops as the Crops for the Future initiative. The GFAR networks are working to establish this initiative more widely through connection with each region through the Regional Fora and numerous partners around the world. An initial programme is proposed for the Asia-pacific region, beginning with a multi-stakeholder workshop in Papua New Guinea, for which GFAR co-financing is requested. Where appropriate, cross-linkage will also be established with the non-timber forest products programme previously catalysed through GFAR. V. Learning networks in biotechnology, genetic resources and commodity crops GFAR aims to ensure that debate on biotechnologies is informed by all opinion and that capacities exist in developing countries for self-determination of policies and practices in regard to biotechnologies of all kinds. Towards

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this, FAO is planning a major conference on the application of biotechnologies for the poor in 2009 and GFAR proposes to support the participation of civil society organizations and existing interregional thematic networks from the developing regions. Similar support is proposed for established research networks in commodity crops, to enable civil society stakeholders to play active roles in these rather than being seen as recipients of research.

VI. Global Horticulture Initiative Horticultural crops provide an essential source of income and nutrition for the peri-urban poor, landless and displaced and on a commercial scale provide the mainstay for many developing economies. Intensive production of vegetables and fruit brings together complexities of production, trade and nutrition. The Global Horticulture Initiative is an initiative modelled on GFAR’s multi-stakeholder composition and bringing together all perspectives on horticulture and its role in development. It catalyses actions in horticulture and actively promotes multi-stakeholder programmes along the food chain.

The Initiative is beginning to find its way forward but needs further connection to the networks and initiatives of partners coming together through GFAR. Support is requested for specific actions to link other stakeholders into the Initiative as a global partnership programme of GFAR.

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4. Bridging the knowledge gaps Background Information only becomes useful when internalized as knowledge. Knowledge is itself dynamic. It derives from the actions and interactions which we all experience every day. Innovation derives from the interaction and knowledge of multiple actors within a context. Turning knowledge into innovation and development practice and outcomes is complex, context specific and cross-cut with many social, cultural, economic and environmental considerations. This relies on the interaction of many partners, yet these interactions are constrained by control of information, awareness of opportunities and ideas, the media in which information is presented, its accessibility and whether the messages are too simplistic for a particular context or, conversely, too complex to be assimilated and used. Alongside these, attention must be paid to its intelligibility and format, its relevance, the institutional barriers constraining the sharing of knowledge, belief systems and individual, institutional and societal attitudes to change. True innovation relies on the interaction of multiple knowledge sources, requiring more than any one individual or institution can bring. It requires the ready exchange of information from different sources and the knowledge and innovation of many different stakeholders, in particular those who can broker linkage between scientific and societal forms of knowledge.

How can we better link innovation from science and society as a true "social endeavour" contributing directly to development?

Bridging these knowledge gaps is a key focus for GFAR, bringing the value of a global multi-stakeholder network in sharing information, knowledge, inspiration and innovation swiftly and readily around the world and in a range of media and forms. This is a key area for GFAR’s operation as a global mechanism

underpinning change and innovation among all its partners.

Specific objectives • Creating coherence between

information systems for agricultural research for development (CIARD)

• Strengthening regional agricultural information and learning systems.

• Sharing knowledge through the use of internet based tools and fostering debate on key issues on sharing and exchanging agricultural information and knowledge globally

• Enabling ‘Blended’ learning by linking ICTs to community learning processes for agricultural development.

• Providing clear leadership and guidance on moving from impact planning and assessment to understand attribution and complex multifaceted outcomes as a result of research adoption and learning

Activities proposed

I. Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD)

I.I The CIARD initiative brings together the major actors in agricultural information for development, including GFAR (and the Regional Fora), FAO, CABI, CGIAR, CTA, IICA, IAALD, MAE, France and DFID, UK, to make public domain agricultural research information and knowledge truly accessible to all. CIARD has a particular focus on enhancing the availability and accessibility of information through the Internet and creating common access to diverse databases and information. Through this mechanism, for which GFAR forms the multi-stakeholder hub, these institutions are working together to work to develop common standards that facilitate easier universal access to data and information, to share knowledge and contribute to effective and coherent institutional approaches in agricultural science and technology information management.

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I.II ARD Web Ring. While CIARD is initially focused on availability and accessibility of information, GFAR is also working to enhance its applicability. As a global community we need to develop new systems that make "learning" from ARD information more feasible and so applicable for innovation. This challenges the nature of information and makes use of the new functions provided by Web 2.0 in opening out the pathways by which knowledge can be obtained, exchanged, absorbed and locally validated. GFAR has taken the lead, through the CIARD network, in catalysing establishment of a Global ‘ARD Webring’, enabling relevant sites to be accessed through a uniform, common entry system providing open access to collective knowledge and thereby forming a “ring” of web based information. In 2009-2010, CIARD will advocate and facilitate participation of Research Institutes and National Agricultural Research Systems in the ARD Web Ring, develop common tools and applications for participation and develop capacities among the ARD Web Ring participants to efficiently share information through use of universal standards, common tools and applications. For advocacy and capacity development, CIARD partners plan a comprehensive set of Seminars and Workshops, as additions to existing meetings to improve information management in agriculture, to FAO regional conferences and to the GCARD regional consultations.

II. Regional agricultural information and learning systems

Following GFAR principles of subsidiarity and recognizing the need for information to be locally relevant, the regional research fora are each establishing networks for information access and learning. These networks function for:

• Advocacy to encourage increased investment in agricultural information systems (AIS) by governments and institutions;

• To improve access to information and the ability of stakeholders to contribute to global agricultural knowledge;

• To facilitate synergies by linking regional information conduits to global providers of agricultural information; and

• To develop regional platforms for agricultural information and learning systems.

• To develop national capacities in effective information and knowledge sharing and exchange for agricultural research for development

In 2009-2010, GFAR Secretariat will mentor and provide technical support to the assessment and further strengthening of regional agricultural information systems, assisting the Regional Fora as they develop up proposals for their financing on significant scales.

III. Sharing knowledge

The GFAR Secretariat itself functions as a hub and signpost for improving access to agricultural knowledge, through a variety of means:

• The E-GFAR webspace is progressively being revamped through Web 2.0 applications to provide greater accessibility to its many functions as an electronic ‘backbone’ for GFAR partners to develop their own resources within the Webspace, for GCARD-related consultations and for dialogue among the resultant emerging communities of practice.

• Involvement in development of Agri-feeds (RSS feeds) is now enabling the rapid dissemination of news and events in digestible form, contributing significantly to global access to information on ARD, across all those active in this arena.

• In 2009-2010 GFAR is establishing a series of issues papers to foster debate around key policy issues in ARD. By virtue of the multi-stakeholder nature of institutions coming together in GFAR, these will not represent a single perspective, but reflect the diversity of views and draw on

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evidence validated through both scientific and societal experiences.

IV. ‘Blended’ learning

GFAR is playing a leading role in inspiring new thinking in both formal and informal agricultural education and learning. In 2008, the GFAR Secretariat brought together key partners including CGIAR, COL, CTA and YPARD, to examine the interrelationship of innovation systems, formal agricultural education and learning in communities and explore ways by which new partnerships could improve the sharing and exchange of information and knowledge across this continuum. This examination showed the need to first map the various actors and activities involved. It was also recognized that formal agricultural

education institutions needed to develop new skills to meet the challenges of an emerging knowledge-intensive agriculture. This requires significant institutional innovation and new capacities in universities, colleges and their education programmes. In 2009-2010, GFAR, through the Regional Fora and by engagement with ARD education networks such as NASULGC, RUFORUM and NATURA, will initiate the mapping of actors, activities and expressed needs in education towards sharing knowledge to better meet the needs of poor rural communities. It will also foster the roles of the YPARD and AWARD platforms in identifying the needs for institutional innovation and new capacities in Universities and their education programmes.

Together we’re shaping the future of agriculture

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