CGIAR: Beratungsgruppe für internationale Agrarforschung – Core Contribution

The Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is a multilateral research system in the field of Agriculture Research for Development (ARD). The CGIAR has a unique role in providing international and global public goods through high-quality agricultural research, partnership, and leadership in the areas of poverty and hunger reduction, improvement of human health and nutrition, and enhancement of ecosystem resilience.

The mandate of the CGIAR is largely in line with three out of five global themes mentioned in the Federal dispatch (Botschaft) 2013-2016: Food Security, Climate Change and Water, and indirectly Nutrition & Health. The CGIAR is a key global partner for SDC's support to international agricultural research for development, particularly under the Global Program Food Security (GPFS) core issue 1 'Sustainability of Production Systems’; entry point 1 ‘Strengthen Agricultural Research for Development’ (GPFS Strategic Framework 2010-2015). The multilateral commitment to the CGIAR system complements and strengthens SDC’s engagement with the CGIAR at country and regional levels.

All sixteen CGIAR Research Programs have been approved by the Fund Council (FC) meetings in 2012 and are now fully operational. The ‘Strategy and Result Framework (SRF) Action Plan 2013’ was endorsed at FC8, shaping the process to address the shortcomings of the SRF in 2013.

The inaugural Fund Council (2011-2012) was evaluated, and the composition of the FC 2013-2015 determined, giving the Europeans significantly more weight (four constituency seats plus three recognition seats, that means seven seats in total, of which one for Switzerland). A system-wide gender strategy was approved.

CGIAR Research Programs (CRP) are streamlined towards impact generation, and their contributions to CGIAR system level outcomes (SLO) can be assessed. The ongoing CGIAR Governance review (2012/2013) and the planned midterm review of the CGIAR reform 2013/14 inform the Fund Council and Consortium decisions on required organizational adjustments.

SDC is an active member of the European Initiative for Agriculture Research for Development (EIARD) and thereby leverages the Swiss and European influence CGIAR Fund Council on decisions items. SDC continues to chair EIARD (representing 45% of the funding in the CGIAR Fund, and 39.2% of the total funding invested into the CGIAR) in 2013. SDC windows of observation at system level are partnership, capacity development and gender.

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64 donors in total. Major donor countries: US, UK, Canada, Norway, Germany, Australia, Japan, NL, Sweden, & Belgium. Foundations/ Int. Org.: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, EC, WB, IFAD.

Coordination through active involvement EIARD i.e. EU member countries, EC, Norway and Switzerland. CGIAR Fund Council: Switzerland holds one of the four European seats in the FC in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Phase 6 01.01.2013 - 31.12.2015   (Completed)