Global Donor Platform for Rural Development

Platform Policy Brief

No. 7 // January 2012

Platform policy briefs outline the rationale for choosing a particular policy alternative or course of action in a current policy debate. They guide decision makers with their choices and advocate for a position Global Donor Platform for Rural Development Tackling rural poverty, together

T Promoting scientific partnerships for food security

The G20 Conference on Agricultural Research for Development
SUMMARY

A

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conference was held in Montpellier on 12-13 September 2011 under the French Presidency of the G20. It was unique in bringing together for the first time policy makers and practitioners to discuss and build consensus on agricultural research for development (AR4D) and promote scientific partnerships for food security.

// Key messages from the conference

Recognition of food security as a key political issue Recognition of central role of AR4D in solving food insecurity Ensuring that research has a sustainable impact on smallholder farmers Equitable and inclusive partnerships improve research Capacity building at all levels, including tertiary education, should be a priority Coordination needs to be improved

// Options to advance the conference outcomes

Mainstream AR4D into food security and development aid programmes Ensure that short-term interventions to bring existing research into use are prioritised Support the Global Foresight Hub coordinates by GFAR Improve coordination of AR4D through existing structures and partnerships in particular preparation for and participation in 2nd Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD 2) in Uruguay October 2012 Explore opportunities for additional inclusive partnership platforms for fragile states Explore mechanisms for partnerships (G20/developing countries) with Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Programs (CRPs) Review best practice with respect to public/private sector partnerships for AR4D Ensure sharing of the progress made in the Agriculture Pull Mechanism Initiative Develop mechanisms for support to capacity strengthening in developing countries including the potential of the Tropical Agriculture Platform

About the author Andrew Westby is President of Agrinatura-EEIG and Director of Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom

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T CONFERENCE BACKGROUND
The G20 Conference on Agricultural Research for Development was held in Montpellier, France on 12-13 September 2011. It brought together G20 Agricultural Research Systems (G20 ARS) and key international bodies, such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the World Bank to promote scientific partnerships for Food Security.
7] Partly compiled from Investing in Women as Drivers of Agricultural Growth (J. Ashby, M. Hartl, Y. Lambrou, G. Larson, A. Lubbock, E. Pehu, C. Ragasa) and IFAD (2010) Special Session Report The Farmers Forum in Conjunction with the ThirtyThird Session of IFADs Governing Council. Special Session: Promoting womens leadership in farmers and rural producers organizations. Held at IFAD Headquarters, Rome, on 13 February 2010. 8] These are the Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook http://worldbank.org/genderinag, The World Development Report: Agriculture for DevelopmentAgriculture for Development. The 2008 World Development Report. The World Bank. Washington, DC. 2007. and the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development [www.agassessment.org ]. 9] Farnworth, C.R. (2010) Gender aware approaches in agricultural programmes: a study of Sida-supported agricultural programmes. Sida Evaluation 2010: 3 10] Lastarria-Cornhiel, S. (2008) The Feminization of agriculture: trends and driving forces. Background paper for the World Development Report. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/I NTWDR2008/Resources/27950871191427986785/LastarriaCornhiel_F eminizationOfAgri.pdf 11] IAASTD (2008) Executive Summary of the Synthesis Report. 12] G. Rebosio, S. Gammage, and C. Manfre, A Pro-Poor Analysis of the Artichoke Value Chain in Peru,www.microlinks.org/file_down load.php/Artichoke_Peru_Research_ Brief.pdf?URL_ID=18386&filename=1 1861594421Artichoke_Peru_Researc h_Brief.pdf&filetype=application%2F pdf&filesize=299504&name=Artichok e_Peru_ Research_Brief.pdf&location=user-S. 13] Barrientos, S., C. Dolan, A. Tallontire. "A Gendered Value Chain Approach to Codes of Conduct in AFrican Horticlture." World Development 31 (9) (2003): 1511-1526. 14] Action Aid Securing womens right to land and livelihoods: a key to ending hunger and fighting AIDS http://www.actionaid.org/micrositeAs sets/eu/assets/women's%20right%2 0to%20land%20hiv%20and%20hunge donorplatform.org r%20jun08final.pdf

which in many cases overlap with the G20. Members share a common vision that agriculture and rural development is central to poverty reduction, and a conviction that sustainable and efficient development requires a coordinated global approach. Following years of relative decline in public investment in the sector, the Platform was created in 2003 to increase and improve the quality of development assistance in agriculture and rural development.

// Role of G20 and Platform members in AR4D

The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries, the EU, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It is a deliberative rather than a decisional body and encourages the formation of consensus on international issues. Although it has a mandate to promote international financial stability, it focuses on translating the benefits of globalisation into higher incomes and better opportunities everywhere. There is virtually no major aspect of the global economy or international financial system that will be outside of the group's purview. It supports the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) and at its meeting in Seoul in 2010, it developed a multiyear development programme which included an important section on the need for sustained support for food security and agriculture. The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (Platform) is a network of 34 bilateral and multilateral donors, international financing institutions, intergovernmental organisations and development agencies,

// Key conference objectives

Build mutual knowledge between the G20 ARS to improve policy coherence through enhanced cooperation and coordination of research policies and programmes for food security Mobilise the G20 agricultural research and knowledge systems to develop effective and innovative research partnerships for development, lever innovative research resultsbased mechanisms and enhance the impact of the CGIAR Research Programme (CRP) outcomes Strengthen capacities in agricultural technology and productive systems for developing countries optimising complementarities and synergies between G20 ARS Better involve the G20 ARS in the design of and participation in the 2nd Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD 2) scheduled for Uruguay in 2012

T REVIEW OF CONFERENCE DISCUSSION

This brief was prepared following a review of mission reports of several Platform members and the G20 presidency summary (Anon, 2011a). The conference was organised into sessions examining improved coordination and coherence, partnerships and knowledge sharing and capacity building. A final session considered the conclusions in the context of the GCARD 2 meeting in 2012. access to existing knowledge (research into use), and longer-term actions that create new knowledge, to contribute to overcoming the crisis. Dissemination of research results and gathering of robust evidence of the effectiveness of specific approaches is imperative to demonstrate achievements and support replication. AR4D cannot continue with 'business as usual'. Political-level acceptance that research is needed to tackle food security challenges is required. Several participants emphasised the need to improve the resilience of agriculture through targeted breeding, agro-ecologically intensified cropping systems, diversified farming systems and holistic approaches to improve livelihoods in rural areas.

// Improved coordination and coherence for AR4D

The global food crisis and food security challenges were highlighted. The G20 needs to deliver both short-term actions to improve

Platform Policy Brief I No. 7

There was consensus that a common set of research priorities, targets and policies is useful and needs to be established. This should involve both G20 members and developing countries, building on a participatory process involving farmers and other stakeholders. A Global Foresight Hub1 was proposed by GFAR (Anon. 2011b) that can provide a neutral platform to build a common vision, define common agricultural development priorities (including AR4D) and help in addressing global challenges that lie ahead. It was generally agreed that research coordination needs strengthening and priority should be at the national level in developing countries and should involve greater cooperation on strategies and policies by all stakeholders. At regional and international level, coordination should take place around existing structures, in particular GFAR. The GCARD roadmap (GFAR, 2011) provides an overarching mechanism to facilitate this dialogue. There was a suggestion that the Committee on Food Security (CFS) should be better equipped to play a more substantive role in coordination. Individual countries of the G20 themselves should ensure better coordination of their own AR4D sector, as it is a responsibility often shared between various ministries and research institutions. This is a prerequisite for the better collaboration on AR4D between the G20 countries and with other partners. At the programme level, the CGIAR reform was welcomed and the CGIAR CRPs were proposed as new and better means for partnerships, especially for G20 stakeholders. The main conclusion from this session was that there is an urgent need to identify and describe future challenges and opportunities, and to shape priorities for AR4D. This should be achieved through existing mechanisms, in particular GCARD, CGIAR and GFAR. North-South, South-South, trilateral, publicprivate. Whilst good examples exist that have impacted food security, they remain fragmented and uncoordinated. There is a need to organise and share experiences of different partnerships. GFAR, as a neutral platform, could provide a mechanism for this. Existing partnership platforms such as CGIAR CRPs, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) were highlighted as opportunities on which to build. Partnerships need to be strategic and consider a broad set of issues beyond research. Capacity building is both a central component of and a prerequisite for successful research partnerships. Lack of capacity can affect partners ability to negotiate on equal terms, and that inclusion, equity, and diversity should be considered in brokering partnerships. Innovative public-private research partnerships were identified as essential to stimulate access to the best knowledge, achieve efficiency and effectiveness, and deliver widespread and lasting impact. Intellectual property rights were presented as a market-based mechanism to be used wisely for balancing dissemination, access by the most vulnerable, incentives for innovators, and further downstream innovations. Appropriate dissemination mechanisms and communication tools were also considered important. The need to explore innovative ways of leveraging private sector investment in AR4D was highlighted in the discussion. The Agriculture Pull Mechanism Initiative2 was presented by the World Bank (Anon, 2011c) as a means to develop innovative, potentially game-changing pilots to leverage private sector investments in AR4D. It was suggested that pull mechanisms overcome market failures by incentivizing the private sector to develop and market innovative products or services. These incentives are made through payments triggered by desired results. Although innovative, the meeting noted that such pull mechanisms have not been widely tested in the agricultural sector where private sector investment is currently quite low. It was also noted that the private sector tends to have low risk tolerance. The meeting encouraged G20 members to explore the development of new partnership platforms, serving development and food security, open to all stakeholders in particular women smallholder farmers and to create an enabling environment and a stimulus for agricultural research and innovation with an emphasis on fragile states where research and innovation is lacking.

// Partnerships for agricultural research for development

The quality of research is often determined by the quality of partnerships. There was broad consensus that inclusion, diversity and equity are powerful approaches to improve research partnerships. As the source of almost all development funding and of technical expertise and capacity in agricultural research, the G20 has a unique role to play in advancing AR4D. Individual G20 members can bring their comparative advantage to bear in forging partnerships with developing countries to address key researchable issues in agriculture and rural development. The G20 hosts substantial agricultural research capacity and expertise and has significant experience with a diversity of research partnerships for example,

The Global Foresight Hub aims to improve the prioritization and focus of agricultural research. There are three proposed sets of activities (a) a Forward Thinking Platform to exchange among people and organisations engaged in forward thinking to improve approaches and have more integrated collective actions (b) a Policy dialogue platform to foster interactions between those working on analyses using forward thinking approaches at national, regional and global levels in order to better connect research and development investment and policies to future challenges (c) a Global Foresight Academy, to strengthen the capacity at national level to engage in forward thinking approaches.

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// Knowledge sharing and capacity building in AR4D
There was consensus on the importance of knowledge sharing and capacity building in support of AR4D, especially in developing countries. Strengthened capacity is necessary to ensure that the benefits from increased research investments are realised and translated into development outcomes. Capacity strengthening is required at individual, organisational and institutional levels to ensure longer lasting impact and more relevant and more innovative AR4D. There was agreement on the need to upgrade and modernise many tertiary education curricula in the field of research and agriculture to train better professionals and attract better students. There was recognition that G20 ARSs, as well as international institutions, have key roles to play in developing human and institutional research capacity. There is a need for a coordinated approach to capacity building, building on existing partnerships and, where appropriate, developing new partnerships. The Tropical Agriculture Platform (Anon 2011d) is one such approach to this, although it was stressed that it is important to coordinate with existing initiatives such as the Mechanism for Tertiary Education for Africa (TEAM-Africa), which will coordinate capacity development under CAADP Pillar 4. This topic has recently been reviewed by EIARD (Anon 2011e).

TCONCLUSIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE

Mainstream AR4D into food security and development strategies, plans and aid programmes at national, regional and international levels Ensure that short-term interventions to bring existing research into use are prioritised Support establishment of a Global Foresight Hub, as proposed to operate through GFAR, which can help address complex future challenges by mobilising efforts of many stakeholders, build common visions and set common research priorities Improve coordination of AR4D through existing structures and partnerships, in particular GFAR, and the GCARD process as the overarching framework Support preparation for and participation in the GCARD 2 (October 2012, Uruguay) Explore opportunities for additional inclusive partnership platforms that build on the comparative advantage of the G20. These could include South-South cooperation between G20 members and developing countries and three way partnerships between industrialised countries, emerging economies and developing countries. Explore opportunities for partnerships to address the particular needs of fragile states. Explore coordination mechanisms to encourage partnerships (G20 and developing countries) within CGIAR CRPs Review and identify best practices for public-private sector partnerships for AR4D Ensure sharing of the progress made in the Agriculture Pull Mechanism Initiative Develop mechanisms for increasing support to capacity strengthening in developing countries, specifically by ensuring better coordination whilst building on existing mechanisms and initiatives Support, through national focal points, the preparation of a successful and inclusive GCARD in 2012 Explore the potential of the Tropical Agriculture Platform as a means of supporting capacity building and ensure coherence with other initiatives
18] IFPRI, 2009 19] IFPRI, 2009 20] See compilation of studies in Farnworth, C.R. (2008) Module 5: Gender and Agricultural Markets. In Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook. World Bank. http://worldbank.org/genderinag 21] Kitinoja, Lisa. 2002. Identifying Scale-Appropriate Postharvest Technology. In Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, 3rd ed., ed. Adel A. Kader, 48190. Oakland,CA: Division of Agriculture 2 The Agriculture Pull Mechanism and Natural Resources and University Initiative aims to enhance smallof California.

holder welfare and improve food

security C., the poor and vulnera22] Gurung, for 2006. The role of women in through the use of pull mechble the fruit and vegetable supply chain in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu India: anisms in agriculture. Pull mechthe new and expanded social and ecoanisms are results-based financial nomic opportunities for vulnerable incentives rewarding successful groups task order under the Women innovations. It was launched atDC: in Development IQC. Washington, the June 2010 G20 summit in Toronto. USAID. Canada, the United States, the
23] USAID,Kingdom and the BillValue United Gender and Economic & Chains: Melinda Two Case Studies from the Gates Foundation are colGATE Project, laborating with like-minded www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutdonors, supported by World Bank ting_programs/wid/eg/gate_valuechai staff in the initiative. n.html.3 24] Food and Agriculture Organization, The Tropical Agriculture Platform 2009. The state was developed of food insecurity in by FAO in collabothe World 2009. Rome. ration with interested G20 memhttp://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0876e bers. The anticipated outcome is /i0876e00.htm

to improve the effectiveness and

25] DFID/DEFRA knowledge sharing efficiency in (March 2010) DFID/Defra Policy Narrative on Global Food and capacity development proSecurity and Sustainable Agriculture.

grammes to strengthen agricul-

tural innovation systems in devel26] Farnworth, C.R. (2010) Zambia oping countries Sida UTV Working Country Report: through new and existing mechanisms. Paper 2010:8

Platform Policy Brief I No. 7

Table: Summary of overall findings on impact and lessons learnt

Conclusions and outcomes Proposed options Requirements and actions required Coordination and coherence Mainstream AR4D into food security/development strategies and plans at national, regional and international levels Short-term actions to improve access to existing knowledge (generated by agricultural research or by AR4D) i.e. putting research into use to meet food security needs Mainstream AR4D into bilateral and multilaterals aid programmes Political will to fund AR4D Consistent with PKP1 for coherence in policy Coherence with Platform Knowledge Pieces

Review and document donor programmes to bring research into use and share best practice. Develop joint programmes between G20/Platform members to bring research outputs into demonstrable use

Investment in bringing research outputs into use at scale. Evidence base to support investment. Coordinated process to link research products with development processes. Identify key players and funding instruments of the Agricultural Research community Consensus between donors on approach. Provide financial and technical support including inputs from G20 member/GDPRD and related initiatives Support to GFAR and commitment to engage in processes. CGIAR to broaden partnerships to include developing country and G20 partners. G20 countries examine organisation of AR4D

Consistent with PKP1 in terms of wide stakeholder engagement and evaluation and dissemination of lessons

Develop a common set of priorities, targets and policies

Support the GFAR Global Foresight Hub

Consistent with PKP1 in terms of wide stakeholder engagement

Improve coordination and coherence of AR4D.

Support existing structures and partnerships i.e. GFAR/GCARD and CGIAR CRPs and mechanisms such as the GCARD Roadmap. Develop opportunities for coordinated activities that are consistent with the GCARD Roadmap. G20 countries report on organisation of their AR4D at CGARD2

Consistent with PKP1 in terms of wide stakeholder engagement

Partnerships Organise and share experiences of different partnerships to reduce fragmentation Enhance support, particularly for developing country participation, for GFAR and GCARD. Explore coordination mechanisms to encourage partnerships between G20 members and developing countries, including but not liited to the CGIAR CRPs Review of the diverse range of publicprivate sector research partnership mechanisms/funding schemes to identify best practices. Share Agriculture Pull Mechanism Initiative progress at GCARD 2 Explore the opportunities for additional partnership platforms and how they would align with existing structures Funding for GFAR and GCARD. Willingness of donors and other G20 members to collaborate and share knowledge. CGIAR to broaden partnerships to include developing country and G20 partners Political will to involve private sector. Developing country Governments willingness to create enabling environment for private sector investment Commitment to long term investment in innovative platforms to ensure impact Consistent with PKP1 in terms of wide stakeholder engagement. Consistent with PKP1 in terms of evaluation and dissemination of lessons

Build innovative public-private sector partnerships

Coherence with the aim of PKP3

Develop more inclusive partnership platforms, open to all stakeholders, with an emphasis on fragile states

Consistent with PKP1 in terms of wide stakeholder engagement

Knowledge sharing and capacity building Need for a coordinated approach to capacity building Engage in the development of the Tropical Agriculture Platform to ensure coherence with other capacity initiatives and build on evidence of previous successes. Establish the evidence base for investment in capacity building Commitment to long term investment. Willingness to engage in shaping the process Consistent with PKP1 in terms of wide stakeholder engagement and in terms of evaluation and dissemination of lessons4

Platform Policy Brief I No. 7

TREFERENCES
Anon.(2011a) Presidency Summary. G20 Conference on Agricultural Research for Development: Promoting Scientific Partnerships for Food Security. Montpellier 12 & 13 September 2011. http://www.agreenium.org/var/internet4_natio nal_agreenium/storage/htmlarea/pieces%20jo intes%20actus/G20%20%20Presidency%20Su mmary_sept_2011.pdf Anon (2011b) Global Foresight Hub http://www.egfar.org/our-work/shapingfuture-together/global-foresight-hub Anon. (2011c) Agricultural Pull Mechanism Initiative. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/ EXTABOTUS/ORGANIZATION/CFPEXT/0,,conte ntMDK:23005969~pagePK:64060249~piPK:640 60294~theSitePK:299948,00.html Anon. (2011d) Concept paper: Tropical Agriculture Platform. www.agropolis.org/pdf/g20/session3/ConceptPaper-for-G20%20Tropical-AgriculturePlatform.pdf Anon. (2001e) EIARD's Capacity Development for ARD document, http://www.eiard.org/media/uploads/File/docu ments/policy%20briefs/EIARD%201.1%20capa city%20development%20for%20ARD%20policy %20brief%20final.pdf GFAR (2011) The GCARD Road Map. Transforming agricultural research for development systems for global impact. http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload//294891/ GCARD%20Road%20Map.pdf

Further reading
Conference website. http://www.agropolis.org/news/G20_Conference _AgricultureResearch_Development_home.php

PKP: Platform Knowledge Piece (http://www.donorplatform.org/ activities/aid-effectivness/platform-knowledge-pieces/)oping countries through new and existing mechanisms.

donorplatform.org

Organized on 12/13 September 2011 in Montpellier, France at the initiative of the G20 French Presidency and in the framework of the pillar on food security of the action plan for development, the first meeting of the G20 development on agriculture research for development was devoted to promoting scientific partnerships for food security. / Agropolis