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EUROPEAN INITIATIVE FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT

(E I A R D)

THE EUROPEAN CONTRIBUTION TO

THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT PLAN OF ACTION

IN THE FIELD OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT

A paper presented by EIARD

INTRODUCTION

The European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD [1] ) was launched in 1995 by the Research Council and the Development Council. Acutely aware of the 1996 World Food Summit Rome Declaration, the European Parliament and Council recognised EIARD in 1997 (COM (97) 126).

EIARD is a policy co-ordination platform, which operates outside the normal EU "comitology" procedures. Its effectiveness is ensured through its country representatives and by the endorsement of its role by the European Council and Parliament.

This paper is intended to complement the Progress Reports submitted by the European States, and to develop references made to agricultural research in the Synthesis Paper of the EU Presidency. It can be considered as a report on European progress in implementing the external dimension of Commitment III, objectives 3.1 - 3.5 of the WFS Plan of Action.

THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT (ARD) IN ACHIEVING THE WFS OBJECTIVES

To meet the challenge of a growing demand for food, in the face of a slowing in the rate of increase in cereal yields in the South, the first function of ARD is to make the best possible use of the available genetic resources for food and agriculture. The activities incorporated by this function include the collection, conservation, characterisation and evaluation of the available genetic resources in a global public goods context. They also include the improvement of genetic resources, their utilisation and processing for food, health and economic purposes, thereby fighting both the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of food insecurity, and poverty. Since this utilises both conventional, and molecular, life sciences technologies, complex strategic alliances are required between the private and public sectors, at national, regional and international levels. Research in this area also takes into account the knowledge of local producers, their needs and those of the consumers. This requires their active participation from the conception to the implementation of the research, leading to an integrated approach on genetic resources research.

To meet the challenges associated with limited agricultural land, water scarcity, deforestation and soil degradation, the second function of ARD is to guarantee sustainable agricultural production and rural development. The activities included under this function emphasise research that involves all factors impacting on natural resources management, from integrated pest management, social water management, and commodity economics, to land tenure policies. The study unit is the agro-ecological zone (watershed, forest-agriculture interface, savannahs, etc.) to which life sciences, earth sciences, and of course, social sciences, are applied. This research, mobilising information and modelling technologies, results in technical packages, as well as tools to assist political decision-making.

To meet the scientific and economic challenges associated with the development and appropriation of knowledge, the third function of ARD is to strengthen and empower the research capacity in the South. To develop this function, research and technological innovation are ranked highly by the relevant sectors in bilateral, European and international political dialogue. The resulting co-operation programmes facilitate increases in investments for research infrastructures and science policies, and the enhancement of national or regional research systems, involving all private and public stakeholders in agricultural research prioritisation. Research partnerships designed in this way are based more on complementarity than on competition between the actors.

To address these challenges, in 1999 EIARD published "A European strategy for Agricultural Research and Development", for use at national and Community levels; and the Commission, in consultation with EIARD, developed its "Agricultural Research for Development: European Commission Strategy" used to implement EC actions in this area.

EUROPEAN CONTRIBUTIONS, THROUGH EIARD, TO WFS OBJECTIVES

EIARD's purpose is not to undertake research itself, but to enhance the appropriateness and effectiveness of European policies and investments in ARD.

Through its four broad objectives:

-         Co-ordinated European positions on ARD,

-         Effective partnerships within Europe, and between European and other partners,

-         Effective collaboration between Southern organisations,

-         Sustainable institutional development of National Agricultural Research Systems,

and by addressing the challenges of ARD, EIARD has contributed to the implementation of the external dimension of Commitment III of the WFS Plan of Action by fostering research partnerships and supporting research programmes..

1.      Fostering equal partnerships in research

In all activities to deliver the above objectives, EIARD promotes five guiding principles:

-         partnerships with equality and mutual respect between collaborators from the north and south;

-         needs-driven ARD defined by southern partners with the full participation of civil society representatives (industries, NGOs, farmers and other community-based groups) in synergy with local universities, research institutes and governments as well as international research partners and donors;

-         subsidiarity whereby activities are planned and implemented at the lowest level where they can be effectively undertaken;

-         differentiation requiring that the actions and initiatives of EIARD members take account of the social, economic and cultural conditions in partner countries, and their research capacity;

-         participation of all the stakeholders necessary to make the research relevant for its end-users.

These principles are shared by many European and International ARD actors, and so Europe, with EIARD, has taken a leading role in:

Ø      Preparing (from 1996) and launching (in 2000 at Dresden) the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). As a global facilitating mechanism for all ARD stakeholders, GFAR has helped in determining agricultural research priorities at global and regional levels; and regional research organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America have been empowered to elaborate programmes in accordance with these priorities. EIARD members have provided the majority of the support necessary for GFAR to establish itself, and a small Secretariat hosted by the FAO in Rome.

Ø      Establishing (in 1997-1999) a European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD) and its constituent National Fora on ARD. These aim to facilitate European research actors to play a stronger, and better co-ordinated, role in contributing to the WFS objectives. In partnership with stakeholders from the South, national and European consultations have resulted in the identification of nineteen EFARD thematic research priorities.

Ø      Reforming (from 1997) the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). EIARD has co-ordinated European efforts to reform the CGIAR, and this has resulted in the CGIAR becoming more open to its partners, in its governance (creation of NGO, Private Sector and, soon, Farmers' Committees), in its programming (elaboration at regional level in consultation with the regional research organisations), and in its research agenda (introduction of Challenge Programmes to research issues of global or regional concern, utilising a wider range of partners, and a more efficient management/funding model).

2.      Support to research programmes

With about ? 500 million annually, EIARD members provide more than half of all donor support for ARD world-wide. By continuing to raise the awareness of decision-makers of the essential contributions of ARD to food security, to the elimination of poverty, and to global scientific challenges, the aggregate level of European support for ARD has increased over the last five years. Information on levels of support is shared between all members, the EC's support is allocated taking account of the support of other members, and whenever possible, members attempt to balance decreased support by one member with increases by others. Support for ARD programmes includes the following.

Ø        At international and global levels

EIARD members provide more than 40 % (? 154 million in 2001) of all Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) funds. Europe is the only CGIAR members' group whose investment in the CGIAR - plus the four affiliated Centres [2] - has continuously increased since the 1970's.

Aware of the urgent need to conserve international and national collections of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, EIARD has encouraged all parties to negotiate and sign the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. EIARD is now helping to establish the Global Conservation Trust, with the goal of raising ? 250 million through a public-private partnership. The Trust could become one of the funding sources for the implementation of the above International Treaty, providing agreement is reached on its governance and the disbursement of funds.

The Global Forum process has led to the definition of Global Partnership Programmes in ARD. EIARD members are beginning to support some of these programmes, implemented at regional and national levels.

Ø        At regional and sub-regional levels

In southern regions, the research programmes, centres and networking of the regional and sub-regional research organisations are supported by funds and/or expertise from EIARD members, with a priority given to Africa - at regional level, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), and at sub-regional levels, ASARECA [3] in East and Central Africa, CORAF [4] in West and Central Africa and SACCAR [5] in Southern Africa.

In Europe, the Framework Programme (FP) for Research and Technological Development has always included a component for international co-operation. Since 1998, the FP 5 INCO-DEV Programme has allocated ? 130 million to ARD partnerships between European and southern collaborators, with ? 68 million going to partners in developing countries and ? 62 million to European institutions. Regional allocation of these funds favoured the ACP countries (? 50 million), Asia (? 36 million) and Latin America (? 40 million).

A number of European thematic research networks have been promoted by EIARD. Examples include IPM-Europe (integrated pest management), BUROTROP (oil crops), ETFRN (tropical forests), and the multi-agency group on livestock research. To improve information sharing, EIARD-InfoSys, an ARD information management system, which now enables multi-source searches, was established in 1996.

About ? 2 million per year are devoted to capacity building in participatory and multidisciplinary agricultural research for development by the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA), a European-based organisation funded by five EIARD members.

Ø      At national levels

In Southern countries, EIARD members' efforts, through both bilateral and Community support for individual capacity building (through research exchanges, training and mobility), universities, research centres, and national research programmes (including those fostering the participation of civil society and creating a national agricultural research system dynamism), are very substantial, but difficult to quantify accurately.

In the European countries, there are several research organisations, funded by governmental foreign affairs or research instruments, that are fully or partly devoted to agricultural research and training for development, in partnership with the scientific community from developing and emerging countries - in France, CIRAD [6] and IRD [7] (about ? 220 million annual budget); in the United Kingdom, NRI [8] ; in Italy, IAO [9] ; in the Netherlands, Wageningen University and Research Centre, and many others.

CONCLUSION

Food security, resource mobilisation, the right to food, and food safety are considered by Europe to be the main strategic challenges for the World Food Summit-five years later. They are also key issues for the agricultural research partnerships between Europe and the developing countries. In co-ordinating its policies and actions in this field, Europe, with EIARD, plays a leading role. Its concerted positions in international negotiations, based on synergies between its agricultural, development and research policies, guarantee that agricultural research for development will continue to impact beneficially on both producers and consumers in developing countries.

Gilles Saint-Martin Paul Harding

EIARD Chair EIARD Executive Secretary

27 May 2002