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Country Profile - Denmark
Agricultural Research for Development
The Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) is managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Udenrigsministeriet). The total commitment to international development research in 2010 was DKK 200 million (€27 million). Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) accounted for approximately DKK 100 million.
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Key ARD objectives

Denmark finances CGIAR’s CCAFS programme
Credit: © Neil Palmer (CIAT)
  • The primary objective of Denmark’s development policy is sustainable development through the reduction of poverty, as laid down in Denmark’s development cooperation strategy ‘Freedom from poverty - freedom to change’.
  • Danish development cooperation is focused on five political priorities: growth and employment; freedom, democracy and human rights; gender equality; stability and fragility; and the environment and climate.
Summary
DANIDA funds ARD through research within bilateral programmes in developing countries, the Danish Council for Development Research (RUF), international agricultural research institutes (including the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centres), and Danish research institutes. Capacity development is an integral part of ARD. DANIDA also financially supports ARD research networks through Danish universities’ Building stronger universities initiative.
Main ARD budget and beneficiaries for 2010

Contributors

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark

DKK 100,000,000

Activity area

Competitive research funding*

DKK 65,000,000

International agricultural research

DKK 35,000,000

 

*Of DKK 130 million to competitive research funding in 2010, approximately 50 per cent was allocated to projects within the broad theme Agriculture, Growth and Sustainable Development. Of international agricultural research 5 million DKK was given to ICIPE and 30 million DKK was allocated for the CGIAR’s Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) programme.
ARD landscape
ARD is driven by demands from partners, including CGIAR institutes, the African Insect Science for Food and Health (ICIPE), the Consultative Research Committee for Development Research (FFU) and Danish universities.

As well as supporting research financially, DANIDA also promotes dialogue between stakeholders in development research - including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NGO’s, the private sector and the research community - to strengthen research networks within ARD.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the political and strategic aspects of the support they provide to development research, and has overall responsibility for maintaining contact with research centres, institutions and networks they support in Denmark and abroad. The DANIDA Fellowship Centre (DFC) is responsible for the day-to-day administration of all development research grants and projects, as well as the FFU.

The Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS) conducts research on issues relevant to developing countries, including the agricultural sector. The Institute is also working to improve monitoring and evaluation of research for DANIDA.

Gender equality is a vital component of Danish ARD funding
Credit: © ICRISAT
Main ARD programmes
  1. The greatest proportion of financial support provided for ARD is channelled through CGIAR research programmes. ICIPE also receives core funding.
  2. FFU supports research that is deemed to promote Danish development objectives and ensures that funding for development research is strategic, relevant and of a high quality.
  3. The Danish Development Research Network (DDRN) contributes to the production, dissemination and exchange of information between development programmes and the research community through north-south partnerships and establishment of links at national, regional and international levels.
Perspective
The promotion of sustainable development through poverty-oriented economic growth is the fundamental challenge for Danish development cooperation. The implementation of bottom-up, participatory planning processes and demand-driven programming are emphasised.
Further information
EIARD National Contact Point: Lars Christian Oxe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Contact: email laroxe@um.dk or phone +45 3392 0206
This country profile has been commissioned by EIARD (the permanent ARD coordination platform between the European Commission, Member States of the European Union, Norway and Switzerland) as part of a series providing an overview of policies and support for agricultural research for development by EIARD member countries. EIARD is not responsible for any omissions and inaccuracies contained within this document and the information is only correct up to the date of publishing (August 2011).