No partnerships are more critical for the relevance and impact of CIAT’s collaborative research than those arising from its relationships with a dynamic host country, Colombia, and with an evolving Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The year 2010 saw positive developments in both these spheres, which will translate into new opportunities for fostering eco-efficient agriculture in Colombia and many other developing countries.

CIAT in Colombia—More than a Guest, a Strategic Partner
CIAT’s productive relationship with Colombia received a powerful boost this year, which promised to elevate their collaboration to a more strategic plane. The impetus came from a remark made by the country’s newly elected president, Juan Manuel Santos, in his inaugural address on 7 August. Responding to the President’s call for a more competitive and sustainable agriculture, the incoming Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Juan Camilo Restrepo, visited CIAT headquarters soon afterwards to propose a new research alliance for helping realize that vision.

The alliance was launched during a meeting of the Center’s Board of Trustees in November, with the signing of an agreement between CIAT, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), and the Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research (Corpoica). It reflects the three organizations’ shared intention to transform the longstanding host-guest arrangement between Colombia and CIAT into a strategic research partnership. The MADR has already allocated US$3 million for the new initiative.

The partnership will address major challenges for Colombia’s agriculture—especially climate change. It will also realize some of the country’s most compelling opportunities for rural development, specifically by promoting the production of diverse tropical fruits and by helping realize the vast agricultural potential of the Orinoquía region, referred to as the Llanos Orientales, or Eastern Plains.

The agreement recognizes Corpoica’s ample experience in research on a variety of annual and perennial crops as well as its strong expertise in other areas, such as agro-energy, soil management, and plant health. It also underlines CIAT’s exceptional capacity to apply geographical information systems, its pioneering use of biotechnology for crop improvement and its recent advances in the development of environmental services.

In combining these strengths, CIAT and Corpoica expect to give particular attention to the improvement of agricultural production and natural resource management in the Orinoquía. Colombia’s ambition is to achieve an agricultural transformation in this region similar to that made possible by national research in the Brazilian Cerrados, where CIAT has also provided valuable technical input through strong partnerships. Much previous research has focused on the Orinoquía, and this work seems more relevant now than ever in light of the global food price crisis in 2008, which prompted a renewal of concern about long-term food security and reinforced commitment to sustainable agricultural development for economic growth.

CIAT in the New CGIAR—A New Way of Working
The implementation of CGIAR reforms in 2010 created further possibilities for CIAT to foster eco-efficient agriculture, building on its strong Colombian base and on its firm ties with other international centers and numerous national partners.

The reforms resulted in the creation of two mutually reinforcing pillars, which make up the CGIAR’s new structure. One pillar consists of the CGIAR Fund, through which donors can provide stable support for major collaborative research programs. The other is the Consortium, with its own legal status, chief executive officer, and board, which unites 15 international research centers. The two pillars are joined by a conceptual bridge—the Strategy and Results Framework—which provides a platform for the creation and funding of new programs.

In 2010, the Consortium solicited proposals for programs on seven key development themes. Four proposals were designated for “fast-track” development, and two have already been approved and launched. They represent a new way of working, whose hallmarks are research integration, strong partnerships, and a sharp focus on development impact. Proposals for other programs are now under review, with approval of several expected early in 2011. CIAT contributed significantly to many of the proposals, and it plays central roles in the two programs already under way.

The Center figures as one of six international partners in the Global Rice Science Partnership, or GRiSP. With an initial 5-year budget of nearly US$600 million, this program will mount a concerted campaign to boost rice yield growth and improve the management of water and other resources on which more intensive production depends. Among other tasks, GRiSP will embark on an unprecedented effort to deploy rice genetic diversity for the development of new high-yielding varieties with traits that are essential for adapting production to climate change. Working under the overall coordination of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), CIAT will bring renewed commitment to the task of strengthening the rice sector in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition, the Center is coordinating the new CGIAR program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, or CCAFS. Involving all of the CGIAR centers and key non-CGIAR partners, the program is designed to cope in a comprehensive way with climate change in developing country agriculture. Its official launch at the 2010 United Nations Conference on Climate Change, held last December in Cancún, Mexico, marked the beginning of a long-term effort with an initial 5-year budget totaling US$392 million. CCAFS will develop tools and policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation, targeting the smallholder farmers who are most vulnerable to climate change impacts.

CIAT’s renewed partnership with Colombia and its significant role in new CGIAR programs are landmark achievements, which few would have thought possible just a few years ago. They bear eloquent testimony to the unflagging commitment of our staff and to the enduring value of our research assets.