Update from the Director General CIAT Board Meeting #63

Nairobi, Kenya, 12 May 2011

Ruben G. Echeverría

Research Achievements

• Latin America and the Caribbean: o Technical collaborative agreement signed by the Colombian

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research (Corpoica), and CIAT to work in Colombia’s Eastern Plains region, known as the Llanos Orientales

Research Achievements• Sub-Saharan Africa:

o The ongoing research effort to develop multiple disease resistant breeding parents utilising Molecular Markers as a selection tool (Marker Assisted Selection) of combined resistance has resulted in 62 progenies possessing the prr and phg resistance genes for Pythium root rot and Angular leaf spot respectively and 10 progenies possessing four resistance genes, Co4, Co5, I, and bc3 genes for Anthracnose and Bean Common Mosaic Virus disease (BCMV). These parents will either be used directly or a source of multiple disease resistance by NARS partners

o The collaborative efforts to develop high iron rich beans has led to identification of germplasm the have assembled to for a Regional Nutrition Bean Nursery consisting of 46 bush and climbing bean lines (having iron content ranging 75-123ppm Fe). Seed is being currently being multiplied at Kawanda for distribution to CIAT-PABRA member countries for adaptability tests and possible adoption

Research Achievements• Southeast Asia:

o European Union funding (1 million Euros over the next three years) to address cassava pests and diseases in the region

o Key Developments in China: Collaboration on Cassava breeding and general R&D, with stronger

links to CIAT Cali and to the region, especially to enhanced R&D in Vietnam and to other potential suppliers

Forage germplasm evaluation and breeding, and forage utilization. Starting with a forage breeding and utilization course and exchanges between CATAS and CIAT

Sustainable and eco-efficient cropping and farming systems. Initially on soybean/cassava intercropping, but expanding to other systems, and to broader land management and climate change issues

Research Achievements• Agrobiodiversity

o Bean. Advanced lines have been identified to tolerate the critical conditions of drought and low soil fertility prevalent in Central America and East Africa

o Cassava. New genetic variations have been discovered in cassava starch granule size and molecular structure, which expands its market applications and increases its income-generation potential for farmers

o Tropical forages. The use of Canavalia improves animal feed availability and quality, increasing milk production by 5 kg day-1 ha-1; in addition, its deep rooting ability keeps the crop green throughout the dry season

o Rice. The agronomic revolution spearheaded by FLAR is underway in 10 countries, including the construction of water catching facilities or dams in Mexico (3), Nicaragua (9), and Costa Rica (5)

Research Achievements

• Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility

o African Soil Information Service (AfSIS): Use of protocols developed by CIAT to assess limited soil nutrients as standard protocols in diagnostic trials carried out in five African countries

o Consortium for Improving Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Central Africa (CIALCA): establishment of a Knowledge Resource Center that will serve as critical focal point for sharing research results more widely

Research Achievements• Climate Change and Capacity Strengthening

o Publication of two policy briefs on Climate Change and agriculture for Colombia and Meso-america

o REDD+ training manual published with WorldBank and high profile training workshop scheduled for May 2011 in CIAT campus

o Terra-I monitoring platform used to generate LAC-wide deforestation statistics and provide detailed reports for eight countries

o Workshop held in March to plan the capacity strengthening platform on seed systems for LAC

Recent Initiatives

• CIAT flagship publication on eco-efficiency in the tropics

• Strengthening of corporate communications• Active participation in the preparation of the

new CGIAR portfolio and in several key Consortium and Fund Council meetings

CIAT’s Participation in the CGIAR Research Portfolio (2011-2013) US$208m

36.14

35.18

27.35

25.6

20.319.6

Roots, tubers and bananas

GRiSP

Grain legumes

Climate change, agriculture and food security

Policies Water, land and ecosystems

15.9

12.09

7.11

4.27 2.51.77

Agriculture for improved nutrition and health

Integrated systems for the humid tropics

Meat, milk and fish

Aquatic agricultural systems

Forests, trees and agroforestry

Integrated production systems in dry areas

CIAT’s Participation in the CGIAR Research Portfolio (2011-2013) US$208m

Corporate Communications• Institutional website also available in Spanish (March 2011)

• New series of CIAT briefso Project Initiativeso Strategies in Actiono Donor Briefs

• CIAT Agricultural Forum

o 14 October 2011: Climate Change, Food Prices, and Nutrition

o 30 May 2011: Colombian Ministry of Agriculture, Corpoica, and CIAT – A Renewed Alliance

o 22 May 2010: Biodiversity, Biotrade, and Sustainable Development

o 15 October 2010: World Food Day and World Rural Women's Day

Donor Briefs Project Initiatives

Corporate Communications

CIAT Flagship PublicationAn Eco-Efficiency Revolution in Tropical Agriculture

To be approved by BOT at its meeting in November 2011

Foreword Concepts

and principles

Eco-efficiency

at the Agro-

ecosystem Level–Perspectives across Continent

s

Case Studies

on Crop-based Eco-

efficient Research

An Enabling Environm

entOutlook

Contents

Foreword• Carlos P. del Castillo• Brian Keating • Claudia Martinez• Rodomiro Ortiz • Andy Jarvis• Nicolas Mateo • Derek Byerlee• Abilio Rodrigues P.• Eduardo Somarriba• Muhammad Ibrahim • Fergus Sinclair• Alpha Kamara• David Chikoye• Steffen Schulz• Bernard Vanlauwe• Nteranya Sanginga• Jagdish. K. Ladha• M Lal Jat • Kenneth Sayre

Case Studies on Crop-based Eco-efficient Research

Improving resource use efficiency and reducing risk of common bean production in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean

Cassava as a multipurpose crop for food, feed and fuel needs in the tropics

Intensive rice production systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

Mitigating climate change through tropical forages

A consumer safety approach for producing fruits and vegetables

• Rod Lefroy• Reinhardt Howeler• Steve Beebe• Robin Buruchara • Clair Hershey• Hernan Ceballos• Gonzalo Zorrilla • Cesar Martinez• Michael Peters

• Idupulapati Rao • Glenn Hyman • Dyno Keatinge• Alonso Gonzalez• Leslie Lipper• Claudia Martinez• Julio Berdegue • Jules Pretty• Ruben G. Echeverría

Incoming CIAT International Staff (January-May 2011)

Guy Henry Agrobiodiversity

Osana Bonilla Decision and

Policy Analysis

Clair HersheyCassava

Antoine LuboboHarvestPlus

Lister KatsvairoHarvestPlus

Significant New Projects (January-May 2011)

Project Title Donor US$ 000

Identifying CWR gaps for 80 genepools conserved ex situ within the “Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Collecting, Protecting and Preparing Crop Wild Relatives” Project

Global Crop Diversity Trust 758

Applying scientific methods to implement, generate, streamline, and validate methodologies and technologies for documenting indicators of recovery and conservation of the productive capacity of soils under alternative systems in the area of influence of the Fúquene lagoon

Autonomous Regional Corporation of Cundinamarca

211

Leadership of biofortification activities in Latin America and the Caribbean HarvestPlus 225

Access of poor rural farmers to markets to generate specialized documents and accompany the design, preparation, and supervision of projects with market access components in Latin America and the Caribbean

International Fund for Agricultural Development 200

Resource Mobilization(as of 31 March 2011)

Quantity CIAT Budget % of Total Budget

Proposals 34 13,728 96Concept notes 32 15,090 31Total 66 28,818 45

• Effective coordination of the “Proposal Development Process”

o All proposals include full cost recovery

o Proposals are approved by the Management Team before submission

• Fund-raising plan

o Strategic plan underway to explore philanthropic donors in LAC

o Recycling of good initiatives from the Pipeline & Bank

o Launching of “Donor Briefs” with great acceptance

o Traditional donors contacted for re-engagement

o In 2011 more than 20 calls for proposals have been circulated for potential funding opportunities

Improved Coordination of Resource Mobilization Process

Corporate Developments

• Center-wide survey, including regional offices, about the level and quality of services offered by Corporate Services; results proved quite useful and several observations have been carried forward

• Number of days of reserves reached 84 days—the CGIAR target• Implementation of a systematized performance

evaluation system via web for all staff, which is based on the competency model

• Agreement with the Labor Union renegotiated for a 2-year period

Financial Improvement (Total CIAT budget execution)

20042005

20062007

20082009

20102011

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

36.97641.464

38.017

45.952 47.059 48.864

62.158

59.2

U$M

(LE)

Reserves comply with CGIAR targets

1839 39

56

8495

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 BU

Current CGIAR Target

105

90

75

Days

New CGIAR Target

Challenges

• Honor the great expectations in LAC, although this region is much less mentioned in development circles

• Implement the Corpoica & CIAT agreement

• Adjust research to the new CGIAR portfolio

• Reposition CIAT in Asia

• TSBF new management and alliances

• Strengthen overall research teams