ICARDA Caravan, Issue No. 20/21

News from the Drylands

CGIAR Science Council Meets at ICARDA

Dr Per Pinstrup-Andersen (center) addressing the participants at the inaugural session of the Science Council meeting.

he inaugural meeting of the newly established Science Council (SC) of the CGIAR was held at ICARDA headquarters on 12-15 May 2004. Issues discussed at the meeting included: the state of global agricultural research; CGIAR system priorities and strategies; monitoring and evaluating the change process in the CGIAR; progress of the Challenge Programs; external reviews of CGIAR Centers; and a report of the study on biosafety.

Dr Per Pinstrup-Andersen, SC Chair, said the Council enjoys a lot of goodwill from all stakeholders and the expectations are high. He called upon Council members to discuss all issues openly and in depth. Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA, said that as the CG System is undergoing a transition, thousands of scientists are looking to the SC for wisdom and guidance. The SC should help the CG System go through the change process without diverting from its central goal—that of bridging the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ in the world.

As the successor to the Interim Science Council (ISC) and the Technical Advisory Committee TAC), the mission of the nine-member Science Council is to enhance and promote the quality, relevance and impact of science in the CGIAR, to advise the Group on strategic scientific issues of importance to its goals, and to mobilize and harness the best of science to address the goals of the international agricultural research.

Members of the Science Council and its Secretariat.

The SC generously allowed a 4-hour slot in its program in the forenoon of 14 May to familiarize itself with ICARDA’s work. The program included presentations and a visit to ICARDA facilities.

The Science Council members are: Dr Virender Lal Chopra, President, National Academy of Agricultural Science, India; Dr Alain de Janvry, Professor, University of California at Berkeley, USA; Dr Kenneth Fischer, Adjunct Professor, School of Land and Food Science, University of Queensland, Australia; Dr Michael Gale, Emeritus Fellow, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, UK; Dr Hans Gregersen, ret. Professor, University of Minnesota; Dr Richard Harwood, Professor, Michigan State University, USA; Dr Keiji Kainuma, Executive Research Advisor, National Food Research Institute, Japan; Dr Onesmo K. ole-MoiYoi, Director, Research and Partnerships, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Kenya; and Dr Lisa Sennerby-Forsse, Secretary General, the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS), Sweden.

The meeting was attended by representatives from several CG Centers, as well as from Belgium, CIDA-Canada, France, Germany, Italy, DFID-UK and USAID.

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