Through its Biorisk Management Facility (BIMAF) in Benin, IITA is leading the One-Health regional grand challenge, which will support farmers in managing biorisks and climate-driven food-health risks. This regional challenge will give particular focus to cross-government approaches in addressing these risks, institutionalized capabilities for early detection of emerging threats and rapid response, and new technologies for biocontrol. West Africa will serve as a model for what is achievable before scaling to other regions.
IITA’s Deputy Director-General for Research and Development, May-Guri Saethre, highlighted how each Regional/Subregional Challenge is structured around three interlinked implementation strategies: (i) improving access to climate-smart technologies and agroecological practices, (ii) enhancing climate-informed digital advisory services, and decision support, and (iii) supporting policy and institutional reforms.
“Technology-focused R4D is a ‘given’ for CGIAR; thus, in this Initiative, CGIAR will step up research and action, through developing global thematic groups that link to all the Regional/Subregional Challenges: learning lessons, promoting South-South learning on these topics, and linking to global processes,” said Saethre.
The One-Health platform has four strategic priorities:
- Horizon scanning and building of early warning and rapid-response systems, which aim to provide seasonal and long-term forecast and management options for biorisks affecting plants, animals, people and the environment in West and Central Africa;
- Managing climate-driven biorisks, which will prioritize and manage the most serious, existing and emerging, biorisks in agriculture;
- Harnessing high throughput technologies for food safety and health for mega-cities in West Africa to improve food safety and health for mega-cities in West Africa under a climate change context;
- Bringing biorisk management into the mainstream of national and regional development programs, which will establish a platform for information sharing on climate change-related biorisks and to influence policy dialog and advocacy;
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