![\"Picture](\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1024_panel.jpg\")
<\/a>\nThe panel, from left to right: Peter Carberry (ICRISAT), Jimmy Smith (ILRI), Doug Gollin\u00a0(University of Oxford), Florence Wambugu (Africa Harvest), Oscar Ortiz (CIP), and Victor\u00a0Manyong (IITA).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nFirst to speak was Jimmy Smith, Director General of the\u00a0Institut international de recherche sur l'\u00e9levage<\/a>\u00a0(ILRI). He noted that while the CGIAR\u2019s main research priorities are already set, the main contention remained on how it will deliver \u201cthe goods\u201d with regard to enhanced food and nutritional security, poverty alleviation, and sustainable use of natural resources.\n\n\u201cWe like to think CGIAR\u2014with its 10,000 staff and 1 billion dollar annual budget\u2014is big and important. But we are relatively small. We get, for instance, less than 10% of the resources invested in global agricultural research and our staffing strength cannot match that of others, such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for example; which, with 200,000 staff, is 20 times greater,\u201d noted Smith as he set the tone for the discussions by the panel.\n\n\u201cSo we need to be strategic about what we do. And we can do this by designing our work to be catalytic, facilitatory and to establish effective partnerships through careful selection,\u201d he added.\n\nTaking the cue from Smith\u2019s opening remarks, IITA\u2019s Victor Manyong went ahead to focus the discussions on what change of orientation is necessary if the impact of CGIAR is to be felt and made more visible.\n\n\u201cI see prosperity as multidimensional and encompassing. If we want greater rural prosperity in the world, no one discipline, no single intervention or institution is going to take us there,\u201d noted Manyong.\n\n\u201cIt is a long way to go from when research is initiated to the final outcome aimed for, which is rural prosperity. There are so many boxes in between and many actors need to be involved. So establishing effective partnerships along the whole value chain is key,\u201d he explained.\n\nManyong further proffered six areas that he believes will help agricultural research contribute to rural prosperity by increasing agricultural productivity. (1) Shifting focus on whole farm families rather than just smallholder farmers, (2) Addressing biotic stresses, such as the new diseases that have arisen in the last decade attacking East Africa\u2019s three staple crops: maize, cassava, and banana, (3) Addressing abiotic stresses, such as climate change and soil quality, (4) Supporting enabling markets, policies and institutions, (5) Focusing on enhancing nutrition, and (6) Keeping a gender focus.\n\nAlso speaking during the panel session was Oscar Ortiz, Deputy Director General for research and development at the\u00a0Centre international de la pomme de terre<\/a>\u00a0(CIP). He looked toward the exciting times ahead noting that CGIAR\u2019s big data is set to contribute in a major way to rural prosperity. \u201cWith big data, it will soon be possible to link the trait preferences in the staple foods of our target beneficiary stakeholder groups with the genes and markers for those desired traits,\u201d he said.\n\nThe issue of having an \u201cend-user oriented\u201d focus to research was also flagged by the CEO of\u00a0Africa Harvest<\/a>\u00a0Biotech Foundation International, Florence Wambugu. \u201cThe CGIAR centers need to think about starting with a clear demand identified by farmers. It is important to ask who needs what we are producing. Next, think about the economics of scale (How will our products be scaled up? Who will do the scaling?),\u201d advised Wambugu. Her thoughts were echoed by Peter Carberry, Deputy Director for research at the\u00a0Institut international de recherche sur les cultures des zones tropicales semiarides<\/a>\u00a0(ICRISAT).\n\n\u201cWe have to focus on what our beneficiaries need. An example: Many of Africa\u2019s livestock are kept on lands where crops are grown. The residues of these staple crops are fed to the animals. We must pay attention to the whole farm environment. Another example is the significant rising market demand for red meat in West Africa: We should be investigating how the lands that support our crops can support this,\u201d noted Carberry to round up the panel discussion.\n\nThe panel was chaired by Prof. Doug Gollin, a development economist at the University of Oxford and member of the CGIAR ISPC and Chair of the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA).\n\nThe Science Forum (SF) is a flagship event that was initiated by the ISPC in 2009 as a means to reach out to scientists and scientific communities largely external to CGIAR, but who could make important contributions to the CGIAR research portfolio and its objectives of reducing poverty, improving food security, human nutrition and health, and environmental sustainability.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The agricultural research-for-development priorities of CGIAR centers received attention during a panel discussion held on the last morning of a three-day (12\u201314 April) Science Forum organized by the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnerships Council (ISPC) in Addis Ababa-Ethiopia.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":17502,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[2295],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[36],"news-type":[],"hub":[62],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[194],"class_list":["post-17501","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bulletin-no-2322","location-ethiopia","hub-eastern-africa","item-year-194"],"yoast_head":"\n