In a historic first, Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA Director General (DG) and CGIAR Continental Director for Africa, is convening a meeting with his counterpart CGIAR DGs double-hatting as Regional Directors (RDs) or Global Directors within One CGIAR at IITA Headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria this week.
In the meeting with Dr Ehui are Dr Baboucarr Manneh, Director General of Africa Rice and CGIAR Regional Director, West and Central Africa; Professor Appolinaire Djikeng, Director General, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Global Director, Livestock Systems; and Dr Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO of Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry Center (CIFOR – ICRAF), global research and development organizations dealing with forestry and agroforestry. Dr Aly Abousabaa, Director General, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)–Lebanon and Regional Director, Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA); and Dr Namukolo Covic, ILRI DG Representative in Ethiopia and Regional Director, East and Southern Africa, attended the meeting virtually.
The meeting aims to foster and strengthen collaborative efforts among Africa-based CGIAR Centersto enhance coordination across One CGIAR and strategize towards synergy and impact.
The CGIAR leaders are coming together as one team to make a big and positive impact on agriculture and food systems in Africa, in collaboration with other CGIAR research centers with major projects and operations in Africa such as International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and other organizations. Their collaborative leadership engagement is deemed to be crucial for making One CGIAR work for the continent.
In a statement issued in Ibadan, Dr Ehui said “The meeting is an occasion for the DGs/RDs to strengthen collaboration, foster synergies, and explore potential joint fundraising initiatives. The meeting will cover crucial discussions and provides an opportunity to showcase the exceptional research work carried out by IITA, ILRI, and Africa Rice in Nigeria.”
The meeting will specifically look at the Regions and Partnerships (R&P) Strategy to identify crucial opportunities for Africa, the One GCIAR strategy for Africa that would propel the food security agenda and take the food systems conversation on the continent forward, and the roadmap to get this done by end-2023.
It will also review One CGIAR engagement with major Africa-based stakeholders using the CGIAR Action Plan for Africa developed under the aegis of African Union Commission (AUC), African Development Bank (AfDB), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), and CGIAR, and discuss the integration of Technology Delivery and Scaling as part of the One CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiatives for Africa; and advance support for CGIAR country conveners in their country coordination function.
The output of the 2-day visit will be a draft action plan and indications of what the DGs will achieve as a team in the short term and medium/long term.
With the One CGIAR Regional Initiatives for Africa on the agenda, the DGs/RDs will join forces to deliver continent-wide solutions to food insecurity, deploy climate-resilient agriculture, and expand research efforts while building on the successes of their predecessors.
The discussions on issues around integration of technologies, delivery mechanisms, and scaling strategies, and Africa’s food systems provide renewed prospects for transformation of agriculture in the continent.
IITA Communications
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