ADB, CGIAR Join Forces To Boost And Scale Agricultural Innovations In Asia

Science and innovations from CGIAR research centers and ADB’s $14B 2022-2025 investment will tackle Asia’s food crisis and enhance longer-term food sector capacity and resilience

A five-year cooperation agreement between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and CGIAR aims to accelerate and scale agricultural innovations and solutions for the sustainable and inclusive development of agrifood systems in Asia.

The agreement was signed at the Asia and the Pacific Food Security Forum 2024, hosted by ADB. CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly-funded agricultural innovation network, will support ADB in identifying and developing future investment opportunities and preparing and implementing investment projects and knowledge programs. CGIAR research centers will also extend their innovations to ADB developing member countries (DMCs).

Areas of collaboration between the two organizations include:

• Innovation in food systems transformation, with CGIAR providing technical and capacity building assistance for ADB projects in agribusiness value chain development, infrastructure for food systems, health and nutrition, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and digital agriculture, among other target areas and disciplines aligned with ADB’s Strategy 2030 and CGIAR’s 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy.
• Policy research and advocacy efforts to influence agricultural policies that promote sustainable and inclusive development.
• Shared roles in building the capacity of farmers, researchers, and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector through training programs and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
• CGIAR will also play an active role in the proposed Multilateral Development Bank Innovation platform, conduct regular foresight activities to help DMC governments understand and plan for uncertainty, and support ADB’s holistic river basins approach for sustainable agriculture systems.

“This strategic partnership between ADB and CGIAR will provide us with mechanisms to effectively scale and deliver development solutions through ADB grants and loans contributing to multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals. We intend to complement the targeted science impacts with strong policy, capacity building, and knowledge-sharing strategies,” said CGIAR Executive Managing Director, Dr. Ismahane Elouafi.

The operational model of the ADB-CGIAR partnership will be patterned after the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Clearinghouse project, a flagship program within the African Development Bank (AfDB) Feed Africa Strategy, which aims to rapidly expand access of smallholder farmers to high yielding agricultural technologies that improve their food production, assure food security, and raise rural incomes.

Incoming IRRI Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Dr. Yvonne Pinto, said “The network of CGIAR research centers has driven applicable agricultural innovation for decades, and we look forward to supporting ADB’s work to strengthen food systems in Asia and the Pacific, both to address the current food crisis and to boost their longer-term sustainability.”

CGIAR is among the global actors participating in the Asia and the Pacific Food Security Forum 2024, taking place from 9-12 April 2024 at the ADB Headquarters in Manila, Philippines.

About CGIAR
CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services. Its research is carried out by 13 CGIAR Centers in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector. For more information, visit https://www.cgiar.org/

About The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
IRRI is dedicated to abolishing poverty and hunger among people and populations that depend on rice-based agri-food systems. Through our work and partnerships, we aim to improve the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers, promote environmental sustainability in a world challenged by climate change, and support the empowerment of women and the youth in the rice sector. For more information, visit www.irri.org