LATEST NEWS: Focus on Plant Science

Announcing a 2010 Call for Research Proposals for the Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship

As announced by Bioversity International, there will be two Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship opportunities available for 2010 to carry out research on conservation and use of Plant Genetic Resources.

If you aren't familiar with the Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship Fund, it was established by Bioversity International in 1989, and aims to "encourage the conservation and use of plant genetic resources by enabling outstanding young scientists to carry out relevant, innovative research outside their own countries for a period of between three months and one year." The Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship Fund strives to identify applicants who demonstrate the importance and benefit of their proposed research to their home country and also indicate how it will be applied upon their return.

Nationals from developing countries, aged 35 and under, and possessing a masters degree (or equivalent) and/or doctorate in a relevant subject area, are invited to apply. To find out if nationals from your country are eligible, please visit see the list of countries on the World Bank website by clicking here.

For more information on how to apply, please follow the link below.

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Newly-Formed Global Plant Council Brings a Coherent Voice to Plant Sciences

Honolulu, HI, USA is where it all happened.  In a milestone summit, organized by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) and held from 15 to 16 July 2009 in Honolulu, 21 plant scientists representing 13 plant societies met to discuss the ways in which they can come together to address some of the most important environmental and societal issues in the world today.  These important global concerns consisted of: world hunger, energy, climate change, health and well-being, sustainability, and environmental protection.

As a result of this groundbreaking summit, the world’s first Global Plant Council has been formed.  Its purpose will be to focus on the above critical issues by defining and engaging in coordinated strategies for their resolution, and also in increasing awareness of the central role that plant science will play in this.  We can look for the Global Plant Council to move forward to create partnerships and collaborations that tackle and solve what we all recognize as critical and immediate problems for our planet. 

Mel Oliver of ASPB, and moderator of the Summit, reaffirms the significance of this important new Council: “The Global Plant Council is the first step that plant scientists across the globe have taken to speak with one voice on the pressing challenges that face humankind.”

To learn more, please click on the below link.

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Launch of the new Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) website

The Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative has launched a new website, www.asti.cgiar.org. ASTI, which is managed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), is one of the few available sources of agricultural R&D statistics in low- and middle-income countries. The initiative compiles, analyzes, and publicizes data on institutional developments, investments, and capacity in agricultural R&D at the national, regional, and global levels.

The tools and functionality of ASTI’s enhanced website make key information more user-friendly and readily accessible to stakeholders. In the future the website will be further expanded to include links to other data collections related to S&T in agriculture and food.

Features of the new ASTI website:

• Map, view, and compare agricultural S&T data from over 60 low and middle income countries

• Download and export national, regional, and global investment and capacity timeseries datasets

• Access the ASTI Website Directory, which provides links to a large and growing number of agricultural R&D agencies worldwide

• Download a vast array of national, regional, and global ASTI publications 

For more information email asti@cgiar.org. 

Article submitted by the International Food Policy Research Institute

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Farmer-Centred Innovation at the Science Forum 2009

On 16 June 2009, IDS Research Fellow Dr John Thompson and a panel of experts officially launched two new books that emphasise the importance of putting farmers at the centre of agricultural innovation and development: Farmer First Revisited: Innovation for Agricultural Research and Development and Innovaton Africa: Enriching Farmers’ Livelihoods.

The first book, Farmer First Revisited, returns to the debates about farmer participation in agricultural R&D and looks to the future. With over 60 contributions from across the world, the book presents a range of experiences that highlight the importance of going beyond a focus on the farm to the wider innovation system, including market interactions as well as the wider institutional and policy environment. Edited by Ian Scoones and John Thompson and with a foreword by Robert Chambers, Farmer First Revisited should be read by students, policy makers, development professionals, and natural and social scientists aiming to bring the concerns of grassroots farmers to the forefront. To find out more or to learn how to purchase Farmer First Revisited, please click here.

Innovation Africa: Enriching Farmers' Livelihoods, covers new conceptual and methodological developments in agricultural innovation systems, and showcases recent on-the-ground experiences in different contexts in Africa. The contributions show how innovation is the outcome of social learning through interaction of individuals and organizations in both creating and applying knowledge. It brings examples of how space and incentives have been created to promote collaboration between farmers, research, extension and the private sector to develop better technologies and institutional arrangements that can alleviate poverty. Edited By Pascal C. Sanginga, Ann Waters-Bayer, Susan Kaaria, Jemimah Njuki and Chesha Wettasinha, the book reflects cutting-edge thinking and practice in support of innovation processes in agriculture and management of natural resources.

The GFAR community congratulates the authors of these two books and their efforts to bring to light the importance of better guiding the innovation systems of agricultural research for development. If you would like to find out how to purchase Innovation Africa: Enriching Farmers' Livelihoods, please click on the link below.

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We are very pleased to announce that the new Chair of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) will be Dr Monty Jones, Executive Director of the Forum on Agricultural Research for Africa (FARA).

The multi-stakeholder Steering Committee of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research met this weekend in Alexandria, Egypt and selected Dr Jones from among a very strong field of candidates. The current Chair, Prof. Adel El-Beltagy of Egypt, will hand over the charge to Dr Monty at the closing session of the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD 2010), in Montpellier, France, March 28-31, 2010 (http://www.gcard2010.net).

Dr Jones was co-winner of the prestigious World Food Prize in 2004, for his work on the development of the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) with important physical traits for weed suppression through vigorous and spreading growth and higher levels of resistance/tolerance to major biotic and abiotic stresses. The new rice varieties give higher yield, taste good and offer great promise for improving rice productivity for poor farmers in Africa.

        Dr Monty Jones, GFAR Chair-elect

A recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Birmingham, Dr Jones has also received awards such as the Insignia of the Grand Officer Award from the order of the Rokel, Sierra Leone; the National Order of Merit Award from Côte d’Ivoire; and the King Baudouin Award given to WARDA by the CGIAR.  

In 2007, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by the New York Times.

In thanking the Committee for his appointment, Dr Jones highlighted the value of GFAR in advocacy for the value of agricultural research in development and the need for investment in this critically important sector if we are to meet international development goals in poverty, hunger and nutrition.  He also highlighted the value of GFAR in mobilizing all those who care about the future of agriculture to create effective changes in agricultural research systems around the world to enhance their impact in development and ensure that these are truly in tune with both the real demands of those served by agricultural research and those who provide the enabling resources.  He also called for a more pro-active view in the research community, to better anticipate and address future challenges and changing circumstances, in which GFAR has a major role to play in mobilizing concerted actions globally, for the benefit of local producers and consumers.
 
Dr Jones also highlighted the need for change in the CGIAR international agricultural research system and appealed for international centers and CGIAR members to join with those working at national and regional levels to make GFAR and the GCARD effective instruments for assuring the relevance and directing the evolution of the whole global agricultural research community, a role recognized in the recent G8 L’Aquila Statement on Food Security, 2009.

Current GFAR Chair, Prof El-Beltagy, said that the selection of Dr Jones will greatly strengthen GFAR as Dr Jones comes with a strong commitment to further enhance the work of GFAR and its constituencies to make a difference in the livelihoods of resource poor farmers. In the current global scene, with the shadow of world food crisis, financial crisis and the climate change, the prime task ahead is to optimize the linkages between the different partners in agricultural research for development through a dynamic platform (GFAR). He expressed his great confidence in Dr Jones to work in the future with the GFAR Steering Committee and other partners in research for development to successfully achieve the noble objectives with which GFAR was created.