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August 2003
Issue 7/2003
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Editorial

Pre-GFAR 2003 CSO Workshop

Keynote Addresses

From Dresden to Dakar

Roundtable Discussions

Poster Session

Side Events

Sub-plenary Session on GPPs

Stakeholder Consultations

GFAR 2003 Conference Evaluation

 

List of Acronyms 

 

In this issue

The theme of the Second Triennial Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) Conference held in Dakar, Senegal, 22�24 May 2003 (GFAR 2003) was Linking Research and Rural Innovation to Sustainable Development. It was a very appropriate theme given the current global focus and attention on sustainable development issues as well as increased research interest in innovation processes. The goal of the conference was to review achievements and take stock of lessons learned during the current triennium (2000-2003), and to identify new and emerging global issues, threats and opportunities of relevance to Agricultural Research for Development (ARD). The outcomes of both exercises were used to develop a framework for ARD activities required to alleviate the threats and build on the opportunities. Approximately 400 participants, representing the seven recognized stakeholder groups of GFAR from all regions of the world contributed towards addressing the above goal through active participation in the various sessions, side events and activities of the conference.

An innovative feature of GFAR 2003 was the two-day pre-conference workshop of civil society organizations (CSOs). One of the objectives of this workshop was to give the CSOs ample time and opportunity to debate and refine their vision of sustainable agriculture, so that they could identify issues of importance to be addressed by the GFAR family, and to develop strategies to actively participate in GFAR 2003.

The President of Senegal, Maître Abdoulaye Wade, who presided over the opening session, emphasized his deep conviction of the relevance and important place of agricultural research in development, thanks to ample demonstration from the Senegalese national agricultural research institute (ISRA). However, he cautioned that such research must show tangible impact on targeted communities. Representatives of Canada, Italy, the European Commission, FAO and CSOs as well as the GFAR Chair also acknowledged the central role of research which they also pointed out must be demand-driven, hence the importance of the partnership concept espoused by GFAR. Without exception, all speakers acknowledged the value-added approach of GFAR built on strategic partnerships for ARD.

In order to fully address the goals of the conference, important topics and themes for reflection were provided during the keynote address session chaired by Louise Fresco, Assistant Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization. Following her introductory remark, Mohammad Roozitalab, the Chair of GFAR, delivered the first formal presentation of GFAR 2003. This was followed by two keynote addresses, the first by Ian Johnson, Vice-President of the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD) network of the World Bank, on Outcomes of the Summits and their Implications for Agriculture, and the second by Wiseman Nkulhu, Chair of the NEPAD Steering Committee, on Emerging Global Issues in Sustainable Development and the Response of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD initiative) . The two addresses identified new and emerging issues of relevance for ARD and were complemented by a report on the implementation of the GFAR business plan by the GFAR Executive Secretary, Olanrewaju Smith, entitled From Dresden to Dakar: Achievements, Gaps and the Way Forward. The presentation of the business plan summarized past lessons for future use, and was chaired by Kanayo Nwanze, the Director General of WARDA�Africa Rice Centre.

The subsequent activities and side events were designed with an eye on the conference goal and expected outputs. First, was a poster session followed by a panel discussion on successful cases of partnerships in ARD. A ten-person panel composed of representatives from GFAR stakeholders groups as well as the general audience were presented with two case studies selected by the GFAR Secretariat after a well-advertised call for proposals. They had the opportunity to discuss and identify essential elements for successful ARD partnerships. Five parallel sub-plenary sessions on global and inter-regional partnership programs constituted the second set of activities, and continued the debate on partnership issues with a focus on specific topics of research for development which stakeholders could jointly implement. These sub-plenary sessions provided a singular opportunity to strengthen old partnerships, as well as to develop and build new ones around issues of common interest to GFAR stakeholders and of relevance to ARD. Lastly, three side events were organized on the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) regional priority-setting exercise, a global agenda for information communication management, and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA) and the Global Conservation Trust.

Periodically throughout the conference participants were divided into homogeneous groups along stakeholder lines or heterogeneous groups in roundtables. Armed with the inputs from various sources, their own experiences, expectations and group interests, participants were given the opportunity to deliberate, brainstorm, exchange views and formulate recommendations, conclusions and guidelines that could be used to design a business plan for the next triennium.

The full and original text of all the presentations made during the various sessions of the meeting including the pre-GFAR 2003 CSO consultation, side events and poster sessions are available on line.

Mohammad H. Roozitalab
GFAR Chair

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