Background 

The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) is organizing the Global Conferences on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARDs) every two years, starting in 2009. The Conferences will be an open and inclusive process for consultation and change to reshape agricultural research and innovation, to improve resources for research and increase its impact on development.

Each GCARD Conference will be preceded by a series of electronic and face-to-face consultations conducted at regional and global levels to capture the contributions and perspectives of all stakeholders in the agricultural research, education and development systems. This will reshape the global agricultural research for development agenda and centre it on the needs of the poor in developing countries.

In carrying out this major undertaking, GFAR is reaching out to all stakeholders in AR4D, working through its constituent agencies and networks, which include: the six Regional Research Fora (FARA, EFARD, AARINENA, FORAGRO, APAARI, CACAARI), who represent National Agricultural Research Systems, the Alliance of CGIAR centres (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research), the FAO, IFAD, and representatives of farmers (IFAP), civil society, the private sector and donor agencies.

In order to provide a baseline for discussion, commissioned regional reviews have been commissioned to provide a synthesis of existing national and regional studies, policies and reports on how agricultural research priorities currently match to development aims and needs. The outcome of these reviews will be used to frame questions for the e-consultations and the face-to-face meetings at regional and global levels.
The consultations will also contribute to the formulation of the new research strategy and programs of the CGIAR and provide perspectives from intended partners, end users and beneficiaries on possible strategic themes and their operational implications. To that effect, the CGIAR is currently examining key priority areas for international research.

Objectives of the Electronic Consultations 

These two and a half week facilitated e-consultations will provide an opportunity for you to share experiences in your region and learn from others who are involved with agricultural research for development. The consultation is open to all and starts from your own experiences and lessons learnt about what has enabled agricultural technologies to help achieve development impact. The consultation will refer to the issues raised by the regional reviews and focus on questions like:

To what extent do the issues identified in the regional review and the CGIAR analysis capture the key regional research needs for delivering the greatest development impact?
What are the mechanisms and partnerships that are required for turning research into development impact?
What are the key blockages, barriers and bottlenecks that prevent agricultural innovation from benefiting the poor?
How best should these be resolved and what enabling investments, policies, and capacities are most needed?
Your input will contribute to shape the future of agriculture: It will inform the regional face-to-face meetings that will develop action plans for agricultural research around the world. Your input will also be acknowledged in the proceedings and might lead to an invitation to attend the GCARD Conference in Montpellier in March 2010.

Outline of the 2 ½ -Week events

Pre-event activity – We invite you to browse through the regional review key findings and to read an interview with the authors of the reviews.
Week 1 – Participants introduce themselves and share their experiences and views from the region, relating agricultural innovation to development impact.
Week 2 – Participants reflect on the issues raised in the preceding week and put their experiences in perspective of the regional review findings. Participants are invited to suggest and discuss reforms to make innovations help to have greater impact on major development needs of the region
Week 3 (3 days) – Participants receive a summary of the discussions and make closing remarks.

Language
English and Spanish, French, and Russian respectively.

Participation 

This event is open to all those who are interested in agricultural research for development and innovation and have a specific interest in the region. The consultations are based on electronic dialogues with the possibility to consult and participate via a public Web site. Summaries are posted twice a week on the Web site (egfar.org) for comments and further discussion.

Schedule of the Regional Consultations 

The facilitated consultation will take place between the first and third week of September 2009. The exact dates will be communicated to you upon registration.

Registration 

Please go to the following site to register for participating in the regional e-consultations: 

Asia Pacific: 
http://egfar.org/egfar/website/gcard/regional-consultations/ap/participate
Europe: 
http://egfar.org/egfar/website/gcard/regional-consultations/eu/participate 
Central Asia and the Caucasus: 
http://egfar.org/egfar/website/gcard/regional-consultations/cac/participate 
West Asia and North Africa:
http://egfar.org/egfar/website/gcard/regional-consultations/wana/participate 
Latin America and the Caribbean:
http://www.iica.org.uy/online/verinforme.asp?id=2497
Sub-Saharan Africa:
http://dgroups.org/groups/fara-net/GCARD-Africa