Jointly organized by the Secretariats of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Science Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the workshop's goal is to define future research and research links to development outputs and outcomes for the stakeholders of GFAR, which include CGIAR research centers and their associated R&D partners, as they relate to higher value crop, livestock, fish and forestry products. This workshop will provide an opportunity to help orient and define an R&D agenda, and with it the investment of public funds over the next 10 years in global research, that could provide the technical and scientific underpinnings for contributing significantly to the Millennium Development Goals.

The context
Globalization of markets for high value agricultural products such as fruit, flowers, vegetables, and specialty or boutique products is creating dynamic markets for competitive producers at national, regional and international levels. At the same time the area devoted to and price of staple commodities are steadily declining, especially among producers whose production systems are only marginally competitive or that have been protected historically from international competition. Among the latter are millions of rural people who traditionally struggle to meet their subsistence food needs by growing staples, working off-farm as laborers and selling a small surplus to generate income to meet their basic needs for healthcare, education, clothing and shelter. In the absence of a major redistribution of land and capital to the poor, one of the major challenges for the millennium development goals is to provide the market linkages, technology, organization and know-how that will enable a decent proportion of poor producers to participate in dynamic markets for higher value crops and livestock products in rapidly growing urban centres. This concern may be especially important for poor rural women involved in producing, processing or trading high-value crops and related products.

A common understanding, guidelines and principles
While it is easy to identify market linkages, technology, organization and know-how as the key ingredients of a solution to this problem, no widely agreed-upon strategy for achieving this yet exists. There are numerous examples of different approaches, some very successful, others ineffective, that have been tried. Certainly no one formula exists. However, it is clear that if left exclusively to the market, the solution will be to drive many millions of rural families into increased misery, indigence, underemployment and social violence. There is no shortage of indications that this is already occurring. Of particular concern is the impoverishment of rural families that is made more acute when poor women lose control of production, processing, marketing and income from traditional subsistence crops and products if men assume the control of new and profitable market opportunities In order to orient research priority setting and to catalyze international and national innovation systems to take a proactive role in linking small-scale producers to dynamic markets for high value products, guidelines and principles are urgently needed that can be widely aired and publicized. A clear common understanding of the research for development issues, and their relative priority, together with a set of guidelines and principles for generating and sharing knowledge among many disparate research programs and development projects that could make up a critical mass of R&D capability and financing are an important starting point for focusing on these opportunities.

The proposal
GFAR and the CGIAR Science Council Secretariats are convening an action-oriented workshop among selected key R&D actors that will contribute to developing this common understanding about how small producers and in particular poor rural women can obtain the market linkages, technologies, organization and know-how they require to benefit from dynamic markets for high value products. This issue is at the heart of GFAR stakeholders' priorities which are being concretely manifested through its on-going programmes such as Linking Farmers to Markets, Underutilised Species and Promoting Local Innovation. The new CGIAR strategies incorporate research on high value crops. Development of guidelines and principles for the generation of new knowledge and technology for high value products requires strategic thinkers and knowledgeable practitioners from different points in the research and development continuum to arrive at a shared vision of what needs to be done to tackle the problem. The workshop will convene a group of key people to produce a succinct strategy document and to form a platform for future action.

The invited participants are drawn from a group of knowledgeable person in the area, who are renowned for their strategic thinking, gender perspective and/or field experience. They come from different backgrounds representing interested stakeholders along the supply chain related to the production, post-harvest handling, processing, wholesaling and retailing of high value products.

The Workshop preparation is being guided by a Steering Group made up of representatives from the GFAR and CGIAR SC Secretariats, the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI).

The workshop schedule is made up the following key components:

• Background papers:
  • One commissioned paper on the 'global' issues related to the subject.
  • Four commissioned regional state of the art presentations (perceived opportunities, experiences, successes/failures, lessons) for Asia, Latin America, Africa and West Asia and North Africa.
• Group work on defining R&D strategies.
• Plenary sessions on developing a coherent and linked R&D priority research and development issues, guidelines and principles for action, and an associated framework for action.

The expected outcomes of the Workshop are:

• A set of clearly identified R&D issues;
• Principles and guidelines for a research effort at international, regional and national levels including requirements for gender-specific strategies;
• A framework for action and follow-up.

The workshop will be externally facilitated to ensure that the desired are fully outputs met.

Provisional Programme

Monday 3 October 2005

Introduction
08.15 Welcome: DG CIAT, Executive Secretaries of GFAR and Science Council
08.30 Introductions, objectives and desired outputs of the meeting. Jürgen Hagmann, Facilitator.

Global presentations
09.00 Global issues paper (40 minutes presentation, 20 minutes clarification). Claire Coote and Junior Davis, Enterprise, Trade and Finance Group, Natural Resources Institute, UK
10.00 Global Horticulture Assessment and Global Horticulture Initiative. T. Lumpkin (30 minutes presentation, 15 minutes clarification)

10.45 Coffee break

Regional presentations
11.00 Asia and Pacific review paper. Katinka Weinberger, AVRDC, Taiwan.
11.30 Latin America and Caribbean review paper. Antonio Gandarillas, PROINPA, Bolivia.
12.00 Sub-Saharan Africa review paper. Andrew Temu, Sokoine University, Tanzania.
12.30 West Asia and North Africa review paper. Ayman Farid Akou-Hadid, Ain Shams University, Egypt.

13.00 Lunch

14.00 Recompilation of issues, ordering and prioritisation

16.00 Development of a common understanding for high value product R&D
- Who are the beneficiaries?
- A shared vision for R&D
- Principles and guidelines for an international research effort

Tuesday 4 October 2005

Morning:
How are we going to achieve the vision (moving to where we are now to where we want to be in 10 years time)?
- How can we insure that smallholder farmers benefit?
- What will be the key areas of intervention?

Afternoon:
Development of a framework for action
- What can we build on, where are the gaps?
- Who are the actors, what roles will they play?
- What investment is needed?

Wednesday 5 October

Morning:
Finalisation of the framework for action and follow-up

12.30 Lunch
14.00 Plenary session wrap-up, follow-up decisions and conclusions
16.00 Meeting close



Logistics

The language of the meeting will be English.
Dowload the PDF file containing logistical information regarding this meeting.

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