One of the objectives of GFAR, and of the NARS Secretariat in particular, is to
strengthen the participation of NARS in international agricultural research through the
Regional/Sub-Regional Organizations (ROs/SROs) they have established with the
purpose of fostering cooperation among them.
In short, the current situation is as follows:
¿ Both the Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) Region and the Sub-Saharan African
(SSA) Region have established and strengthened sub-regional organizations
(SROs): the four PROCIs and recently SICTA for LAC and ASARECA, CORAF
and SACCAR for SSA. It is only recently, that they have considered the
establishment of a regional forum as an apex mechanism: FORAGRO in LAC and
FARA in SSA. These LAC and SSA regional fora are still in the process of
development.
¿ In the case of the Asia-Pacific (A-P) Region and of the West Asia & North Africa
(WANA) Region, regional associations of national agricultural research
institutions (NARIs) have been in existence for more than ten years: APAARI for
A-P and AARINENA for WANA. It is only recently that AARINENA has
decided to promote a sub-regional approach (Maghreb, Nile Valley & Red Sea,
Mashreq, Arabian Peninsula and Western Asia) and that APAARI is considering
taking the same route (South East Asia, East Asia, South Asia and Pacific)...