GFAR Executive Secretary Mark Holderness represented GFAR at the second Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists of the G20 Nations, held in Moscow 24-25 July 2013. Organized by the Russian G20 Presidency, the MACS brought together Chief Scientists and high level research officials from across the world’s 20 largest economies and from international organizations including GFAR, FAO, IFAD, CGIAR and OECD, to examine progress in collaborative actions since the 2011 French and 2012 Mexican Presidencies. The Chief Scientists agreed Terms of Reference for future actions of the MACS and charted a way forward to make best use of the synergies and collaborative opportunities among the tremendous agricultural research and development capabilities of the G20 nations.
The Chief Scientists recognized the continuing challenge of ensuring and sustaining food security, the potential value of advanced agricultural research in delivering to these global needs, the opportunity for more coordinated actions among the MACS and the desire to increase cooperation with existing international platforms, in particular that of GFAR and the GCARD process, and for cross-linkage and collaborative research with the CGIAR and national systems of developing countries.
The MACS Terms of Reference developed in Mexico were further refined and it is now agreed that MACS will be a voluntary initiative, with the G20 lead countries normally hosting the MACS meetings, which aim to:
- inform stakeholders of existing global resources, programs and collaborative efforts for agricultural research that can help address food security challenges
- identify, strengthen and complement research priority areas for collective action in coherence with existing initiatives to sustainably intensify agricultural production, in order to meet increased and changing demand for healthy, safe and nutritious food whilst mitigating and adapting to climate change
- identify avenues to facilitate the coordination of resources and existing initiatives in support of these priorities
- establish baselines and track progress toward the priorities
- promote new partnerships
MACS will link closely with existing and future collaborative mechanisms, including CGIAR Consortium, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD).
The meeting discussed a wide range of collaborative initiatives developed over recent years. During the sessions, Mark Holderness described actions that have taken place through the CIARD initiative for opening access to agricultural information. The MACS recognized that CIARD was highly complementary to the Global Open Data Initiative for Agriculture and Nutrition, now put forward by USA and UK under the G8 Initiative for open access to agricultural information. These initiatives have since begun direct discussion on building integral partnership.
He also reported the great progress made in exploring future agricultural needs, through the work of partners in the Global Foresight Hub, the GFAR-facilitated action network endorsed by the G20 Agriculture Ministers in 2011. These achievements were welcomed by the MACS, as was the progress made in other initiatives developed through the G20’s deliberations, which have been recently highlighted and cross-linked with others via GCARD2. These include the Tropical Agriculture Platform, the Wheat Initiative and Wheat Yield Network, the Global Research Alliance on Greenhouse Gases and the Global Soil Partnership.
The roles of GFAR and the GCARD were then presented and discussed. The Chief Scientists recognized the considerable progress made in implementation of G20 agricultural initiatives and their linkage to the activities of GFAR in its work on agricultural research and its potential application mechanisms. The MACS considered that presentation of MACS and G20 agricultural initiatives should be an important part of the Global Conferences on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD), a valuable element to include in the planning of GCARD3.
MACS members also welcomed the opportunity to explore through GFAR the feasibility of better linking national agricultural research systems and financing of international networked actions. This is a theme to which GFAR is deeply committed, investing in and strengthening national capabilities and ensuring that international research is well aligned with user demands and national needs and that, alongside international investments, national organizations in all sectors are funded, equipped and enabled to convert international research products into technologies, tools and innovations that can change the lives and livelihoods of the poor. Further action on this concerted approach is planned through GFAR and its stakeholders.
This cross-linkage was strongly supported by the MACS Chief Scientists, reinforcing the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ formal recognition in 2011 of the importance of GCARD as a rolling and inclusive process developing greater international coherence of agricultural science policies and their implementation. GFAR’s ongoing governance review now also provides opportunity for the MACS group itself to become directly involved in shaping GFAR’s work and bringing the G20 Nation’s advanced research capabilities directly into GFAR-facilitated actions.