A High Level Policy Dialogue on Investment in Agricultural Research for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region" is being organized by the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), in partnership with the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-Regional Office for Asia-Pacific (FAO-RAP), and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and with the major sponsorship from the Syngenta Foundation. The Dialogue will be held at Rama Gardens Hotel, in Bangkok, Thailand on 8-9 December, 2015.

The purpose of the Dialogue is to create awareness to promote long-term investment in agricultural research and innovations for sustainable development through appropriate policies and strategies, and to catalyze policy/decision makers, re-sensitize AR4D organizations, and create an environment for increased/ improved resource allocation and policy support for agricultural research and innovations for development (ARI4D) in the Asia-Pacific region. 

The major focus of the Dialogue will be on awareness of the importance of AR4D; assessment of the current levels of capacities, disparities and trends in investment; importance of and need for enhanced and improved investments in AR4D; scoping and prioritization of AR4D areas for investment; promoting skills and capacities to attract, mobilize and utilize investments; realizing the need for paradigm shift from AR4D to ARI4D and research to knowledge; and innovative funding mechanisms to enhance/ improve  investment.

An important additional feature of this Dialogue is the senior level participation from diverse stakeholder constituencies in both the public and private sectors at the national, regional and international levels. About 120 participants are expected to attend, which include ministers and other senior level policy makers; NARS leaders and international experts from CGIAR, IARCs, ARIs; representatives of CSOs (NGOs, FOs), foundations, funding and donor agencies, and private sector, innovative farmers, women and youth groups.

Please see the background documents and presentations here.