Enhancing diversity through the use of neglected, underutilized crops and species will not only diversify agro-ecosystems and rotations, but also likely to improve adaptability to extreme climatic conditions, provide resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses and produce harvestable yields where major crops may fail. This will enhance local productivity and yield stability, thus improving local food and nutritional security while sustaining the genetic resources needed to address present and future environmental challenges.

Compiling accurate, up-to-date information on AR4D investments and their impacts is extremely challenging, time consuming and is contingent on available human and financial resources. The ASTI initiative is geared not only to assess investments but also to address how to identify indicators for approaching returns on public investments (and private investments as much as we can) with a longer time horizon.

Over the past three years, the World Bank has made a concerted effort to scale-up work in nutrition and is strongly committed to increasing the multisectorality of its investments by supporting nutrition through other relevant sectors, such as agriculture, social protection and education. The Bank's work on nutrition is based on the scale-up of evidence-based interventions, targeted at the most vulnerable populations.

The various AR4D initiatives focusing on improving food security
face similar challenges such as how to link basic biological research at the international level
to its application on the ground in specific countries and contexts, or how to work with
development actors to ensure that research outputs are taken up and promoted. To address
these challenges, AR4D initiatives are finding they need to be more thoughtful, systematic
and intentional in the way they approach their partnering. Are there common lessons

The GCARD2 process on foresight is intended to advance the Roadmap actions required, paving the way for developing more effective approaches in line with the partnership principles, smallholder farmer and impact-centred focus of the GCARD. The key question the foresight session intends to address is: “What role could smallholder farmers play in meeting future needs in food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and sustainable management of natural resources?”

The GCARD2 F2 session on “Foresight Guiding Research and Innovation” has two sessions running in parallel. Session F2.1 is dedicated to the regional and sub-regional levels. Session F2.2 is focusing on foresight at the global level. This document provides information that is relevant for the discussions during the session; based on the analysis of the global foresight works as mentioned in the inventory.

This session will focus on how to strengthen institutional capacities as well as multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational networking, including through improved policies, management practices, structures and incentives, so that institutions become more adaptive and responsive, as well as more effective in linking farmers, research, education, extension and development actors.

Three priority areas of action for making data and information accessible will be discussed. The first priority area is to improve investment through introduction of sound policies and coordinated global, regional and national approaches. The second priority is to develop organizational capacities to contribute to a global data, information and knowledge commons. The third priority is to make data and information accessible by promoting open content and achieving uptake of open standards.