The GFAR Secretariat is pleased to announce that the Global Event for the Third Global Conference on Agricultural Research and Development (GCARD3) will be hosted by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of South Africa, in Ekurhuleni near Johannesburg, from 5 to 8 April 2016. 

Enthusiastic about the opportunity, the South African Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Honourable Mr. Senzeni Zokwana remarked that, “it is a fitting tribute to the ARC’s global stature to be awarded the right to host the GCARD3 Global Event. This event is expected to be an inclusive, participatory process and will be an opportunity to shape the future of global agricultural research."

The Global Event, organized by GFAR and the CGIAR, will follow directly on a series of national and regional consultations carried out through 2015-2016, and will be the third such global conference bringing together hundreds of representatives from across all agriculture sectors with a stake in the future of agri-food research and innovation.

This third GCARD Conference comes at a pivotal time for global agenda-setting on development action, as the Sustainable Development Goals demand a concerted effort to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2030--challenges that can be best met by ensuring sustainable food systems and by increasing investment in agriculture. The Conference will provide a forum for those involved in the GCARD process to further engage and make commitments on working together to make agri-food research and innovation systems stronger, more effective, and more sustainable.

Read the official media release on the GCARD3 Global Event, attached below.