International/Regional development organization

An outcome of the G8 and G20 discussions on food security and agricultural growth, the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) is a four year multi-donor partnership between the European Commission (EC), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Italian Development Cooperation (DGCS), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Development Bank (BMZ- KfW) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in strategic partnership with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and development partners to make risk management an integral part of policy planning and implementation in the agricultural sector.

The Platform plays the role of facilitator in bundling the know-how of participating donors for the development of methodologies for risk analysis and the adoption of risk management strategies, integrating risk management instruments and approaches in public policies, private sector practices and agricultural investment programmes.

The overall objective of PARM is to contribute to sustainable agricultural growth, reduce food insecurity, and improve livelihoods of rural and poor farming households in developing countries.

PARM Secretariat Contact Information:

[email protected]

@PARMinfo

http://p4arm.org

The fight against drought receives a high priority in WMO. The Organization involves National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in regional and sub-regional cooperative projects such as the operation of Drought Monitoring Centres in Africa (DMC-Nairobi , DMC-Harare). In particular, WMO promotes research on the interactions between climate, the hydrological regime and drought in the context of climate variability, change and water resources scarcity. With a view to developing appropriate response strategies, WMO's efforts in drought forecasting and mitigation are supplemented by public awareness and education and training activities.

The Drylands Development Centre (DDC) is a thematic centre of UNDP dedicated to fighting poverty and achieving sustainable development in the drier regions of the world. Over 40 percent of the world is drylands, where about 2.3 billon people live in nearly 100 countries. Many people living in drylands depend directly upon a highly variable natural resource base for their livelihoods, and about half of all dryland inhabitants - one billion people - are poor and marginalized. This accounts for close to half of the world's poor.

The UNDP-DDC recognizes that achieving sustainable development in the drylands has significant implications for reducing poverty and hunger worldwide. It will be impossible to meet the Millennium Development Goals of halving world poverty and hunger by 2015 unless life is improved for the people of the drylands. Fortunately, the drylands have the potential to be productive and there is a real opportunity for the people who live there to prosper.

The UNDP-DDC's support is delivered through its framework programme, the Integrated Drylands Development Programme (IDDP). The IDDP is currently operational in 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States. The IDDP combines three approaches to drylands development into one integrated programme:

GFRAS is the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services, functioning under the vision of seeing rural advisory services effectively contributing to the sustainable reduction of hunger and poverty worldwide. The mission of GFARS is to provide advocacy and leadership on rural advisory services within the global development agenda.

GFRAS has three functions:

1. Providing voice for advisory services within global policy dialogues and promoting improved investment in RAS;
2. Supporting the development and synthesis of evidence-based approaches and policies for improving the effectiveness of RAS; and
3. Strengthening actors and fora in RAS through facilitating interaction and networking.

The GFRAS inception period began on January 1, 2010. During the inception phase GFRAS has conferred widely with stakeholders, developed a five-year operational plan, and secured funding for the long term. In June 2011 the GFRAS first 5-year phase was launched.

Regional Unit for Technical Assistance (RUTA) is a joint interagency and government of the seven Central American countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) and seven international development agencies (MAEC, IFAD, ADA, IDB, FAO, IFPRI, IICA ) to promote sustainable development and poverty reduction in rural areas of Central America.

For over 25 years, RUTA has acted as a regional platform for sustainable rural development for the harmonization of international cooperation and coordination with governments and civil society in Central America. RUTA aims to facilitate policy dialogue, development of investment projects, knowledge sharing and cooperation in Central America.

In January 2008, RUTA began Phase VI (2008-2011) , whose priorities are to strengthen the capacities of regional public institutions, national and civil society, the alignment of the agendas of donor agencies and the sharing of knowledge.

A major objective of ASARECA is to develop policies and programs aimed at deepening co-operation in agricultural research and policy among its member countries for the mutual benefit of all the stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Stakeholders include farmer's associations; national and sub-regional associations that coordinate agricultural research, extension, training and education; associations of processors of agricultural products; associations of agricultural service providers; associations of agricultural businesses and related marketing agents; consumer associations; organised women groups and youth groups working in agriculture; non-governmental associations working in agricultural research and development; international agricultural research centres; universities and advanced research institutes ; investors and donors /development partners.

ASARECA’s core functions are, at the sub-regional level, to:

• Develop a shared vision and goals
• Coordinate and mobilise resources for collective action on agricultural research, training, extension and education
• Empower end-users to meaningful participate in developing priorities, agricultural research, training, extension and education
•  Contribute to the development and transfer of appropriate knowledge, methodologies, information and technologies
• Strengthen capacity for agricultural research extension and agricultural training and education for development
• Facilitate sharing of research outputs and benefits among the NARS
• Facilitate the efficient operation of the NARS at the national level
• Enhance the reputation of the sub-regional in regional and international fora
• Work towards the conservation of natural resources and the adoption of improved methods of agricultural production
• Work towards the adoption of sub-regional policies with respect to agricultural commodity arrangements

ASARECA has seven programmes. These are: (1) Staple Crops, (2) High Value Non-Staple Crops, (3) Livestock and Fisheries, (4) Agro-Biodiversity and Biotechnology, (5) Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity (6) Policy Analysis and Advocacy, and (7) Knowledge Management and Upscaling.

These programmes are implemented through partnership and collaboration of the NARS in member countries, the CGIAR, universities and other and advanced research centres. While ASARECA mobilises operational finances for sub-regionally planned programme, the partner NARS contribute their infrastructure, personnel and some funding towards the sustainable implementation of the programmes.

Learn more about ASARECA

The International Potato Center, known by its Spanish acronym CIP, was founded in 1971 as a root and tuber research-for-development institution delivering sustainable solutions to the pressing world problems of hunger, poverty, and the degradation of natural resources.  CIP is truly a global center, with headquarters in Lima, Peru and offices in 30 developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Working closely with our partners, CIP seeks to achieve food security, increased well-being, and gender equity for poor people in the developing world. CIP furthers its mission through rigorous research, innovation in science and technology, and capacity strengthening regarding root and tuber farming and food systems.

CIP is part of the 15-center research alliance known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The CGIAR is a strategic global partnership dedicated to sustainable agricultural development and the preservation of our earth’s precious resources and biodiversity. Its aim is to reduce hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation in developing countries by generating and spreading agricultural knowledge, technologies, and policies. Donors include individual countries, major foundations, and international entities.

Learn more about the International Potato Center

The UN initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) aims at playing a leading role in setting the agenda for the development of global geospatial information and to promote its use to address key global challenges. It provides a forum to liaise and coordinate among Member States, and between Member States and international organizations.

The fifteen CGIAR International Research Centers have pioneered the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) for sustainable agricultural development for more than a decade. In May 1999, they formed the Consortium for Spatial Information (CGIAR-CSI) which links the all of the CGIAR's GIS/RS laboratories, and the many geospatial scientists and researchers within the CGIAR system, with scientists and institutions from around the world. Together, these laboratories, scientists and researchers constitute a formidable assemblage of technical ingenuity, scientific expertise, and practical experience in spatial analysis.

These powerful spatial technologies have become an integral part of interdisciplinary research within the CGIAR. Through linking geo-referenced data to digital maps, a whole new range of opportunities for integrating and presenting diverse information has opened to a diverse set of users to harness these technologies. Users can more readily see and understand interrelationships between, for example, urban and rural areas, markets, crop production, deforestation, and soil erosion.

The CGIAR-CSI facilitates and creates mechanisms for standardizing data sets within the CGIAR, sharing methodologies and solutions, and promoting inter-center collaborations. The Consortium also serves as a platform for joint efforts in GIS-/RS–based agricultural research at global, regional, and local levels.

The CGIAR-CSI is a loosely structured consortium comprised of members which include all of the fifteen CGIAR Centers, plus several associate community members. A coordinating center (currently IFPRI) and a steering committee elected by all the members, direct activities on a 2-year rotating basis.

Visit the CGIAR CIS Website