GFAiR, innovating and operationalising agile impact partnership at scale

13 March 2025. GFAiR, innovating and operationalising agile impact partnership at scale

Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAiR) and AgriCord presented and discussed the Global NARS Consortium (GNC) with (funding) partners. With the participation of EC DG INTPA, APAARI, EFARD, FARA, sub-regional R&I Organisations and NARS in Africa, and CGIAR.

• Ravi Khetarpal, Executive Secretary of APAARI (Presentation)
  
  "For decades, agricultural research has been dictated by global institutions, with NARS playing an implementation role. That model must change. NARS must define the agenda, ensuring research is demand-driven and delivers real impact on the ground."
  
  
• Manish Rai, Head of Operations of APAARI
  
  "The Call to Action for the Global NARS Consortium (GNC) urges stakeholders to commit to strengthening NARS' leadership in agricultural research through strategic collaboration, resource mobilization, capacity building, and policy advocacy to drive impactful, evidence-based solutions for global agrifood challenges."
  
  
• Leonard Mizzi, Head of unit « Sustainable agri-food systems & fisheries » in the Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission
  
  “The fiesta is over. If we want agricultural research to thrive, we must rethink how we prioritize, fund, and mobilize resources.” He called for concrete action backed by evidence, moving beyond assessments and discussions to demonstrable impact on the ground. He underlined the importance of scalability, ensuring that initiatives deliver tangible results rather than remaining in the realm of process-driven dialogue. 
  
  
• 
  Katja Vuori, Chief Executive officer at AgriCord
  
  “Coordination for coordination’s sake” is not enough. Farmer organizations already leading research must be recognized and resourced accordingly. The private sector is already heavily invested in agricultural research, particularly in areas like seed systems." 
  
  
• Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director and Head of Mission of FARA
  
  “The GNC creates a direct link between NARS across regions, enabling real-time knowledge exchange. For example, research institutions in Uganda working on coffee are eager to collaborate with their counterparts in Latin America and Asia, but currently lack the mechanism to do so.” 
  
  
• Stephen Muchiri, CEO of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF). “
  
  We cannot afford to keep working in silos. The future of agricultural innovation belongs to those willing to be intentional, bold, and disruptive. We must break down barriers and co-create solutions that work in the real world.”
  
  
• Romano De Vivo, Vice Chair GFAiR – The Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation
  
  "The Global NARS Consortium (GNC) is a transformative initiative empowering NARS to lead agricultural research through strategic collaboration, sustainable funding, private sector engagement, and a commitment to action, with its official launch set for CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi."
  
  
• Patrick Caron, Vice-chair of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership board member, President of Agropolis International
  
  “In France, before a wedding, we call it the ‘fiancé stage’. This is where we are with the GNC. We are not just launching another initiative. We are creating a global intelligence network – one that brings together NARS, CGIAR, private research institutions, and policymakers to co-create solutions for a changing world. It’s time to sign up and be part of this transformation.”

GFAiR's take away:

See more details in Day 3, forthcoming

Donor agencies today are increasingly taking more interest in issues such as institutional sustainability. The past two decades have seen a proliferation of short-term research projects which are hardly brought to scale. The trajectory of many researchers in the South is to hop from one research project to another most of the time funded by external sources.

However, research projects cannot scale if they are not embedded in strong (national) (research) institutes and farmers' organisations. Only strong research institutions can create incubators and connect with accelerators and venture capital to bring research outputs to scale in a market environment. Only strong farmers' organisations can translate development problems in farmer led research and afford scientific expertise.

The CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is funded by donor governments, multilateral organisations and philanthropic foundations. Rather than focussing on its centres of excellence, it could – and should – do more to boost national research systems in developing countries by involving national actors in its research programmes. Capacity building initiatives are often limited to individuals, instead of strengthening institutional capacities. The (dist-)attraction of national researchers out of the national system due to better working and salary conditions, erodes the institutional strength and authority of NARS as well as ownership of the research agenda or alignment to national development and research priorities.

In the current volatile funding landscape, a fundamental rethinking is needed to rediscover the benefits of core funding to national organisations above the never ending proliferation of short-term pilot projects and more fragmentation.

Drastic budget cuts will dominate the discussions during the “Science Week” of the CGIAR in Nairobi from 7 to 12 April, as 10,000 jobs are at risk.

It may dilute the urgency of rethinking the overall agricultural research funding to strengthen national agricultural research and farmers' led research and innovation which is best positioned to bring research to scale, connect with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), pitch bankable research to local finance actors and investors and influence national policy making and priorities.