Ensuring a genuine co-partnership approach of NARS in international agricultural R4D

10–11 December 2025. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The 23rd Science Council of CGIAR, held in Abu Dhabi in December 2025, convened senior scientists, research leaders, policymakers, and partners to provide strategic guidance on CGIAR’s science agenda amid accelerating climate, food, and nutrition challenges. The meeting focused on reviewing progress across CGIAR’s research portfolio, assessing scientific quality and relevance, and advising on priorities for impact in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Hosting the Council in the UAE highlighted the growing engagement of the Gulf region in global food security, climate resilience, and agricultural innovation.

Discussions during the Council emphasized systems transformation, including climate-resilient crops, sustainable food systems, biodiversity, nutrition, and inclusive digital innovations for smallholders. Strong attention was given to strengthening partnerships with National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), regional bodies, and policymakers to ensure that CGIAR science translated into scalable, locally grounded solutions. The 23rd Science Council thus served as a key moment to align scientific excellence with global priorities such as the SDGs, climate adaptation, and equitable food system transformation.

Side events

9/12. GFAiR Roundtable: What role can funders play to ensure a genuine co-partnership approach of NARS in international agricultural R4D.

This roundtable brought together funders, research organizations, and NARS representatives. The discussion focused on how funding modalities, governance arrangements, and incentive structures can either enable or hinder equitable partnerships, highlighting the need to move beyond project-based contracting toward shared agenda setting, long-term institutional support, and mutual accountability.

Participants emphasized that funders play a critical role in reshaping power dynamics by supporting NARS leadership, strengthening national research capacities, and embedding co-creation, trust, and ownership at the core of international agricultural research for development collaborations.

Recording forthcoming

9/12. Friends of Gender: AI for All? Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Gender Responsive and Inclusive Agricultural Innovation

This side event brought together researchers, practitioners,
funders, and policymakers to examine how artificial intelligence can advance—rather than undermine—gender equality in agricultural innovation. The discussion explored both the opportunities of AI to improve access to information, services, and markets for women and marginalized groups, and the risks of reinforcing existing biases through data gaps, unequal access to digital tools, and exclusion from technology design processes. Participants emphasized the importance of gender-responsive data, inclusive governance of AI systems, and targeted investments to ensure that AI-driven agricultural solutions are co-designed with women and smallholder farmers and contribute to more equitable and inclusive food systems.

8/12 Steering Committee meeting GFAiR

The GFAiR Steering Committee meeting held on 8 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi (hybrid format) reviewed the network’s overall performance in 2025 and set strategic directions for 2026. The Committee discussed progress against KPIs, key outcomes, risks and mitigation measures, and approved the 2026 baseline. 

A major focus was a deep dive into GFAiR’s Collective Actions, covering Forgotten Foods, Agroecology (with a focus on biopesticides), Inclusive Digital Agriculture, Land Tenure and Climate Change, and Higher Education. Members noted strong results in partnership building, fundraising, and knowledge generation across these initiatives, alongside clear milestones to scale impact, strengthen policy uptake, and deepen regional and cross-sectoral collaboration in 2026. 

The Steering Committee also reviewed governance, finance, and forward-looking priorities. It endorsed the roadmap, governance model, workplan, and budget for the Global NARS Consortium, approved the 2026 Annual Workplan and Budget, and confirmed priorities for partnerships and resource mobilization, including private sector engagement. 

Key governance decisions included endorsement of new guiding principles for Collective Actions and updates to partnership principles, as well as agreement on Steering Committee rotations. Regional updates from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean helped shape a prioritized engagement list for 2026, and the meeting concluded with a summary of key decisions and agreement on next steps and timing for the next Steering Committee check-in.