Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding

important issues to be considered include: size of the
National Agricultural Research Stations, commodity
research programs, relative emphasis on testing versus
breeding of cultivars, allocation of resources to different
research activities in the various geographic regions, and
low salaries and the consequent high turnover among
local scientists.
International crop research centers
The frequent food deficits in developing countries often
prompt the international community to intervene in the
local food and agricultural production systems of these
parts of the world. International involvement in the
agriculture of developing countries led to a concerted
effort to boost international agricultural research, especially
in the tropical regions of the world, where the
need is most urgent.
The initial efforts by the Ford Foundation and
Rockefeller Foundation led to the establishment of four
international agricultural research centers (acronyms
explained in Table 25.1):
1 CIAT in Columbia, focusing on general tropical
agriculture.
2 CIMMYT in Mexico, focusing on tropical maize and
wheat.
3 IITA in Nigeria, focusing on tropical agriculture.
4 IRRI in Philippines, focusing on rice.
One of the most dramatic impacts on tropical agriculture,
dubbed the Green Revolution, was associated
with two of these centers, CIMMYT and IRRI. As discussed
elsewhere in this book, the Green Revolution
was responsible for increased yields in wheat and rice
through breeding of high-yielding and environmentally
responsive cultivars of these major world food grains.
This outstanding success prompted a discussion in the
world community to extend the impact of the international
agricultural research centers beyond Asia, which
was the major beneficiary of the earlier efforts. Led
by the World Bank and supported by the Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO) and United Nations
Development Program (UNDP), the Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) was
formed in 1971. The nucleus of 18 member nations has
since increased to 58. Similarly, CGIAR centers have
increased from the founding four to the current 16
(Table 25.1). Each of these centers is autonomous, with
its own charter, international board of trustees, and
INTERNATIONAL PLANT BREEDING EFFORTS 453
staff. In 2001, the centers teamed up with an organization,
Future Harvest, to build support for international
research. The IARCs have since become known as
Future Harvest Centers.
CGIAR centers and their mission
The CGIAR centers are internationally recognized and
respected for their leadership role in advancing agricultural
research and crop productivity in developing
countries. Unlike for-profit multinational companies,
the CGIAR centers undertake the development of crops
that may not be profitable to the private sector, but
nonetheless are important to alleviating hunger in poor
countries.
Structural organization and mission
The current composition of member nations gives
CGIAR a strong north–south identity, with 20 countries
from the south and 21 from the north. Its original
center-focused, scientific research has shifted to a strategy
that is partnership oriented. CGIAR has established
partnership committees with non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and the private sector. Funding for its
major research activities is in excess of US$300 million
annually. The centers attract highly qualified researchers
from around the globe, and include scientists from the
region of its immediate influence.
The mission of the CGIAR has been modified over
the years to reflect its priority focus on food security
and poverty eradication. The current mission statement
reads as follows:
To contribute to food security and poverty eradication
in developing countries through research,
partnership, capacity building, and policy support,
promoting sustainable agricultural development based
on the environmentally sound management of natural
resources.
Location and mandate of the CGIAR centers
The 16 CGIAR centers are located primarily in the
tropical regions of the world. Four of these centers are
located in Africa, with five in Asia. Each of these centers
has mandate plants or animals on which it focuses its
research efforts. These mandated areas are briefly summarized
in Table 25.2. Some of the centers are located
in regions with a diversity of mandate crops.