University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

ICRISAT – FROM A SUSTAINABLE POINT OF VIEW
Mikael Ehrs
Project Researcher, M.Sc.
Faculty of Technology, Department of Production
University of Vaasa
Abstract
ICRISAT – The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics – a non-profit,
international organization for science-based agricultural development. ICRISAT works to
improve soil and crop productivity in Africa and India; e.g. desalinizing land, developing
biopesticides, organizing seed fairs and researching
genetically resistant crop-strains. This work studies ICRISAT from the sustainability point of
view – environmentally, socially and economically.
The results are ambiguous. While otherwise environmentally responsible, the controversy
surrounding GMO adds some caution to the evaluation. From the economical perspective,
ICRISAT is not self-sustainable, being dependent on donorship. This has lead to closer ties
between ICRISAT and the corporate seed sector, and a stronger focus on their genetic
engineering activities.
Finally, this work highlights the difficulties in evaluating an NGO on the sustainability criteria of
a classical enterprise. Especially in the economic perspective there is a need for other
performance indicators than those relating to profit and financial return on investment.
Keywords: ICRISAT, NGO, sustainability, performance indicators
Introduction and Aim
In today’s more aware, green and active consumer society, the corporate world has
had to change their accountancy. There have been drives to introduce more
sustainable measures for corporate success, to stand beside the classical financial
indicators. The results, systems such as the green bottom line and similar, are gaining
wider use amongst the bigger companies around the world.
However, the research into more holistic accountancy is still a cutting edge field,
where much remains to be investigated. One such niche, lies in the Non-Government
Organisations’ (NGO) activities, and the accountability of the same. While the
industrial company produces a physical good which can be followed throughout its
lifecycle to observe its impact on the environment and its surroundings, and makes a
financial profit on said product which can be measured according to rules of financial
soundness – the NGO’s target is only to produce an “ideal”.
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