CGIAR at 50 - Innovations in the spotlight
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of CGIAR. In those 50 years, CGIAR has grown from its original mission – to solve hunger - to its current mission that addresses wider 21st century challenges, with the aim of transforming the world’s food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. As an engaged partner to CGIAR we would like to celebrate by highlighting a few of the innovations to which the Netherlands has provided support.
The Netherlands-CGIAR Strategic Partnership focuses on domains where CGIAR and Dutch partners have complementary expertise. And on promoting research impact through interdisciplinary approaches, co-creation and downstream applied research partnerships, including private sector and civil society organizations.
Highlighted Innovations
Value chains for nutrition framework and project design process
This innovation provides a lens to understand the links between nutrition and food value chains, the overall business environment, and the food systems in which they operate. The initiative was pioneered by the CGIAR Research Program on Nutrition and Health (A4NH), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, among other CGIAR partners.
Seeds for Needs: citizen science and crowdsourcing
The initiative, led by CGIAR scientists at Bioversity International (now the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT), provides smallholder seed systems with better information and access to a portfolio of adapted crops and varieties. Started in Ethiopia in 2009, Seeds for Needs is now active in 14 countries across Africa, Asia, and Central and South America.
Climate-smart modeling and futures
CGIAR scientists at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have been world-class innovators in structural modeling to support analysis of food and agricultural policies, and to conduct foresight analysis. These innovations have underpinned improved policy decision-making by providing better insights into the impacts on sustainable development of agricultural innovation, trade dynamics, climate change, and much more.
Gender transformative approaches
CGIAR’s gender transformative approaches have broken new ground by engaging with and transforming structural barriers, in particular constraining gender norms. The approaches are operationalized through context-appropriate, locally led and constructive strategies.
Innovations in which the Netherlands has played a role
50 years of innovations that changed the world
There are too many innovations to mention them all here. We therefore invite you to visit the anniversary website for a full overview of half a century of innovations – new ideas, products, services, and solutions driven by science – that have made a difference for some of the world’s biggest development challenges.
CGIAR at 50 website
