Top agri scientists to meet in Manila

Does agricultural science have the answer to the problem of feeding 1.2 billion impoverished people the world over?

Top agricultural scientists are set to gather in Manila next week to discuss ways of solving this problem during the annual general meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

The meeting marks the first time the prestigious convention of some 500 of the world’s top agricultural scientists will be held outside of Washington DC.

Among the solutions to be discussed is a modified version of the Green Revolution proposed by Dr. William Dar, former agriculture secretary and now director general of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). He expounded on this solution in his book, "Grey-to-Green Revolution."

While the Green Revolution in the 1960s and 70s addressed the issue of food security to a great extent, its benefits did not trickle down to the dry and marginal rural farmlands to make any significant dent in the lives of the poorest inhabitants of these areas, according to Dar.

The Green Revolution involved the introduction of better crop varieties and better farming techniques suited to an area. The research was done by scientists in various countries affiliated with CGIAR.

"The Green Revolution mostly covered the relatively better endowed regions and had its impact mainly on cereals more responsive to inputs such as fertilizer and irrigation. As a result, the gap between the rich and the poor, the large and the marginal farmers, the urban and the rural areas, and the irrigated and the dry farmlands kept widening," Dar said, adding that 60 percent of the total rural poor in developing countries rely on marginal agricultural lands.

Citing a report done by the Washington, DC-based World Watch Institute, Dar said that by 2050 the population in India will be 1.6 billion, overtaking China as the world’s most populous nation.

The bulk of the Indian population will still be in the rural areas where agriculture is the major source of livelihood. Most of them will still be living in dry, marginal areas where food is scarce.

Thus, Dar said, the need for another Green Revolution. He noted it is possible to turn "grey" areas — those with harsh, marginal environments, yearly climate variation, high risks and scarce capital for the poor — into "green," but will definitely not be easy.

"The key is to adapt cropping systems to the natural variability of the environment, not the other way around. Adapting the crop to the environment also means farmers get more out of their own natural resource endowment. This approach also helps position them in the global market. By managing and optimizing local resources, poor people can turn adversity into an opportunity. This way, they extricate themselves from poverty on their own, without depending on costly inputs or external aid," Dar said.

The good news is that there have been milestones already reached.

However, for these milestones to have an impact on the poor, Dar said there must be a more conscious effort to persuade rich nations to support the spread of agricultural science breakthroughs in the target areas of the grey-to-green revolution.

"The reality is that they have the capital, and they can be asked to enhance the capacities of developing nations. There must also be an effort to influence them to channel more of their official development assistance to the agriculture sector," Dar said.

He noted that "just like the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 70s, the contributions of the international agricultural centers were crucial. It would also not have succeeded without the involvement of the national systems, civil society organizations and the private sector."

The CGIAR annual general meeting will start on Monday and last a week. Manila was chosen as the venue because the Philippines hosts one of the CGIAR’s leading centers, the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Laguna.

Participants to this year’s meeting include the CGIAR governing council, representatives of member countries and institutions, heads of CGIAR research centers, donor agencies, international agricultural organizations, members of the local diplomatic corps and international scientists. The Philippine delegation will be represented by the Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Agricultural Research.

The agenda will cover stakeholders’ evaluation of the report on the outcomes of the recently held World Summit on Sustainable Development. The participants will discuss agreements reached during the summit, their implications on agricultural research and possible courses of action.

CGIAR, formed in 1971, is an international association of 58 countries and private sector members that supports a network of 16 international agricultural research centers that work in more than 100 countries. It aims to mobilize scientific breakthroughs to reduce hunger and poverty, improve human nutrition and health, and protect the environment.

CGIAR funding comes from the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Development Program, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.