GCARD2 under way in Punta del Este, Uruguay

The Second Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD2) is being held this week (29 Oct.-2 Nov.) in Punta del Este, Uruguay. GCARD2 is focusing on the ways to implement the tasks identified in the GCARD RoadMap with special attention to “Foresight and Partnership for innovation and impact on smallholder livelihoods.”

From IRRI and GRiSP, Robert Zeigler (IRRI director general), V. Bruce J. Tolentino (deputy director general for communications and partnerships), and Bas Bouman (GRiSP director) are attending the week-long event to discuss progress across CGIAR to reshape research so that it better answers the needs of resource-poor smallholder farmers and fosters rapid rural development.


Dr. Bouman, GRiSP director, spoke yesterday (29 October) during the session on national food security about the contribution of rice research to global food security. [Background info on Dr. Bouman's presentation.]

Also taking part in the event is Kei Otsuka, former scientist at the Social Sciences Division and past chair of the IRRI Board of Trustees. Dr. Otsuka is also part of the current GRiSP Oversight Committee.

The Conference is an excellent platform to build cooperation around key forward-looking agendas and plan joint actions among all stakeholders. This should in turn, open international partnership opportunities and help the development of concrete research and development programs that can lead through to substantive impacts.


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