A way to combat world hunger

Last week, the world mourned the loss of Norman Borlaug, the agronomist credited with saving as many as a billion people from starvation by introducing high-yield crop varieties.
Borlaug's success in establishing food security — dubbed the Green Revolution — came at a time when the planet was far less populated than today. When he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971, one of his many awards, the world's population was 3.7 billion. By next year, it will reach 7 billion — and Borlaug was among the first to recognise that new strategies will be needed to combat a huge rise in pressure on food resources.

As the tributes to Borlaug continue, one networking organisation that should be pivotal to addressing world hunger is poised to make far-reaching changes to the way it works.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has already been the backbone of food security research for the poor. But without radical reform — to link research with its applications; eliminate inefficiency and raise the funding bar — some stakeholders and insiders fear that it might not be fit for purpose.

But its plan for a new way to coordinate agricultural research is not without controversy, calling as it does for a new consortium approach and a central fund, and 'mega-programmes' of research and development.

As these issues are debated, the reform team is pressing ahead. "Three or four mega-programmes will be defined by March 2010 and vague ideas on another four or five will be fleshed out in the course of next year," says Jonathan Wadsworth, a senior agricultural researcher with the Department for International Development in the United Kingdom, and a member of the reform team.

The central fund will, Wang hopes, be in place by the end of this year, although it could affect cash flows to the centres in the meantime. "It obviously involves a certain amount of risk," says Hall.

Also by December, a consortium board will be appointed, whose first task will be to appoint a chief executive.

Some believe the toughest part will be for the 15 centres to give up their own structures. Says one insider: "We will still have centres with their own culture. You cannot wipe away 40 years of doing things in a particular way."

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