CGIAR

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

CGIAR Centers and Research Programs

The CGIAR ( Link ) is a strategic alliance of members, partners and international agricultural centers that mobilizes science to benefit the poor. Their mission is to achieve sustainable food security and reduce poverty in developing countries through scientific research and research-related activities in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, policy, and environment.

The following CGIAR Center web sites offer access to extensive collections of resources of potential interest and benefit to development practitioners in Asia.

• Biodiversity International - BI is the operating name of the International Plant Genetic Resource Institute (IPGRI) and the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP). The organization is "dedicated solely to the conservation and the use of agricultural biodiversity.” The website offers free downloads of its latest publications, including Geneflow, a magazine about agricultural biodiversity.
• International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) – CIAT’s mission is to reduce hunger and poverty, and improve human health in the tropics through research aimed at increasing the eco-efficiency of agriculture. CIAT offers an extensive catalogue of publications (for purchase as well as free downloads) accessible via.
• CIAT’s Asia regional page,  Link, provides access to an extensive holding of free downloads covering a wide range of health and poverty/hunger alleviation topics with an Asian focus.

  Previously, CIAT offered the CIAT in Asia Research for Development Series (CARDS), a book series aimed specifically at providing research information to agricultural development workers in a format that is readily accessible to them. According to CIAT, all language versions of the books (currently English, Indonesian, Lao Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and soon to include Burmese and Khmer) are available from the CIAT office in Vientiane. Individuals and organizations from both developing and developed countries may request a free hardcopy of each of the books. Orders for multiple copies are sold at US$5 per copy (which includes postage).Downloadable English versions of the CARDS series include:

  • Developing agricultural solutions with smallholder farmers — How to get started with participatory approaches Link
  • Developing forages with smallholder farmers - how to grow, manage and use forages Link
  • Developing forages with smallholder farmers - how to select the best varieties to offer farmers in Southeast Asia Link
• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) – Philippine-based IRRI and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) offer the Cereal Knowledge Bank (CKB), 
• Link. Advertised as "the world’s leading repository of extension and training materials related to cereal and cereal production,” the CKB provides an on-line service to people working to improve the well-being of poor cereal farmers and consumers.
• World Agroforestry Centre – The mission of the World Agroforestry Centre, Link, is to "generate science-based knowledge about the diverse roles that trees play in agricultural landscapes, and use its research to advance policies and practices that benefit the poor and the environment.” Based in Nairobi, the World Agroforestry Centre also has five regional offices located in Africa and Asia. WAC’s Southeast Asia web page offers a collection of regionally relevant publications ( Link ), including Kiprah Agroforestri ( Link ), an Indonesian-language agroforestry periodical.