The European Commission Directorate General Europeaid, Development and Cooperation (DEVCO)  is organizing a workshop on “Operationalizing an EU approach to research and innovation for sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security”.

During 2014 the European Commission Directorate General Europeaid, Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) has developed a paper describing our approach to agricultural research and innovation for development. This paper recognises that research and innovation in sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security (AR4D) is essential to addressing the major challenges of poverty and hunger that are concentrated in developing countries, thereby providing a rationale for support from development budgets.  AR4D generates public goods in the form of knowledge, policies and technologies at global, regional and national levels. Enabling policies and institutions, equitable access and capacity are essential to realising the potential impact of public goods on agriculture and rural development objectives.

DEVCO’s approach builds on lessons learned and reviews and evaluations of research under DEVCO’s current AR4D portfolio. It is focused around four main pillars:

1. Improving European leadership, coordination and influence, in particular complementing the Horizon 2020 programme of Directorate General Research and Innovation (DG RTD), and also with Member States and the broader donor community.
2. Ensuring the success of global and regional AR4D initiatives, building on AR4D initiatives such as those led by the CGIAR, the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR), and on African research organisations supporting the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) process, both through funding and engagement with governance bodies.
3. Exploring new strategic directions to put research into use and achieve impact, particularly on innovation and value chains, engaging with new partners as appropriate, and on building nutrition targets into AR4D programmes.
4. Ensuring that AR4D delivers impact at country and local level, implying a much greater emphasis on working with EU Delegations in country to support national agricultural research and innovation systems and to foster better linkages between national priorities and the AR4D agenda at regional and global levels.

This workshop is structured around these four pillars, drawing on case studies and concept papers as appropriate. EU support to the CGIAR is centred on the first pillar but also has implications for all the others, and in particular for pillar iii) as our rationale for supporting research requires clear pathways to how impact will be achieved.

The workshop will be organized as five sequential sessions with concise presentations and opportunities for discussion, followed by a Panel session.

The European launch of the book ‘Maximising Impact from Agricultural Research: Potential of the IAR4D Concept’ will take place during the workshop. It is intended that the workshop will be recorded and the proceedings published.

The organizers are keen to extend participation to participants outside the CGIAR circle but DevCo is not able to assist with travel or subsistence expenses.