Transformative International Agricultural R&D: Crawford Fund Conference Keynote Address

September 9, 2024

At the 2024 Crawford Fund Annual Conference – Food and Nutrition Security: Transformative Partnerships, Local Leadership and Co-Design, we were honoured to have Dr Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, a global research partnership of 15 agricultural research centers working towards a climate-resilient world free from hunger and malnutrition, present the keynote address. Her address was titled “Transformative International Agricultural R&D: The Road to Future Success.” 

Dr Elouafi noted it’s time for a next-generation approach of genuine partnership to develop agricultural solutions to the interconnected climate, biodiversity loss, and health crises – not the traditional, unidirectional transfer of knowledge and skills.

The Crawford Fund’s annual conference – Australia’s key food security event – was held in the Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra on 13 August with over 350 experts, policymakers, researchers, students and leaders hearing from specialists from Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Australia.

The recording of the keynote address, chaired by  Professor Wendy Umberger, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, is available below.

“We gather at a critical juncture in our collective efforts to address the profound challenges that define our era: climate change, biodiversity loss and threats to human health,” said Dr Elouafi.

“Historically, many efforts to bolster our overstretched global food system focused on a single aspect, but new crop varieties, technologies or incentives to increase yields are meaningless if there is no water to irrigate the soil, or if the infrastructure is not there to get the harvest to market.”

“We recognize the need to shift away from a focus on single solutions developed by a single entity, which have increased productivity at the expense of other elements of food systems, ecosystems, and equity and climate goals.”

“Collaboration can meet complex, intertwined challenges. The interdependent nature of these challenges necessitates comprehensive approaches – ones that cross partnerships and sectors.”

“Throughout my career, I’ve watched investment in agriculture in low-income countries decline. According to the Ceres 2030 report we need to double investment in agricultural research and innovation to end global hunger and malnutrition. This significant increase in funding is required to strengthen productivity, sustainability and resilience of global food systems, particularly for the Global South.”

“So, as we navigate the complex landscape of agricultural research and innovation and the challenges it needs to meet, I call on all of us to invest, innovate and collaborate. Our collective success hinges on our ability to align our work – researchers, funding agencies, partner governments, and local communities. Together, we can ensure food, nutrition, and environmental security for generations to come,” she concluded.