1. Association of International
Research and Development
Centers for Agriculture
• A newly-formed alliance with 9 founding members
• Focused on improving global food security by
supporting smallholder agriculture within healthy,
sustainable & climate-smart landscapes
• Combined turn-over in excess of US$ 200 million
p.a.
• >60 member countries comprising >70% of
population
• On-going R&D activities in all major geographic
regions & ecosystem types
2. Context
• Increasing demand for 4Fs to satisfy 9 billion
people
• Only sustainable through an innovative systems
approach to agricultural development
• Balancing the imperative to increase yields/outputs
whilst securing the sustainability of the production
environment
• Address the challenge of improving global food
security by disseminating science-based
development solutions
3. AIRCA members have
• Expertise across range of
ecosystems & substantive crop
diversity
• Core competencies in health of
humans, plants, animals &
landscapes
• Integrated & holistic approaches to
solving development problems at
scale
• Ability to respond rapidly &
efficiently in the face of new
problems
• Established partnerships with the
CGIAR, FAO etc.
4. Intended outcomes
Healthy landscapes - healthy plants, people & animals
living in a healthy environment
• Delivering impact at the agriculture-
environment nexus
• A concerted effort by a global alliance
with a common vision
• Holistic approach to solving problems
in smallholder agriculture &
agricultural ecosystems
• Be a greater voice with which to influence key policy fora
• Offer innovative & consolidated approaches to development
partners
5. Commitments: Within existing
resources
• Each AIRCA Centre has its own
budget, with no external donor
funding to support the AIRCA
alliance
• During 2012, each centre
contributed to AIRCA using existing
funds
• Envisaged that the centres will use
additional seed funds in 2013 to
develop a resource mobilisation
strategy
• A web portal will be developed
through which donors and partners
6. Commitments: With additional support
• Undertake a detailed analysis of current programs &
projects, and map to those of the other AIRCA centres to
identify gaps & inconsistencies i.e. a needs assessment
• Information used to generate a prioritised list of demands
for solutions to problems in smallholder agriculture & agro-
ecosystems
• Develop AIRCA’s first collaborative funding
proposal, addressing one or more of its prioritised thematic
areas, with an emphasis on partnerships, dissemination
and outreach, for submission to donors
• Facilitate AIRCA adding value to other existing/on-going
initiatives within the Consortium such as the CRPs
7. Commitments: With large-scale
investment
• AIRCA will catalyse demand-driven, multi-sectoral, multi-
centre programmes at the landscape scale, targeting key
ecosystems where the alliance has unique expertise
• AIRCA would seek to improve the quantity & quality of farm
outputs, reduce losses due to pests & diseases, introduce
new varieties and raising the value of farm outputs
• Innovative communication approaches would be used to
reach communities, linking them to markets, micro-finance
and micro-insurance so as to improve the economic, as
well as biological, sustainability of these regions
• These programs would seek to complement or integrate
with relevant CRPs, in partnership with the CGIAR, FAO
and national partners
