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

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

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.

• A long-established history working with member-country governments, NARS & the private sector

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

• Reduced transaction costs & greater impact on global food security

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 will be able to access information

• ICBA offered to host the 2nd AIRCA DGs meeting at its HQ in Dubai during 2013

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

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