Gérard Matheron: "CIRAD is determined to play an active role in global agricultural research governance"

22/10/2010 - Article

Now that it is to host the headquarters of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Montpellier is truly the global agricultural research capital. Gérard Matheron, CIRAD President Managing Director, recalls the role played by the organization in the CGIAR's decision, and outlines the challenges and opportunities it represents for CIRAD.

So, it is Montpellier that has been chosen to host the headquarters of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). How would you explain this choice, given the other very worthy candidates?

Gérard Matheron: Montpellier had a lot going for it. Firstly, 35 years of agricultural research in the city have provided it with a critical mass of scientists. At the same time, there have been numerous exchanges and much collaboration, recognized on an international level, between CIRAD and the CGIAR. More recently, over the past fifteen years or so, CIRAD has played a part in numerous international bodies. And lastly, there have been two years of hard work on the city's application. It is Pierre Fabre, who is now a Director of Research at CIRAD, who was the kingpin, as Executive Secretary of the Commission de la recherche agricole internationale* (CRAI). However, a huge amount of work was also put in at Agropolis and with the various players in the French administrative and research systems. Every State level, from regional council to ministries, and from the prime Minister's office to the Elysée presidential palace, spoke with one voice in support of the candidacy, and while it is Montpellier that was chosen, it was on behalf of France as a whole. Lastly, CIRAD's involvement in the Mega Programs (Consortium Research Programs) initiated by the CGIAR was greatly appreciated.

The decision as to where to base the CGIAR headquarters was part of a process aimed at reforming the consortium. Tell us more…

G. M.: The 15 CGIAR centres were set up in the 1970s. There was no legal structure to represent them, they just had a Secretariat hosted by the World Bank. For several years now, donors have been calling for a reform of the CGIAR so as to tackle new research issues more efficiently and be capable of responding to the main current challenges. The idea gradually grew, and things really began to gather speed two years ago in Maputo, Mozambique, at the CGIAR annual assembly. A legal structure linking the 15 international centres is now taking shape, mirroring the history of the founding of CIRAD in 1984! There is now a Consortium Board, CEO and Director. What remained was to choose a site for the HQ and implement a protocol giving the CGIAR international organization status.

So Montpellier is now the global agricultural research capital…

G. M.: Yes. This is an achievement to be proud of, but also a challenge, as first and foremost, it is the start of what we hope will be a long story. That of the reform of international agricultural research governance, which is currently in its infancy. By hosting the CGIAR HQ, Montpellier is at the heart of this change, in which CIRAD is playing an active role.
This reform of the global agricultural research system has already taken account of several changes. The first is the new place occupied by emerging countries with extremely powerful agricultural research instruments, particularly Brazil, China and India. The second is the increased competition between advanced research centres in the OECD countries. The third is the birth of a certain number of bodies involved in renewed research governance, such as the GFAR. This last aspect is particularly crucial in the light of the risk of a separation between agricultural research for development and agricultural research in the North, whereas the main issues are now global.

How do you see CIRAD's role in this unfolding story?

G. M.: Although we are only small, our status as a French research organization with a global vocation gives us a unique opportunity to play an active role in this recomposition. We can do so within the framework of Agreenium and with the support of other French agricultural research organizations on the one hand, and on the other, of the Agence inter-établissements de recherche pour le développement (AIRD). People have high hopes of all of us. Together, we need to play a role on every level, from a commitment to research and training right up to scientific policy-making. In this respect, we will probably be helping to set the agenda for the French presidency of the G20 in 2011 as regards international regulatory processes, at least as far as agricultural research is concerned.

* The Commission de la recherche agricole internationale is the interface between the French research organizations and the international agricultural research system.