Patrick Caron joins the CGIAR Board

CGIAR has launched a major reform to reposition itself at the international level. Its first centres were created in the 1960s and the system federating them in 1971. Since then, the 15 centres have retained their own status and independence, and are each located in a host country. The goal of the reform is to ensure greater synergy, complementarity and efficiency in the functioning of this system.

These changes will be accompanied by a far-reaching reorganization, known as “One CGIAR” . In this context, the governance of CGIAR is being overhauled with, among other things, the establishment of a leaner board with eight international members, including Patrick Caron . This reform is aimed at developing a new programme to better address the challenges of land use, food systems and water resource management. “One CGIAR” will implement a new research programme focusing on issues such as climate change, nutrition, health and environment. It will thus play a greater role in the global orchestration of agricultural research .

“In the context of the French presidency of the G20, when in 2011 CIRAD proposed and facilitated an intergovernmental meeting in Montpellier, the goal was already to position the organization and the CGIAR as catalysts of this movement ”, says Patrick Caron.

Since 2012, the CGIAR headquarters have been located in Montpellier.

The reform is also aimed at underlining CGIAR’s role as a scientific contributor as regards the challenge of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals . The interactions between environment, agriculture, food, health and climate are central to these issues. “They will be explored through a new portfolio of projects ”, says Patrick Caron.

According to CIRAD President Managing Director Michel Eddi, “this appointment is first and foremost a legitimate acknowledgement of Patrick Caron’s personal expertise within the international agricultural research for development community. But besides that, it is also the contribution of French agricultural research to international and partnership approaches, programmes and priorities that has been properly recognized in the international arena. This appointment is a major political and scientific event ”.

Patrick Caron has spent much of his career as a researcher at CIRAD, including six years as Director General in charge of Research and Strategy . He is currently a Vice President of the University of Montpellier , International Director of MUSE I-Site , Director of MAK'IT, the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions , and President of Agropolis International . From 2015 to 2019, he chaired the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE), the science-policy interface of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security.