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Expert Consultation on Agricultural Biotechnology for Promoting Food Security in Developing Countries

Revised APAARI Constitution

Production and Cultivation of Virus-free Saplings for Citrus Rehabilitation in Taiwan

This publication lists and briefly details the regulatory instruments comprising laws/acts/decrees/ regulations/rules related to biosafety of products of biotechnology for agriculture and food existing in 39 countries of Asia and the Pacific. Besides, additional chapters have been included on recent developments in agriculture biotechnology in the region, issues on biosafety, and international regulatory instruments on biosafety. A brief analysis of the present status of national biosafety regulations with respect to the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety has also been included.

Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on Agricultural Research for Development - Proceedings, 17-18 April, 2008, Bangkok, Thailand

The past five decades have witnessed tremendous growth in agriculture. With its intensification and diversification, there has been a paradigm shift in operationalization and management of agricultural research for development(ARD). This has necessitated emphasis on participatory research, both multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary, to achieve desired goals of food security and poverty alleviation, and address issues concerning natural resource management, environmental protection etc. In this context, effective involvement of the civil society organizations (CSOs), mainly the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to mobilize action at the grassroot level, with major focus on socio-economic development of small farmers and marginalized farming communities becomes critical. On the contrary, the collaborative research efforts involving public institutions, CSOs/NGOs and other stakeholders have been rather limited and not so well organized.

To address the above concerns, the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), jointly with the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), with support of Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), organized an “Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on Agricultural Research for Development (ARD)” from 17-18 April 2008. Over 25 experts from NARS, CSOs/NGOs, GFAR, FAO, CGIAR and other organizations such as the Forum of Agricultural Research for Africa (FARA) had participated. The meeting discussed ARD priorities, opportunities and challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, sharing the experiences of NGOs in ARD. The meeting further advocated the need to establish an Asia-Pacific NGO Consortium and discussed the possible modalities for its operationalization in order to address emerging issues of food security, poverty reduction, social and gender equity, linkages among scientists, policy makers, farmers and NGOs and strengthening links between research and extension. It was mainly emphasized that research focus has to be farmer centered in a participatory mode.

It was also unanimously felt that the Consortium will provide strong linkages of NGOs with researchers and farmers, and develop mechanisms for better access to information and technology dissemination. It will also help in carrying out advocacy work, to scale up research for development with emphasis on translating research results at the grassroot level for the farmers’ benefit, for community empowerment and sustainable livelihood of rural poor.

The name suggested for the proposed consortium is ‘NGO Association for Agricultural Research in the Asia-Pacific (NAARAP)’. A major goal of the Consortium will be to develop strategic partnership with APAARI and GFAR in the conduct of ARD. The operational modalities were also discussed aiming at resource mobilization, coordination mechanism and reorienting research agenda to address the Millennium Development Goals. It is our expectation that NAARAP will soon emerge as a viable institution to link science with society.

The proceedings of APARIS Technical Workshop on Development and De-centralized Management of ARD Information Resources and APARIS Steering Committee Meeting, Bangkok, 19-20 April 2008, Rama Gardens Hotel are available for download.

Science and technology (S&T) are major contributors to food security, poverty reduction, and economic growth, as has been proven in Asia since the early-1970s through the Green Revolution in agriculture. Continuing to secure such gains, however, is becoming an increasingly complex undertaking. More than ever, quantitative data are vital for measuring, monitoring, and benchmarking the performance of agricultural S&T systems, including their inputs and outcomes.This brief reviews major institutional developments and investment and human resource trends in agricultural research and development (R&D) in 11 countries of the Asia–Pacific region. The brief draws on a set of country briefs, reports, and underlying datasets developed by the Agricultural Science and TechnologyIndicators (ASTI) initiative.
ASTI worked with regional partners to collect detailed quantitative and qualitative information on research capacity and investment trends within agricultural R&D agencies. These data were then linked with investment and human resource data from the Chinese government and other secondary sources to provide a broader regional and global context.

Collaboration in agricultural research for development (ARD) among diverse stakeholders is necessary to strengthen research partnerships to address emerging issues of common concern. Based on shared vision, partnerships have been established involving scientists, other stakeholders and the institutions in the form of research networks or consortia. Such initiatives have been useful in accelerating technology generation, transfer, sharing information/knowledge, and buildup expertise/HRD. In the Asia-Pacific, a wide array of ARD networks have been established over the years in the areas of plant genetic resources/agro-biodiversity, crop improvement, fisheries/ aquaculture, livestock, agricultural biotechnology and information communication management ICT/ICM). Most of them have been facilitated by the CGIAR centers. Though many of them are quite active and have made good progress, some have faced both operational and financial difficulties.

APAARI has been striving to foster such research partnerships among institutions and other stakeholders in the region. Thus, realizing the importance of research networks and the emerging concerns about their functioning for sustainability, APAARI took the initiative to hold an Expert Consultation on this theme at AREO, Iran in 1997. Since then, the networks’ priorities and research objectives have widened commensurate with emerging needs. Also, some new collaborative programs have been initiated in the recent past, such as those operating under CG system on Challenge Programs (CP) and under GFAR on Global Partnership Programs (GPP).

The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a major world food crop, next in production only to maize, rice and wheat. Short duration and wide flexibility in planting and harvesting time are potato’s other valuable traits that help adjusting this crop in various intensive-cropping systems without putting much pressure on scarce land and water resources. In the Asia-Pacific region, potato is grown on about 7.3 million hectares, producing about 121.7 million tonnes of potatoes with an average productivity of 16.49 t/ha. The contribution of the Asia-Pacific region to the world area and production of potato is 39.3% and 37.7%, respectively.However, potato cultivation in the region is unevenly distributed with China and India alone
accounting for about 79% area as well as production.

Shortage of good quality seed has been recognized as the single most important factor limiting potato production in the developing countries. Fortunately, potato has been an early beneficiary of advances in conventional and modern biotechnologies resulting in their use for solving practical problems relating to potato cultivation and improvement. Meristem culture was possibly the first biotechnological approach used to eliminate viruses from systemically infected potato clones. Over the years, this technique has been successfully combined with micropropagation to produce disease-free potato seed.

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Based on the recommendations of an APAARI-GFAR organized Inter-regional Workshop on Advocacy and Collaboration for ICT/ICM in ARD in July 2006, in which representatives of all RFs, GFAR, FAO and other global agricultural information systems participated, APAARI published a collection of success stories and best practices of ICT and ICM in ARD as an advocacy tool. The publication is entitled “Selected Success Stories on Agricultural Information Systems” and available at APAARI web site (www.apaari.org).

As a follow up of the above advocacy efforts, the present workshop entitled “Sensitization and Awareness Building Workshop on ICT/ICM in ARD for the Leaders and Senior Managers of Member NARS” was organized by APAARI in collaboration with GFAR-FAO on 30th August 2007 at PCAARD, Philippines. The workshop program was developed in consultation with GFAR and APAARI members and also based on the recommendations of three APAARI Expert Consultations and two training programs on ICT/ICM in ARD (Annexure I: Workshop Program). There were 21 NARS Leaders and Senior Managers, representing 10 countries and 3 sub-regions of Asia-Pacific.

The debate on biofuels has reached presidential and prime Ministerial offices and the editorial columns of major dailies. Unfortunately, in comparison with other major policy issues, there have been relatively few biofuel studies in developing countries. Thus, NARES leaders and executives have relatively few studies and no long-term experience with the implementation of biofuel policies. Moreover, the pace of technological development is staggering, as public-and private sector investments in first-and second- generation biofuel technologies are increasing rapidly.

What this all means for food security, land and water use, poverty and rural economic growth is virtually unknown. For this reason, the Third GFAR Conference convened in New Delhi in November 2006 to tackle this topic. To bring inputs to the discussions, CIMMYT and IFPRI with ICRISAT convened a GFAR and APAARI International Workshop on Bioethanol Opportunities and Risks immediately preceding the GFAR Conference. Recommendations were 1) to strengthen relevant crop improvement and crop management research; 2) undertake assessment studies and; 3) create mechanisms for knowledge sharing. Because of the prominence of the bioethanol and biodiesel debates in Asia, APAARI constituents played an active role in the discussions and the framing of the recommendations. This Expert Consultation responded to the spirit of the GFAR recommendations.

Developing countries have made substantial progress at improving food security, reducing poverty and improving human health. This has largely been achieved through growth in agriculture leading to increased food and feed production and improved farm
incomes. However, lately there has been stagnation in agricultural growth giving rise to concerns about food and livelihood security of large sections of population who make their living out of agriculture and related enterprises. Developments over the last two decades indicate that biotechnology has the potential to enhance productivity, profitability and environmental sustainability of farming systems. The widespread adoption of Bt cotton in India and China and Bt maize in the Philippines are clear indicators that biotechnology is able to deliver appropriate solutions to the problems faced by farmers in the developing countries.

Agricultural biotechnology research and development are being carried out by several organizations including global private sector companies, public sector organizations in national research systems, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers and other national and international initiatives funded by various agencies.
Despite the progress so far, it is being widely recognized that public and private sectors need to capitalize on mutual strengths to accelerate the process of development and field deployment of genetically modified crops so that the promised benefits reach the resource poor farmers. During the past few years, several partnerships have been developed within
and between public and private sectors with the objective of achieving these goals. These partnerships include transfer of technology (genes for desired traits) made available under certain financial terms and conditions, outright donation of technology, knowledge sharing, and capacity building. While some of the public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been
able to deliver the anticipated results in the form of improved varieties/hybrids with high farmers’ acceptability, others are yet to achieve the desired goals. In fact, successful partnerships in agricultural biotechnology especially between public and private sectors are still rare because of several constraints, viz. different objectives of each sector, high transaction costs of operationalizing and coordinating the partnerships, mutual mistrust, and negative perceptions.

This publication is based on the information synthesized from various APAARI publications brought out since its establishment in 1990: newsletters, success stories, proceedings of expert consultations, other thematic publications, reports, etc. We express our sincere thanks to Dr. Betty del Rosario, Asstt. Executive Secretary, APAARI for going through the manuscript; to Dr. Sahdev Singh, former Asstt. Executive Secretary, who provided needed input on APARIS program and to Dr. J.L. Karihaloo, Coordinator, APCoAB for his contribution relating to APCoAB.

Mr. P.K. Saha, Liaison Officer, besides going through the manuscript, had been helpful in providing relevant documents that facilitated compilation of this information. We also acknowledge the help provided by Ms. Urairat Rujirek, Office Secretary, APAARI for her assistance.

The APAARI’s achievements, in retrospect, are the result of very strong collaboration among its diverse members/partners and support institutions, which include NARS of the region, several regional and international organizations, particularly the CG Centers, FAO RAP, GFAR, ACIAR, JIRCAS, AVRDC, ICIMOD, etc. Support to APARIS has been coming from ACIAR and GFAR. The private sector has also provided collaboration such as APSA, and more recently MONSANTO, MAHYCO and the Rockefeller Foundation specifically for the APCoAB activities.

The Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research institutions (APAARI), established in 1991 as an apolitical, non-profit and neutral forum of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in the region, strengthens the research capabilities of NARS and promotes information sharing among them in order to alleviate poverty, increase agricultural productivity and resource use, protect/conserve the environment and improve sustainability. Besides the NARS, several International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) and CGIAR Centers are its associate members and regional organizations as reciprocal members. To date we have 38 member institutions.

The APAARI programs are aimed to enhance exchange of scientific and technical know-how and information in agricultural research for development; assist in strengthening research capability of member institutions and promote cross- linkages among national, regional and international research organizations. APAARI, in consultation with its stakeholders, has developed a long-term perspective plan and strategies to address relevant issues, including regional collaboration, networking of research programs, human resource development, policy advocacy, resource generation, and publication enhancement.

The Ninth General Assembly Meeting of APAARI was held on 7 November 2006, at the National Agricultural Science Complex (NASC), New Delhi, India. There were 50 participants, who attended the meeting.

The issue of linking farmers to markets (LFM) is currently a major agenda for both developed and developing countries. Despite advances in technology and increases in trade flows, many are still poor in the developed countries. Many farmers worldwide are facing difficulty coping with the rapidly changing market environment. The challenge is how to reduce the cost of doing business so that farmers and producers mutually benefit from the process. Farmers need to be empowered and integrated in the value-chain. Government should institute policy reforms conducive to innovations,enterprise development and investment.

The Asia-Pacific region is extremely diverse. Asia is the home for 60 per cent of the world population. It is projected that by 2025, Asia’s population will increase by over 35 per cent, thus reaching 4.7 billion. Paradoxically, most of this population is concentrated in the rural areas facing problems of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition.

Biotechnology offers exceptional opportunities to meet the growing needs of food and feed security by enhancing productivity, profitability and environmental sustainability of farming systems. The rapidly increasing area being covered by genetically modified (GM) crops in China, India, Iran and the Philippines signifies that such opportunities are being realized even in the developing countries of Asia-Pacific. Along with, it is also being recognized that the application of genetic modification technology and the use of GM products must be accompanied by systematic assessment of their potential impact on food and feed safety and safety of environment. Accordingly, adoption of appropriate biosafety measures, including development and implementation of biosafety regulations, has been a high priority for countries applying biotechnology for agricultural research and development.

Under its Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS) initiative, APAARI proposed to GFAR to host the third inter-regional workshop on Information & Communication Management for Agricultural Research for Development (ICM4ARD) in the Asia-Pacific Region. The first such inter-regional workshop in 2004 at FAO-Rome identified the framework for ICM4ARD. The second workshop in 2005 at Cairo, Egypt came up with four themes or action areas under which the activities of ICM4ARD should be carried out, namely, advocacy, capacity building, content management (integration of information resources/systems) and governance.

In October 2005, an Expert Consultation at FAO-Rome brought together various initiatives on promoting ICT/M in ARD. The consultation recommended that a more structured global partnership was required to bring together the existing range of initiatives into a more cohesive alliance that would increase the chances of enhancing information management in agricultural science and technology. It was felt strongly that this partnership should not take the form of a new organization, but rather should be formulated as an initiative supported by an alliance that focus on clearly identified high priority issues.

APAARI’s initiatives in research prioritization has led to two major regional collaborative programs, namely Asia-Pacific Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology (APCoAB) and Regional Agricultural Information System (APARIS), both of which have been supported by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). In 2001, APAARI member institutions identified agribusiness approaches and development as an important regional research agenda.These agribusiness approaches and development shall address (1) increased productivity and competitiveness of farmers through rural innovation, and (2) value adding post harvest technologies. Since 2002, APAARI has been active in organizing regional events in support of GFAR and FAO activities related to the Global Post-harvest Initiative: Linking Farmers to Markets.

In 2004 and 2005, APAARI sub regional groups conducted research needs assessment, and updated their research priorities considering the emergence of new events and issues, namely, globalization and market dimensions, recent progress in science including biotechnology and information technology revolution, renewed focus on rural development, provision of policy and technical support to subsistence or family producers, and the new agri-food research paradigm ‘from farm to fork.’ In South and West Asia for instance, new research areas deserving additional emphasis include agro-enterprise development (focus on legumes, post harvest technology for value adding products), and policy and institutional reforms with special emphasis on strategies to encourage higher investments in infrastructure, and enabling policies on marketing, credit and commodity pricing. In the Pacific, serious gaps have been identified in important research areas such as value adding and post harvest management, markets and marketing. In Southeast Asia (SEA), main priority areas include (1) food safety and security, specifically agriculture and fisheries product quality, value adding of products for competitiveness, productivity and profitability, export/import competitiveness, policy researches related to food safety, market changes, biotechnology and other emerging issues; and (2) farmers/fisher folks’ capability enhancement including value chain analysis and improved market access, entrepreneurial development of farmers and fisher folks, provision of access to credit, and intra/inter-household production access. SEA recognized that research must transform subsistence farming into agroentrepreneurship. Moreover, SEA suggested regional collaboration on joint venture on agriculture and fisheries R & D that will provide co-financing, information and knowledge exchange, linkage, networking and capacity building.

Under its Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS) initiative, APAARI proposed to GFAR to host the third inter-regional workshop on Information & Communication Management for Agricultural Research for Development (ICM4ARD) in the Asia-Pacific Region. The first such inter-regional workshop in 2004 at FAO-Rome identified the framework for ICM4ARD. The second workshop in 2005 at Cairo, Egypt came up with four themes or action areas under which the activities of ICM4ARD should be carried out, namely, advocacy, capacity building, content management (integration of information resources/systems) and governance.

In October 2005, an Expert Consultation at FAO-Rome brought together various initiatives on promoting ICT/M in ARD. The consultation recommended that a more structured global partnership was required to bring together the existing range of initiatives into a more cohesive alliance that would increase the chances of enhancing information management in agricultural science and technology. It was felt strongly that this partnership should not take the form of a new organization, but rather should be formulated as an initiative supported by an alliance that focus on clearly identified high priority issues.

The global population is increasing by roughly 80 million annually and almost all this growth is taking place in the developing countries. Asia is home for 60 per cent of the world’s population. It is projected that by 2025, Asian population will increase by over 35 per cent reaching 4.7 billion, as against expected world population of 8.0 billion. Most of this population lives in rural areas, where small farmers practice subsistence agriculture, often under harsh conditions. Most of these areas are also rampant with poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Today, Asia is home for the maximum poor people in the world. It is well under stood that the rising population growth will require substantial increase in food production, that too on sustainable basis. It is well recognized that to keep pace with increasing demand for food, existing technologies will have to be scaled up, using advanced bio technological interventions.

Bio technology has emerged as a powerful tool for improving both food and nutritional security. It offers enormous opportunities to increase overall productivity, nutritional status, resistance to pests, drought, and salinity, among others. Furthermore, biotechnology is also expeected ot reduce health risks and environmental pollution due to reduced use of chemicals for pest management. Hence, there is a strong basis to supplement conventional breeding methods with biotechnological options for increasing production, improving nutritional status and reducing input costs for the resource poor farmers of Asia, resulting thereby in increased income as w ell as reduced poverty.

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The Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), since its establishment has been addressing concerns on national and regional issues related to agricultural research and development, focusing on food security, poverty alleviation, agricultural and environmental sustainability. Such initiatives of APAARI have largely dealt with common interests of the national agricultural research systems (NARS) within the Asia-Pacific region, for the overall benefit of the national programmes, and have been the outcome of APAARI meetings held earlier to identify and crystallize research priorities at national/regional level. Further, APAARI’s research priorities have also matched global concerns such as the need to review in the region, R&D in post-harvest technologies.APAARI General Assembly meeting held in Penang recommended that an Expert Consultation be organized in this important area of post-harvest sector.

More recently, there have been several regional and global meetings addressing post-harvest R&D activities. An International Workshop on Post-harvest Systems was held in FAO Headquarters in Rome in 2003, jointly organized by FAO/AGST, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Global Post-harvest Forum (Ph Action). The 2003 International Workshop was preceded by five Regional Consultations in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, West Asia and North Africa, and Central Asia and the Caucasus, that provided an assessment of the needs of the post-harvest sector in each region. Building on the past experiences of the organizing institutions and particularly on the results of five regional consultations, the International Workshop endorsed a new Strategic Framework for a Global Post-harvest Initiative: Linking Farmers to Markets. In the Asia-Pacific region, APAARI played the major role for prioritizing post-harvest research and development as of major importance for the socio-economic development of the region based on an extensive research need assessment exercise.

Agriculture is vital to the Asia-Pacific region. It is the mainstay of the economy of many countries in the region. Nearly 60% of the region’s population derives its livelihood from agriculture. The region is also a hot spot for rural poverty. Most farmers in the region are smallholders with diverse farming practices which are highly risk-prone. These farmers have inadequate support services such as extension and poor access to markets and financial credit. Obviously, a second “green” revolution is needed not only to produce more food in the region but to enable participation of its farmers more equitably in markets, reduce poverty, generate more rural livelihoods and maintain quality of life and environment.

The potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to contribute to agriculture and rural development has
been well recognized. The radio played a key role in technology transfer in the first green revolution in Asia. The Internet and associated computer technologies are expected to play a similar role in information and knowledge sharing in the ongoing
transformation of agriculture in the region. These new ICTs will connect farming and rural communities in Asia-Pacific to global information sources and markets. They will enable individuals, households and communities to learn and acquire new skills and t echnologies as also shar e innovations globally.

The Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), with the membership of 20 national agricultural research systems from the Asia-Pacific region and several regional and international organizations, has been actively promoting ICM in ARD.

Over the last few years, APAARI has organized several expert consultations dealing with the subject by bringing together diverse stakeholders on a common platform. The most recent expert consultation in December 2003 was the third organized by APAARI with the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) as co-sponsor and it assessed the progress made by various NARS since the last such consultation in 2002; explored the existing opportunities for enhancing the role of ICM in ARD; and discussed potential improvements in the Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS), an APAARI initiative, by focusing on potential usergroups and their information needs. APARIS serves as a portal to information resources of member NARS and other regional and international ARD organizations. It also acts as an information link between NARS and the international ARD organizations. APAARI is committed to bridge digital divide by assisting NARS of developing countries to effectively use ICM in their common goal of providing food security and poverty reduction through agricultural development.

The 3rd APARIS Steering Committee Meeting was held from 9:00 -12:00 AM on 8th August 2004 at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. The participants included: Dr. Seishi Ninomiya, JIRCAS/NARO, Japan (Chair, APARIS Steering Committee); Dr. Ashraf Tanvir, PARC, Pakistan (Member); Dr. Malcolm Hazelman, FAO-RAP (Member); Dr. Ajit Maru, APAARI Resource Person (special invitee to report to GLOBAL.RAIS Initiative); Mr. P. K. Saha, APAARI (Liaison Officer); Dr. Qiaoqiao Zhang, CABI (special invitee); Mr. Satoru Miyata, Regional JIRCAS Coordinator (special invitee); and Dr. Sahdev Singh, APAARI (Member Secretary).

The Asian Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture (AFITA) and the World Congress on Computers in Agriculture (WCCA) jointly organized an international conference from 9-12 August 2004 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. The AFITA/WCCA2004 conference provided forums for agriculture related professionals to exchange information on applications and developments in the use of IT. There were approximately 400 participants with more than 100 paper, poster and technical workshop contributions from various countries and organiztions. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Royal Kingdom of Thailand graciously presided at the grand opening ceremony of the Conference on 9 August 2004 at 15:00 hrs at the Four Seasons Hotel, Ratchadamri, Bangkok. The conference was organized by following institutions: AFITA, AIT, ASAE, CIGR, EFITA, FAO, HAII, IAALD, JIRCAS, JSAI, MOAC, NECTEC, PanAFITA, UNESCO, and NSTDA.

The seventh APAARI Executive Committee meeting, held on 4th December 2003 at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, decided to accelerate the process of establishing APCoAB. In view of general endorsement in a special session on APCoAB organized on 3rd December afternoon, it was decided to move ahead and establish APCoAB with effect from 1st January 2004. In this regard, the APAARI Executive Committee had taken the following decisions:

1. To start APCoAB through APAARI office in Bangkok and explore the possibilities of having a Secretariat located either with some member NARS or with some CG Centers.
2. APAARI to contribute a matching support of US$ 30,000 for the year 2004.
3. Establish a regular member-driven Steering Committee of APCoAB which includes APAARI chairperson and two other regular members and have its meeting convened during the first half of 2004.
4. Initiate some selected activities based on a well-planned Road Map and Work Plan to be finalized in consultation with APAARI members.

Enhanced information exchange among the Asia-Pacific national agricultural research systems (NARS) is one of the primary objectives of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). In the early years of APAARI inception (1991-1995), also the pre-internet era, print publications were the primary medium of information dissemination. In 1995, APAARI prepared its Perspective Plan that emphasized the use of newly emerging technologies to further improve information management in NARS.

Following the publication of the Perspective Plan, internet and digital technologies were identified as tools that can play a significant role in facilitating information networking among member NARS and other stakeholders. Subsequent General Assemblies (1996 and 1998) further stressed on effective use of ICT for information management. Consequently, APAARI with ACIAR support appointed an Information Technology Manager at its secretariat who established the initial APAARI web site in 1999 and several APAARI publications were put on it. A compact disk (CD) containing 17 APAARI Success Stories was developed and distributed widely to serve those who lacked fast internet access. Efforts to establish research databases were initiated with significant contributions from National Information Nodal Points (NINPs) in the Asia-Pacific region. To take the ICT initiative further, in November 2000 and October 2002, APAARI organized expert consultations on development of Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS). These consultations, attended by NINPs, representatives of APAARI members and stakeholder organizations, enabled APARIS to evolve from a simple concept into a basic framework of information resources for agricultural research for development (ARD), made available through APAARI web site. Keeping these developments in view, the present expert consultation was organized, with partial financial support from GFAR under the Global-RAIS initiative, to take stock of the situation and identify new activities to build capacity at the NINP level for further promotion of ICT in ARD and explore opportunities that exist to strengthen APARIS.

The Perspective Plan of APAARI has laid particular emphasis on regional collaboration/networking on programmes focusing agricultural research and development. To achieve these objectives, APAARI in 1997 organized an Expert Consultation on Management and Strengthening of Research Networks in the Asia-Pacific Region jointly with AREO, Tehran, Iran. The outcome of this meeting resulted in a clear understanding of the agricultural research networks operational in the region among the member countries for strengthening their structure, coordination in agricultural research and sustainability, and possible ways for their improvement. Subsequently, APAARI organized an Expert Consultation during 2001 at Bangkok, to identify the important priorities for ARD. The common areas of research opportunities included: (i) natural resource management, (ii) genetic resources (iii) commodity chain development, (iv) meeting protein demands, and (v) tree and forest management. Two important cross cutting areas of research opportunities identified were: (i) information management for agricultural development to address the issues such as packaging, access and use of information, and (ii) capacity building to address issues of human resource development, institutional development, and research and policy development (food insecurity and poverty mapping).

For translation of these research priorities into programmes, it was decided to have an assessment of the ongoing R&D programmes through a well planned gap analysis, based on some of the existing research networks in the Asia-Pacific region. Accordingly, to review the current situation an Expert Consultation on Strengthening of Research Partnerships through Networks and Consortia was organized by APAARI with the help of World Fish Centre, from 2-4 December 2002 at Penang, Malaysia. These proceedings highlight the discussions of this meeting. The programme and the list of participants are given in Annexure I and II, respectively.

In the Sixth General Assembly of APAARI and the Expert Consultation on Strategies for Implementing APAARI Vision 2025: Agricultural Research for Development in the Asia-Pacific Region, held at Chiang Rai, Thailand, 8-10, November, 2000, it was decided that APAARI take a re-look at the regional priorities already identified/recommended for regional co-operation/partnership in R&D, so as to crystallize current ARD priorities in the region. As a follow up of this decision, APAARI successfully organized and completed the ARD Priority Setting exercise at the sub-region level i.e. West & South-Asia (5-7 July 2001, at ICRISAT, India), East & South-East Asia (27-28 June 2001 at IRRI, Philippines) and Pacific Island Countries (29-30 October 2001 at SPC, Fiji). The present Expert Consultation was, therefore, intended to review the overall progress made in ARD priority setting and to synthesize agreed general research priorities for the Asia-Pacific region.