ARA, CGIAR Sign Research Agreement

October 25, 1999

USDA's Agricultural Research Service and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) have signed a formal agreement designed to help secure the world's agricultural and food needs through cooperative research and information.

Under the five-year agreement, called a memorandum of understanding, ARS and CGIAR scientists will conduct cooperative research in areas that include sustainable farming practices, natural resource management and crop breeding for traits like greater pest resistance and nutritional content.

Five areas of concern are involved in the agreement:

--Improving the protein content and other nutrients in staple crops like rice, through biotechnological and other means;

--Promoting agro-forestry techniques on farms to ease the stress placed on natural ecosystems for timber, firewood and other raw materials;

--Adapting crops to marginal lands or regions where they have not been cultivated traditionally such as on high-salinity soils;

--Preserving genetic resources, such as those from wild relatives of cultivated crops, through international exchange programs for germplasm and technical expertise, and

--Tackling livestock production problems such as inadequate feed, waste disposal or animal diseases, through coordinated research on breeding, genetics, nutrition or farm management.