Nairobi: In a world facing escalating agricultural and climatic challenges, hunger, and rising inequality, the urgency to transform food systems has never been higher. In response to these interconnected global challenges, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has launched its 2025-2030 Research Portfolio at the inaugural CGIAR Science Week 2025 in Nairobi. The new Research Portfolio serves as a strategic blueprint for deploying CGIAR’s pioneering, partner-led science to transform the food, land, and water systems that sustain global food security and planetary health.
According to Kenya News Agency, the portfolio reflects real-world needs and responds to priorities at national, regional, and global levels through global consultations with governments, regional bodies, national research institutions, and local farming communities. Speaking during the Research Portfolio launch at the UN Complex, CGIAR Executive Managing Director Ismahane Elouafi emphasized that the new portfolio is designed not only to adapt to today’s pressing needs but to actively shape a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future.
The portfolio encapsulates all CGIAR Centers’ research: eight science programmes, one scaling programme, and four accelerators. Elouafi noted that the portfolio is more than a set of programmes and accelerators; it is a unified platform designed for impact, responding to global calls for action by world leaders, science experts, and farmers on the frontline of today’s agricultural crises. Building on 50 years of science expertise and its extensive partner networks, this new phase of CGIAR action is more collaborative, focused, and ambitious than ever.
Elouafi explained that the Research Portfolio aims to improve productivity, nutrition security, livelihoods, climate resilience, environmental sustainability, and gender and social equity. She highlighted that the portfolio is anchored in frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the 2025 Paris Agreement, and the Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the reality that today’s food systems can no longer deliver nutrition, equity, or sustainability for growing populations.
The portfolio’s design also builds on CGIAR’s cutting-edge innovations and technologies, considering current discourse on global agricultural needs and challenges from shifting diets and demographics to climate volatility and geopolitical shocks. Elouafi stated, “The result is a forward-looking research and innovation agenda that integrates science, policy, and partnerships to achieve lasting impact.”
An estimated investment of US dollars 6 to US dollars 12 billion will fund the new research portfolio through 2030. Elouafi stressed that while CGIAR will provide solutions, it is the people, scientists, farmers, and partners in the field who will drive its success. “With this new research portfolio, CGIAR is setting the stage for a future where food security is not just a goal but a reality,” she concluded.
Dr. Sandra Milach, CGIAR Chief Scientist, emphasized that the portfolio is underpinned by frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, reflecting the urgent need to address current global food and water emergencies. Dr. Milach noted that by 2030, CGIAR plans to reduce the number of people affected by extreme hunger by 26 percent, lift 31 million people from extreme poverty, create 92 million jobs, and improve farm incomes by at least 7 percent.
CGIAR’s research will also tackle the biodiversity crisis, with innovations aimed at protecting 20 million hectares of land crop expansion by 2030. Dr. Milach stressed the importance of developing environmentally sound solutions and using data and new technologies to swiftly address pressing issues. Strategic dialogues are planned for each of the 13 programmes and accelerators to further benefit food, land, and water systems across low- and middle-income countries.
Dr. Milach concluded that CGIAR centers, in collaboration with partners, have historically saved millions of lives in Africa and Asia, and now must develop research capable of addressing current challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and new conflicts. “50 years ago, we turned to science for solutions. Today, we must develop research that can truly address these issues,” she said.
