CGIAR Centers "Generate High Economic Rates of Return on Investments"

Agricultural research done by Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and their national partners in South Asia have provided “essential outputs that have helped maintain productivity, growth in agriculture, generated high economic rates of return on investments and, indirectly, through the price effects, contributed to food security and poverty alleviation.” This is the gist of “An Assessment of the Impact of Agricultural Research in South Asia since the Green Revolution” by Peter Hazell of the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London.

Hazell reviewed literature on research impacts in the region. He noted that crop improvement continued to be the focus of agricultural research for South Asia but with more emphasis on stabilizing yields. Of the annual cost of $143 million that CGIAR spends on research in Asia, annual benefits exceeds US$1 billion from research on maize, wheat and rice alone.

Read the feature article at http://www.cgiar.org/monthlystory/november2008.html. Click on the report above to view the full copy.