GFAR 2006
CONFERENCE
DELHI
DECLARATION
We, the stakeholders of
the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR),
representing the following groups: Southern and Northern
National Agricultural Research Systems, regional and
Sub-Regional Organizations, farmers’ organizations,
non-governmental organizations, private sector,
international agricultural research centres and the donor
support constituency, assembled during the 3rd
GFAR general conference in New Delhi India, from 8th
to 11th of November 2006, do hereby:
-
Restate our commitment to contribute
to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
which have been endorsed by governments as a framework
for measuring development progress and which currently
constitute the focus of development efforts
-
Reiterate our commitment to
overcoming the challenges facing the global community,
especially those related to poverty, food insecurity and
the unrelenting degradation of our natural resource
heritage.
-
Acknowledge and commend current
efforts to address these challenges at local, national,
regional and global levels
-
Realize that despite these on-going
efforts recent reviews indicate that globally, the set
targets are not likely to be reached by 2015
-
Convinced that the growth of
agricultural sector contributes significantly towards
meeting the MDGs and affirm our commitment to
reorienting ARD so that it contributes more effectively
to meeting the targets
And
hereby recommend that efforts are made by all ARD
Stakeholders to:
-
Advocate for a fuller recognition of
the central role of sustainable agricultural production
in achieving the Millennium Development Goals
-
Address and implement the change
processes recommended during this conference and which
touch on institutional reforms, technology development
and innovation systems.
-
To pay special attention to small
farmers/producers given that they make up a large
portion of the population in developing countries and
that they can contribute to the achievement of the MDGs.
-
Promote and support scientific and
education platforms for generating knowledge and
facilitating, South-South, North-South and North-North
collaborations.
-
Strengthen stakeholder partnerships
that recognise and provide greater space for CSOs at all
levels
-
Recognize the important role of both
women and youth in the continuum of ARD activities and
enhance their future involvement.
-
Reorient agricultural research and
education efforts to establish strong linkages between
farmers and markets in order to ensure greater benefits
to both consumers and farmers, as a pathway to improve
livelihoods.
-
Increase investment in innovation
systems research at all levels in order to enhance
scientific capacity and improve the livelihoods of the
poor in sustainable manner
Clearly, with business as usual
the MDGs will not be reached-the clock is ticking quickly
and changes are needed now to better the livelihoods of
millions of people.
Therefore we reiterate that
meeting the goals of the New Delhi Conference, of
reorienting agricultural research for development to meet
the MDGs, will require not only the commitment of GFAR
stakeholders, but also that of national governments of the
South and North, as well as that of multilateral
institutions.
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