The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) was a three-year international collaborative effort (2005–2007) initiated by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

in 2002, which evaluated the relevance, quality and effectiveness of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology, and the effectiveness of public and private sector policies and institutional arrangements. The project involved 900 participants and 110 countries with co-sponsorship of the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (POPs ...

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, the

and

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...

. It assessed agricultural knowledge, science, and technology with respect to development and sustainability goals of reducing hunger and poverty, improving nutrition, health, rural livelihoods, and facilitating social and environmental sustainability. The results of the project were reviewed and ratified during the intergovernmental plenary meeting held 7–12 April 2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Governance

The geographically based multi-stakeholder Bureau was composed of 30 government representatives from different regions, 22 representatives from non-governmental organizations, consumer groups and producer groups, representatives from 8 institutions, and 2 co-chairs. The sponsoring agencies served as ''ex officio'' members of the Bureau. The IAASTD had a distributed secretariat for management and oversight in Washington DC and others in

(Rome),

(Nairobi), and

(Paris). The Director was Robert T. Watson.

Structure

The IAASTD was composed of one Global Assessment and five Sub-global Assessments, which used the same framework: the impacts of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology on hunger, poverty, nutrition, human health, and environmental and social sustainability in the past and the future. The Global and Sub-global assessments were peer-reviewed by governments and experts, and approved by the panel of participating governments. The five Sub-global Assessments complemented the Global Assessment by examining geographic area-specific aspects:
- Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) - Regional Institute: ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas)
- East and South Asia and the Pacific (ESAP) - Regional Institute: World Fish Center
- Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) - Regional Institute: IICA (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture)
- North America and Europe (NAE)
- Sub-Saharan Africa - Regional Institute: ACTS (African Centre for Technology Studies) The assessments were accompanied by a synthesis report which covered challenges faced by

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

today: pros and cons of

bioenergy Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms biom ...

, potential role of

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

effects of climate change The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea level ...

, effects on

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, use of

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

, small farmers &

global trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

, future role for traditional farming, women in agriculture, and options for action.

Final report

On 15 April 2008, IAASTD report findings were released. The report incorporated a global assessment as well as five sub-global assessments. By taking a 'bottom-up' approach, the report aimed to understand the needs of those most vulnerable to threats to the security of their food and livelihood. Prior plenary sessions in Johannesburg aimed to come to agreement on the key priorities for each region. A series of published (printed and web-based) critical, in-depth Global and Sub-global Assessments of local and institutional knowledge and experiences was produced. The assessment reports have been translated into the six official UN languages, presented, and discussed in multiple forums. The reports created 'plausible scenarios', based on past events and existing trends such as population growth, rural/urban food and poverty dynamics, loss of agricultural land, water availability and climate change effects. Based around these issues, 'What if?' questions were formulated that allowed the implications of different technological options to be explored.

References

External links

Agriculture at a Crossroads
IAASTD synthesis report.] International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). 2009, Library of Congress, {{ISBN, 978-1-59726-550-8, 106 pp. * Mark Kinve
"Global food system must change"
BBC News, 15 April 2008.
NGO website on the IAASTD
www.globalagriculture.org/ International agricultural organizations Agronomy Food politics

Governance

Structure

Final report

See also

References

External links