This document has been prepared on information drawn from several sources, including documents
and fora and workshops held in different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to address
the problems and opportunities that exist in the region regarding agriculture and the rural milieu, from
the perspective of technological development. In addition to this introduction, the document consists
of four sections. The first provides a brief summary of the context in which agriculture operates in

Agricultural development in the WANA region is mostly influenced by arid and semi-arid
climate which makes it the poorest region in the world in terms of water resources both
globally and on inhabitant basis. Although the region occupies about 14% of the total area of
the world (18.5 million Km2) and supports about 10% of the world¿s population (almost 600
million), it possesses only about 2% of the total renewable water resources (Zehni 1998).
2. By 2020, seventeen countries in the region will not have enough water to maintain 1990 level

The ultimate goal of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research is to develop ¿an
efficient, effective and coherent global agricultural research system¿ (Declaration for
Global Partnership in Agricultural Research, October 1996). At the same time, the
signatories of this declaration recognized that the national agricultural research systems
(NARS) are essential building blocks of the emerging global research system.
This paper aims at illustrating that, in between the national and the global dimensions, a

At ICW2000, the CGIAR decided to implement the bottom-up priority-setting approach -- the
Plank 4 of the new CGIAR Vision and Strategy -- in at least one region as soon as possible on an
experimental basis, with the help of TAC and GFAR and in collaboration with existing national and
regional institutions. At the end of November 2000, the CGIAR Chairman suggested to the TAC
Chairman that TAC should take the lead, in consultation with the centres, GFAR and national and
regional institutions, to select a region for the first effort.

The mission of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR)

The main purpose of this background paper is to suggest areas that are ripe for attention on the part of
GFAR-facilitated research partnerships in agricultural policy management and institutional
development by:
· assessing needs and opportunities based on recent developments relating to agricultural policies,
poverty, global food demands, natural resources, genetic resources (with special reference to
biotechnology), rural institutions, and the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) of
developing nations;

The fund, planned for a three years period, would be used to :
· Organize periodic regional meetings among FO to exchange experience
· Assist in the development of national FO in the various countries
· Improve the information base practically needed by FO to efficiently participate in policy
negociations (Rural Identity Card)
· Mobilize autonomously ad hoc technical expertise to assist them in national/regional
negociations
· Create a network of researchers and experts who know FO and their needs and can

The action-research is meant to assist the evolution and scaling up of ¿People Managed
Micro-Credit¿ and forge partnership among farmers¿ organizations, NGO and Research
networks in different Asian Countries for scaling up micro-credit programs.