The recent global food crisis was a wake-up call for a world that had grown complacent about agriculture. In a short time the cost of rice and wheat skyrocketed, hitting developing countries the hardest.

IDRC is pleased to announce its new research emphasis on Agriculture and Environment. One of the Centre’s four themes for its programming in 2010-2015, it reflects the Centre’s enduring commitment to sustainable farming research.

In 1971 IDRC was a founding member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, an alliance that today comprises 8,000 scientists and staff active in over 100 countries. CGIAR expenditures amounted to more than CA$572 million in 2009—the single biggest investment in food security and sustainable development worldwide.

IDRC also funded Gebisa Ejeta, winner of the 2009 World Food Prize, who developed a drought and weed-resistant strain of sorghum, an important African crop. This was the second time in five years that an IDRC-funded researcher was awarded the honour.

IDRC will continue to support research that links better agricultural and environmental management to human development and economic growth. This will be addressed through the lens of:

• health and the environment, with an emphasis on building the field of ecohealth;
• sustainable agriculture and food security, to ensure that the poor benefit from new technology, markets, and policies, and provide fresh options for producers and consumers;
• adaptation to climate change by increasing resilience and identifying clean development options;
• energy supply and use, including policy options and the promotion of sustainable energy technologies.