Green World Foundation (GWF)

Centre for innovation and Development Strategy (CIDS)

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GWF

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GWF grew out of a pilot program in Bangladesh in 1999. The project developed into an innovative, sustained collaboration with Bangladesh and international researchers. It established international networks to test experimental varieties. Bangladesh success inspired project researchers to become fierce and effective advocates for the Bangladeshi innovation model in home and abroad. The Green Revolution—which had by now extended to vegetables and grains—had begun.

GWF Mission

To achieve sustainable food security and reduce poverty in developing countries through scientific research and research-related activities in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, policy, and environment.

Role of GWF for Sustainable Development

There are many ways to foster development, such as building roads, schools, and health facilities. Food grain research—the area of GWF’s expertise—is an important path to development, because Rice, Maize and Wheat are pivotal to nutrition, health, income, and environmental sustainability in low-income countries:

• Seventy percent of the world’s poorest people live in the countryside. Many depend on farming, especially of Rice, Maize and Wheat, for food and income.

• According to FAO, maize and wheat account for about 40% of the world’s food and 25% of calories consumed in developing countries.

• Millions of people—including poor people in urban areas—get more than half of their daily calories from maize and wheat alone.

• Maize and wheat occupy almost 200 million hectares in developing countries. We must grow these crops in environmentally responsible ways, or the results could be devastating.

• To meet the need for food, developing countries will need 368 million additional tons of maize and wheat by 2020 (today, they need about 700 million tons).

We develop better seed and cropping practices
Improved vegetables and grain seed can produce plants that naturally resist diseases and pests, tolerate too much or too little water, overcome the limitations of poor soils, survive excessive cold or heat, offer more nutrition, are more marketable, and yield more grain for food or sale. Better cropping practices save water, land, and other natural resources, aside from raising yields.

We build capacity and share knowledge to promote development
We train and mentor researchers. We teach farm households and rural communities to use new farming practices and produce seed. We provide technical information and support that helps researchers, policymakers, and development workers worldwide. We advocate appropriate policies to foster food and income security. Results of our research are widely shared and publicly available.

We speed the recovery from natural disasters and civil strife
We advise government agencies, relief organizations, and health organizations about appropriate seed and cropping practices to help farm households recover from famine, drought, floods, war, and other disasters. We help nations restore agricultural research material and infrastructure. These activities reduce the threat of continuing food shortages and long-term dependence on food aid.

Organization: Research Programs and Disciplines

Impacts Targeting and Assessment

The programs bring together scientists from many disciplines. Each program gives priority to research that GWF and its partners believe is most likely to improve the livelihoods of poor people.

To ensure continued excellence in science, GWF’s researchers are also members of specialized disciplinary groups that share their expertise and experience across all of the research programs:

• Vegetables seed improvement

• Grain seed improvement

• Biotechnology

• Social Sciences

• Crop and Resource Management

Strategy and Research Plans

GWF’s strategy for achieving its mission is developed and evaluated in consultation with partners, including experts in research and development from nations throughout the world, members of the development community. The strategy also benefited from the extensive experience of GWF’s scientists.

GWF is meeting new challenges by focusing on:

• Sustainable livelihoods for the world’s poor

• Global and eco-regional priorities

• Expanding partnerships and networks

• Innovation and sharing of knowledge across organizational and geographic boundaries

Staffing and Funding

GWF achieves its mission with about 85 specialized research staff and 150 support staff from about  countries. The Center is funded by its own internal resources and by the thousands of individual donors.

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