Blog The Colombian Government and CIAT are strengthening their cooperation to bring science and innovation to the countryside
Vice-President José Manuel Restrepo’s recent visit to the Palmira campus follows on from meetings with the Ministers for Agriculture, the Environment, and Science, Technology and Innovation. These meetings have explored opportunities to link research, technology and knowledge with the needs of the regions.
The recent visit by Colombia’s Vice-President, José Manuel Restrepo, to the CIAT campus (now part of the Bioversity Alliance and CIAT) in Palmira opens up a new space for dialogue on the role of science, technology and innovation in the transformation of the Colombian countryside and the conservation of its natural resources.
Over the past few weeks, the campus has hosted meetings with the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Indalecio Dangond Baquero; the Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Fabio Arjona; and the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Claudia Patricia Benavides Salazar. These meetings have provided an opportunity to showcase research capabilities and discuss opportunities for cooperation in areas ranging from productivity and climate resilience to the conservation of agrobiodiversity, ecosystem services and the development of new technologies.
During the meeting with the Minister for the Environment, topics such as deforestation-free supply chains, monitoring, reporting and verification; carbon markets, sustainable livestock farming, environmental incentives and the bioeconomy were discussed. With the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, the discussion centred on research capabilities and new technologies, including gene editing, phenomics, artificial intelligence and data science applied to agriculture.
These meetings share a common challenge: how to turn scientific knowledge into innovations that can be validated, adapted and utilised at a local level.
“Here at the International Centre for Agricultural Research (CIAT), we were able to see for ourselves the importance and value of the bioeconomy and the research required, amongst other things, in the agricultural sector. Growth means becoming more productive, and CIAT is working towards that goal,” said Vice-President José Manuel Restrepo.
For almost six decades, CIAT has been working in Colombia on research and innovation for agriculture, ranging from the conservation and use of genetic diversity to the development of crop varieties, climate-smart agriculture, agroclimatic information, sustainable soil and water management, and digital tools for decision-making.
For CIAT, cooperation with Colombian institutions is part of a long-term commitment to the country. This involves not only generating knowledge and developing technologies, but also working with national and regional partners to validate them, adapt them to different contexts and contribute to their scaling up.
“These meetings with the Government and the country’s institutions are important for aligning research with the needs of those who produce, process, distribute and consume food, and for working together to identify how to adapt and bring innovations to more people. This is the kind of collaboration we want to continue strengthening in Colombia,” said Maya Rajasekharan, Managing Director for the Americas at the Bioversity Alliance and CIAT, and Director General of CIAT.
Almost six decades of science and innovation continue to connect CIAT with Colombia and the challenges facing its agriculture.
Juan Lucas Restrepo
Director General, and Trustee, Bioversity International UK/USA
