In January 2012 IFPRI is launching two major research programs. These CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs), led by IFPRI, will bring together researchers from across the CGIAR centers to address some of the most pressing problems facing the global food system.

The first of these two programs—Policies, Institutions, and Markets to Strengthen Food Security and Incomes for the Rural Poor, also known as CRP2—will identify the policies and institutions that will enable rural smallholder producers, particularly women, to increase their incomes through better links with markets and equitable access to services and assets. Failures related to policies, institutions, and markets are a major impediment to increasing agricultural growth in the developing world, where a majority of people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. This CRP seeks to produce a body of knowledge that decisionmakers can use to shape policies and institutions that will reduce poverty and promote sustainable rural development. Mark Rosegrant, Director of IFPRI's Environment and Production Technology Division (EPTD), serves as Acting Director of CRP2.

The second program—Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health, also known as CRP4—aims to improve the nutrition and health of poor people by exploiting the many synergies between agriculture, nutrition, and health. This program will focus on research in four key areas: value chains, biofortification, control of agriculture-associated diseases, and integrated agriculture, nutrition, and health development programs and policies. John McDermott has been named Director of CRP 4.

In addition to playing a leadership role in these two CRPs, IFPRI researchers will also contribute to two other research programs: Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CRP7, led by CIAT), and Water, Land, and Ecosystems (CRP5, led by IWMI).