While IFPRI is headquartered in Washington, DC, the ISNAR division is located in Ethiopia on the campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa.
"The decision to base ISNAR in Africa reflects IFPRI's goal of establishing a global network of facilities and programs," explained Dr. Mandi Rukuni, IFPRI board member. "Although strongly focused on sub-Saharan Africa, ISNAR will be active globally," he emphasized.
Stakeholders and partners from around the world are convening in Addis Ababa from July 7-9 to brainstorm on future research and capacity building strategies and priorities for ISNAR. This week's workshop is the first in a series of high-level national and regional consultations with the National Agricultural Research Services (NARS) and other partners to determine how best to fashion and implement the activities of ISNAR to support IFPRI's mission of providing sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty.
"As director of ISNAR, I look forward to collaborating with partners to build on the international community's growing commitment to increasing agricultural productivity-the key to rural development in food insecure countries, as evidenced by the priority given to these issues at this week's African Union Summit, as well as the G8's recent endorsement of IFPRI's strategy for achieving food security," said Minister Kisamba-Mugerwa, who is also a Member of Parliament and a Senior Research Associate with Makerere Institute of Social Research at Makerere University in Kampala.
Dr. Kisamba-Mugerwa holds a doctorate in agricultural economics from Makerere University and has a strong research background in the management of natural resources, poverty, food security, and rural development in general.
"Having successfully juggled the dual careers of researcher and policymaker most of his professional life, Dr. Kisamba-Mugerwa brings extensive and unique experience in linking policy research and policymaking to his new position," said Dr. Joachim von Braun, Director General of IFPRI. "I am confident that he will bring the same skills, abilities, and vision to developing and leading our new division as he did to creating and building support for Uganda's Plan for the Modernization of Agriculture."
In a show of support for basing the new ISNAR division in Addis Ababa and establishing long-term cooperation between Ethiopia and IFPRI, the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture, Ato Belay Ejigu, formally welcomed Dr. von Braun, Minister Kisamba-Mugerwa, and Dr. Carlos Seré, Director General of ILRI, at the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday. Formerly, ISNAR was a separate research center based in the Netherlands.
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The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. IFPRI is one of 15 Future Harvest Centers and receives its principal funding from 62 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.