Technical Advisory Committee Nineteenth Meeting, 6-13 June 1978: Report

Report (revised) of the Nineteenth Meeting of TAC held at ILRAD in Nairobi from 6-13 June 1978, TAC Chairman R.W. Cummings presiding. The revised terms of reference and guidelines for quinquennial reviews were discussed jointly with the center directors, and were approved for submission to the CGIAR. The report of the quinquennial review of IITA was discussed for a second time and endorsed, with TAC comments, for CGIAR consideration. Progress reports on scheduled reviews of IBPGR, ICRISAT, and WARDA were considered together with the 1979-80 programs of work and budgets for those centers. Program documents for the remaining centers were also reviewed. TAC discussed an oral report from the chairman of the CGIAR Task Force on Strengthening National Agricultural Research in a joint meeting with center directors. TAC decided to review the written report in detail at TAC 20.Jointly with the center directors TAC considered research priorities for the CGIAR, on the basis of papers by the TAC secretariat and IFPRI. TAC requested further analysis from its secretariat to identify areas in the present priorities paper that needed revision and summarize present resource allocations in the CGIAR. Also meeting with center directors, TAC concluded that the status quo with regard to associate status was satisfactory and flexible. It nevertheless suggested two alternative regimes which the CGIAR could consider (Annex IV). TAC commended the Review of Farming Systems Research at the IARCs and forwarded it to the CGIAR for approval. Several possible topics for future stripe reviews were considered. TAC received a report of consultants organized by IDRC on aquaculture research in Asia. Rather than act on the recommendations, TAC suggested greater coordination of parties interested in such research. Other topics discussed included training, vegetable research, and water use and management.