Tuesday, 10 June 2025
The newly established hub will serve as a center for aligning global agricultural innovations with the specific needs and challenges of the Asia-Pacific region. Its focus is on enhancing collaboration, fast-tracking the application of research, and promoting sustainable growth within farming communities.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has inaugurated the CGIAR Asia Pacific Hub, a regional platform aimed at accelerating agricultural innovation across South and Southeast Asia. The hub is a response to escalating climate threats—such as erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, and extreme weather events—that increasingly jeopardize key staple crops like rice, wheat, and maize. Without urgent intervention, these climate impacts could slash crop yields by 2050, heightening the risk of widespread food insecurity and malnutrition across the region.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has launched the CGIAR Asia Pacific Hub, a major new platform designed to accelerate agricultural innovation and strengthen food security across South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The region, often referred to as the world’s rice bowl, produces a third of the global rice supply and accounts for 40 per cent of international rice exports. In South Asia, over 793 million people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, while in the Pacific, nearly 75 per cent of the population lives in rural areas reliant on farming and fishing. However, rising climate threats—such as erratic rainfall, soaring temperatures, and intensifying extreme weather—pose a serious risk to food production, particularly for staple crops like rice, wheat, and maize.
The CGIAR Asia Pacific Hub, led by IRRI as its first Asia Champion, seeks to coordinate and localize global CGIAR innovations to meet the region’s diverse and urgent agricultural challenges. By colocating research teams closer to local farming environments and aligning CGIAR’s network of global centers, the hub aims to deliver faster, more targeted support to governments, institutions, and farming communities.
“This hub is a critical step in IRRI’s mission to localize solutions and strengthen resilience in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable agricultural regions,” said Dr. Yvonne Pinto, Director General of IRRI. “By connecting global science with regional priorities, we are accelerating the path to food security and sustainable development.”
The hub will also foster cross-crop and cross-country collaboration—for instance, linking the International Potato Center’s innovations with IRRI’s rice research to create integrated solutions. Strategic partnerships with ASEAN and national government programs, including those in the Philippines, will further enable access to CGIAR’s global research pipeline and funding opportunities.
CGIAR’s Executive Managing Director Dr. Ismahane Elouafi praised the initiative as “a pivotal move to advance agricultural transformation through science and innovation.” The hub, she noted, underscores CGIAR’s commitment to empowering the region with customized, science-driven tools to build climate resilience and ensure long-term food security.
