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Q. How will the changes to the Secretariat help the LRG?
A.
The proposal for a strengthened Secretariat, particularly the GRA
‘representative’, is a really positive outcome from the Council meeting.
This has the potential to be a big help in terms of raising the profile of
the GRA internationally and within countries, which will undoubtedly
have a flow-on effect to the LRG and its work. All of the Research
Groups highlighted resourcing issues – the new ‘representative’ would
have a key role in making more of the GRA’s formal partnerships and
in brokering new relationships, especially with philanthropics and
industry. Member countries also need to be more active and public
in their support for the GRA, especially the Research Groups, and we
see the GRA representative as being critical in helping achieve this.
Q. How did the Council view the relationship with the Global Alliance
on Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA)?
A.
The Council could see complementarity between the GRA and
GACSA agendas, and also that there is potential for the GACSA –
particularly its Knowledge Action Group – to be an avenue for getting
GRA research information out to a broad audience, especially policy
makers. We talked to the Council about how the LRG is liaising with
the GACSA, exploring the potential for how we could work together in
the future. They were comfortable with this approach and didn’t see a
need to make the GACSA a formal GRA partner at this stage. We will
maintain our regular contact with the GACSA (we met with them in
Europe recently) and will look to invite them to attend the next LRG
meeting.
Q. How far is the Council prepared to go in terms of facilitating a joint
research call for the GRA?
A.
The Council did not manage to have a focused discussion on
sources of new funding to support GRA activities, however it was clear
that members could see that resourcing is a critical issue for the GRA.
We were really pleased that the European Commission was able to
attend and present its ‘International Research Consortia’ model –
this offers a low-risk opportunity for countries in that it works on a
research alignment model rather than new funding having to be found
and deposited into a central pool. We will be staying in close contact
with the Secretariat as they explore what might be possible. There are
some great lessons to be learned from the success of the LRG’s multi-
country call conducted in collaboration with some countries of the EU
FACCE-JPI programme.
Q. What involvement will the Research Groups have in the French 4
per mille soil carbon initiative?
A.
The GRA’s work on soil carbon fits in well with what the French
are proposing including the plans for an international research
programme (see page 9 for more details). Jean-Francois Soussana
of France’s INRA, who is co-chair of the GRA’s Soil Carbon &
Nitrogen Cycling Cross-Cutting Group (SCNC), is heavily involved in
the development of the 4 per mille initiative and sees a clear role
for the GRA in hosting the research programme, working alongside
other organisations such as the FAO, AGMIP, UNEP and the CGIAR
soil carbon partnership. The Secretariat is working with the French
Government on the details as this will all feed into the plans for the
GRA’s presence during the Agriculture Day planned for COP21, where
we expect the French initiative will be formally launched.
Q. What will a strategic plan for the GRA actually deliver for the
Research Groups?
A.
The Council sees a strategic plan as a means for bringing the GRA’s
activities into a coherent whole and placing them in the context of
delivering on the key goals set out in the Charter. A group of member
countries is expected to be set up to develop a first draft and it will be
interesting to see how this process unfolds.
Q. Is there news on a formal GRA partnership with the SAI Platform?
A.
The Council was impressed at how productive the LRG’s relationship
with the SAI Platform is, with the joint publication of the guide for
industry leaders on current best practice and emerging options for
mitigating livestock greenhouse gas emissions. The Council asked
the Research Groups to intensify their work with SAI Platform and we
were pleased to hear that the Paddy Rice Group intends to follow our
approach.