An overview of social science research in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research*

Abstract

In the mid‐1990s, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) expanded its mission beyond sustainable improvements in productivity and formally incorporated a poverty focus. At the same time it initiated a process for the System to become explicitly output and impact oriented. As a result, social science research has become an integral part of the CGIAR research agenda and the research implementation process. And there is evidence that research in the social and anthropological disciplines is permeating the CGIAR research. However, there is a need for a systematic effort to facilitate the formulation and implementation of an updated social science research agenda that is commensurate with the new CGIAR vision and strategy. This is particularly important in facilitating the true integration of social research into the CGIAR research agenda, a need that has been strongly highlighted by external reviews in recent years. This article emphasises that there is a need to foster a research culture and ethos in the CGIAR that will promote a development‐oriented synthesis of socially responsible research that integrates biophysical and human sciences in CGIAR research planning and implementation processes along the research‐to‐development continuum in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.