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CIAT
is a not-for-profit organization that conducts socially and
environmentally progressive research aimed at reducing hunger
and poverty and preserving natural resources in developing
countries. CIAT is one of the 15 centers funded mainly by
the 58 countries, private foundations, and international organizations
that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR). CIAT's mission is to reduce hunger and poverty
in the tropics through collaborative research that improves
agricultural productivity and natural resource management.
CIAT
views one of the most necessary ingredients for sustainable
rural livelihoods as being socially and environmentally progressive
science that offers individuals and communities the means
to solve problems and seize opportunities for improving their
welfare.
CIAT's
experience demonstrates that persistent research on key crops
and natural resource management is a highly effective and
direct way to address the needs of the tropical world's rural
poor. Progress in agriculture also helps poor migrants to
the cities by improving urban food supplies and pumping extra
cash into the economy, thus fueling growth and creating jobs.
In
conducting research for development, the Center draws on expertise
in five complementary areas:
- Agrobiodiversity
and genetics
- Ecology
and management of pests and diseases
- Soil
ecology and improvement
- Analysis
of spatial information
- Socioeconomic
analysis
The outcomes of this research are genetically improved crops,
environmentally sound approaches for managing natural resources,
as well as practical methods and information for solving problems
and guiding decisions.
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