H.E. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, and Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, IFPRI Board of Trustees open the Inauguration of IFPRI's New Delhi office
IFPRI turns thirty this year. In the last three decades we have established many professional contacts in South Asia. We have worked with several research institutes as partners in research on agriculture and agricultural policy. We have interacted with policymakers who have helped us over the years to ask the right questions and focus our research on issues of relevance for countries in the region. More generally, whether it is the social or economic impact of the Green Revolution or the study of subsidies, whether it is the future of smallholders or the role of high-value agriculture, IFPRI researchers have contributed to the policy debate on agriculture in developing countries.
Sir, I express the sentiments of the entire CGIAR community when I state that we are very heartened by the importance assigned to agriculture in the development strategy of your government. We have heard your call for further generation of knowledge in the field of agriculture and I assure you that our research will respond to the call. We will direct our research to addressing critical issues of policy and disseminating knowledge about best practices.
As IFPRI pursues its mission of furthering the cause of food and nutrition security in developing countries, we are very conscious of the new challenges that have emerged. I will mention only two.
The uncertain outcome of the ongoing negotiations on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture creates potential new vulnerabilities for developing countries and is a cause for concern. Sir, you have often drawn attention to the need for good research in this area. The conventional arguments in favor of open trade based on comparative advantage are difficult to make if industrialized countries insist on maintaining trade-distorting domestic subsidies under one guise or the other. IFPRI has joined the debate with information-based research in this area and is poised to contribute further to creating a favorable environment for trade by undertaking research on the trade-distorting impact of such subsidies.
My second example relates to the new developments in the field of biotechnology, which offers tremendous promise as well as unknown risks. Few developing countries have the institutional systems that can subject Bt crops to appropriate testing to ensure that their output characteristics are fully known and understood, and, in particular, that their potential to disrupt the environment is sufficiently explored. IFPRI can generate knowledge in this area by undertaking independent evaluation of the opportunities and risks and facilitating informed policy choices.
The opening of the IFPRI office allows IFPRI to broaden and deepen its ties to South Asia with a permanent presence in the region. I would like to acknowledge the presence here today of friends from neighboring countries, including the Honorable Sartaj Azziz, who has served Pakistan so ably as Foreign Minister and Finance Minister, and who is also a longtime friend of IFPRI; and an eminent Bangladeshi policymaker, Dr A.M.M. Shawkat Ali, another good friend of IFPRI. We hope to work with all our friends in the region to further the cause of food and nutrition security.
Let me once again thank you, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singhji, on behalf of one and all at IFPRI for giving us your precious time. And our very sincere thanks to all of you who have joined us on this happy occasion.
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