Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

The consultative group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is a network of research laboratories and largely public-sector organizations that was formed in 1971, at a time when it was feared that massive famine was likely throughout the developing world. The CGIAR focused on the productivity of agriculture, and success in this area helped prevent at least some of the projected famines. The roots of the network were nurtured by the co-operation between the U.S. government, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Mexican government in the 1940s to identify methods of increasing agricultural production. A team of scientists led by Norman Borlaug, who won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, managed to develop semi-dwarf varieties of wheat that tripled yields of this cereal and helped make Mexico self-sufficient ...