Introduction
The final phase of the CEEM project ended on June 30, 2005.
Much of the work carried out during this period was based
on the External Review Committee’s recommendations
developed at the external review meeting held in Mexico,
August 2002, and endorsed by CEEM’s international
partners.
Previous CEEM progress-reports detailed projects implemented
at Cornell University, Eastern Europe, and Mexico with
new sources of support. Funding from TAP has now ended.
In this
final report we outline the implementation steps to identify
new funding to sustain critical research that relates to
controlling the damaging effects of the potato late blight
disease in Eastern Europe and Mexico. The focus is to build
strategies and synergies for collaborative research on
potato late blight control with a strong base of support
from national
and international donors.
Potential collaborative, multi-investor funding scenarios
CEEM and its partners agreed to develop a consortium of countries
and partners for greater possibilities for multi-investor
funding towards common objectives. This form of collaboration
is often encouraged and supported by donors such as: USDA-FAS-RSED,
USDA-ARS, European Union, Civilian Russian Development
Foundation, USAID, and other foundations in the public
and private sector.
New funding sources that target potato late blight research
and development were identified. These include:
•
European Union Concerted Action for Potato Late Blight Network
(EUCABLIGHT), and
•
Research and Technology Development (RTD) (European Union).
Other types of total or partial networking funding include:
•
Overseas Development Association (ODA)—regional and
bilateral programs of the ODA countries;
•
Individual activities ODA organizations;
•
Developed country foundations, e.g., in USA, Japan, UK, the
private sector;
•
National grants and collateral support (ODA country bilateral
programs);
•
Multi-institutional project development (ODA regional projects);
•
Global Initiative on Late Blight (GILB);
•
United States Agency for International Development (USAID);
•
United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural
Research Service (USDA-ARS), United States Department of
Agriculture-Foreign Agriculture Service-Research and Scientific
Exchange Division (USDA-FAS-RSED), United States Department
of Agriculture–Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(USDA-APHIS);
• Private sector: Monsanto, Frito Lay, and Dupont.
CEEM, in discussion with the national programs in partner
countries, identified the following short term outputs
with potential donor interest:
• Components for disease control, including resistant varieties
matched to particular country needs;
• Knowledge of the late blight pathogen, host and pathogen
interaction in specific sites;
• Improved potato germplasm available for countries and areas
where resistance is not high enough to control the disease;
• Contributions to the scientific knowledge base, particularly
in the area of host-pathogen interactions;
• An information network that can provide all countries with
testing and evaluation results and that can provide links
to other researchers;
• Orderly marketing channels for potential new late blight
resistant varieties in all participating countries;
• Capable, strong national institutions with capacity to maintain
advances in sustainable potato production through late
blight control;
• Higher country potato-production with reduced risk for farmer
investment;
• Private sector industries generated around sustainable, low-risk
potato production;
• Stronger research management capability.
In the long term, with good demonstrated results, the consortium
will be successful in attracting adequate funding. This would
lead to more substantive quantifiable outputs including a
shared pool of highly resistant potato germplasm with agronomic
traits suitable to country needs, shared without restriction,
and available to US researchers. The socioeconomic analysis
of the market factors affecting potato production (such as
effective and reliable seed systems) and input systems (fertilizers,
pesticides, etc.) would provide long-term stability to the
production systems and provide predictive capability for
decision-making.
The achievement of these outputs would result in a significant
impact in food security for participating countries. The
consortium will develop reliable indicators to track outcomes
and impacts. These data are invaluable in securing continued
funding opportunities and for demonstrating the results of
investments. Some indicators are:
•
Increased food security: increased yield, production, decreased
pesticide use, increased incomes for potato farmers;
•
Reduced risk associated with potato production due to late
blight: reduced sprays, lower levels of losses, lower disease
incidence;
•
Stability and sustainability of potato production overtime;
•
Structural and development funding for the region: increased
interest by investors, including the private sector;
•
Enhanced social and economic stability using market, demographic,
or other available data.
Implementation Steps
CEEM was instrumental in encouraging consortium members
in Asia, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe to
develop
an implementation plan to move the proposed strategy forward.
For Asia (Indonesia, India and Bangladesh) a regional project
focusing on the development and utilization of bio-engineered
potatoes with resistance to late blight was developed and
approved for funding under the Cornell-led USAID project
Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II. For Central
and Eastern Europe funding is currently committed by the
European Union under the EUCABLIGHT program. CEEM identified
some project support for work in Mexico, and strong possibilities
exist for funding from USDA-ARS, FAS-RSED, and Frito Lay.
In addition, the potato research community at Cornell University
has a history of strong international linkages. Continued
support would be provided by Cornell faculty to collaborators
worldwide using competitive grants. USDA-ARS, FAS-RSED
expressed interest in supporting and maintaining critical
work at Cornell.
Strategic leadership for sustaining critical late blight
work would continue to be provided by Professors Ronnie
Coffman, W. E. Fry, and K. V. Raman.
