Written by: Alison Laing, CSIRO

The SIAGI inception meeting was hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT), West Bengal, from 1 to 5 March 2016. Dr Evan Christen and Dr Kuhu Chatterjee represented the project funder, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).  The meeting was attended by 30 participants from the ten research organisations who make up the SIAGI project, and by invited guests from allied research projects.

This meeting was an opportunity to explore critical concepts central to the SIAGI project’s planned research; to clarify linkages with similar research projects in the region; to consolidate our research strategy; and to strengthen personal friendships between researchers from different disciplines and countries.

 

…researchers from diverse disciplines, such as: social inclusion and justice; nutrition and food security; markets for the poor; value chain analysis; and integrative modelling…

…with…

…non government organisations with expertise in: gender inclusivity; environmental management: sustainable agricultural intensification; participatory engagement; and livelihood improvement…

…and…

…a private sector partner with experience in sustainable knowledge based projects who champions effective policy development and institutional innovation.

Over five days we worked together, sharing and refining our research strategy.  All research partners gave thought-provoking presentations on topics including:

• Livelihood potentials
• Ethics and engagement
• Justice, equity, fairness and empowerment
• Value chains and private-public partnerships
• Climate risk and yield gaps
• Integrated modelling

This was an opportunity for many of us to get to know international colleagues and to set the foundation for an exciting, innovative research project.  SIAGI has just started – stay tuned for how our project develops and for our research outcomes!