The World Agroforestry Centre witnessed an exciting year as we developed a compelling new strategy to guide our research through to 2015. Transforming Lives and Landscapes1 outlines the choices we have made, and how these choices will translate into action.

We are delighted that the CGIAR’s Science Council strongly supported our new vision. “Overall this strategy provides a compelling case for ICRAF’s activities for the next seven years,” it noted. Six global research projects, which are fundamental to agroforestry science form the basis of the strategy:

• Domestication, utilization and conservation of superior agroforestry germplasm
• Maximizing on-farm productivity of trees and agroforestry systems
• Improving tree product marketing for smallholders
• Reducing risks to land health and targeting agroforestry interventions to enhance land productivity and food availability
• Improving the ability of farmers, ecosystems and governments to cope with climate change
• Developing policies and incentives for multifunctional landscapes with trees that provide environmental services

As we look forward to the strategy’s execution, we are committed to four pillars of excellence— further strengthening the quality of our scientific research; enhancing our strategic partnerships; accelerating the use and impact of our international public goods research; and improving our operational efficiency.

A major theme of this year’s annual report is the way that agroforestry is helping to address the global food crisis. The research stories in the report, and the introductory essay, showhow agroforestry science has been engaged in developing technical, institutional and policy innovations that are fundamental to achieving food security in the developing world, especially in Africa. The importance of agroforestry — not only for food security, but also as a way of improving rural incomes and nutrition, protecting biodiversity and environmental services, and helping the rural poor to adapt to climate change — is now widely recognized. For example, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development challenged the world with a new vision of multifunctional agriculture. In its report, completed in 2008, it concluded that agroforestry has a central role to play in achieving this vision, particularly in the developing world.

At the beginning of 2008, we welcomed a refreshed senior leadership team to assist the Director General. The team consists of the Deputy Director General, Tony Simons, the Director of Finance and Operations, Laksiri Abeysekera, and the Director of Communications, Michael Hailu. We believe that this team has the capacity to elevate the Centre to the new heights demanded by the strategy.

We were pleased to have exceeded a number of key financial benchmarks of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) performance measurement system. The short-term solvency (liquidity) at the end of December 2007 was 182 days, against a benchmark of 90 to 120 days. The longterm financial stability (adequacy of reserves) for the same period was 126 days, against the CGIAR benchmark of 75 to 90 days.

We have been gratified to receive funds from new donors, some of them non-traditional donors to the CGIAR. However, stagnant core income and low overhead recovery levels on projects are a concern to us as well as other CGIAR centres. The senior leadership team will ensure that our excellent record of financial stability, often in the face of considerable external political and financial volatility, is sustained in the future.

We are proud that during the past year, our scientists were recognized for their outstanding work. Most notably, several World Agroforestry Centre scientists have been active contributors to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with former US Vice President Al Gore. Three of our scientists were also recognized by their peers with ‘best paper’ awards for their publications while one was appointed as Professor Extraordinaire by Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

 Our quarterly Board telephone meetings have enabled members to keep abreast of the Centre’s activities, as well as the significant changes being undertaken by the CGIAR system. We are encouraged by the prospect of renewed energy and efficiency in the system, which will ultimately deliver better results for the benefit of the world’s poor and hungry.

As we look ahead, we are excited to be partnering with the United Nations Environment Programme and other organizations as sponsors of the 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry, to be held in Nairobi in August 2009. The Congress’s theme is Agroforestry: the Future of Global Land Use. This timely topic will provoke serious debate. It will also provide an important forum to highlight our most important research and that of our sister CGIAR centres, national research organizations and NGO partners.

No report would be complete without acknowledging those who have helped the Centre in its many achievements this year. In particular, we would like to sincerely thank our donors and loyal partners in the journey of agroforestry research and development…and, of course, our indefatigable staff.