| Abstract |
Climate change, ever-increasing population, persistent poverty, chronic malnutrition and decliningannual crop yield gains are retarding human development across South Asia. Despite notable progress over the past several decades, South Asia is still home to more then 300 million undernourished people (35 percent of the global total). Food price spikes exacerbate these issues and make the lives of South Asia's poorest even more difficult.Time is short. A widening economic divide aggravates social, political and military tensions in a region that is critical to global security. Meeting Sout Asia's food and nutritional security and environmental rehabilitation needs are among the most urgent challenges facing the region and the world today. Solving these challenges will help unlock economic develipment for South Asia's poor - Farmers and consumers alike. Agricultural research for development (AR4D), a key component of any sustainable plan, needs to accelerate and agricultural technologies must be diffused more quickly. CIMMYT researcher and Nobel Peace Prize LAureate Dr. Norman Borlaug's work in agricultural is credited with saving 1 billon people from hunger and malnutririon - many in South Asia. Honoring his work, the Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) will catalyze AR4D in the region. BISA is an international agricultural research institute foundesd and managed by the International MAize and Wheat Improvement Center, known around the world as CIMMYT. For nearly 50 years, CIMMYT has been the global center of ecellence for research in two of the world's most important food crops, BISA is supported by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). |
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