About the Consortium

The Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) was established in 1994 to address issues of this intensively-cultivated and irrigated cropping system adopted by millions of farmers located in the semi-arid agro-ecoregion of the IGP in South Asia. Establishment of the RWC only confirms that this learning process is still continuing. The ecoregional approach is the latest and most comprehensive of the evolving concepts of how agricultural research should be structured for more effective performance.

The RWC has its origin in many years of collaborative research between CIMMYT, IRRI and the national research centers for rice and wheat in South Asia. These arrangements were formalized in 1989 by an agreement between IRRI, CIMMYT and the NARS of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Funding from IFAD and other donors supported the groundwork to formalize the establishment of the RWC in 1994. This facilitated collaboration among the NARS, IARCs and the ARIs. A central Facilitation Unit was also established to help coordinate research across the four member countries, and sharpen the focus on long-term system sustainability issues. RWC work has continued with local and international funding such as from DGIS (of the Netherlands), ADB, DFID, IFAD, USAID, ACIAR, and World Bank (CG-administered funds). Various advanced research institutions such as Cornell University, Ohio State University, IACR(Rothamsted), AVRDC, IAC (Wageningen), CABI-UK, CISRO Australia, Melbourne University, CIRAD, DMC and IAEA have since joined the association of rice-wheat experts.

Consortium Members
A consortium of South Asian National Agricultural Research Systems (Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan), International Centers (CIMMYT, CIP, ICRISAT, IRRI and IWMI), Advanced Research Institutions (ARIs), NGOs, and private enterprise and farmers groups was formed to address the sustainability concerns of the rice-wheat systems. This consortium, known as the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC), is convened by CIMMYT and is one of the Ecoregional Initiatives of the CGIAR. As such it brings together research and extension services of the region to interact and mobilize resources.

The focus of the Consortium is on the interface between the dimensions of the problems being addressed through a partnership of farmer organizations, NARS, NGOs, ARIs and CG centers. Success of the Consortium is based on participation of stakeholders. Private entrepreneurs and other stakeholders are encouraged to take up corporate memberships.

RWC Structure and Operational Mechanisms
RWC structure is like a tetrahedron with three partners IRRI, (CIMMYT/CG centers) and the ARIs at the base of the pyramid and NARS at the top of the base structure. The RWC resides in the centre of the pyramid structural cavity that glues the partners and facilitates closer links between them and helps coordinate activities of the rice-wheat production systems.

It needs to be made very clear that the RWC is truly a consortium (a special kind of research network). It is not a Research Programme in its own right in the sense that the word 'program' is generally used in the CGIAR. Apart from any studies, the Facilitation Unit carries out on ecoregional methodologies, the RWC is not structured to conduct research in its own name. The research programs and projects directed at the problems of rice-wheat production systems, and carried out under the aegis of the RWC, all reside with one or more of the participating research organizations. The fact that the RWC has sometimes been described by the CGIAR as an eco-regional program, e.g., in TAC's (1994) Review of System-wide and Ecoregional Initiatives, has added to the confusion.

The RWC has a Regional Steering Committee, which is chaired by one of the chief Executive of NARS from the four member countries in rotation annually. Membership comprises the Directors General of the four NARS, and of IRRI and CIMMYT from the International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs), and a donor representative. The Consortium Facilitator/and Co-facilitator act as Secretary/and Co-secretary. A Regional Technical Coordination Committee (RTCC), made up of the national rice-wheat coordinators, focal scientists from the participating CGIAR Centres, and the advanced institutions and NGOs, assist in formulating programs for the RWC. There are national steering and technical coordinating committees in each of the four countries and the site teams to coordinate programs at the site. These have now been formalized and are a favored mechanism for coordinating and monitoring the cooperative research in all four countries.

RWC: A Successful NARS-Driven Initiative
In a recent review of Ecoregional Programs within the CGIAR, the RWC was listed as one of the two best such programs in the CGIAR system. The TAC-commissioned review of Ecoregional Programs noted that, "The RWC is clearly a NARS-driven initiative with the Centers largely having roles defined by the Consortium . . ." The review goes on to say that, ". . . there is clearly a strong commitment to [the RWC] at the highest levels of leadership in the national systems . . . [the RWC] has raised awareness of the benefits of a systems perspective, raised awareness of the importance of integrating NRM with production research . . . and fostered the use of new research tools."Some of the greatest achievements of the RWC have been in fostering partnerships and strengthening stakeholder participation". The aim is not only to draw on their experience and knowledge in order to set more relevant priorities, but more importantly, to develop a sense of ownership of the research and development process and to improve the 'goodness of fit' of its expected products. It is hard to see how the CGIAR can play any useful role in testing and developing these partnership approaches unless it is through a mechanism such as the RWC."

In recognition of its efforts, RWC has been cited for numerous achievements. Some feel that the RWC is the best Ecoregional Program in the CGIAR system. It has accomplished much in governance and partnerships, in science and the use of new research methods, and in impacts in farmers' fields. APAARI, the association of NARS from the Asia-Pacific region, chose the RWC as their "best example of an effective research partnership" for presentation at GFAR, and was awarded the CGIAR Chairman's 'Award for Outstanding Scientific Partnerships'. In recognition of its contributions to productive, ecologically-friendly agriculture among the poor in Asia, the RWC received the prestigious King Baudouin Award of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research in October 2004.