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Drylands are shifting from the periphery of global attention to becoming central to the future of food security under a changing climate. Home to 44% of the world’s food systems, nearly half of the world’s livestock, and a third of the global population, their natural resources sustain the food security and livelihoods of 70% of the people who live there. Yet every day, these resources are decreasing. Up to 35% of the drylands are degraded, and an estimated 700 million people face displacement by 2030 due to water scarcity.
Recognizing the urgency of these challenges, ICARDA co-led the development of a new global collaborative vision – CGIAR’s Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands – and launched a bold institutional roadmap in 2024. Combined, they will usher in a new era grounded in science and partnerships to deliver the research and innovations that vulnerable dryland populations need, more quickly and cost-effectively.
Land area cultivated with ICARDA’s improved crop varieties.
Including technologies, practices, and digital tools developed.
Involved in the development of the
GSRD.
The CGIAR Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands (GSRD) is set to transform the lives of 2.7 billion people across Africa and Asia. Spearheaded by ICARDA and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), it repositions the drylands as frontiers of climate adaptation rather than as fragile and insecure lands. It does this by leveraging their rich biodiversity and untapped potential, focusing on five pillars of transformation:
Optimizing agrifood systems to adapt to
climate change.
Conserving and using biodiversity to support
resilient ecosystems and communities.
Managing soil, land and water systems to
sustainably intensify production.
Ensuring access to sustainable healthy diets
to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.
Promoting inclusive, equitable development
to nurture safety, agency and peace.
The GSRD was developed through a partnership among the CGIAR centers, each contributing according to their mandate and expertise. This collective approach makes the GSRD comprehensive and wide-reaching. It is built on a foundation of gender equality, youth inclusion, and community engagement to ensure that innovations reach and are adopted by those who need them most.
SRP1: Conserve and deploy plant
genetic diversity in drylands for future
food and crop challenges.
SRP2: Develop climate-smart crops
for secure, profitable farming amid
changing climates.
SRP3: Create resilient livestock and
rangeland systems for livelihoods and
environmental health.
SRP4: Foster resilient agrifood
systems in the drylands for the benefit
of communities
CCRP1: Climate Change Science
(CCS)
CCRP2: Data Science and Machine
Learning (DSML)
CCRP3: Socioeconomic Analysis
of Innovations (SAI)
CCRP4: Gender Equality, Youth,
and Social Inclusion (GEYSI)
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