Report of the Fourteenth Meeting of the CGIAR Finance Committee

Report of the Fourteenth Meeting of the CGIAR Finance Committee, held in Washington, DC on October 23-24, and 30, 1998 prior to and during CGIAR International Centers Week 1998. Committee Chair Michel Petit reported at ICW98. The slides he used are in Attachment 1. This written version was circulated the following month. The meeting concentrated on strategic financial issues, using a paper prepared by the CGIAR Secretariat (Attachment 2). It decided to focus on four clusters of issues: resource needs, external financial environment, resource mobilization, and financial management. Among its conclusions were the need for risk reduction, a search for new public and private sector donors, and the need for new methods of financing strategic initiatives and intercenter programs.The report also covers the estimated outcome for 1998 (Attachment 3), the 1999 financing plan as reviewed by TAC and the CGIAR Secretariat (Attachments 4 and 5). The Committee asked donors to make a special effort to make up shortfalls identified for several centers and commodities, as well as most of the Africa based centers. It also considered requests for special assistance from CIMMYT, CIP, and ICRAF, and the use made by ICRISAT and ICARDA of special assistance provided previously. The World Bank contribution was allocated 11% on a matching basis, and the balance for other purposes, including $5 million for strategic initiatives such as the Central Asia program and others to be identified