The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) supported the launch of the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture’s (AIRCA) new white paper on the sidelines of the recently concluded (United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change) UNFCCC’s COP 19 on 17 November 2013.

The paper, ‘Transforming rural livelihoods and landscapes: sustainable improvements to income, food security and the environment’, was launched during (Center for International Forestry Research) CIFOR’s Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) at the University of Warsaw, Poland. The white paper is considered to have brought together specialities and expertise of the nine member organizations of AIRCA to tackle the problem of increased demand for agricultural outputs.

ICIMOD along with representatives from the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), and Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) were present at the AIRCA booth for exchange during the launch programme.

AIRCA is a nine-member alliance to promote healthy, sustainable, and climate-smart landscapes. It focuses in increasing global food security and giving a unified voice for action to benefit smallholding agriculture. The nine organizations that form AIRCA are: World Vegetable Centre (AVRDC), CABI, CATIE, Crops for the Future (CFF), International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), INBAR, and ICIMOD.