This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.
There are no borders around the opportunities and challenges we face in agricultural science. Agricultural science priorities in one country are often shared by others. That’s why agricultural science, whether national or international, benefits from being addressed globally and cooperatively.
That’s exactly what was discussed at the second G-20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS), hosted in June of this year by the Russian Federation, which currently serves in the role of 2013 G-20 President. The MACS is an initiative endorsed by G20 Leaders, their Agriculture Vice Ministers and other International Research Organizations such as CGIAR because they know the value of identifying global research priorities and targets, facilitating collaboration between public and private sector organizations in key areas, and tracking progress on established goals over time. At the most recent meeting, we completed the MACS terms of reference, which established the operating parameters for this continuing forum. To read more about the meeting, click here for the proceedings.