The GCARD Roadmap recommends a “collective focus on priorities” that has been determined by society and science; an effective partnership between researchers and farmers; increased investment; and greater awareness of innovation’s effect on development.

Jones is an innovator himself. He was awarded the World Food Prize for discovery of a genetic process that led to a protein-rich, high yield rice. It’s called NERICA, which stands for New Rice for Africa.

“Innovation is all about creating change. And I think that the process of creating change is very apparent in various regions of the world, including Africa. Yes, my NERICA rice is doing wonders in a number of countries. You probably have heard that rice production in Africa went up by 18 percent in the last few years. And 18 percent in the last few years is a tremendous achievement, and it was probably due to the NERICA rice,” he said.

Jones said other innovations include methods to save the cassava plant, elimination of the animal disease rinderpest and the Green Revolution in Asia. Jones believes such a green revolution eventually will come to Africa.

The Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development says past success in research and technology “has enabled a growing population to avoid mass starvation.” However, it adds that nearly one billion people go hungry every day, and nearly one and a half billion live in extreme poverty. GCARD describes its roadmap as “a plan for urgent collective action.”