Bioversity International (IPGRI)

Bioversity International undertakes, encourages and supports research and other activities on the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity, especially genetic resources, to create more productive, resilient and sustainable harvests. Our aim is to promote the greater well-being of people, particularly poor people in developing countries, by helping them to achieve food security, to improve their health and nutrition, to boost their incomes and to conserve the natural resources on which they depend. The organization is active in over 100 countries worldwide, with more than 300 staff working from some 20 country offices. It is one of the 15 Alliance Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Bioversity’s headquarters are located just outside Rome, Italy in Maccarese. Bioversity staff includes specialists in agriculture, forestry, information science and technology, socioeconomics, law and policy, finance and administration. Through the internship programme, Bioversity offers promising professionals in their early careers invaluable on-the-job training under the guidance of established experts in genetic resources and policy and law practices that encourage the production of public goods.

The CGIAR Central Advisory Service on Intellectual Property (CAS-IP) is the principal unit for service to the CGIAR system in the areas of Intellectual Property Management and Technology Transfer, especially as it relates to transfer and use of the products of the Alliance of the Centers in the CGIAR and the Challenge Programs, as public goods. CAS-IP works in partnership with the IP Managers and Focal points of the Centers and the Challenge Program (CPs) of the CGIAR system to identify, define and enable distribution of Center and CP products. CAS-IP is hosted by Bioversity International in Maccarese (Rome), Italy and Serdang (Selangor), Malaysia.