CIAT (Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT)

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is a global research-for-development organization working at the intersection of agriculture, the environment, and human nutrition. It was formed by uniting two long-established CGIAR research centers: Bioversity International (founded 1974, headquartered in Rome) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture / CIAT (Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, founded 1967, headquartered in Cali-Palmira, Colombia). Both are part of CGIAR, the global agricultural research partnership.

The two centers signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Alliance's foundations, and Juan Lucas Restrepo was appointed Director General of Bioversity International and CEO-Designate of the Alliance, taking up the Rome-based role on March 1, 2019. Restrepo had previously served CGIAR in multiple governance roles, including a decade as an ex-officio member of CIAT's Board of Trustees representing the Colombian Government.

The Alliance was created to tackle interlocking global challenges: malnutrition in all its forms, climate change adaptation and mitigation, declining agricultural biodiversity, rural employment, and unsustainable food and agricultural systems. Its strategy focuses on food environments and consumer behavior, multifunctional landscapes, climate action, biodiversity for food and agriculture, digital inclusion, and crops for nutrition and health — aligned with the 2030 Agenda, the Global Biodiversity Targets, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Bonn Challenge.

Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the Alliance operates regional hubs in Africa (Nairobi), the Americas (Cali), and Asia (Penang), plus offices in Montpellier and Leuven, working with public and private partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. Its Rome presence strengthens partnerships with the UN food agencies FAO, IFAD, and WFP. Given this mandate, innovations across digital agriculture, climate-smart food systems, and biodiversity are directly relevant to its mission.