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Published on
29.04.25
In an era marked by mounting crises—climate extremes, deepening inequality, and growing food insecurity—it can be difficult to hold on to optimism. But optimism, as Dr. Ismahane Elouafi reminds us, isn’t the absence of hardship. It is the courage to face obstacles and challenges head-on, armed with science, systems thinking, the power of collaboration, and hope.
Named to TIME100’s list of the most influential people in climate, CGIAR’s Executive Managing Director, Dr. Elouafi, is more than a leader. She is a scientist who speaks plainly about possibility and urgency. And she does so with remarkable warmth and clarity across four recent podcast interviews, forming a collection of conversations offering a roadmap for this moment in time.
These podcasts arrive alongside CGIAR’s first-ever Science Week and the launch of its Flagship Report, both milestones in a larger effort to accelerate science-based action towards the pursuit of sustainable food, land, and water systems in the face of compounding global challenges.
1. CGIAR’s Impact on Global Food Systems | Future Fork with Paul Newnham
In this rich and wide-ranging interview, Dr. Elouafi shares the personal story behind her path to agricultural science, beginning with her fascination for math and genetics in Marrakesh and eventually leading to global leadership at CGIAR.
She explains how CGIAR is building an integrated platform to deliver agricultural innovation as a global public good, highlighting the sector’s staggering underfunding compared to its unique ability to adapt to and mitigate climate change and even help offset emissions from other sectors. She also discussed the vital and global importance of CGIAR’s gene banks, which currently include highly resistant crop varieties.
Watch on YouTube | Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts
2. Feeding the Future: Ismahane Elouafi on Soil, Science, and Survival | Der Große Neustart with Sibylle Barden
In this special English-language episode of Germany’s Der Große Neustart, Dr. Elouafi recalls her decades of experience living and working in the Global South to emphasize the urgency for innovation in climate action.
Throughout the episode, Dr. Elouafi repositions agriculture as a linchpin for climate action. Soils, plants, and oceans are our primary tools for carbon sequestration, yet agriculture remains one of the most underfunded areas in climate finance. She argues powerfully for the democratization of science, insisting that technological advances must be shared across borders and tailored to diverse contexts. Innovation, she contends, must reach the 500 million small-scale farmers who produce a third of the world’s food. Only then will we unlock solutions we’ve long overlooked.
Watch on YouTube | Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts
3. The Hope that Lies in Scientific Innovation | Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg (by FoodTank)
This conversation offers a more intimate glimpse into Dr. Elouafi’s convictions as a scientist and a global citizen. Speaking with calm urgency, she reflects on how science offers not only solutions, but hope.
The episode tackles the uncomfortable reality of declining public investment in agricultural research, even as hunger and climate risks accelerate. Dr Elouafi explains how knowledge gaps mirror power gaps in food, land, and water systems and discusses the role of local communities in deploying innovation effectively by sharing some examples of CGIAR’s own work on the ground.
Watch on YouTube | Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts
4. Cultivating the Future: Transforming Arid Agriculture with Dr. Ismahane Elouafi | Forward Talks with Tatiana Antonelli-Abella
In this episode from Goumbook’s Forward Talks, Dr. Ismahane Elouafi explores one of the most pressing challenges in agriculture today: restoring productivity and dignity in the world’s drylands. With desertification threatening 40% of the earth’s surface and the livelihoods of 2.5 billion people, the stakes are high.
CGIAR’s new 2030 Strategy for Resilient Drylands, launched at COP16, is more than a roadmap: it’s a lifeline. Dr. Elouafi outlines how CGIAR bundles innovations like gene-edited climate-smart crops, AI-powered irrigation, solar vertical farming, and water-saving techniques drawn from Indigenous knowledge. Food security, she argues, isn’t just about aid—it’s about restoring agency. That means investing in solutions that help communities rebuild, adapt, and thrive.
Watch on YouTube | Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Science Week, the Flagship Report, and the Urgency of Now
What unites these four podcasts is a shared message: we already have much of the science we need. What we lack is coordination, scale, and the political will to act.
That message was echoed at CGIAR Science Week, a first-of-its-kind global gathering of researchers, funders, and policy leaders. It is also central to CGIAR’s Flagship Report, which distills seven practical ways to turn insights into action, with equity, systems thinking, and partnerships at the core.
These podcasts, together with Science Week and the Flagship Report, form a trilogy of hope rooted in realism. They offer a clear-eyed assessment of the crises we face and an unapologetic belief in the power of scientific cooperation.
Listen, Share, Act
Dr. Elouafi’s words remind us that science must be both credible and relatable. That research must be present not only in labs and reports but also in policies, partnerships, and people’s lives.
If you listen to one podcast this week, make it one of these. Better yet, share them. Start a conversation. And help CGIAR bring science home to where it matters most.
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Written by Camilla Palermo