Section 2: Functions of the Institute.

(1) The Institute shall have the general responsibility for undertaking studies of and research into tropical agriculture and of providing information thereon to authorised representatives of governments or to groups or bodies of persons interested in tropical agriculture.
(2) In carrying out the general responsibility assigned to it by subsection (1) of this section, the Institute may pursue all or any of the following objectives-
(a)
to provide in the tropics a high-quality international research organisation devoted to finding ways as quickly as possible to increase the output and improve the quality of tropical food crops;
(b)
to provide, in co-operation with universities and research stations concerned with tropical agriculture, high-level professional training for carefully selected persons who expect to become staff members of institutions and organisations in the tropics concerned with increasing food production and improving its quality and distribution;
(c) to publish and disseminate research findings and recommendations of the Institute;
(d) to distribute improved plant materials to other research centres where they might be of significant value in breeding or improvement programmes;
(e)
to establish, maintain, and operate an information centre and library which will provide for interested scientists and scholars everywhere a collection of the world's literature on tropical agriculture; and
(f)
to organise or hold periodic conferences, forums, and seminars, whether international,regional, local, or otherwise, for the purpose of discussing current problems in the field of tropical agriculture.