The project builds upon the previous ICARDA ACIAR Project: Better crop germplasm and management for improved production of wheat, barley and pulse and forage legumes in Iraq, implemented from July 2005 to June 2008 in Ninevah Governorate in northern Iraq and funded by ACIAR and AusAID. The new project will be led by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and implemented by the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) through its State Board of Agricultural Research in Baghdad and Directorate of Agriculture in Ninevah, the University of Mosul and Australian partner institutions (University of Adelaide, University of Western Australia and Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food).

The new project aims to increase productivity, profitability and sustainability of crops in the drylands of northern Iraq through the development, evaluation and promotion of conservation cropping technologies involving zero-tillage (ZT), stubble mulching, improved crop cultivars and better crop management. It also aligns with the priorities of the MOA national strategy. The key outcomes in Ninevah and northern Iraq will be:

Key outcomes will be achieved through training Iraqi research and extension scientists and farmers while focusing on seven objectives structured around development and extension of conservation cropping technologies, development of seed production systems, improved planning and development through Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing and socio-economic analysis to monitor and promote adoption and impact.
Given common production systems and constraints, the new project will facilitate spillovers into the neighbouring governorates of Dohuk, Sulaymaniyah and Erbil, as well as the more southerly governorate of Najaf, by inviting agricultural researchers, extension officers and leading farmers to engage with and discuss the improved varieties and crop management technologies in the demonstration and research program.