CGIAR Central Asia and the Caucasus

Central Asia and the Caucasus Regional Face-to-face Consultations

12th Steering Committee Meeting

VACANCY: 2010 Call for Research Proposals for the Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship

Bioversity International is pleased to announce the 2010 Call for Research Proposals for the Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship.

Two Fellowship opportunities will be available for 2010 to carry out research on conservation and use of Plant Genetic Resources. One of the Fellowships is supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Australia.

12th Annual Steering and Executive Committee Meetings

12th Annual Steering and Executive Committee Meetings for of the CGIAR Program for Central Asia and the Caucasus 2009 and CACAARI Annual Meeting 2009 will held on 12-14 September, 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Award for Central Asia and Caucasus Program

It is with great pleasure that we announce that on December 2, 2008, during the Annual General Meeting 2008 of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), held in Maputo, Mozambique, the CGIAR Program for Sustainable Agriculture in Central Asia and the Caucasus (in short, CAC Program) has been awarded the CGIAR King Baudouin "Science Award for Outstanding Partnership".

IAASTD RESULTS PRESENTED FOR THE CAC REGION

The results of the report on International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) for CWANA region were presented by Dr. Mustapha Guellouz, IAASTD Coordinator for CWANA region, to more than 30 NARS leaders from the CAC countries on 19th September, 2008, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

CAC REGIONAL FORUM OF AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTES CHARTS ITS FUTURE DIRECTIONS

General Assembly Meeting of the Association of Central Asia and the Caucasus Agricultural Research Institutes (CACAARI) was held on 17th of September, 2008, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, under facilitation of the ICARDA Regional Program for CAC and Program Facilitation Unit of the CGIAR-CAC Program. It should be also highlighted that two days earlier, on 15th of September, Prof. Dr. Adel El-Beltagy, Chairman, GFAR, met with the NARS leaders from the CAC countries and discussed with them the future opportunities for strengthening CACAARI. Several action points were agreed upon during that meeting on 15th September on this regard.

NEW SOCIOECONOMIC PROJECT LAUNCHED FOR CENTRAL ASIA

To support the Central Asian Countries Initiative on Land Management (CACILM), IFPRI and ICARDA have initiated a joint study entitled “Economic Analysis of Sustainable Land Management Options in Central Asia”. The purpose of this study is to assess the economic feasibility, costs and benefits of alternative land management options within important domains and land use systems of Central Asia.

ICARDA REGIONAL PLANNING MEETING FOR CAC

The 11th Regional Planning Meeting of ICARDA Program for Central Asia and the Caucasus was organized on 17-18th September, 2008, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The meeting was attended by more than 50 participants, including NARS leaders from the CAC countries and a large ICARDA team, led by Dr. Mahmoud Solh, Director General ICARDA, and including Dr. Maarten van Ginkel, DDG-Research, Dr. Richard Brettell, Director, BIGM Program, and scientists from all the of the Research Programs of ICARDA.

CAC PROGRAM CELEBRATES ITS 10 YEARS

The year 2008 marks the 10th Anniversary of the CGIAR Program for Central Asia and the Caucasus, of which ICARDA is the Convening Center. Therefore, an International Conference on “Agricultural Research Competence for Central Asia and the Caucasus - Celebrating 10 years of CAC Program 1998-2008”, organized by the CAC Program Facilitation Unit, took place on 16th of September, 2008, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.