International Cooperation Programs,CAC

Central Asia and the Caucasus Regional Program (CAC)
In 1998, collaboration with the countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) was brought under a regional program for Central Asia and the Caucasus (CACRP).

THE REGION
The CAC region consists of five countries in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and the three in the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia).

It covers an area of 416 million hectares, of which about 70% is classified as agricultural land. Of this, only 15% is arable. Wheat, cotton, and livestock are the important agricultural commodities. About 275 million hectares are classified as rangelands. The environment is characterized by low and variable rainfall and temperature extremes. The landscape consists of mountains, deserts, and steppes.

The region has rich biodiversity, huge agricultural potential, a wide range of agricultural research institutions and hardworking farmers. Continued investment in collaborative research programs is vital to ensure that the region benefits from new agricultural technologies which can help in improving the livelihoods of its people.

ISSUES:
Since gaining independence in 1991, the countries of the Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) region have been undergoing the transition towards market economy. The region has a good potential for agricultural development, since two important cradles, i.e. institutional infrastructure and human resource, fortunately, exist. The challenge is to strengthen existing capacities through research collaboration with the advanced international research institutions in order to improve the livelihoods of the CAC people, largely dependent on agriculture. Major challenges that cut across main agro-ecological conditions of the region include:

•	Food security and poverty
•	Soil fertility and salinity
•	Deteriorated irrigation system
•	Degraded rangelands
•	Disintegration of markets
•	Land tenure
•	Need for enabling policies
•	Human resource development

ICARDA AND CAC REGION
Many of the problems facing the crop and livestock production systems in CAC region fall within the mandate of ICARDA and its mission to alleviate poverty through improved agricultural productivity and protection of the natural resource base. ICARDA has a proven advantage in being able to draw on wide ranging experience with agricultural research in many of the agro-ecologies relevant to CAC. Though research collaboration in CAC region was first established in 1995, ICARDA opened its Regional Office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in September 1998, to provide needed support for agricultural research. Memoranda of agreement have since been signed with each country to formalize partnership between ICARDA and all the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) of CAC Region. In 2007, a sub-regional office of ICARDA for the Caucasus countries was established in Tbilisi, Georgia, to further facilitate the Program's activities in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

REGIONAL PRIORITIES
Stakeholders representing national and international agricultural research, donor organizations, NGOs, the private sector, and farmers have been involved in identifying the research priorities for the region. In line with the bottom-up priority setting approach adopted by the CGIAR under "Plank 4" of the CGIAR's vision and strategy, the CAC Regional Forum (CACAARI) and ICARDA organized several brainstorming and research needs assessment meetings with NARS leaders and representatives of the concerned CG Centers and donors in 1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007. Accordingly, the following research priorities have been identified:

Genetic Resources Management (GRM)

1. Exchange of genetic resources

2. Documentation of information on genetic resources

3. Conservation of genetic resources

4. Germplasm enhancement

5. Need for a regional strategy on the use of biotechnological tools in crops

6. Conservation, documentation, enhancement and utilization of animal genetic resources

Natural Resources Management (NRM)

1. Management of saline environments

2. Water management - water use efficiency and water quality in irrigated and dry land/rainfed areas

3. Crop diversification

4. Land and water degradation - loss of bio-diversity and soil fertility

5. Pasture and rangeland management

6. Environmental quality and futuristic research
- Climate change - adapting to climate change
- Carbon sequestration, agroforestry and afforestation

Socioeconomic, Policy Research and Capacity Building

1. Extension and knowledge transfer

2. Legal frameworks

3. Gender research

4. Livelihoods and poverty analysis

5. Adoption and impact assessment

6. Enabling policy options

7. Land tenure

8. Local institutions

9. Marketing, competitiveness and trade

10. Reorientation of agricultural innovation systems

Human resource development, capacity building, information and communication technology were identified to be the cross-cutting priority areas.

ON-GOING PROJECTS

No.	Project Title	Duration Period	Donor
1.	Community Action in Integrated and Market Oriented Feed-Livestock Production in Central and South Asia	2006-2009	IFAD
2.	Sustainable Land Management Research Project	2007-2009	ADB
3.	Ecologically-based Participatory and Collaborative IPM Research and Capacity Building Program in Central Asia (MSU-ICARDA)	2005-2009	USAID
4.	Livelihood Options for Sustainable Land Management in Central Asia, Pakistan and China (anticipated) (ICARDA- IFPRI)	2008-2010	ADB
5.	Economic Analysis of Sustainable Land Management Options in Central Asia (IFPRI-ICARDA)	2008-2009	ADB
6.	ZEF - Uzbekistan Conservation Agriculture (ICARDA-ZEF)	2007-2010	BMBF/ZEF
7.	Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and Water Use in the Region Khorezm (Uzbekistan) (ZEF-ICARDA)	2008-2011	BMBF/ZEF
8.	ZEF - Uzbekistan Livestock component (ICARDA-ZEF)	2008-2010	BMBF/ZEF
9.	Emergency Seed Relief to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan	2008	USAID
10.	CAC Crop Diversification	core	ICARDA core
11.	ICARDA Regional Program for CAC	core	ICARDA core

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS

•	Agro-ecological characterization has been completed for integrated research sites in Central Asia using GIS methods.
•	Annually, about 5,000 entries from 80 different nurseries of cereals, legumes and forage crops are tested in the region. In all the eight CAC countries, new promising varieties have been identified, which are being used now for improvement of local germplasm or for direct multiplication and release on farmers' fields.
•	Fourteen promising varieties of winter wheat, five varieties of barley, seven varieties of chickpea, and four varieties of lentil have been released in the region.
•	Special emphasis is placed on seed sector development in the region.
•	The overall situation for controlling yellow rust has been studied; identification of physiological races of yellow rust was undertaken in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; data for mapping distribution frequency and resistance genes was generated; recommendations for replacement of varieties susceptible to yellow rust have been made. Efforts are being targeted at developing wheat varieties resistant to stem rust (UG99).
•	New water saving and resource conserving agronomic practices, including new crop rotations, have been recommended in the region with introduction of crops such as chickpea, lentil, safflower, soybean, buckwheat and others. Quite promising results have already been obtained through conservation tillage in irrigated agriculture. Shallow tillage, instead of deep plowing, proved useful and saves fuel consumption.
•	Several livestock management practices were evaluated and found promising, such as early weaning, early lambing, market oriented lamb fattening, and milking of Karakul and Sarajin sheep ewes.
•	Rangeland status in four Central Asian countries has been assessed and constraints identified. Direct seeding and planting of young plants of Atriplex, Haloxylon, Kochia and Salsola in protective stripes was successful in restoring the degraded rangelands.
•	The gene banks have been either established or renovated in all the CAC countries. They have been also upgraded with modern storage facilities.
•	Socio-economic analyses have been conducted on economic evaluation of new environmentally sustainable technologies, livelihoods surveys, value chain studies, and agricultural policy research.
•	A total of about 12,000 scientists and farmers from all CAC countries have so far benefited from different training and human resource development activities.
•	More than 450 publications, scientific papers, booklets, brochures, leaflets, policy briefs have been produced and disseminated among farmers and NARS partners.
•	Networks have also been established for all the mandate crops of ICARDA.
•	A Regional Forum CACAARI has been established in order to foster research partnership among NARS.

The contributions of the ICARDA's regional program for CAC were highly important in the development and research impact of the CGIAR Program for Central Asia and the Caucasus, where ICARDA is the Convening Center. The efforts of all the partners of the CAC Consortium were highly acknowledged by CGIAR in December, 2008, when the CGIAR Program for CAC was awarded with the prestigious King Baudouin "Science Award for Outstanding Partnership".

LOOKING AHEAD
In 2008, External Review of the CGIAR Program, of which ICARDA is the Convening Center, was conducted. The Review Panel concluded in its report: "The Panel found the CAC Program to be productive and highly important for the region. It is a Program that definitely needs to be continued and efforts must be undertaken at various levels of the CG system to ensure its future sustainability." The External Review panel also made recommendations for re-adjusting the Program for future challenges.

The 10th Anniversary of the CAC Program, celebrated in September, 2008, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, provided with the opportunity to take stock of achievements and chart the new direction for future development of the Program. It was highly emphasized by all the NARS and ICARDA partners that the Program would continue widening its partnerships to include Universities, NGO's, and other stakeholders. I will also modernize its outreach and documentation efforts. Important areas for future development of the Program would be streamlining and bundling the efforts of all the program partners through looking for and exploring synergies, developing multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional projects to address complex issues on a farmer participatory mode. Increased attention would be given to scientific capacity building including long-term degree programs for national scientists, value chain analysis, linking production to markets, policy advocacy and fundraising.
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* Click here for the CGIAR Program for Central Asia and the Caucasus

Regional Coordinator:
  Dr Zakir Khalikulov
  ICARDA-CAC
  6-106, Murtazaeva Street
  P.O. Box 4564
  Tashkent 100 000, Uzbekistan
  Tel Office:    +998-71-2372169 / 2372130 / 2372104 / 2374719 / 2348216
  Direct Line: +998-71-2348357
  Mobile:         +998-90-1882130 (Dr. Khalikulov)
Fax: +998-71-1207125
  E-mail: Z.Khalikulov@cgiar.org
             ICARDA-Tashkent@cgiar.org
             R.C.Sharma@cgiar.org
             T.Yugay@cgiar.org

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