ICARDA News

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS
P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
Website: www.icarda.cgiar.org
29 January 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Water Project Benchmark Sites Launched in Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan
Participants of the workshop to launch an irrigation benchmark site in Egypt and satellite sites in Sudan and Iraq. The workshop was held in Cairo, 6-8 January 2004.
ICARDA’s Natural Resource Management Program has launched a new comprehensive integrated water project, involving ten countries in the WANA region. The project, entitled “Community-based optimization of the management of scarce water resources in agriculture in West Asia and North Africa,” is cosponsored by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the NARS of the cooperating countries.
The project aims at increasing the impact of technologies that contribute to improved agricultural productivity, resource conservation, and livelihoods in those areas where water is most scarce. All three major agricultural production environments of WANA are addressed: the rainfed cropping systems, the drier areas (badia), and the fully irrigated areas. Research will be conducted with farming communities at benchmark and satellite sites in these three environments. The rainfed benchmark site, with research focus on supplemental irrigation, is located in Morocco, while complementary research activities are conducted at satellite sites in Algeria, Syria, and Tunisia. Jordan will host the badia water-harvesting benchmark site with satellite sites in Libya and Saudi Arabia. For the irrigated areas, the benchmark site is located in Egypt and
Participants of the workshop to launch a rainfed benchmark site in Rabat, held in Rabat, Morocco, 11-14 November 2003.
satellite sites will be established in Iraq and Sudan.
To plan and initiate the activities of the project, workshops were organized in Egypt, Morocco and Jordan by ICARDA’s regional offices for the Nile Valley and Red Sea, North Africa and West Asia, in collaboration with the Natural Resource Management Program of the Center and the NARS of the participating countries.

Irrigated Benchmark Site in Cairo
ICARDA, in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Egypt, organized a planning workshop in Cairo, 6-8 January 2004. The objective of the workshop was to develop workplans for the benchmark site in Egypt and the satellite sites in Sudan and Iraq.
Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General, opened the workshop with Dr Magdy Madkour, President of ARC. In his opening statement, the DG reiterated the importance of the project because it will address water issues in a region which suffers from water scarcity. He added that ICARDA has already created a water interest group and is committed to working hand-in-hand with NARS in CWANA to enhance the optimization of water use.
In his statement, Dr Magdy Madkour linked the increasing shortage of water in the region, and its effect on the rural areas, to rural-urban migration, and said that this could lead to many social problems. He called for better partnership among all players including NGOs and the civil society, in order to increase awareness of the importance of better management of water resources. He reiterated ARC’s commitment to working with other institutes in Egypt and with ICARDA to achieve the objectives of the project.
An overview of the project objectives, activities, and approach was presented by the Project Manager, Dr Theib Oweis. Background papers and case studies from Egypt, Sudan and Iraq were presented. Highlights of the current Natural Resource Management Project were presented by the project team. The second day was devoted to a field trip to the Delta and newly reclaimed land where modern farms were visited. In addition, discussions with small-holder farmers were held. On the third day, participants discussed the framework of the workplan of the project as well as mechanisms of coordination and implementation.
More than 40 participants from Egypt, Sudan, Iraq and Jordan attended the workshop. From Egypt, ARC, National Water Research Center (NWRC), Desert Research Center (DRC), National Research Center (NRC), Ain Shams University and Cairo University were represented at the workshop. ICARDA participants were Drs Habib Halila, Theib Oweis, Mustafa Pala, Aden Aw-Hassan, Kamel Shideed and Ahmed Hachum.

Rainfed Benchmark Site in Rabat
With a large rainfed area, decreasing rainfall trends, and frequent drought, Moroccan officials and ICARDA realize the need for more cooperative research on supplemental irrigation. Their commitment to this new project was clear from their enthusiasm at the Rainfed Benchmark Planning Workshop, held 11-14 November 2003. The workshop was hosted by INRA in Rabat. Dr Mohamed El-Mourid, ICARDA Regional Coordinator for North Africa, welcomed the participants and conveyed Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy’s good wishes for the success of the workshop. The participants were also welcomed by INRA Director Dr Hamid Narjisse. After the introduction of the project by Dr Theib Oweis, presentations on supplemental irrigation environments, research, policies, and needs were given by participants from Morocco, Algeria, Syria, and Tunisia.
A field day was held in the Tadla region, which is expected to be the project site, hosted by the local Agricultural Extension and Development Office. Although a large part of the area has access to irrigation water from a reservoir in the nearby Atlas Mountains, it has suffered from severe water shortages during the last few years. The keen interest of local farmers and extension and research personnel in water-use efficiency was clear from their discussions with the visiting delegation. The following day, the participants split into two working groups (socioeconomics and biophysics) to discuss, site selection criteria, research approach, and plan of research activities. ICARDA scientists Drs Theib Oweis, Mustafa Pala, Eddy De-Pauw, Abdulbari Salkini and Adriana Bruggeman provided technical guidance during the working group sessions. Results of the working groups were presented and discussed in a plenary session the next day.

Badia Benchmark Site in Amman
Opening session of the regional workshop on "Declaring the Badia Benchmark Research Site in Jordan," held in Amman.
A regional workshop on “Declaring the Badia Benchmark Research Site in Jordan” was organized at NCARTT headquarters in the presence of Dr Awni Taimeh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, 19-23 October 2003. More than 50 participants from NCARTT, the Ministry of Agriculture, universities, the Higher Council for Science and Technology, and farmer and NGO organizations participated in the discussion of the project outputs, and in field visits for preliminary selection of potential target areas and communities for the project. One scientist from Saudi Arabia and three from Libya also attended the meeting.
At the opening session, Dr Abdenabi Fardous , representing H.E. the Minister of Agriculture, Jordan, and Dr Ahmed Amri, representing ICARDA, welcomed the participants and stressed the importance of managing the natural resources, especially the scarce water resources, to sustain agricultural production in WANA. Dr Samir Jarrad and Dr Abdelhamid Abdouli, representing the funding agencies, AFESD and IFAD, respectively, expressed their full support to the efforts of ICARDA in the region, citing the achievements of the Mashreq/Maghreb Project in setting new research/development approach focusing on community participation. Dr Nasri Haddad and Dr Awni Taimeh, respectively, presented reviews of the characteristics of the Badia in WANA and the strategy for Badia development in Jordan. Dr Theib Oweis, Senior Water Management Specialist at ICARDA, presented an overview of the work to be conducted on water harvesting and increasing water-use efficiency.
The participants visited potential sites in Muwaqqar, Mafraq and Karak regions and local communities to encourage them to be part of the project. It was agreed to form a national committee for the project to get it off the ground as soon as possible.

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.cgiar.org) serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil, and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of 62 members and 16 Future Harvest Centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.
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