I C A R D A    N e w s

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
For more information contact: Dr Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
 
10 March 2005
Afghanistan Minister of Agriculture Opens Steering Committee Meeting
of Future Harvest Consortium
H.E. Mr Obaidullah Ramin (at podium), Afghanistan Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food, opened the Steering Committee Meeting in the company of (seated from left to right) Dr Serge Verniau, FAO Representative in Afghanistan; Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General and Chair of FHCRAA; H.E. Mr James Moseley, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, USA; and Dr Richard Hogg, DFID.
“The benefits of new technology cannot be extended to farmers without research. The Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food (MAAHF) is with you in bringing back the country on international agricultural map.” With these words, H.E. Mr Obaidullah Ramin opened the third Steering Committee Meeting of the Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan (FHCRAA) on 23 February in Kabul. The Minister expressed pleasure over the activities of FHCRAA and the progress made in a short period of time, and welcomed the implementing partners and delegates to the meeting. “We invite the FHCRAA and international community to increase their efforts to help the farmers and people of Afghanistan,” he said. He specifically thanked ICARDA for its coordinating role and dedicated efforts in rebuilding agriculture in Afghanistan.
During the Steering Committee meeting, the Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, took the opportunity to meet H.E. Dr Abdalla Abdalla (right), Minister of Foreign Affairs, Afghanistan; and H.E. Mr Syed Hossein Anwari, the Mayor of Kabul, to discuss ways to strengthen the activities of FHCRAA and achieve the goal of rebuilding agriculture in Afghanistan more effectively and speedily. He also reviewed the progress of the proposal to grant diplomatic status to the ICARDA office in Kabul along the lines of U.N. organizations. The proposal has moved to the Council of Ministers for endorsement.

Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA and Chair of FHCRAA, thanked Minister Ramin for his assurance of support to the Consortium activities and for opening the Steering Committee meeting. “FHCRAA members work hand-in-hand to bring the best expertise from all over the world to optimize the development of agriculture in Afghanistan,” he said.

“Agriculture lies at the heart of development in Afghanistan, and we are thankful to H.E. Mr Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, for his strong support to agricultural research and development in the country,” Prof. El-Beltagy said.

“Coordination between various Afghan Ministries, donors, and development organizations is essential to avoid duplication of efforts, and optimize the benefits and improvements which farming communities expect from us.
Some of the participants of the Steering Committee Meeting. Left to right (standing): Dr Michael Bower (Mercy Corp); Dr Sarath Ilangantileke (CIP); Dr Sam Kugbei (FAO); Mr Mohammad Sharif, Deputy Minister; Prof. Dr El-Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA; Mr David Radcliffe of DFID; Dr Nasrat Wassimi, ICARDA Kabul Office; Dr Phillippe Chabot, Mercy Corp. Sitting (left to right): Dr M. Osmanzai, CIMMYT; Dr Edwin Price, Texas A&M University; Dr Stefano Padulosi, IPGRI.
“FHCRAA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, seeks to ensure integration of research with development efforts, provide strategic planning, set priorities, and make necessary recommendations to strengthen national agricultural research infrastructure and capacity to optimize the pace of agricultural development.

“Support from various donors to FHCRAA represents the ‘goodwill’ of their respective people. We assure you that we will spare no pains to translate this goodwill into improvements in the life of Afghan farmers, and the economy of the country,” Prof. El-Beltagy said.

In addition to the FHCRAA team, more than 50 scientists and administrators from other developmental agencies, NGOs and donors also attended the meeting. H.E. Mr Obaidulla Ramin, Minister of MAAHF; Mr Mohammad Sharif, Deputy Minister, MAAHF; H.E. Mr James Moseley, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, USA; H.E. Dr Serge Verniau, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Afghanistan; Mr David Radcliffe, Department for International Development (DFID); Mr Allen Kelly, Asian Development Bank; Mr Arnaud Cauchois, European Union; and Mr Kohoi Sato, JICA, were among the prominent delegates.

H.E. Mr Mohamed Sharif (right), Afghanistan Deputy Minister of Agriculture, co-chaired the Steering Committee meeting with Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, DG of ICARDA and Chair of FHCRAA.
The Steering Committee of the FHCRAA reviewed the progress of various projects being implemented in Afghanistan, and discussed the issues that need attention in the future. As part of a review and planning exercise, a meeting was organized on 22 February to evaluate the 11 research projects active in Afghanistan under the umbrella of Research on Alternative Livelihoods Fund (RALF). RALF projects are managed by ICARDA, funded by DFID and implemented by CGIAR centers, international/national centers of excellence, NGOs, and US-based universities in close collaboration with MAAHF.

The second day of the SC meeting, 24 February, was devoted to the launch of “Healing Wounds” by H.E. Mr Obaidullah Ramin, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food, on behalf of H.E. Mr Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan (Please refer to The Week, Issue No. 858 of 3 March 2005).
  
JICA representative Mr Kohoi Sato (left) and Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy reviewed the progress of JICA-supported training activties (depicted in the poster in the background).   Dr Serge Verniau (right), FAO Representative in Afghanistan, and Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA, exchange notes on the progress of the FHCRAA activities in Afghanistan.

Meeting with Senior USAID and Chemonics Officials
Given that research is about knowing the unknown, the progress of research plans cannot be measured as precisely as, for example, a building plan. Many of the constraints and obstacles, which are not known when research plans are developed, come to the surface when research plans are implemented. In a meeting with Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Chairman of FHCRAA, some of the ICARDA and other researchers who work on the ground in Afghanistan discussed the constraints and obstacles to implementing their work plans.

On the suggestion of Prof. El-Beltagy, a meeting of some of the FHCRAA team members was arranged on 23 February with Dr Daniel Miller, Technical Officer, USAID; and Drs Louis Faoro, and Kenneth Neils, Chief of the Party and Director, Agricultural Technology and Marketing, respectively, at Chemonics. Drs Magdy Madkour, Adel Aboul-Naga, Nasrat Wassimi, Ahmad Mustafa and Antony van Gastel from ICARDA; and Dr Sarath Ilangantileke from CIP were present at the meeting. They apprised the USAID and Chemonics representatives of the constraints and obstacles encountered in implementing the research plans.

Dr Miller appreciated the efforts of FHCRAA. “ICARDA, CIP, USAID and RAMP work as a team and the efforts of the partners to make RAMP a success are highly appreciated,” he said. In a message to ICARDA after the meeting, Dr Louis Faoro said, "We will continue our efforts to be as flexible and innovative as possible to help you reach ICARDA’s important project goals. If the present budget configurations for your projects have become obstacles for your managers, we indeed should revise them so they assist rather than detract from your project implementation.

“You introduced the issue of nationalities as a serious problem in your implementation. We are seeking guidance on this from USAID. Perhaps this will alleviate some of the current constraints you feel you have in recruiting qualified professionals. We will advise you on this soonest.

“I hope that our meeting today is the beginning of a closer working relationship between our organizations, both of whom will benefit as a result."

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 countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research 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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