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)
 
 
17-24 February 2005
Workshop on Sustainable Agricultural Development
for Marginal Dry Areas in Syria
Farmers from Khanasser Valley exchange ideas with researchers during the workshop on Sustainable Agricultural Development.
More than 120 farmers, researchers, policy makers, development workers and extension officers participated in the ‘Sustainable Agricultural Development for Marginal Dry Areas Workshop,’ held at ICARDA headquarters on 12-13 January 2005. The workshop was organized within the context of the BMZ-funded project on ‘an integrated approach to sustainable land management in the dry areas.’ The partners in the project are the Khanasser farmers, the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, Bonn University in Germany, and ICARDA.

The workshop was based on lessons learned from ICARDA’s work in Khanasser Valley, and aimed to improve understanding among the different stakeholder groups; discuss and evaluate technical and institutional innovations for marginal environments with a multi-stakeholder interest group; identify potential target groups; and determine ways through which stakeholders could play a more active role in stimulating sustainable agricultural development in Syria’s agro-ecological Zone 4.

At the opening session, Dr Ahmed El-Ahmed, Director of the Government Liaison Office of ICARDA, welcomed the participants to the Center on behalf of the Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy. Dr El-Ahmed called for increased collaboration among the various stakeholders in order to improve livelihoods of the people in marginal dry areas. He assured the participants of ICARDA’s continued support in this regard.

Dr Richard Thomas, Director of the Desertification Program at ICARDA, said that the poor in drylands are the most affected by desertification, so their ideas and knowledge should be considered when trying to develop these areas. “Rather than importing solutions developed for different conditions, dryland development should respect local knowledge, needs, priorities, traditions, values, resources and comparative advantages,” he said. He added that, though recent studies are showing greater returns to development investments in drylands than elsewhere, real and daunting challenges remain, such as persistent poverty, recurrent droughts, water shortages, impending climate change, globalization, and degradation of the fragile resource base.

Dr Fares Al-Asfary from the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria emphasized the need for a participatory approach involving all stakeholders if the problems of dry areas are to be overcome. He was happy to note that the project is achieving the intended objective to evaluate land use and management options in Khanasser Valley. Dr Armin Rieser from Bonn University presented the background of the Khanasser Valley project. He noted that results of the project will be utilized at various levels by the stakeholders. A representative of the farmers, Mr Mohamed Al-Toemeh, thanked ICARDA for enabling farmers to participate in such fora where issues that concern them are discussed.

In order to stimulate discussions, the workshop included 4 sessions with 16 parallel sessions. In total, 12 options for dry marginal areas were presented and reviewed: lamb fattening, irrigation and water quality, olives, barley varieties, cumin, vetch, Atriplex alley cropping, seed priming, phospho-gypsum, local diary institutions (Jabban) and micro-credit. The various stakeholders (i.e. farmers, extension, researchers and policy makers) were separated for the last parallel sessions. Each group was asked to rank the options, define how they could better contribute towards sustainable livelihoods in the dry marginal areas, and what they expect from other stakeholders. The results of these sessions were used as a basis for a plenary discussion.

Participants of the Sustainable Agricultural Development for Marginal Dry Areas in Syria Workshop, 12-13 January 2005.

Dr Francis Turkelboom, ICARDA’s Soil Conservation/Land Management researcher, said the workshop would lead to another national-level workshop, which will be held in Damascus to present the findings of this workshop to policy makers. At the closing session, Dr Richard Thomas assured the participants that, though this particular project is coming to an end this year, ICARDA will continue working with farmers and other stakeholders in Khanasser Valley to improve the livelihoods in these areas.

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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