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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 |
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For
more information contact:
Dr Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
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18 May 2005
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ICARDA
Celebrates Presentation Day 2005
“You are going on
a journey to look at the problems of people living in drylands and
some of the solutions that the ICARDA family can offer to these people,”
said Dr Margaret Catley-Carlson, ICARDA Board Chair, in her welcome
address to the distinguished guests at the Center's Presentation Day
on 1 May 2005. ICARDA's annual Presentation Day brings to the Center
ministers, ambassadors and other senior officials from embassies in
Damascus, leaders of national programs, donor and media representatives
and other friends to receive an update on the Center’s progress
during the year.
Dr Catley-Carlson said ICARDA's work is multifaceted and not very easy to understand because some of the research is on crops in the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, while other research focuses on crops grown in dry areas around the world. She pointed out the challenges to agricultural research in conflict and post-conflict regions, saying that research capacities are often shattered by conflict. ICARDA has been at the forefront in the CGIAR efforts to examine the issue of rebuilding agriculture in conflict-ridden areas, she said. Dr Catley-Carlson thanked ICARDA's donors for their continued support that enables the Center to fulfill its mission. "If we didn't have those that express their confidence in ICARDA through financial contributions, the Center would not be working," she said. The Board Chair also thanked the Government of Syria for not only hosting the Center but also for providing it with continued support. Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General, welcomed the guests and presented an overview of the challenges facing dryland agriculture and how ICARDA is addressing them in collaboration with its partners to improve livelihoods of the poor through agricultural research. He emphasized that, if not addressed, poverty in the dry areas of CWANA will lead to other challenges within the region and beyond. "Recent figures from UNDP indicate that WANA is the second poorest region after Sub-Saharan Africa," he observed. He called for a comprehensive approach to address the problems of poverty in the region. The Director General pointed out that ICARDA is seeking to develop a better understanding of rural livelihood strategies through studies of constraints and opportunities, sources of income, access to assets, social and human capital and markets and other institutional infrastructure. "The objective is to provide options for improving the livelihoods of the rural poor through appropriate pro-poor technologies," he said. Prof. Dr El-Beltagy observed that in order to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, which seek to halve poverty by 2015, the Center has sharpened its focus on poverty reduction in its new research portfolio implemented on 1 January 2005. "The new research portfolio ensures continuity of the current activities and additionally accommodates a number of new approaches and avenues in research. These include crop diversification to cover fruit, vegetable and medicinal plants; agribusiness to promote value-added livestock and crop products for better nutrition and increased income generation; integrated pest management to give farmers new options that are economically viable and environmentally-friendly; research for development targeted at greater impact; and knowledge management and dissemination to promote new technologies by end-users," he said. Citing from a recent study commissioned by Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, on how the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved, the Director General noted with concern the big gap in funding to support poverty alleviation efforts. To achieve the goals, an additional US$135 billion will be needed next year, rising to US$195 billion in 2015. "To close this gap, the advanced countries must more than double the proportion of GDP they spend on development aid, from an average of 0.25% at present to 0.54% by 2015. However, the report suggests that aid should be lifted immediately to 0.7% to achieve the millennium goals," he observed. He also said that countries in WANA are not making the required investment in agricultural research. A recent study revealed that the average investment in 18 WANA countries stands at 0.41% of GDP as opposed to 1.5% recommended by the World Bank, EU, and IFPRI. "There is an urgent need to increase national investments in agricultural research," he said. Prof. Dr El-Beltagy thanked all donors to ICARDA for their continued support. He expressed special thanks to the people of Aleppo for their hospitality and to the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic for its continued generous support to the Center. A keynote presentation was made by Dr Hans van Ginkel, Rector of the United Nations University, on "Preparing for Complexity: Water Management and Agro-biotechnology in an Increasingly Complex World." Giving the example of water management experiences in the Netherlands, Dr van Ginkel explained the importance of using new tools of science to manage water resources while protecting the environment. He said that biotechnology could be useful in the utilization of marginal resources such as drylands and saline water; increasing the genetic potential of agricultural crops; and improving the nutritional value of food crops and pest control measures. He called upon governments to develop concrete plans for the biotechnology sector with the involvement of the private sector and academic institutions. Awards for outstanding performance in 2004 were then given to ICARDA staff (more information). After the presentations, the guests visited ICARDA's research facilities and the farm at Tel Hadya. |
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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.