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
                                 Media contact: Dr Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
 
20 October 2005
National Seed Seminar in Uzbekistan
Participants at the National Seed Seminar on Wheat and Legume Seed Production held in Uzbekistan.
A National Seed Seminar on Wheat and Legume Seed Production was held on 27–28 September 2005 in Tashkent under the FAO-TCP project, for which ICARDA Regional Office in Tashkent is providing technical backstopping. Dr Amir Amanov, Advisor on Agriculture in the President's Office, and Dr Victor Shevtsov, FAO expert, co-chaired the opening session.

The meeting was inaugurated by Dr Tashboltaev, First Deputy Director General of Uzbek Scientific Production Center for Agriculture. He emphasized the importance of good quality seed in achieving higher productivity and called for effective linkages with international centers to strengthen seed production and processing capabilities in Uzbekistan.

During the seminar, Dr Raj Paroda, Regional Coordinator, ICARDA-CAC, presented a special lecture highlighting the important role played by ICARDA and CIMMYT in seed development activities including germplasm supply, testing and release of new varieties and their seed multiplication. He briefed participants on the joint activities on seed production in Uzbekistan, highlighting the following points:
• Annually 8000 accessions of wheat and 1000 accessions of legumes from various nurseries are made available in the region. As a result, the wheat variety 'Dostlik' was recently released, and eight varieties of winter wheat and two of triticale are currently with the State Varietal Testing Committee. Two new wheat varieties are likely to be released soon.
• ICARDA-CAC has facilitated renovation of Uzbek Gene Bank at Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry, which holds around 12,000 accessions, including those of wheat. ICARDA-CAC has also helped in collecting cereal and legume germplasm and trained scientists for PGR documentation and conservation activities.
• A regional trial is being established for the first time using all promising varieties from each participating country.
• Five hundred F2 populations are being made available by ICARDA this year for selection in the region. Emphasis is given to producing good quality seeds of improved HYV, both under ICARDA and CIMMYT-GTZ programs. 'Dostlik' is the best example. Uzbekistan now has 6,000 tons of seeds of this variety produced. This new variety covered around 10,000 ha last year.
• CIMMYT is training farmers and the private sector for seed production under the GTZ project.
• FAO-TCP is the first step in strengthening and reviewing the seed system and training specialists, while another regional TCP is being planned for seed harmonization.
• Facilities at Galla-Aral and Andijan Research Institutes are being developed with support from ADB and FAO.

Dr Paroda emphasized the need to review existing laws and harmonize them with the world standards such as ISTA and UPOV.

Dr Amir Amanov reported on the status of wheat production in the country. He informed participants that the record harvest of 6 million tons of wheat has been achieved this year with an average yield of 4.6 t/ha (compared with 2.2 t/ha a decade ago) covering 1.2 million hectares of irrigated area. Dr Amanov informed participants of the successes achieved in the recent past, such as: (i) the grain import dropped to zero from 3.7 million tons in the 1990s; (ii) the country achieved grain sufficiency in 2003; and (iii) it started exporting wheat in 2004.

For more information contact: Dr Raj Paroda

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.
Back