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)
 
 
22 September 2005
Improving the Market Chain of Capers in Syria
A caper shrub growing in the wild.
In an effort to supplement their incomes, some of Syria’s nomadic communities recently started collecting wild capers (Capparis spinosa L.)–a spiny perennial shrub adapted to dry, hot environments with intense sunlight. Its flower buds are used in European cuisine. Research on caper cultivation and processing is limited, and there has been no institutional support for the development of a Caper market in Syria.

ICARDA, IPGRI, and the Rural Community Development Project of the UNDP and the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in Jabal al Hoss (RCDP), organized a stakeholders' meeting on 25 August in Roweheb village in Jabal al Hoss to discuss possible ways of developing a strong market for capers and reducing the risk associated with its cultivation.

About 45 stakeholders from various sectors attended the meeting including local collectors (5 women), a chief collector, traders, processors, exporters, researchers from the University of Aleppo, the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (Department of Agriculture); and representatives from RCDP Jabal al Hoss, the Aga Khan Foundation, Syrian European Business Center, the General Commission for Scientific Research (GCSAR), Syria, the Directorate of Agriculture– Agricultural Research Center, and Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Syria.
Samples of the processed caper products.
The group identified constraints and opportunities for the development of a caper market. In the existing market chain, women and children of various local communties collect the caper flower buds and store them in plastic bottles with salt and water. A chief collector, who is responsible for the collections in a certain area, liaises with a middleman who sets the prices. A private enterprise then stores the capers from the various villages and sells them to Turkish traders, who eventually bottle them after adding preservatives and vinegar and sell them in the European market.

One of the major constraints to the development of the caper market in Syria is the lack of knowledge of the best practices for caper cultivation. National research institutions and universities could help identify high quality, spineless cultivars to reduce the problems in collection and supply. The group also discussed the role of policy-makers in developing a caper market and the feasibility of developing a Syrian product for the export market.

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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