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
 
 
23 November 2005
Director General Designate of ICARDA Named to Succeed
Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy
Dr Mahmoud El-Solh
Dr Mahmoud Mohamed Bachir El-Solh will be the next Director General of ICARDA after the completion of the tenure of Professor Dr. Adel El- Beltagy in May 2006.

Dr Solh is a Lebanese national who, being the 'son of the soil', knows the ICARDA region and its challenges well. He has been associated with the international agricultural research and development in the dry areas since 1972 when he became a staff member of the Arid Land Agricultural Development (ALAD) Program of the Ford Foundation in the Near East, which was the predecessor of ICARDA. He also knows ICARDA well as he has served the Center for nearly 16 years in the past in various capacities - as Lentil Breeder, Regional Food Legume Breeder in North Africa, and Research Coordinator in the Nile Valley Program, Regional Coordinator of the Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional Program, and finally Assistant Director General for International Cooperation.

It was only three years ago that he left ICARDA, to join FAO as the Director of Plant Production and Protection (AGP) Division. His three-year stay in FAO has provided him opportunity to expand his global perspective of agriculture as a tool for sustainable development and to sharpen his managerial and administrative skills through supervising three major FAO services, viz., Crops and Grassland Service, Plant Protection Service, and Seeds and Plant Genetic Resources Service. During this period in FAO, Dr Solh was also actively involved in the negotiations regarding the international treaty on global genetic resources conservation and use in agriculture, in the development of Global Genetic Diversity Trust, and in the governing Board of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI).

Dr Solh holds a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California, Davis and has an impressive record of scientific publications. He has strong experience in academia and human resource capacity building, having served as Assistant/Associate Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Only last year was he honored by AUB through an award "In Recognition of Outstanding Achievements in the Agricultural Sector."

Dr Solh has enormous experience of donor relations and fund raising within the ICARDA region and beyond. His people skills have been his great asset. He has an in-depth knowledge of the needs and aspirations of the national agricultural research and development systems in the whole of the Central and West Asia and North Africa region. He developed strong bonds with the leaders of the national programs and forged mutually rewarding partnership with the NARS during the period he earlier served as the Assistant Director General for International Cooperation at ICARDA.

With a unique combination of scientific excellence, knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for agricultural research and development in the dry areas of the developing world, familiarity with the Central and West Asia and North Africa Region for which ICARDA has the ecoregional mandate, and excellent interpersonal capabilities, Dr Solh has been an ideal choice to lead the Center to achieve its mission, goal and objectives over the coming years.

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) (http://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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