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)
 
 
25 August 2005
Strengthening Partnership with Yemen
H.E. Hassin Omar Sawid, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation (Center) with Prof. Dr Magdy Madkour (third from right), ICARDA ADG, International Cooperation. Other high-ranking officials present at the meeting were (from left): Mr Saleh M.N. Al Beshi, Asst. Deputy Minister, Agricultural Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation; Mr Abdul Malek Kasem Al Thour, General Manager, Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation; Mr Hashim G. A-Shami, FAO Representative in Yemen; Dr Ismail Muharram, Chairman of the Agriculture Research Agency (ARA); and Eng. Abdul Hafid Karhash, Director General for Plant Production, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Yemen.
ICARDA's Assistant Director General for International Cooperation, Prof. Dr Magdy Madkour, visited Yemen in June 2005 to discuss collaborative initiatives with leaders in government, research institutions and projects related to the Center's work in the country. He was accompanied by Dr Ahmed Moustafa, Regional Coordinator of ICARDA's Arabian Peninsula Regional Program (APRP).

On 5 June, Prof. Dr Madkour had a meeting with H.E. Hassin Omar Sawid, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, in his office in Sana'a. They discussed ongoing and future collaborative research activities between ICARDA and Yemen. On behalf of the Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Prof. Dr Madkour invited H.E. Hassin Omar Sawid to visit ICARDA in the near future.

Prof. Dr Madkour also had a meeting with H.E. Abdulla H. Al-Shatter, Deputy Minister for Project Programming, Ministry of Planning and Development, and Mr Nabil A. Shaiban, Director General-in-Charge (Europe and the Americas) in the ministry. H.E. Al-Shatter told Prof. Dr Madkour that the ministry was preparing the Third Five-Year Development Plan for the country. Priority is being given to projects dealing with water and mitigation of drought. ICARDA's activities in irrigated and rainfed agriculture were also discussed. Prof. Dr Madkour briefed the Deputy Minister on ICARDA's research activities including water-use efficiency, production of cash crops, forage species that require less water, and biotechnology.
Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Protected Agriculture Project in Yemen. From left: Dr Ismail Muharram, Chairman of ARA; Dr Ahmed Moustafa, ICARDA-APRP Regional Coordinator; Prof. Dr Magdy Madkour, ADG, ICARDA; Mr Thierry Thuriet, French Embassy; H.E. Abul Malek Al Arashi, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation; and Eng. Abdul Hafid Karhash, General Manager for Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
On 6 June, the first Steering Committee Meeting of the Protected Agriculture Project in Yemen was held. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Dr Madkour. Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Ministry of Planning and Development, the French Embassy in Yemen, and ICARDA participated in the meeting. A progress report was presented by Dr Ahmed Moustafa and the problems and constraints facing the project were discussed.

On 8 June, Prof. Dr Madkour had a meeting with Prof. Dr Saleh Ali Bassurah, President of Sana'a University. They discussed possible joint activities, especially in the area of human recourses and rural development. A draft project for the establishment of an intensive production unit at the university was also discussed.

Prof. Dr Madkour also met with Mr Doven Stockdale, USAID Representative in Yemen, in Sana'a. The meeting was also attended by Dr Moustafa, Mr Wadia Satar of USAID, Eng. Abdul Hafid Karhash from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Mr Greg Olson from the Yemen Agriculture Support Program (YASP), Eng. Arash Nejatian of ICARDA, and Mr Najib Al Hammadi from YASP. They discussed ICARDA's research activities and the use of science and technology for poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods of farmers in the dry areas. Dr Moustafa demonstrated the implementation of Protected Agriculture techniques for cash crop production to increase the incomes of farmers through an efficient utilization of natural resources in Afghanistan and Yemen.

During a field trip organized by Dr Ismail Muharram, Chairman of ARA, Prof. Dr Madkour and his delegation visited Mikhtan Dam area where they saw Protected Agriculture and modern irrigation techniques for maximizing water-use efficiency and increasing farmers' incomes. Dr Khader Atroosh, ICARDA-APRP National Coordinator in Yemen, demonstrated the results obtained from the first production in the greenhouses in terms of yield per unit of water. At Erra research station, ICARDA-APRP activities on rangeland and seed multiplication of indigenous species were demonstrated to the visitors.

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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