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 May 2005
Annual Board of Trustees Meetings
Members of ICARDA's Board of Trustees. First row, left to right: Dr Teresa Fogelberg, Chair of Audit Committee; Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General (ex-Officio member); Dr Margaret Catley-Carlson, Chair, Board of Trustees; Dr Peter Franck-Oberaspach, Vice-Chair, Board of Trustees (until 30 April 05); and Dr Bassam Al-Sibai, Member. Middle row, left to right: Dr Gareth Wyn-Jones, Chair, Program Committee; Dr Abdelmajid Slama, Member; Dr Kjersti Larsen, Member; Dr Abbas Keshavarz, Chair, Nomination Committee; Dr Guido Gryseels, Member; and Dr Magd Jamal, Member. Top row, left to right: Dr Seyfu Ketama, Vice-Chair, Program Committee; Dr Michel Afram, Member; Dr David Sammons, Member; Dr Mohamed Zehni, Vice-Chair, Board of Trustees (as from 1 May 05); and Dr Shinobu Inanaga, Member.
Annual meetings of ICARDA’s Board of Trustees and its committees were held on 24-30 April 2005 at the Center’s headquarters. The Program Committee held its meetings on 25-26 April, while the Audit and Nomination Committee meetings were held on 28 April. Sessions of the full Board of Trustees were held on 29-30 April.

Dr Margaret Caltey-Carlson, Board Chair, and Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General, organized an orientation program for the new Board Members on 24 April, which was attended by full Board. In their presentations, Dr Catley-Carlson and Prof. Dr El-Beltagy covered a wide range of ICARDA and CGIAR activities, including a summary of ICARDA's mandate and mission, strategy, partnerhips, NARS priorities, research portfolio changes, structure and working of the CGIAR and its committees and the on-going change process in the System.

The Board members organized themselves into three "Oversight and Dialog Groups" and held discussions with ICARDA senior staff on 25 April. The three groups focused on: Water and Drought, Knowledge Dissemination, and Livelihood Strategies. The Dialog Groups then presented their reports to the Program Committee on 26 April. The reports highlighted the benefit from the free and frank discussions with the staff members and made recommendations for consideration of the Board and Management of ICARDA.

 During the opening session of the Program Committee meeting, the Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, welcomed the Board members and ICARDA scientists. He said that the Program Committee sessions help the members of the Board of Trustees get better acquainted with the work of ICARDA. He explained that from January 2005 ICARDA started implementing a new programmatic structure under six mega-projects. He then introduced the new directors of the mega-projects to the Board Members.

Dr William Erskine, Assistant Director General (Research), presented ICARDA’s research portfolio for 2006-2008. He explained that the focus of the Center’s research on priorities identified by CWANA stakeholders for agricultural research, is consistent with the new priorities of the Science Council of the CGIAR, and cognizant of global and CGIAR trends and changes.

ICARDA scientists made presentations to the Program Committee on the objectives, activities and expected outputs of the six mega-projects; the wheat improvement strategy; activities in Challenge Programs; inter-center collaboration; ICARDA’s strategic planning; and updates on activities in conflict and post-conflict areas.
Dr Calvin Qualset
A draft report of the Center Commissioned External Review (CCER) of the Integrated Gene Management was presented to the Program Committee by the Chair of the review panel, Dr Calvin Qualset, Research Professor, Professor Emeritus, University of California. Updates on CCERs of natural resource management, chaired by Dr Donald C. Slack, University of Arizona, and human capacity building, chaired by Dr Richard A. Jones, Yale University, were also presented.

The Program Committee also held in-depth group discussions with ICARDA scientists on water and drought; knowledge management and dissemination; and livelihoods improvement. Members of the Board of Trustees expressed satisfaction with the progress being made by the scientists, especially the increased attention to issues of water scarcity and productivity.

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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