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)
 
 
3 February 2005
UAE Minister of Agriculture Commends ICARDA
From right to left: H.E. Mr Saeed Al Raqabani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, UAE; Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General; and Dr Ahmed Moustafa, ICARDA-APRP Regional Coordinator.
H.E. Mr Saeed Al Raqabani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, UAE, received Prof. Dr Adel El Beltagy, ICARDA Director General, on 3 January 2005 in Dubai.

The discussions during the meeting included an update on ICARDA's Arabian Peninsula Regional Program activities, especially in the UAE, including research and development to improve fodder, pastures, and water-use efficiency, as well as the production of high-value cash crops under protected agriculture. The date palm project, developed by ICARDA, was also discussed. The project will start this year, and is funded by the membership contributions of the Gulf Cooperation Council to the CGIAR. H.E. Mr Al Raqabani commended ICARDA's training and capacity building activities in the region and requested increased efforts.

Dr Ahmed T. Moustafa, ICARDA-APRP Regional Coordinator; Mr Abdullah Abdul Aziz, Assistant Under Secretary for Agriculture Affairs; and Mr Mohamed Saqr Al Asam, Assistant Under Secretary for Water and Soil, MAF, were also present at the meeting.

During the meeting, Prof. El-Beltagy paid tribute to UAE's late president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, and expressed his condolences to the people of the UAE on behalf of the ICARDA family.

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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