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.org
29 November 2007
Media contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG), Ravi R. Prasad (r.prasad@cgiar.org)
 
Capacity Building Workshop for Afghan Researchers
Opening session of the capacity building workshop for Afghan researchers on ‘Sustainable Livelihood Analysis, Gender and Poverty Analysis, and Participatory Research’. Right to left: Dr Zaid Abdul-Hadi, Acting DDG Research; Dr Ahmed El-Ahmed, ADG (Government Liaison); Dr Ahmed Sidahmed, Director, DSIPS; and Dr Najibullah Malik, RALF Program Manager.
A capacity building workshop for Afghan researchers on ‘Sustainable Livelihood Analysis, Gender and Poverty Analysis, and Participatory Research’, was held at ICARDA headquarters, 24 November to 3 December. The workshop was sponsored by IDRC and organized by ICARDA under the Research on Alternative Livelihood Fund (RALF) project. This was the second such workshop organized by ICARDA.

Dr Ahmed El-Ahmed, ADG (Government Liaison), welcomed the participants on behalf of Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General. In his opening address, Dr El-Ahmed said that ICARDA was playing a key role in the rehabilitation of agriculture in Afghanistan. "Our cooperation with the national research system in Afghanistan spans several years, and we both have gained from this collaboration."

Dr Ahmed Sidahmed, Director, DSIPS, said that the participation of women at the workshop was encouraging. He also emphasized the fact that both ICARDA and the Afghanistan national system would benefit from the workshop.
Participants of the capacity building workshop for Afghan researchers, held at ICARDA headquarters, 24 November–3 December.
Dr Zaid Abdul-Hadi, Acting DDG Research, said that capacity building was essential for agricultural development in Afghanistan. He also stressed the need to find alternative means of livelihood for farmers engaged in poppy cultivation.
Dr Najibullah Malik, RALF Program Manager, presented the objectives of the workshop.

Some 27 Afghan researchers, policy makers, government officials, NGO staff, and educationists from various Afghan universities, including eight women, attended the workshop. There were two officials from the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, which deals with the illicit poppy cultivation.
 

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org) is one of the 15 international research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ICARDA 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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