 |
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
|
||
|
Media
contact:
icarda-media@cgiar.org
|
|||
|
Iraq,
ICARDA, IFAD launch new project
|
|||
A
new 4-year project in Iraq, funded by IFAD and implemented jointly
by ICARDA and the Iraqi national program, has begun. The inception
workshop was held at ICARDA headquarters, 25-26 January.
The project, titled Improved livelihoods of small producers in Iraq through integrated pest management and organic fertilization, will cover two major agro-ecologies: rainfed wheat-and-food-legume systems in northern Iraq (Ninevah province), and irrigated date palm systems in central and southern Iraq. These agro-ecologies represent much of the country's agricultural production, and are key to ensuring food security. Both systems face problems of low productivity, unimproved farming practices, unsustainable resource use, and high poverty levels among small-scale farmers. They also have specific issues, notably wheat and chickpea diseases in one case, insect pests (affecting date yield and quality) in the other. The project aims to address all these issues through a comprehensive, farmer-participatory approach. Project activities will cover four broad areas: integrated pest management (IPM), organic fertilization, socio- economics and policy research, and capacity building activities targeting farmers, technical staff and extension agents. Inception workshop The inception workshop was attended by 14 senior officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, including the heads of several major national institutions. They included Dr Saleh Bader, Director General, State Board for Agricultural Research; Dr Hamid Ali-Hadwan, Director General, National Center for Organic Agriculture; Dr Faraoun Ahmed Hussain, Director General, Date Palm Board; Dr Hadi Mahdi Aboud, Director General, Directorate of Agriculture Science Department; Dr Hussein Fadil Mohammed Ali, Director General, Ministry of Science and Technology; and Dr Hameed Mohammed Jawad Radi, Director General, General State Board for Plant Protection. H.E. Hazem Baker Al-Suhail, the Iraqi General Consul in Aleppo, also attended, and later hosted a dinner for the participants. Opening the workshop, Dr Mahmoud Solh, ICARDA Director General, noted that the project was being launched amidst a global food crisis, and rapid growth in food imports by Iraq and other countries in the region. "Food security is at risk," he said. "We need to reduce production costs, scale out new farming technologies to small-scale farmers, and ensure sustainable increases in food production.”
Dr Saleh Bader expressed his appreciation of the project goals and structure, and of ICARDA's long-standing collaboration with the national program. "We have worked together on many projects for the past 20 years," he said. "ICARDA has always been a good partner and a good advisor." Dr Bader also noted the potential of IPM and organic fertilization methods to simultaneously improve yields and reduce pesticide use. Dr Maarten van Ginkel, ICARDA DDG-Research, described ICARDA's research structure and its role at various stages in the research-for-development continuum, from strategic research to farmer interaction. He noted that the project, in addition to its primary targets, could also generate additional benefits, such as increased availability of crop residues for livestock fodder, composting or other uses. In particular, he suggested active linkages between project outputs and small-ruminant production systems. Dr Kamel Shideed, ICARDA ADG-ICC, noted the excellent linkages to other initiatives such as the ACIAR-ICARDA conservation agriculture project in northern Iraq and the GCC date palm project, and the potential for building on previous achievements. He also commended the Iraqi commitment to the project, reflected in the participation of a range of national institutions. "This will be vital for outscaling project results, and later, for mainstreaming project technologies and approaches into the national development framework." Dr Nasri Haddad, Coordinator of ICARDA's West Asia Regional Program, provided an overview of the project objectives, structure and expected results. "We will address the broad issues of productivity, sustainability and income, as well as specific biotic stresses in each agro-ecology, including wheat stem rust, Sunn pest, insect pests of date palm, and ascochyta blight of chickpea." He emphasized that monitoring and evaluation and detailed impact assessments would be built into the project design. The workshop was structured under four sessions:
Follow-up activities The project's first Steering Committee Meeting was held at ICARDA on 27 January, immediately following the inception workshop. Major outcomes included:
|
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.