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
15 April 2009
Media contact: icarda-media@cgiar.org
 
Karkheh River Basin projects in Iran: final workshop
ICARDA is leading two projects on improving on-farm water productivity and livelihood resilience in the Karkheh River Basin in Iran, under the CGIAR's Challenge Program on Water and Food. The projects, launched in 2004, are led by Dr Theib Oweis, Director of ICARDA's Integrated Water and Land Management Program, and Dr Adriana Bruggeman, ICARDA Hydrologist; and are supported by ICARDA scientists from various disciplines. They were implemented in two benchmark watersheds in the upper Karkheh River Basin and in two irrigated areas (fresh and saline) in the lower basin. The scope of the projects is impressive – runoff and water use monitoring, drought analysis, erosion modeling, nutrient balance, gender and livelihood analysis, salinity management, biophysical and socio-economic characterization, water policies and institutions, interactions between upper and lower catchments, and capacity building of national research institutions. All technologies were identified and tested jointly with farmers.
Final workshop of the Karkheh River Basin projects in Iran.

The final project workshop was held in Karaj and Tehran, Iran, 2-4 March, and brought together over 150 participants: national research and extension staff, international experts, policy makers, NGO representatives and other stakeholders. The workshop was jointly organized by ICARDA and the Agricultural Extension, Education and Research Organization (AEERO), Iran. Inaugurating the workshop H.E. Dr Jahangir Porhemmat, Deputy Minister and Head of AEERO, commended the results achieved, and pledged support for similar programs in the future. Dr Maarten van Ginkel, ICARDA's Deputy Director General for Research, stressed the importance of partnerships in research, and ICARDA's willingness to broaden these partnerships even further. Dr Theib Oweis described the paradigm shifts that were prerequisites to sustainable agriculture: a sharper focus on water productivity, with more efficient water allocation and management, supported by policies to reflect the real value of this scarce resource.

There were 28 scientific presentations of project findings, structured under five sessions: basin level studies; assessments and technologies for improving water productivity; participatory technology development; integrated watershed management; and socio-economic, livelihood, gender and policy studies.

The presentations were followed by extensive discussions to develop policy recommendations. Six broad recommendations were made, and later presented and discussed at a special session for policy makers:
•
 Promote supplemental irrigation in rainfed agricultural systems.
•
 Provide incentives for farmers to adopt improved practices and new cropping patterns to increase water productivity and farm income in irrigated areas.
•
 Implement agricultural drainage and salinity management technologies in salt-affected areas.
•
 Move from supply-driven to demand-driven research and technology development by enabling farmer participation.
•
 Balance rural development and food security goals with ecological limits in upstream catchments of dry mountains.
•
 Promote chickpea production and marketing to increase farm income.

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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