ICARDA Annual Report 2001

The Highland Regional Program (HRP) serves the needs of agriculture in the high-elevation areas of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey as well as the Atlas mountain area in the Maghreb region. Collaborative activities include seed relief and technical assistance in Afghanistan, germplasm improvement of cereals and food legumes and natural resource management in Iran, exchange of germplasm and the Barani Village Development Project in Pakistan, and the Winter Wheat Improvement Program and Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) in Turkey.

ICARDA DG, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (second from left) at the Arid Zone Research Center with Dr Umar Khan Baloch (left), PARC Chair; Dr Mahmoud Solh (third from right), ICARDA ADG (IC); the Director of AZRC (second from right); and Mr Abdul Majid (right), ICARDA’s national professional officer for the Barari Village Development Project.

A major advance in Iran was made when Parliament granted the CGIAR Centers the status and privileges similar to those for the UN agencies and other international organizations. In addition, opportunities for collaboration increased when government reorganization created a single ministry to handle all agricultural entities and activities, paving the way for ICARDA to become involved in additional areas of agriculture such as range and livestock management. The “First Regional Conference on Yellow Rust in CWANA” took place in May and was attended by some 80 researchers from different countries as well as from ICARDA and CIMMYT. Twenty-five extension personnel and researchers attended a training workshop on the “Transfer of Technology through on-Farm Trials” in May. Over 40 Iranian researchers and 9 ICARDA scientists attended

ICARDA has developed a strong partnership with Turkish NARS, based mainly on the decentralization of activities. During 2001, a number of projects were jointly conducted in winter and facultative wheat improvement, barley for cold areas, and winter-sown lentil. The joint Turkey/CIMMYT/ICARDA Winter Wheat Improvement Program continued to collaborate with NARS in the region. Germplasm is developed and tested in Turkey and Syria before it is dispatched to a large number of sites. Five international nurseries were sent to 30 cooperators in CWANA for testing and selection by NARS. A total of 116 sets of international nurseries were provided to Turkish partners for testing at research institutes and universities.

ICARDA also has a strong collaboration with the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). The GAP/ICARDA collaborative activities include two projects: “On-farm Demonstrations and Seed

the 9th coordination and planning meeting in September. Fourteen Iranian researchers participated in courses on integrated pest management, GIS, molecular markers, expert systems, computing and data management, and scientific writing at ICARDA, while 32 students pursued PhD programs outside Iran.

In Pakistan, ICARDA and national scientists have been working together to share improved germplasm and breeding material, rehabilitate rangelands, and build local capacity. The Center is also building capacity and providing technical assistance in rangeland and livestock management, on-farm water management, soil conservation, and socioeconomics to the Barani Village Development Project in Punjab Province. The transfer of technologies and research methodologies are major areas of emphasis in this project.

Multiplication” and “Improvement of Natural Pastures and Forage Crops and Small Ruminant Production.” Improved and adapted varieties of wheat, barley, lentil, and chickpea have been introduced, along with improved production practices. These are being transferred and adapted through on-farm trials in cooperation with progressive farmers. The introduced material is monitored and evaluated by GAP staff, local extension personnel, and ICARDA scientists. Agriculture in the GAP region is constrained by the lack of quality seed of improved varieties. A project-led workshop was held to raise awareness of the seed supply problem and discuss possible solutions.

Several meetings were jointly organized by GAP and ICARDA in 2001. The planning and the steering committee meetings reviewed and discussed the achievements and approved the work plan for 2001/2002. An international workshop on rural development strategies was held in November. Participants included more than 100 scientists and administrators from GAP and ICARDA, representatives from FAO, NGOs and the Agricultural Research Center of Egypt, Egyptian officials from the Toshka Project, and universities in Turkey. The participants reviewed the existing policies, strategies, and the rural development process in the GAP region, and shared experiences in rural development.

Ten scientist and farmers from Central Asia and the Caucasus attended a regional traveling workshop, visiting on-farm demonstrations in the GAP region and exchanging information and ideas.