ICARDA Caravan, Issue No. 20/21

From the Director General

he next decade is critical for all stakeholders in development if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially halving poverty and hunger by 2015, are to be met. The challenges are even greater for the world's dry areas where the harsh environmental conditions make agriculture difficult and threaten the livelihoods of millions.

To support the developing countries achieve the MDGs, ICARDA, in 2004, redesigned its research strategy to focus more on poverty alleviation. The 19 research projects, on which the Center's research portfolio was built, were consolidated into six mega-projects for better coherence of research activities. The six mega-projects are: (i) management of scarce water resources and mitigation of drought; (ii) integrated gene management: conservation, improvement and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity; (iii) improved land management to combat desertification; (iv) diversification and sustainable improvement of rural livelihoods; (v) poverty and livelihoods analysis; and (vi) knowledge management and dissemination for sustainable development. In addition, ICARDA is the convening Center for a CGIAR System-wide Eco-regional Program: "Collaborative Research Program for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus."

Water scarcity is a key characteristic feature of dry areas. Most of the countries with massive dry areas are located in ICARDA's eco-regional geographic mandate area—the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region. At least 15 countries in CWANA are already below the "water poverty line." Renewable water resources are limited and rainfall is highly variable and unpredictable. To improve the management of the scarce water resources and to mitigate drought, ICARDA is assessing the available water resources, including precipitation, surface water, ground and marginal water, and developing technologies to increase water-use efficiency on the farm.

Several food, feed, and horticultural crops originated in the CWANA region and their wild relatives and landraces are still found in the area. Having survived for thousands of years in dry, harsh conditions of the region, these genetic resources represent a treasure of useful genes. But, rising populations and degradation of agricultural land is causing their erosion. The global climate change is predicted to make the dry areas of CWANA even drier and hotter, and add to the threat of genetic erosion. ICARDA is working to identify useful genetic resources for use in crop breeding for stable and increased yields and improved nutritional quality, as well as to conserve them for use by future generations.

The CWANA region encompasses a range of agro-ecosystems that have evolved in an environment of climatic extremes. Much of the land is prone to degradation. Some degradation occurs naturally, but in many areas the degradation is accelerated by human activities. They include overgrazing of rangeland, inappropriate land management that encourages soil erosion by wind and water, inappropriate irrigation management leading to salinization, and degradation of the natural vegetation biodiversity. ICARDA aims to identify options for rehabilitating degraded land resources and, at the same time, improve and strengthen systems of land management to control degradation and sustain future production.

However, the challenge of sustainable livelihoods of the people in marginal dry areas cannot be addressed only through improved productivity of crops. Other factors, such as marketing and investment opportunities, diversity of income sources and possibilities for adding value to crop and livestock products need increased attention. Within its redesigned research portfolio, ICARDA will address these aspects as well, and expand its work to cover high-value tree and horticultural crops.

Poverty has many faces. It may be driven by economic, nutritional, social and other aspects. There is an urgent need to better understand the causes and determinants of poverty so that our actions could be targeted to reduce it. ICARDA's new poverty-focused research portfolio places higher emphasis on socioeconomic studies to address these issues.

ICARDA's research efforts would be in vain if the knowledge generated did not reach extension personnel and farmers. The Center, in its redesigned research portfolio, will substantially strengthen its efforts to develop solutions to practical problems confronting development. It will harness the benefits of modern communication and information technologies to disseminate the technological, institutional and policy options developed through research activities to contribute to development programs. It is through the application of these options that we can expect to see increased agricultural production and improved livelihoods.

ICARDA is aware that the ambitious objectives of its research portfolio cannot be met without partnerships. A global research and development partnership—another MDG—is crucial to mobilize the necessary resources and share experiences on pathways to poverty alleviation. The external review panels of ICARDA have always acknowledged the strong partnerships of the Center within CWANA and beyond. The Center will continue to further strengthen its partnerships with national, regional and international institutions and governments to promote agricultural productivity in the dry areas.

This issue of Caravan provides examples of the impact of ICARDA's collaborative research activities and expanding partnerships on improving livelihoods in the dry areas.

Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy
Director General

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