Capacity development is an essential component of the GAP/ICARDA collaborative project. The on-farm demonstrations and testing of materials has enhanced the capacity of researchers, extension workers, farmers, and the private sector in the region. Training courses were held in Turkey and at ICARDA headquarters for the project participants. The courses focused on cereal and legume breeding methods; variety management and seed quality assurance; seed production, processing, storage, and marketing; and water management. There were also courses on the use of taxonomic keys of forage legumes, on-farm livestock methodologies, data collection, management, and analysis; strategic livestock feeding; and improvement of milk yields.

A training session on seed processing for GAP staff.

Study tours to ICARDA’s experimental sites and farmers’ fields in Syria were organized. The tours have increased participants’ understanding of the applied research and development activities, germplasm enhancement, and integrated natural resources management, which they are now applying in the GAP region. Four scientists from Dicle and Haran universities were specially trained in breeding methodologies.

Table 4. Training courses provided
Year	Course title		No. of participants
2000	•	Seed supply systems	56
	•	Rangeland monitoring in the pilot village of Kuyulu	11
2001	•	Seed production and marketing	21
	•	On-farm livestock research methodologies	11
	•	Forage, pasture, range and livestock production	10
2002	•	Cereal and legume breeding methodology	4
	•	Data collection and analysis	15
2003	•	Seed processing and storage	6
	•	Variety management and seed quality assurance	2
	•	Use of taxonomic keys of forage legumes	2
	•	Livestock strategic feeding	39
2004	•	Variety management and seed quality assurance	5
	•	Data management and analysis	6
	•	Strategic feeding of small ruminants and improvement of milk yield	20