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
Participants discussed the results of collaborative research conducted in the 2001/2002 growing season, and the workplans for 2002/2003. Discussions covered the improvement of major food crops, namely wheat, barley, faba bean, chickpea and lentil, along with regional cooperation to control the major biotic stresses common in the four countries, such as rusts in wheat, wilt and root-rots in food legumes, and aphids and viruses in cereals and legumes.
The meeting was inaugurated by Dr Mohamed Khalifa, President of the Agricultural Research Center, Egypt, on behalf of H.E. Prof. Dr Youssef Wally, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and Dr William Erskine, ICARDA Assistant Director General for Research, who represented Director General Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy.
Participants included the directors and some 100 scientists from national agricultural research systems (NARS) in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, and senior scientists from ICARDA, including the NVRSRP Regional Coordinator, Dr Habib Halila.
The Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development, Sudan; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; the African Development Bank, and German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) also sent representatives.
The Heads of NARS and ICARDA’s ADG–Research and Coordinator of NVRSRP later met with H.E. Prof. Dr Wally and briefed him on the outcome of the coordination meeting.
This year's regional meeting also afforded the opportunity to hold the first Regional Technical Coordination and Steering Committee Meeting of the project entitled "Enhancing Food Security in the Nile Valley and Red Sea Region: Technology Generation and Dissemination for Sustainable Production of Cereals and Cool-Season Food Legumes," which is being supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and is due to run for three years.
The experience of Egypt in the area of conservation and management of natural resources, especially soil and water, was presented to the participants from the other Nile Valley countries and discussed in working group sessions to help plan next steps.
Steering
Committee Meeting
The NVRSRP Steering Committee met in Cairo on 16 October 2002. During the
meeting, Prof. Dr El-Beltagy expressed appreciation to the NARS representatives
for their dedication and effort in maintaining the momentum and spirit of
the Program. He reiterated ICARDA's strong support.
ICARDA Honors NARS Leaders in Nile Valley and Red Sea Region
On the occasion of the Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional Program (NVRSRP) 12th
Regional Coordination Meeting held in Cairo, 14-17 October 2002, ICARDA Director
General Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy took the opportunity to recognize the outstanding
contributions made by some former national agricultural research system leaders.
Awarded plaques in honor of their contributions to agricultural research and
development and to the enhancement of NVRSRP were: Dr Fawzi Naim, former President
of the Agricultural Research Center, Egypt; Dr Seyfu Ketema, ICARDA Board
Member and former Director General of the Ethiopian Agricultural Research
Organization (EARO); and Dr Osman Ageeb, former Director General of the Agricultural
Research Corporation, Sudan.
ICARDA's (www.icarda.org) mission is to improve the welfare of people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world by increasing production, productivity, and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. ICARDA is a Future Harvest Center.
