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.cgiar.org
12 August 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Regional Workshop on Community Approaches
Participants of the regional workshop on community approaches at ICARDA office in Amman, Jordan.
The UNDP/GEF-supported Dryland Agrobiodiversity Project and the IFAD-supported Integrated Research on Durum Economics Network (IRDEN) project jointly organized a training workshop on 'Community Participatory Approaches' at ICARDA-Amman on 25-29 July 2004. More than 20 participants from the agrobiodiversity project components of Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Authority and Syria; the Turkish and Syrian components of the IRDEN project; and the Jordanian teams of Badia benchmark and “Vallerani” water harvesting projects, attended the workshop. Dr Abdul Nabi Fardous, Director General of NCARTT, opened the workshop and acknowledged ICARDA's efforts to introduce new approaches for encouraging community participation. Dr Ahmed Amri, Regional Coordinator of ICARDA’s West Asia Regional Program and Coordinator of the Dryland Agrobiodiversity Project, welcomed the participants on behalf of ICARDA. The workshop was led by Dr Kamel Shideed, ICARDA’s Natural Resource Economist, who described all the elements necessary for successful community participatory approaches with the help of Dr Ahmed Mazid, ICARDA Agricultural Economist, and Dr Ahmed Amri.

The national teams presented their experiences in applying community participation approaches within their respective projects. A logical framework for inducing effective community participation and empowerment was established during the two days of discussion and a one-day field visit to Al-Harsh, where participants saw a successful example of community-driven action developed within the Mashreq/Maghreb project.

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.cgiar.org) 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 62 members and 16 Future Harvest 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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