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
13 May 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Strengthening Ties with NARS in West Asia
Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (center) during his visit to Amman, Jordan on 27-30 April is seen here with (left to right) H.E. Hazem Al-Nasser, Minister of Water and Irrigation and Minister of Agriculture, Jordan; H.E. Said Bin Mohammad Al-Raqabani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, UAE; H.E. Dr Adel Safar, Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Syria; H.E. Mr Sultan Bin Hassan Al-Dosari, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, Qatar; and H.E. Sheikh Fahad Salem Al-Ali Sabah, Chairman and DG of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources, Kuwait.
The 37th General Assembly of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) met in Amman, Jordan 27-30 April 2004. The Arab countries are represented by their respective Ministers of Agriculture in the General Assembly. While attending this AOAD meeting, the Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy took the opportunity to discuss with the Ministers of Agriculture and heads of delegations from participating countries the challenges facing CWANA and seek their increased support to address them.

    In a meeting with H.E. Dr Hazem Al-Nasser, Minister of Water and Irrigation and Minister of Agriculture of Jordan, Prof. El-Beltagy discussed water issues and a proposal to create an Arab Water Council. He suggested to convert the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA) into a regional forum, similar to the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). Plans for a workshop to promote coordination among regional and international organizations were developed. Prof. El-Beltagy and Dr Al-Nasser also discussed the need to reinforce the joint work between ICARDA and the National Components within the Dryland Initiative Project. Dr Awni Taimeh, General Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Jordan, will attend the Steering Committee Meeting of this project, to be held in Paris on 16-17 June 2004.

Prof. Dr A. El-Beltagy (center), Director General, met H. E. Dr. Hazem El-Naser (right), Minister of Water and Irrigation and Minister of Agriculture in Jordan, and Dr Awni Taimeh (left), Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture in Jordan, to discuss issues related to water scarcity in the region and the creation of an Arab Water Council.
    Prof. El-Beltagy held meetings with two delegations from Iraq. The first was with Dr Al-Zubaidi, Dean of Agriculture, Baghdad University; Dr Ali Abed Fahed, Ministry of Science and Technology; and Dr Haitham and Dr Shafiq, professors at the University of Baghdad. The delegation requested to strengthen ICARDA's collaboration with universities and the Institute for Science and Technology by developing joint projects, providing MSc and PhD training, and upgrading laboratory equipment. Prof. El-Beltagy assured the delegation that ICARDA will continue to strengthen its existing collaboration with universities and NARS, and try its best to accommodate the requests of training and equipment through new joint projects or within its regular activities. The delegation will send a list of MSc and PhD students and their area of studies, as well as a list of necessary equipment, including computers, to ICARDA for further action.

   Prof. El-Beltagy then met with Dr Hassan Kutaibeh, Consultant to the Iraqi Minister of Agriculture, and Dr Abdul Aziz Fatah Al Kargolly, Director General of Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture, who were in Amman to attend a World Bank meeting. Three Deputy Ministers have been appointed in the Ministry of Agriculture in Iraq, namely, Dr Sawsan Ali Majed, Dr Hazam Al-Samari, and Dr Sobhy Al-Kabali. They also expressed keen interest in continuing the fruitful collaboration with ICARDA and developing joint projects to rehabilitate the research and extension activities in the country. Both delegations thanked ICARDA for sending high-quality seed of improved varieties of wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and vetches, adapted to different agroecological conditions in Iraq, and the protocols for their on-farm demonstration trials and seed increase program. The protocols are being implemented by Iraqi scientists in different areas of Iraq. These activities had earlier been discussed and finalized during the ICARDA/Iraq biennial coordination meeting held in Amman on 16-17 November 2003.
Prof. Dr El-Beltagy discussed the potential of protected agriculture, as a means of enhancing use efficiency of scarce water, with H.E. Mr Sultan Bin Hassan Al-Dosari, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, Qatar .
    To strengthen ICARDA’s work in Palestine, Prof. El-Beltagy met with H.E. Mr Hikmat Zaid, Minister of Agriculture in the Palestinian Authority. He informed Mr Zaid of ICARDA’s keen interest in rehabilitating the research and extension systems in Palestine. They also discussed new projects, training, and provision of seed that were agreed upon during the recent visit of Dr Azzam Tubeileh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Mr Timothy Rothermel, UNDP Special Resident Representative in Palestine, to ICARDA. They agreed to organize the biennial ICARDA/Palestine coordination meeting in September-October 2004.

    Prof. El-Beltagy also met with other delegations including the Ministers of Agriculture of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, and joined the field visit to the Al-Ghor area in Jordan.

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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