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)
Tajikistan Minister of Agriculture Praises ICARDA's Work
H.E. Dr Voris Madaminov (center), Minister of Agriculture, Republic of Tajikistan; Acad. Bobo Sanginov (left), President, Tajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Dr Raj Paroda, Regional Coordinator, ICARDA-CAC.
A national planning and coordination meeting for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) project entitled “Improving Rural Livelihoods through Efficient On-Farm Water and Soil Fertility Management in Central Asia” was held on 2 April 2004 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. H.E. Dr Voris Madaminov, Minister of Agriculture, Republic of Tajikistan; Dr Raj Paroda, Regional Coordinator, ICARDA-CAC; and about 40 scientists participated in the meeting which reviewed the progress of the project and developed a technical work plan for 2004.

    Dr Paroda took the opportunity during the meeting to discuss the on-going ICARDA activities in Tajikistan and other countries of  Central Asia and the Caucasus. H.E. Dr Voris Madaminov praised the work of ICARDA and other international agricultural research centers involved in collaborative programs for their role in "activating research in Tajikistan, evident in the results on farmers’ fields." He was particularly happy with the progress in varietal improvement, genetic resources conservation, and natural resource management.

    The Minister also highlighted the importance of the ADB-funded project on "On-Farm Soil and Water Management," which has provided the resource-poor farmers of Tajikistan with low-cost and effective technologies for crop diversification, conservation tillage, cotton-wheat rotation, terracing and mulching, drip and sprinkler irrigation, as well as salinity and drainage management. He acknowledged ICARDA's support in the establishment of a Genetic Resources Center, including a cold storage facility, at the Tajik Research Institute of Farming.

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.
Back