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
15 January 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Iraq/ICARDA Coordination Meeting
The ninth Iraq/ ICARDA Biennial Coordination Meeting was held in Amman, Jordan, 16-17 November 2003. Seven scientists from ICARDA, led by Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General, and 12 Iraqi scientists, led by Dr Basil Dalali, First Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, participated in the meeting. Representatives from USAID, JICA and FAO, as well as from the national program of Jordan, also attended the opening session.
Opening session of the ninth Iraq/ICARDA Coordination Meeting. Left to right: Dr Basil Dalali, First Under-Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Iraq; Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General, ICARDA; and Dr William Erskine, Assistant Director General (Research), ICARDA.
At the opening session, Dr William Erskine, ADG (Research), ICARDA, reiterated ICARDA's commitment to rehabilitating agriculture in Iraq in collaboration with Iraqi researchers. In this context he cited the recent successes of ICARDA in rebuilding agriculture in Afghanistan. The Iraq/ICARDA collaboration started in 1979, and the joint program already has an excellent record of progress, he said. The joint achievements include the release of over 18 varieties of cereals and legumes with significant impact on production, evident from the large-scale adoption of the barley variety 'Rihane' in northern Iraq, the safe custody in the ICARDA genebank of precious germplasm collected in Iraq, the development of a community approach by the Mashreq/ Maghreb project, the assessment of economic benefits of supplemental irrigation, technical backstopping, scientific visits and training, including degree training. He also presented a brief on the new project on water-use efficiency to be implemented jointly in Iraq and of potential projects developed jointly with Iraqi counterparts. ICARDA has developed research priorities for CWANA, in collaboration with all partners concerned, including Iraq, he said. The Center now has full responsibility for wheat improvement in the region, consequent upon the termination by CIMMYT of their wheat breeders positions at ICARDA, Dr Erskine added.
Participants of the ninth Iraq/ICARDA Coordination Meeting, held in Amman, Jordan, 16-17 November 2003.

Dr Basil Dalali, in his address, referred to the recent war and damage to agriculture in Iraq, including the irrigation systems, supply of inputs and poultry farming. After the war, facilities for research and seed production have seriously deteriorated, he said. Dr Dalali suggested key measures for the immediate term (rebuilding the Ministry of Agriculture and ensure the supply of inputs for the coming season), medium term (comprehensive review of past policies and approaches for appropriate reforms, improving water-use efficiency, rehabilitation of livestock production systems and re-establishment of veterinary services, privatization of selected enterprises) and long term (move to market- based economy, property rights, rural banking) to rehabilitate agriculture in Iraq. He thanked ICARDA for its continuous support to Iraq over the past 25 years, despite difficult situations faced by the country, and assured his full support to the collaborative efforts.
Dr Ahmed Amri, Regional Coordinator, WARP, highlighted the major achievements of the recent collaborative work between ICARDA and Iraq. These include the ongoing provision of breeding nurseries of cereals and legumes, initiation of participatory barley breeding, survey of insect pests and diseases of cereals, assessment of economic impact of supplemental irrigation and of technologies promoted within the Mashreq/Maghreb project, on-farm water-use efficiency, agroclimatic characterization and initiation of a GIS database. ICARDA has recently arranged for the training of 10 Iraqi scientists at its headquarters, has facilitated the participation of nine scientists in conferences and workshops, and has conducted more than 50 literature searches for researchers and university students. Two ICARDA scientists visited Iraq and two Iraqi scientists recently joined ICARDA to work, respectively, on water and socioeconomic aspects of agriculture.
Iraqi counterparts (Drs A. Adary, Khamis, N.A. Fahad and Al-Rawi) presented the current status of agricultural sector and research system in Iraq, and their recommendations for the rehabilitation of research programs in germplasm enhancement, preservation of genetic resources, seed production, water and soil management, and livestock production and management. ICARDA scientists (Drs Stefania Grando, Ahmed Amri, Tony van Gastel, Kamel Shideed and Richard Thomas) presented ICARDA strategies and research priorities for rehabilitating agriculture in Iraq.
In the session on planning future collaborative actions to rehabilitate agriculture and research systems, Prof. Dr El-Beltagy stressed the importance of the coordination meetings for designing collaborative work plans and strengthening partnerships. He suggested that the collaborative rehabilitation activities should be flexible enough to accommodate new developments, and should follow an agreed order of priority.
Dr Kutaiba Hassan, DG, Industrial Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, presented the assessment of the status and needs of agriculture and agricultural research system in Iraq, developed by the Ministry of Agriculture. He outlined the elements of the future strategy and short-, medium-and long-term actions for agricultural development based on economic efficiency, market-driven approaches, the involvement of the private sector and strengthening the seed sector and research and extension infrastructure. He stressed the need for urgent donor support to translate these action plans into reality.

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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