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
17 June 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
GAP Delegation Visits ICARDA
Mr Refet Yilmazoglu (center), GAP Regional Director, told Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (left), ICARDA Director General, that GAP farmers were increasingly adopting cereal and legume varieties derived from ICARDA germplasm. Standing behind is Mr Mehmet Emin Akil, farmer representative, and on the right, Dr Moussa Mosaad, ICARDA/GAP Coordinator.
A group of 11 agro-pioneer farmers and senior officials from the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) in Turkey visited ICARDA on 1-4 June 2004 to get acquainted with ICARDA’s applied research and development activities and technology transfer programs. The delegation included Mr Refet Yilmazoglu, GAP Regional Director; Mr Mehmet Altun, Provincial Director of Agriculture; Mr Abdulkadir Surucu, Director of the Rural Affairs Agricultural Research; Mr Cetin Sen, Agriculture Engineer, GAP, MOM, from Sanliurfa, and Mr Mustafa Calpan, Agriculture Engineer, GAP, MOM, from Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Dr Samir El-Sebae Ahmed, HRDU Head, welcomed the delegation on behalf of the Director General and briefed them on the Center’s activities in germplasm enhancement and natural resource management, as well as its efforts in strengthening national agricultural research systems and improving the welfare of farmers in the region. Dr Ahmed stressed ICARDA’s support to, and active collaboration with Turkey in general and the GAP project in particular. Dr Moussa Mosaad, the ICARDA/GAP Coordinator, also welcomed the delegation and reviewed various project-related activities.

The delegation met with ICARDA researchers involved in wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, forage legumes, seed production, farm machinery, livestock production, water harvesting, and conservation tillage. The delegation also visited the General Organization for Seed Multiplication (GOSM), and progressive farmers in Aleppo.

Before returning to Turkey, the delegation members met with Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General, and Dr W. Erskine, ADG (Research), and expressed their deep appreciation and gratitude for ICARDA’s contribution to increasing farm income and improving the welfare of the GAP farming community. The delegation informed Prof. El-Beltagy of the adoption of several improved cereal and legume varieties, especially the lentil variety, ‘Idlib-2.’ by GAP farmers. Prof. El-Beltagy agreed to provide the GAP project with one ton of quality seed of ‘Idlib-2’ as this variety will be released in Turkey soon.

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