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
For
more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
ICARDA Hosts CBC and CDC Meetings
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| Members of the CBC and CDC and other participants who attended the meetings. |
The CDC meeting was attended by the DGs of all the Centers except IITA and IPGRI. The CBC was attended by the Board Chairs of all the Centers except IFPRI and IITA. The two committees, for the most part, met separately, but held a joint half-day session each on 6 and 7 May. The two Committees also met separately with the Chair and Director of the CGIAR and with the Chair of the Science Council.
The agenda of CBC included discussions on follow-up from the last CBC meeting and working groups, Center reports, evaluation of the CGIAR Board Orientation Program, CGIAR Structure and Membership, donor performance assessment, CGIAR reference guides, and CBC Statement to ExCo VI (Montpellier).
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| During his visit to ICARDA to participate in the CBC/CDC meetings, CGIAR Chair Dr Ian Johnson (second from left) took the opportunity to address the senior staff of the Center on the challenges facing the CGIAR and international agricultural research. Seated with him are Dr Margaret Catley-Carlson (second from right), ICARDA Board Chair; Dr Francisco Reifschneider (left), CGIAR Director; and Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (right), ICARDA Director General. |
The joint CBC and CDC meeting included discussions on Center staff compensation study; reports of the Working Groups on Performance Measurement and Challenge Programs; progress with the CGIAR Open University initiative, System Office and the Future Harvest Alliance; Board Orientation; and the CGIAR Charter. They heard the report of the Review of the Gender and Diversity Program from the Panel Chair, Dr Teresa Fogelberg, and the response to the Review from the Program Leader Dr Vicki Wilde. They also heard a report from Dr K. Fowler on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).
The CBC and CDC had a joint meeting with the SC Chair to discuss System strategy, role of the SC in the Sub-Sahara Africa Task Forces, Performance Measurement and Performance Indicators for donors, Center Reviews, analysis of Challenge Programs, and allocation of donor funding. Jointly, they had an audio-conference with the members of the Task Force responsible for Organizational and Structural Alignment in Sub-Sahara Africa.
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Visit
of CBC and CDC Participants to ICARDA Laboratories and the Farm
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Biotechnology
Laboratory
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Dairy
Processing Laboratory
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Genetic
Resources Unit
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Germplasm
Improvement
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Water
Harvesting Research
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The CDC & CBC members and other distinguished participants took one-and-a-half hours out of their busy schedule on 6 May to get acquainted with the work of ICARDA. After a brief introduction by the Director General Prof. Adel El-Beltagy, Dr Mohan Saxena, ADG (At-Large) and Dr Richard Thomas, Director, NRMP, gave the visitors a tour of ICARDA facilities including the biotechnology laboratory, the genetic resources unit, the sheep unit, and field trials in germplasm enhancement and water management. At each facility they had useful discussions with ICARDA scientists.
The CGIAR Chairman Dr Johnson, and the CGIAR Director Dr Reifschneider were also introduced to ICARDA activities by Dr Willie Erskine, ADG (Research) and Dr Mohan Saxena through a tour of field research plots and laboratories. The distinguished visitors also saw the old underground irrigation system (qanat) on the farm and old cisterns on the hill top at Tel Hadya.
Dr Johnson and Dr Reifschneider had a meeting with ICARDA senior staff in the auditorium of the ICARDA International School on 7 May. In that meeting, Dr Johnson briefed the staff on the current global challenges facing agricultural research and the changes in the CGIAR System. He said that the CG system must continue to change to be in tune with the current trends in development programs, and the changing nature and profile of agriculture in development. To sharpen the focus, there is a move from projects to programs, he said. Also, the CG system needs to be more result oriented, working in long-term partnerships, striving to increase technological productivity while at the same time overcoming ecological constraints, and bearing in mind such issues as gender, globalization, and the role of information technology.
Dr Johnson said the CGIAR has, therefore, focused on improvements in four areas: System governance (to make it more efficient); reduction of committees (striving for a clear focus on science through the Science Council); meeting specific challenges through the Challenge Programs in a time-bound, result-oriented manner; and improving internal efficiency of the System. He noted that as a result of these ongoing changes, the CGIAR has received the best funding ever this year.
However, he observed that the CG System still faces many challenges including: feeding an ever-increasing global population, understanding food marketing systems, capacity building (distance education), coping with changes in science, and issues of trade. He also said that there was a need to increase the membership of CWANA countries in the CG system.
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Visit
of CG Chair and Director to ICARDA Laboratories and the Farm
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Biotechnology
Research (Molecular Markers,
Tissue Culture, etc.) |
Water
Management Trials
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Biocontrol
of Insect Pests
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Small
Ruminant Management
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Agroecological
Characterization using GIS Tools
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Germplasm
Improvement
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Gene
Bank—Medium-Term Storage Facility
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Dr
Reifschneider meeting with a local farmer
from Tel Hadya village |
Dr Johnson said he was highly impressed by the research work of ICARDA, which addresses the complex problems of agriculture in harsh, dry areas. He complimented the staff and Management of ICARDA for their hard work and dedication, and said he was pleased with the opportunity to visit the Center.
In his remarks to the ICARDA staff, Dr Francisco Reifschneider, CGIAR Director, said he was pleased to visit ICARDA for the second time and was very impressed by the progress the Center was making. He said The Week at ICARDA keeps him up-to-date with the events taking place at the Center.
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Taking
Time to Socialize in a Traditional Setting
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The presentation by Dr Johnson was followed by an interesting session of discussions in which several ICARDA staff members asked questions and sought clarifications on some of the issues raised by Dr Johnson in his address.
Several meetings were held on the sidelines of the CBC and CDC sessions: Prof. Dr El-Beltagy, ICARDA DG, along with concerned scientists, had a meeting with Dr Carlos Seré, ILRI DG, to discuss ongoing and future joint projects on small ruminant research. They were both happy over the ILRI/ICARDA joint appointment at ICARDA of Dr Aggrey A. Majok as Project Coordinator/Epidemiologist for the IFAD-funded project "Small Ruminant Health, Improved Livelihoods and Market Opportunities for Poor Farmers in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region." This initiative is indicative of the growing collaboration between the two Centers. Prior to this meeting, Dr Sere spent considerable time with the scientists of the Natural Resource Management Program in discussing the work on small ruminant research at the Center and in identifying avenues where the synergies could be harnessed through collaboration.
Dr El-Beltagy also had a meeting with Dr Masa Iwanaga, CIMMYT DG, with whom he discussed the ICARDA/CIMMYT collaboration in wheat breeding. A joint meeting of the DGs and Board Chairs of the two Centers was also held.
The Chair of IRRI's Board of Trustees, Dr Keijiro Otsuka, a renowned Japanese agricultural economist, had discussions with the Socioeconomics Group of ICARDA. In addition, Dr Otsuka, met with the Japanese scientists at ICARDA to familiarize himself with their work.
Several participants had come with their spouses. A program of visit to historical sites and other places of interest in and around Aleppo was organized for the accompanying spouses.
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.