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
21 October 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Palestinian Minister of Agriculture Opens the
Palestine/ICARDA Coordination Meeting
H.E. Dr Ibrahim Abu El-Naja (second from left), Minister of Agriculture, Palestine, speaking during the opening session of the Palestine/ICARDA Biennial Coordination Meeting. Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, ICARDA Director General (second from right); H.E. Dr Azzam Tubeileh (right), Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Palestine; and Dr Mohan Saxena (left), ICARDA ADG (At-large), listen to the Minister.
The Palestine/ICARDA Biennial Coordination Meeting was held at ICARDA headquarters on 7-8 October 2004. The Palestine delegation was led by H.E. Dr Ibrahim Abu El-Naja, Minister of Agriculture, and included: H.E. Dr Azzam Tubeileh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture; Dr Walid Abd Rabboh, Consultant to the Minister; Mr Shaker Joudeh, Deputy to the Deputy Minister; Dr Ali Fataftah, Director of the Palestine National Agricultural Research Council; Mr Abdallah Al-Laham, UNDP Representative in Palestine; and Mr Younis Sbeih, Project Coordinator for the GEF/UNDP-funded Project. The team of ICARDA scientists was led by the Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy. The meeting reviewed the ongoing collaboration and identified areas for future programs.

At the opening session, H.E. Dr Abu El-Naja expressed the hardships faced by the Palestinian people due to the ongoing conflict. He said that with the rising population, the demand for food has increased dramatically; however, given the production constraints, local production is not enough to meet the growing demand. ICARDA's research can contribute to the achievement of food security and improvement of the livelihoods of rural communities in Palastine, he said.
Strengthening the Palestine/ICARDA collaboration: H.E. Abu El-Naja (left), Minister of Agriculture, Palestine, and the ICARDA Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (right), signed a memorandum of understanding for increased collaboration between the Center and Palestine in agricultural scientific research.
Noting that food is used as a weapon in the current conflict, the Minister said there can be no real independence without having enough capacity for food production at national level. He expressed the determination of the Palestinian Authority to continue with efforts to develop the agricultural sector and improve the well-being of Palestinian farmers. He thanked ICARDA for the impact of its work in Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA). "You have really made noticeable changes in the agricultural sector in the CWANA region. These achievements deserve our respect and appreciation," he said.

Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy reiterated ICARDA's commitment to support agricultural production in Palestine, working with the national agricultural research system and international organizations. ICARDA is one of the first international organizations to work on agricultural development in Palestine, he said. He noted that during the past decade of collaboration between Palestine and ICARDA, more than 82 Palestinians have been trained by ICARDA, and germplasm for cereals and legumes has been provided through two projects implemented jointly in the Palestinian territories. He thanked UNDP and other donors that are supporting agricultural research projects in the Palestinian Territories.

"While we pray everyday for the ending of the suffering of the Palestinian people and for their prosperity, ICARDA is committed to continue working in Palestine and to play a lead role in the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector in general and the research and development actions in particular," Prof. El-Beltagy said.
Dr Ahmed Amri, ICARDA Coordinator of the Regional Biodiversity Project, and Regional Coordinator of WARP, gave an overview of the Palestine/ICARDA collaboration. Since the initiation of the collaboration in 1994, more than 11 meetings have been held with high-ranking officials from Palestine; memoranda of understanding were developed with the Ministry of Agriculture and with the Environment Quality Authority; and collaboration has started with major development organizations in the Palestinian Territories.
Thcated in the Palestine/ICARDA Biennial Coordination Meeting, 7-8 October.

There has also been repatriation of genetic resources and nurseries which have included: 600 accessions of cereals and legumes; seeds of feed legumes for rangeland rehabilitation; nurseries of cereals and food legumes provided until 2000; and provision of seeds of wild fruit trees for reforestation efforts. Other activities have included capacity building, technical backstopping, access to information and documentation, and development of joint projects (Dryland Agrobiodiversity and Dryland Initiative). In addition, ICARDA has helped in drafting concept notes for new projects on medicinal and aromatic plants and on preventing land degradation and agrobiodiversity loss.

The Palestinian counterparts ( Dr Ali Fatafta, Mr. Younis Sbeih, and Dr Shaker Joudeh) made presentations on the challenges facing agricultural development in the Palestinian territories and the major achievements of the Dryland Agrobiodiversity protect and identified areas for further collaboration. The report on the Dryland Initiative project, prepared by Mr Issa Baradeiyyeh, was presented by Dr Amri as Mr Baradeiyye, unfortunately, was unable to get permission to cross the border to attend the meeting. The main achievement of the Dryland Initiative project was the introduction of a variety of plants to improve production, minimize land degradation, and diversify feed resources. Different plant species were planted on an area of 25 ha of land at three locations for demonstration to the farmers in the region. The Dryland Agrobiodiversity project has distributed more than 500,000 seedlings of medicinal plants, multiplied over 6500 wild relatives of fruit trees, increased awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation, and worked on policy and legislative reforms.

Priority areas for future collaboration include: genetic resources and biodiversity conservation; integrated natural resources management mainly on management of scarce water; use of GIS/RS tools, integrated pest management, rangeland rehabilitation, property rights and policy development; and rehabilitation of agricultural research. The Palestinian delegation emphasized that each future project should include: solving technical problems and production constraints to increased productivity and incomes of Palestinian farmers and contribute to sustainable agriculture development including environmental protection; human resource development to strengthen national agricultural research; and provisions for capital items to support research facilities.

The Palestinian delegation also visited ICARDA's laboratories and other facilities to acquaint themselves with the work of the Center. At each laboratory, they held discussions with ICARDA scientists on key elements of the Center's research programs.

Although its contribution to GDP is less than 6%, agriculture plays an important role in the Palestinian economy. It offers jobs to 30% of the population and has the potential to contribute to food security.

His Excellency Dr Abu El-Naja and Prof. Dr El-Beltagy signed a memorandum of understanding for increased collaboration in the field of agricultural research and human resource capacity building for rebuilding the agriculture sector in the Palestinian Territorie.
Palestinian Delegation Visits ICARDA Facilities
At the biotechnology laboratory the Palestinian delegation and ICARDA scientists discussed the use of new tools of science in plant breeding. H.E the Minister and his delegation were also introduced to ICARDA’s genebank which holds in trust more than 131,000 accessions of crops and forage species and wild relatives.
A visit to the virology laboratory. The delegation discussing ICARDA’s work on geographical information systems and remote sensing.

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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