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
23 December 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
International Workshop on Grass Pea
From right: Dr S. Fernandez, Coordinator of the CGIAR Systemwide Program on Livestock, ILRI; Dr William Erskine, Assistant Director General for Research, ICARDA; Dr Mohan Saxena, Assistant Director General (At-Large), ICARDA; Dr Ali Abd El-Moneim, Acting Director, Germplasm Program, ICARDA; and Dr Asamoah Larbi, Pasture and Forage Production Specialist, ICARDA.
An international workshop on "Grass Pea as a Food and Feed Crop" was jointly organized by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on 22-25 November 2004 at Tel Hadya, Aleppo. Funded by the CGIAR Systemwide Livestock Program (SLP), the objectives of the workshop were to establish partnerships for research and development on grass pea, share knowledge on grass pea as a food and feed crop, and develop a project proposal to scale-out low-toxin grass pea technologies to improve food security and soil productivity in Africa and Asia. Other than ICARDA and ILRI participants, the workshop was attended by partners from non-governmental organizations, national research and extension institutions, and government representatives from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States of America.

At the opening session on 22 November, Dr Mohan Saxena, Assistant Director General (At-Large) welcomed the participants on behalf of the ICARDA Director General, Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy. "This workshop, organized by two CGIAR centers within the framework of a Systemwide program, is an indicator of the changing methods of work of the entire CG system," said Dr Saxena. The workshop, he noted, deals with a crop important for the poor people in parts of Africa and Asia. He said though grass pea is one of those crops most tolerant to drought and floods, and is very nutritious, the presence of a neurotoxin in its seed makes it a threat to human health. ICARDA has carried out collaborative research on grass pea improvement with various national programs especially in Africa and Asia, and has achieved much success. He expressed the hope that modern tools of science can help to reduce the neuro-toxin content in grass pea seed and make the crop safe as food and feed. Dr Saxena called on the participants to take stock of what has been done so far in grass pea research, share experiences, and plan for the future work.

Participants of the International Workshop on Grass Pea held at ICARDA on 22-25 November 2004.
Dr Ali Abd El-Moneim, Senior Forage Breeder, ICARDA and Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, and Dr S. Fernandez, SLP Coordinator from ILRI, also addressed the opening session. Dr Fernandez elaborated on the work of SLP. He said the program aims to contribute to the goals of the CG and to the Millennium Development Goals through integrated research on livestock feed and natural resources management. The SLP strategy during 2005-2010 will focus on improvement of crops used both for food and feed through increased productivity and sustainability, genetic enhancement, and better crop management. The program will also work on improving feed production through better use of water and soil nutrients, in collaboration with other Systemwide and Challenge Programs; and on integrating feed resources into feeding strategies.

Presentations at the workshop covered applied research and development activities related to grass pea breeding, agronomy, biotic and abiotic stress, human and livestock nutrition, post-harvest processing, epidemiology and prevention of neuro-lathyrism and technology transfer.

Considerable part of the workshop was devoted to discussions on the development of a regional proposal on strategies for sustainable production, dissemination and safe use of low-toxin grass pea cultivars. A six-member working group was formed to prepare the first draft of the regional proposal by the end of February 2005. The group consists of Drs Ali Abd El-Moneim, Asamoah Larbi, and Safouh Rihawi from ICARDA; Colin Hanbury from CLIMA, Australia; Muhair Rahman from BARI, Bangladesh; Peter Nunn from King’s College, London; and Lambein Fernand from IPBO (Institute for Plant Biotechnology for Developing Countries), Belgium.

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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