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
25 November 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
New, Low-Cost Seed Cleaning and Treatment Machine
Seed cleaning and treatment machine fabricated in Syria.
An “On-Farm Quality Seed Production and Appropriate Post Harvest Technology Workshop” was held on 30 October–1 November 2004 in Amman, Jordan. The workshop was part of the UNDP-funded GEF Agrobiodiversity Project which ICARDA is implementing in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Territories. The project carried out field studies which showed that seed quality had a significant impact on the productivity of the major crop species in the region. So, the GEF/UNDP project management team, ICARDA’s Seed Unit, and a Syrian manufacturing company, Darbas, cooperated in fabricating a low-cost seed cleaning and treatment machine for the targeted crops and farmer groups.

The workshop was organized to introduce the new machine to farmers, extension agents, seed technologists and researchers in the four countries. The first half of the workshop was devoted to policy, technology and regulatory issues of on-farm seed production; the second half exposed the participants to the operation, maintenance, trouble shooting and spare part procurement for the new machine.

A total of 14 participants attended the course. Dr van Gastel and Mr Abdul Aziz Niane from ICARDA’s Seed Unit; Dr Ahmed Amri, GEF/UNDP; Dr Siham Assad, GRU; and Mr Shams-El-Din Darbas and Mr Adnan Hamou from the Darbas manufacturing company in Khamishly, Syria, served as resource persons.

The staff of the ICARDA office in Amman provided invaluable assistance and logistical support during the preparation and organization without which the workshop would have not been successful. The contribution of the GEF national partner in Jordan, Dr Ajlouni, and his team was commendable throughout the workshop.

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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