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
4 November 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
El-Bab Dairy Producers Participate in World Meeting of Food Communities
Mr Hassan Al Mousa (left) a dairy farmer from El-Bab, Syria, offered his products to a large number of visitors at Terra Madre.
The producers of dairy products from El-Bab, Syria, might, at first glance, represent a relatively small community of food producers in one corner of the world. But, they are actually part of a much larger global community of small-scale farmers, fishermen, shepherds, and food producers, who face the same challenges of feeding an increasing population in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.

It was this larger community that was the focus of Terra Madre, a meeting of 5000 participants, representing 131 countries and 1200 ‘food communities’ – or groups that are linked by a common product, ethnic identity, region, history, or approach. The meeting was held on 20-23 October 2004 in Turin, Italy.

Terra Madre was opened by Mr Gianni Alemando, Italian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry; Mr Sergio Chiamparino, Mayor of Turin, and Mr Carlo Petrini, President of Slow Food.

Mr Hassan Al Mousa, who is involved in the Small Ruminant Project at ICARDA’s Natural Resource Management Program (NRMP), represented the dairy producers from the El-Bab community in Aleppo, Syria. His display included local cheese (Musanar and Mushallal), Labneh, Kishk, Khuriati, Jameed and Ghee – all of which were produced by his family and were offered to numerous participants to taste.

Terra Madre was designed by Slow Food to bring together thousands of small, specialized food producers from across the globe to discuss sustainable food production, share knowledge and experience, and exchange expertise at the 61 workshops that took place during the meeting.

HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, attended the closing ceremony of Terra Madre and said, “In the world of sustainable food, success cannot be achieved without community: producers, artisans, distributors and retailers who work together with the same passion, philosophy and honesty.”

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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