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
8 January 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
Voices of Chickpea Farmers

Dr Mohan C. Saxena (center), Assistant Director General (At-Large), ICARDA, and Dr Afif Ghouneem (second from right), Director, Crop Directorate, GCSAR, Syria, welcomed the visiting farmers to ICARDA in the company Dr Rajinder Malhotra (left), Dr Faisal Maya (second from left) and Dr Ali Abd El-Moneim (right).
“I harvested 3 tonnes per hectare in west Idleb," announced Mr Moneef Al-Mawas proudly. He was one of the 150 farmers who had come from Aleppo, Idleb, and Al-Ghab to ICARDA to participate in a Chickpea Farmers' Day, organized jointly by ICARDA and the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, on 15 December 2003 at the Center's headquarters. This was the highest recorded yield of winter kabuli chickpea in a farmer's field in northern Syria in 2002/03; other farmers reported a yield of at
least 1.5 tonnes per hectare. These farmers had received the seed of 'Ghab 3,' an improved winter chickpea variety, from ICARDA in 2002 as part of the transfer of technology efforts of the ICARDA/Syria Collaborative Project. The yields of local varieties, traditionally sown in spring, do not reach even 1 tonne per hectare.
     The key objective of the event was to share the latest advances in winter chickpea technology with farmers and obtain their feedback on its performance. ICARDA scientists along with representatives from the General Commission for Scientific and Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Extension Directorate, the General

Over 150 chickpea farmers from the different provinces of Syria gathered at ICARDA to share their experience with researchers of using winter chickpea technology.
Organization of Seed Multiplication (GOSM), and Aleppo Agriculture Chamber, participated in the deliberations with the farmers.
     Dr M.C. Saxena, Assistant Director General (At-Large), welcomed the participants to ICARDA on behalf of Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy, Director General. He recapitulated the history of collaborative winter chickpea research with the national program of Syria and praised the success achieved. The idea of sowing chickpea in winter, instead of the traditional spring sowing, was conceived in the 1970s, with a view to take advantage of winter rainfall, he said. Dr Afif Ghouneem, Director of Crop Directorate in GCSAR, stressed the need to further strengthen the relationship between ICARDA, GCSAR, Extension Directorate, and GOSM for successful transfer of winter chickpea technology. Dr Faisal Maya, Director, Office of the Government Liaison and Coordinator of the ICARDA/Syria Collaborative Project, presented an overview of the activities of the Project. Dr Ali Abd El-Moneim, Acting Director of Germplasm Program (GP), voiced the support of GP to the farmers in solving their chickpea production problems. Dr Rajinder Malhotra, Senior Chickpea Breeder, ICARDA, presented an overview of the advances made in winter chickpea technology, based on farmer's feedback and field observations. This was followed by presentations by the Project scientists on agronomy and weed control, plant protection, quality seed production, and economics of chickpea production. ICARDA's Farm Manager, Dr Jürgen Diekmann, then explained the use of various implements for tillage, sowing, weeding, spraying, harvesting and threshing of chickpea. Mr Nabil Trabulsi, Assistant National Coordinator, ICARDA/Syria Collaborative Project, played a commendable role in bringing the farmers together at ICARDA and in acting as the meeting translator (English to Arabic to English).
     The participating farmers asked questions on optimum seed rate, row spacing, sowing date, weed control, nitrogen fixation, protein content, and integrated crop management, which were addressed by the Project scientists concerned. One farmer, Mr Ubeid Al-Muhayya from Al-Ghab, who had used a fungicide not recommended for Ascochyta blight disease control, said he could not save his crop. The scientists gave him information on the recommended fungicides and when to spray. Another farmer, Mr Elias Khalil from Al-Ghab, said he was finding it difficult to obtain good quality seed of 'Ghab 3.' The representative from GOSM assured that efforts to produce good quality seed and make it available to interested farmers will be strengthened.
     To further promote transfer of technology to farmers, Dr Malhotra provided 12 kg of a newly released chickpea variety 'Ghab 4' to each of the participating farmers for sowing in the 2003/04 season. The associated package of practices for best results from this new variety was also explained to the farmers by the experts concerned. Of the total chickpea area of over 102,000 hectares in Syria, nearly 35% was under winter chickpea in 2002.
The participating farmers and extension personnel said they would like to see such events organized more frequently to enable them to share their experience and find solutions to the problems faced by them in the field.
     Chickpea is prized for its high-quality protein, and is an essential component in the diet of millions in WANA. The most popular chickpea dish is hommos bitehineh. Chickpea also provides valuable feed for livestock. It is grown in at least 33 countries, including the Indian sub-continent, Central and West Asia and North Africa, East Africa, southern Europe, South America and Australia. In Syria alone, over 89,000 tonnes of chickpea was produced in 2002.

Each visiting farmer received 12 kg seed of the newly released winter chickpea variety in Syria, 'Ghab 4.'

Farm Manager Dr Jürgen Diekmann (left) demonstrated the use of various implements for tillage, sowing, weeding, spraying, harvesting and threshing to the visiting farmers.

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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