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
9 December 2004
For more information contact:
Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
AusAid Support for Rebuilding Agriculture in Iraq
Members of the Australian delegation and Iraqi and ICARDA scientists who participated in the planning meeting at ICARDA on 21-23 November.
A planning meeting to develop a project proposal on “Better crop germplasm and management for improved production of wheat, barley and pulse and forage legumes in Iraq” was held on 21-23 November 2004 at ICARDA headquarters. The project, funded by AusAID through the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), will be coordinated by ICARDA in partnership with the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. Participants at the meeting were scientists from ICARDA, Iraq and Australia. The Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture was represented by Drs Nakd A. Khamis and Rajaa M. Abu Aless. The Australian team was led by Dr Colin Piggin from ACIAR and included Dr Paul Novelly, Senior Consultant, Agriculture, for the Australian Agricultural Team in Baghdad; Prof. David Coventry from the University of Adelaide; Dr Clive Francis from the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA); and Mr Keith Alcock from the Department of Agriculture of Western Australia. The ICARDA team was led by Dr William Erskine, ADG (Research). Scientists from the Germplasm Program and the Natural Resource Management Program, together with the Director for International Cooperation and the Project Officer, participated in the development of the project proposal.

The three-year project, expected to start in April 2005, will introduce and promote improved varieties of wheat, barley, and pulse and forage legumes among farmers in the dryland cropping regions of northern Iraq; identify, develop and promote improved agriculture systems suited to dryland farming in the country; and develop the capacity of Iraqi scientists to identify and evaluate potentially valuable germplasm and better crop/soil management technologies and promote their adoption by farmers.

At the opening of the meeting, Dr Erskine cited the achievements of collaborative research by ICARDA and Iraqi scientists. The Center has collected over 1000 germplasm accessions from Iraq, which are saved in ICARDA’s genebank. More than 18 varieties of cereals and legumes have been released, with the barley variety ‘Rihane 3’ grown on more than 250,000 ha in northern Iraq. Dr Erskine also said that Iraq benefited from the Mashreq/Maghreb project of ICARDA in improving crop/livestock systems, especially through the adoption of alternative feed production technologies. In addition, more than 340 Iraqi scientists have participated in ICARDA’s training programs. ICARDA has also recently supplied 10 tons of improved wheat seed to increase wheat production in the country. Dr Erskine expressed gratitude to the Australian government for funding the project.

Dr Piggin presented a background to the project. He said the project will target rainfed cropping systems in the northern governorates of Iraq, especially Erbil and Ninavah, the major cereal and pulses growing areas in the country. He said that ACIAR was happy to work with ICARDA on this project because of the Center’s long history of collaborative research with the Iraqi national program.

Drs Nakd A. Khamis and Rajaa M. Abu Aless from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) presented an overview of agriculture in Iraq and the ongoing collaboration between MOA and ICARDA. They also stressed the importance of such projects for agricultural development in Iraq in the present situation.

ICARDA is now working closely with all the participants on finalizing the project proposal for review by ACIAR.

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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