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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 |
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Media
contact:
Dr Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
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20 October 2005
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At the opening session, Dr Sayyed Nejad, Head of the Agriculture Organization in Orumyieh, welcomed participants and thanked ICARDA for the fruitful collaboration. He requested that research activities be extended to Orumyieh Province. Dr Abdulali Ghaffari, Director General of DARI, acknowledged with satisfaction the past decade of good collaboration between Iran and ICARDA, and expressed his appreciation for the efforts of Dr Habib Ketata. He used the opportunity to welcome Dr Ahmed Amri and expressed the hope that his efforts will further strengthen the existing collaboration. Dr Ghaffari outlined the major achievements during the 2004/2005 season to include the release of six bread wheat, five durum wheat, and five barley varieties, and the presentation for release of many varieties of cereals, food and feed legumes and oilseed crops, most of which are the result of Iran's collaborative work with ICARDA. Dr Ahmed Amri, on behalf of ICARDA Director General, reiterated the commitment of ICARDA to developing a strong partnership aimed at consolidating past achievements in capacity building and self-sufficiency in cereal production in Iran. He then presented ICARDA's new research portfolio designed to enable the Center to face the global challenges and respond to research priorities of CWANA, in collaboration with NARS. Results of the cereals, food legumes, forages and oilseed crops breeding, natural resources management, and integrated pest management (IPM) were presented by the national coordinators during the respective sessions where the planned activities and proposals for new joint projects were discussed. The summary of the results and work plans for each group were then presented to the joint DARI-ICARDA coordination committee. The committee agreed to focus on barley, lentil, chickpea, and vetch improvement for cold environments, the improvement of wheat quality, and the development of IPM packages for controlling major diseases and insects of cereals and legumes. The Iranian research institutions are keen on contributing to the development of strong regional networking and integration and have proposed to hold regional traveling workshops for scientists from West and Central Asia. For more information contact: Dr Ahmed Amri |
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 countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.