I C A R D A    N e w s

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
For more information contact: Dr Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
 
22 September 2005
Iraq-ICARDA-Australia Project Planning Meeting
Iraqi delegation (with Dr Awad Abbas, second right, front row) with researchers from Australia and ICARDA, during their visit to ICARDA for the Iraq project planning meeting, 4-8 September 2005.
A project planning meeting for the Iraq-ICARDA-Australia Project on “Better crop germplasm and management for improved production of wheat, barley and pulse and forage legumes in Iraq” was held at ICARDA on 4-8 September 2005. The project is funded by ACIAR/AusAID as part of Australian’s contribution to the rehabilitation of agriculture in Iraq. It is being implemented in Ninevah Governorate, where ICARDA and Australian groups have been active in the past.

The meeting aimed to develop a detailed workplan for the research and demonstration program in the 2005/06 growing season. There were 7 participants from Iraq (including Dr Awad Abbas, Project Director, Who was tragically assassinated on his return home in Baghdad on 10 September after attending the project meeting), 3 from Australia and some 20 from ICARDA.

After the official opening, when participants were welcomed by the Acting ICARDA DG, Mr Michel Valat, there were presentations reviewing background information on dryland cropping in Ninevah Governorate and preliminary outcomes from the baseline survey. These provided an excellent background for the working group sessions which identified the “best bet” varieties/lines and technologies to be tested in the demonstration program and the experimental varieties/lines and technologies to be investigated in the research program of the project. The demonstration and research programs will be implemented by staff of the Directorate of Agriculture in the four important agroclimatic zones with high, medium and low rainfall, and access to supplementary irrigation.

There was great interest in the four lunch-time seminars highlighting advances in cropping technologies in Mediterranean areas of Australia. These were well attended by some 40–50 scientists from the project groups and ICARDA. They were designed to expose and discuss new technologies being researched and taken up by Australian farmers that might be of interest for the Iraq project. These seminars were on:
•
 A decade of research on cool season grain legumes in dryland environments of Australia: Lessons learned—Professor Kadambot Siddique, Director, Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), University of Western Australia
•
 Cereal improvement in Australia – Dr Reg Lance, Barley Breeder, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia
•
 New horizons for farming systems suited to Southern Australia – Dr David Coventry, Professor of Sustainable Agriculture, University of Adelaide
•
 The benefits and challenges of crop-pasture-livestock integration in Australian agriculture—Professor Kadambot Siddique.

The meeting was very successful and developed joint work plans. Sites and teams to implement the work have been selected in Ninevah and, given the strong commitment of the Iraqi group to the project and the well-discussed and agreed work plans for 2005/06, it is expected that good progress can be made towards identifying and promoting some useful varieties and technologies for farmers in the Ninevah Governorate.

The tragic loss of the Iraqi project director, Dr Awad Abbas, following the meeting strengthens everyone’s resolve to make this project successful. This would be a tribute to Dr Abbas and what he would have wanted.

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.
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