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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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29 December 2005
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The IAASTD is a project of the World Bank to develop an understanding of what might happen over the next 50 years – in our case in the CWANA region – based on a critical assessment of the past and current knowledge of agricultural science and technology for development. It is anticipated that various ‘scenarios’ will be developed, which will inform (as opposed to prescribe) future policy options. The CWANA sub-global assessment is one of five sub-global assessments concurrently being conducted within the framework of a global assessment. Dr Ahmed Sidahmed, Director, Knowledge Management and Dissemination, opened the meeting on behalf of the Director General of ICARDA. In his opening address, he gave a brief description of ICARDA’s mission and mandate. He outlined the challenges of the CWANA region, including drought, heat, cold, and salinity; a rapidly increasing population; and global warming. These challenges, he said, threaten the region with desertification, loss of agrobiodiversity, rural-urban migration, emigration, ‘brain drain’, and other socioeconomic problems. He then explained the role of ICARDA in addressing some of these challenges through its new research portfolio built on six mega-projects. Dr Sidahmed noted that ICARDA seeks community participation in its programs to ensure sustainability, citing the Mashreq/Maghreb Project as an example. He then informed participants about the facilities available at ICARDA, and the activities in which the Center has been engaged to achieve its objectives. In this context, ICARDA's participation in the IAASTD CWANA sub-global assessment is of critical importance, he said. Dr Judi Wakhungu, developing country co-chair of the IAASTD, explained how the IAASTD has been evolving over the years, beginning with the summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in 2001, to the stakeholders meetings currently being held worldwide to elicit opinions on the necessity, or not, of a worldwide assessment of agricultural science and technology for development.
During the remaining part of the four-day workshop, authors met according to their chapter teams (basically five chapters), with plenary sessions being called to update each other on progress and to deal with questions as they arose. Dr Cathy Farnworth, Coordinator of the IAASTD CWANA Subregional Assessment, coordinated the conference and chaired the discussion sessions. During the workshop, participants were taken on a guided tour of ICARDA facilities. Dr Kamel Shideed, Coordinator of the ICARDA Strategy Focal Group, made a presentation to the Lead Authors at the ICARDA Sports and Social Club. He provided them with an outline of ICARDA’s new strategy, which is being developed in consultation with a large and diverse group of stakeholders (NARS, policy makers, academics, and the communities). This provided participants with an opportunity to become familiar with ICARDA's strategy development process, and to contribute their visions and ideas to refine it. The workshop was successful in meeting its objectives, and discussions between authors continue apace by email. Further meetings will be held in 2006 and 2007. For more information, please contact: Dr Ahmed Sidahmed |
About
ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.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.