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)
 
 
7 July 2005
Food Security/Poverty Alleviation in Arid Agriculture in Balochistan, Pakistan: Stakeholders' Meeting
H.E. Oweis Ghani (center), Governor of Balochistan, inaugurated the meeting in the company of Dr Adel Aboul Naga (second from left), Senior Advisor to ICARDA DG; Dr Len Reynolds (second from right), FAO Project Manager; Mr Abdul Karim (left), Secretary of Agriculture, Balochistan; and Mr Islam Baloch (right), Secretary of Livestock, Balochistan.
The first stakeholders' meeting of the "Food Security/Poverty Alleviation in Arid Agriculture in Balochistan" project was held in Quetta, Pakistan, on 9-10 June 2005. The main objective of the meeting was to develop a work plan for the first year of the project after a four-month preparatory phase. The research component of the project is implemented by ICARDA, the development component by FAO. Senior national scientists, administrators, researchers, extension and development agents, academicians from Balochistan, officials from the Barani project , NARC, and other departments in Islamabad, farmers representing the participating communities, a 12-member team of scientists from ICARDA and a team from FAO participated in the meeting.
Dr Adel Aboul Naga, Senior Advisor to ICARDA DG, presented an ICARDA plaque to H.E. Mr Oweis Ghani, Governor of Balochistan, in appreciation of the latter's support to the project.

H.E. Oweis Ghani, Governor of Balochistan, inaugurated the meeting. In his address to the participants, he reviewed the problems of arid agriculture in Balochistan, and expressed his commitment to work hand in hand with the international organizations and other partners to solve those problems. Dr Adel Aboul Naga, Senior Advisor to ICARDA DG and Project Leader, presented a background to the development of the project, stemming from a donor meeting hosted by the Government of Balochistan in 2003 on drought mitigation. The meeting had agreed to use a sustainable dryland agriculture intervention approach rather than emergency response to drought. Dr Len Reynolds, FAO Project Manager, presented the overall objectives of the project, and Dr Kamel Shideed, Director, ICARDA Mega-Project 5 on Poverty and Livelihoods Analysis, discussed the applied research component of the project. ICARDA and national researchers gave presentations on different aspects of the project.

The Governor of Balochistan with the ICARDA team and other participants of the meeting.
During the first working session, Mr Afzal Muhammad, Director, Technology Transfer Institute, presented socioeconomic survey results from the six integrated research sites (IRS), two in each targeted district, and the criteria for their selection. This was followed by a presentation by Mr Illyas of the results of the rapid assessments carried out by the development components on 53 local communities. In subsequent sessions, ICARDA scientists presented descriptions of potential interventions in each sector, expected outputs, and successful results obtained in similar environments in other parts of the world. To highlight the integrated approach between the applied research and development components, the national FAO expert proposed development interventions.
Fied trip to Saddiqabad Integrated Research Site (SIRS) in Mastung district. Seen in the picture is the Head of SIRS (fourth from right).
During the second day, the participants formed thematic groups on water management, crop improvement, range and livestock management, and policy and socioeconomics. The groups discussed potential interventions, outputs, activities, and project sites.

 Prior to the meeting, on 8 June, the ICARDA team visited one of the integrated research sites (IRS) in Mastung district to meet the local communities and discuss their problems and gauge their receptivity to potential interventions. The ICARDA team included Drs Adel Aboul Naga, Kamel Shideed, Farouk Shomo, Theib Oweis, Akhtar Ali, Ali Abd El-Moneim, James Tiedeman, Mustafa Pala, Asamoah Larbi, Ashraf Tubeileh, Tony van Gastel and Abdul Bari Salkini from headquarters; and Drs Abdul Majid and Muhammad Islam from ICARDA-Pakistan office.

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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