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.org
1 June 2006
                             Media contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
ICARDA-IDRC Joint Initiative on
Re-use of Treated Sewage Effluent
ICARDA and IDRC representatives with the Algerian scientists and community leaders at the project implementation site in Ouled Bessan, Tissemsilt, Algeria.
ICARDA and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have joined hands to address the management of treated sewage effluent in the dry areas with initial focus on Algeria. ICARDA has an ongoing project on community-based optimization of the management of scarce water resources (Water Benchmarks Project) wherein Algeria is a satellite site for the rainfed benchmark focusing on improving rainwater productivity with supplemental irrigation. IDRC has provided additional funding through their project on water demand management to evaluate the potential of using treated sewage effluent as a source for supplemental irrigation to enhance the productivity of rainfed wheat.

The joint initiative will focus on effluent generation and treatment from small communities with populations of up to 25000 inhabitants. The treated effluent will be used conjunctively with annual rainfall of about 350 mm in the water-scarce environment at Ouled Bessan, Tissemsilt. On 16 and 18 May, the Director General of the Institut Nationale de la Recherche Agricole d`Algerie (INRA), Dr Kamel Feliachi, and the Director General of the Institut Technique des Grandes Cultures (ITGC), Dr Ali Zeghida, along with the Project Coordinator, Mr Mokhtar Kelkouli (ITGC), and project team had a series of discussions with Drs Manzoor Qadir and Bogachan Benli of ICARDA and Lorra Thompson of IDRC on different aspects of the project implementation. The project team consisting of scientists from INRA, ITGC, and Khemis University, and the representatives of ICARDA and IDRC, visited the project site on 17 May and launched the joint project with the participation of the involved community leaders. They also discussed the details of the inception phase and work plan of the project for implementation.


For more information contact: Dr Manzoor Qadir
  

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.
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