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
11 March 2007
                             Media contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
 
Libyan Delegation Visits ICARDA
Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General (center) received a high-level delegation from ARC Libya. Seated on left area Mr Abdelwahed Abdelhamid Lamloum, Director of Administration and Financial Affairs (back facing camera); Mr Abdelmoula Mokhtar Abou Jnah, Financial Controller; Dr Ali Amin Ahmed Ben Kafu, Director of Information, Documentation and Technology, all from ARC. From right to left: Dr William Erskine, ADG Research; Dr Ahmed Sidahmed, Director, KMD and Acting Head, HRDU; and Dr Mohammed El Mourid, Coordinator, ICARDA North Africa Regional Program.
ICARDA and Libya have been collaborating in agricultural research and training since the late 1980s, and a formal agreement between the Center and the Government of the Great Jamahiriya was signed in 1992. This partnership is set to expand. A high-level delegation from the Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Libya, visited ICARDA headquarters from 27 February to 5 March 2007, and met with Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General. The ARC delegation comprised Mr Abdelwahed Abdelhamid Lamloum, Director of Administration and Financial Affairs; Dr Ali Amin Ahmed Ben Kafu, Director of Information, Documentation and Technology; and Mr Abdelmoula Mokhtar Abou Jnah, Financial Controller.

This visit was a follow-up to the collaboration agreement signed by the two organizations in May 2006, when Dr Mohamed Farkash, ARC Director General, visited ICARDA. The delegation aimed to operationalize the agreement in four priority areas:
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Water harvesting for improved agricultural production
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Improvement of wheat and barely productivity under both irrigated and rainfed conditions
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Improvement of small ruminant (sheep and goats) productivity
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Graduate degree training (MSc and PhD); and developing instruments for implementing a collaborative training program.

It was agreed that ARC Libya would provide the necessary funds and ICARDA the scientific backstopping.

The visitors held detailed discussions with Dr Solh and senior ICARDA management; and visited laboratories and field research sites at Tel Hadya. A wrap-up meeting focused on draft concept notes, which would be finalized and submitted to the ARC Director General and other Libyan authorities for approval. The ARC-ICARDA collaborative program aims to generate rapid impact on Libya's agricultural sector and enhance ARC's scientific capacity through short-term as well as degree training.
  

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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