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
15 November 2008
Media contact: icarda-media@cgiar.org
 
SAGA workshop in Cairo
Dr Aden Aw-Hassan, Research Project Leader, ICARDA and Dr Lamia El-Fattal, Senior Program Officer, IDRC, Cairo, reviewing the summary of a discussion.
ICARDA and IDRC are partnering to effectively respond to gaps in research in social and gender analysis (SAGA) and environment and natural resource management (ENRM) in the MENA region, and are committed to build on and further strengthen capacities and commitment to development research in this area. Key challenges for a better integration are a lack of capacity within the MENA region to apply SAGA in practice, limited regional resources demonstrating the effectiveness of SAGA in research, and institutional biases that neglect the importance of social and gender issues. To that end, a planning meeting for an umbrella research and capacity strengthening initiative for SAGA in ENRM was held 18-21 October in Cairo, Egypt.
Participants at the SAGA workshop (left to right) Professor Alia Gana, CNRS-Universite Paris X, France; Dr. Fatima Nassif, INRA-CRRA, Morocco; Dr Hassan Abu Bakr, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt, discussing some issues.
The meeting was attended by researchers from key institutions in the region such as Tunisia (CAWTAR), Morocco (INRA), Egypt (ARC, Cairo University), Lebanon (CRTDA), as well as from the Netherlands (Gender Water Alliance). Among others who participated in the workshop were Prof. Dr Alia Gana, University of Paris X, Dr Lamia El-Fattal, Senior Program Officer, Middle East & North Africa Regional Office of IDRC, Cairo, Ms Elizabeth Fajber, Project Consultant from Canada, and ICARDA's staff Drs Kamel Shideed, Andrea Pape-Christiansen, Aden Aw-Hassan, Malika Martini and Dr Fawzi Karajeh Regional Coordinator, ICARDA Cairo office.

The Specific Objectives of the planning meeting were:
•
 To define priority research themes that may demonstrate the added-value of integrating SAGA in ENRM in MENA, including elaboration of research problem(s), research questions, and methodologies;
•
 To identify capacity development methods to support regional researchers to conduct this research, and relevant resources and support required;
•
 To explore strategies for furthering organizational support to SAGA in ENRM research in the region;
•
 To share, revise and elaborate on a draft framework for an umbrella proposal on SAGA in ENRM in MENA that integrates the previous objectives, articulating details on process, activities and methods. This will serve as the basis for a proposal to IDRC and other donors; and
•
 Strengthen partnerships among key actors in the region committed to enhancing SAGA in ENRM research.

The contributions, insights, reflections, and extensive experience of all participants led to the generation of ideas, and enriched the research and capacity strengthening program proposal that will be developed.
 

About ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org) is one of the 15 international research centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ICARDA 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.

Back