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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.org
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Media
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icarda-media@cgiar.org
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ICARDA-FAO
collaboration in training of Afghan scientists
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total of 24 researchers from agricultural research stations across
Afghanistan gathered together at the Dedadi Research Station in Balkh
Province with their FAO and ICARDA colleagues for an intensive 2-day
practical field workshop, 16 - 17 April. This workshop was part of
a series of training programs organized by FAO under the aegis of
the EU-funded Variety and Seed Industry Development Project in collaboration
with specialists from the Seed Section of the International Center
for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), namely Mr Abdoul
Aziz Niane and Mr Shamsuddin Siddiqi. The workshop was organized to train the scientists on collecting and analyzing data from field experiments designed to assess the Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) of wheat varieties, which are released for cultivation in the country. DUS characteristics are crucial requirements for releasing new varieties and are essential for preparing a variety catalogue. Professor M. Hassan Rashiq, Director General, Agricultural Research and Extension, was present throughout the training and his involvement provided great motivation to all participants. Following the workshop, all researchers were expected to return to their duty stations well equipped to collect and analyze data for their respective DUS experiments. For this purpose, 32 existing wheat varieties replicated in four trials, have been laid out in Balkh, Heart, Kabul, and Nangarhar provinces. The results from two consecutive trial seasons will form the basis of a national variety catalogue that will be prepared in English and the major Afghan languages. The catalogue will be subject to revision as and when new varieties become available and obsolete ones are withdrawn from cultivation. The establishment of a variety catalogue will not be confined to wheat alone but to other major crops in future as new varieties of such crops become available and are widely used by farmers. One key output of the FAO seed project is putting in place a functional and effective national variety evaluation and registration system with adequate facilities and trained staff. As a component of the registration system, the variety catalogue will be an important instrument for seed industry regulation within the framework of both the National Seeds Policy and Seed Law. |
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.