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
28 August 2008
Media contact: icarda-media@cgiar.org
 
Strengthening collaboration with Lebanon
Right to left: H.E. Fouad El-Sanyora, Prime Minister of Lebanon; Dr Mahmoud Solh, ICARDA Director General; Eng. Michel Afram, LARI Director General; Mr Munir Sughayyar, Executive Manager of ICARDA's Beirut office.
ICARDA has long-standing ties with Lebanon – collaboration with the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) began in 1977, through the Terbol Station in the Bekaa Plain in Lebanon. Recent meetings between Director General Dr Mahmoud Solh and top Lebanese leaders helped identify opportunities to further expand these ties.

H.E. Fouad El-Sanyora, Prime Minister of Lebanon, received a delegation on 19 August: Dr Solh, Eng. Michel Afram (LARI Director General and Lebanon's representative on the ICARDA Board), and Mr Munir Sughayyar, Executive Manager of ICARDA’s Beirut office and Head of Terbol Station. The Prime Minister expresed his concern about the slow pace of agricultural development in Lebanon, and hoped ICARDA could provide guidelines for faster progress. Numerous efforts have been made to improve the livelihood of small-scale farmers, he said, but the results have not met expectations. Subsidies for agriculture have become a burden on the economy, without providing lasting solutions. It is vital, the Prime Minister said, for Lebanese institutions to utilize specialist expertise – from ICARDA and other institutions – to resolve these problems. One key area, he said, was to reduce water runoff losses through more efficient watershed management and water use.
Right to left: H.E. Eng. Elias Skaff, Minister of Agriculture; Dr Mahmoud Solh, Eng. Michel Afram, and Mr Munir Sughayyar.
Dr Solh noted that ICARDA had considerable expertise in this very area, and suggested that a pilot watershed management site be established jointly by ICARDA, LARI and other national institutions. With good site selection and efficient management, this pilot project could become a live example for future water management projects in Lebanon. Dr Solh also suggested the introduction of high-value crops and greater use of advanced technologies for seed production and other agribusinesses. This would allow Lebanon, despite its limited land and high production costs, to compete on the world market.

Dr Solh also met with the new Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Eng. Elias Skaff. He was accompanied by Eng. Afram; Drs A. Choueiry and M. Haidar, consultants to the Ministry; and Mr Sughayyar. Dr Solh briefed the Minister about ICARDA's work, highlighting the potential for further collaboration to accelerate the dissemination of new farming technologies. Eng. Skaff expressed his concern about water resources, and said his Ministry was keen to tap ICARDA's expertise on water harvesting and management. Dr Solh pledged ICARDA's full support, stating that collaborative projects (Ministry-LARI-ICARDA) would be developed and presented to donor agencies for funding.

Both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture welcomed the possibility that ICARDA’s Board of Trustees would hold its next meeting in Lebanon (November 2008, to be hosted by LARI). Lebanon faces a number of challenges in agricultural develpment. But together, ICARDA and its partners can ensure that significant progress is made on at least two key areas – food security and sustainability of natural resources.
 

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.

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