ICARDA News

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012
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E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG
Website: www.icarda.org
28 February 2008
Media contact: icarda-media@cgiar.org
 
Mapping Poverty to Enhance Research Targeting and Impact
We know poverty is everywhere - but where exactly? and how will this knowledge help? At a two-day workshop held at ICARDA headquarters last week, scientists, policy makers and development experts from six countries discussed approaches, specific tools, and implementation mechanisms for assessing and mapping poverty. The meeting provided new insights that will help target agricultural research and development interventions more effectively, and increase the impact of research on poverty alleviation.
Policy makers, scientists and development specialists from six countries met at ICARDA, to discuss a regional initiative on poverty assessment and mapping.

The workshop on Poverty assessment and mapping in dry areas: implications for targeting agricultural R&D investments was held at ICARDA headquarters on 25-26 February, organized jointly by ICARDA, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Program (WFP). The participants included high-level policy makers and heads of leading national research centers from six countries: Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Yemen. Dr Mahmattoir Zakirov, Tajikistan's Minister for Land Management, and Dr Nabi Rashid Mohammed, Syria's Deputy Minster of Agriculture, addressed the opening session and participated actively throughout. Clearly, national decision makers place great emphasis on mapping, assessments and other studies in their efforts to fight poverty.

Dr Zakirov noted: "The Tajikistan government strongly supports this initiative; and will work with ICARDA to expand research collaboration on poverty mapping. We believe the results will benefit not just our country, but the entire developing world." Dr Nabi Rashid Mohammed agreed: "Agricultural research is a vital component of poverty alleviation; and poverty mapping is an area where governments welcome technical support, to strengthen poverty reduction strategies."

Defining research needs
Dr Kamel Shideed, Director of ICARDA's Social, Economic and Policy Research Program described the context. The majority of the world's rural poor live in dry areas, and depend mainly on agriculture. Investing in agricultural research has been shown to be the most effective way to fight poverty in these areas. New tools and research methods for mapping and assessing poverty (e.g. GIS analysis combined with household surveys) will further increase the returns to research investments, and the impact of research on poverty alleviation.

"Traditional indicators of poverty focus on financial or human well-being parameters," Dr Shideed explained. "They do not adequately reflect, and may seriously underestimate, the intensity and severity of poverty in dry areas." He stressed the links between environmental poverty (water scarcity, land degradation, desertification, loss of biodiversity) and income poverty; and the need to build spatial poverty maps that are accurate but relatively inexpensive. ICARDA has used this approach in Syria, with excellent results. It is now being extended to Sudan (with similar plans for Tajikistan and Yemen) with support from national governments, IFAD and WFP.

Linking research to development
Discussions at the workshop focused on two issues:
•
Are national strategies sufficiently focused on poverty? How has agricultural R&D contributed to national poverty reduction strategies?
•
What are the next steps to target agricultural R&D more effectively towards the rural poor?

One key recommendation: the six countries in co-operation with ICARDA will work together to establish a regional project that will conduct research on poverty mapping and assessment; create a platform for countries to share data and analytical tools; and strengthen national capacity to identify poverty 'hot spots'. The project will first be implemented at pilot sites, and be backed by an enabling policy environment.
 

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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