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
7 August 2008
Media contact: icarda-media@cgiar.org
 
Local manufacturers boost conservation agriculture
Conservation agriculture is an important priority for ICARDA's DSIPS program. Research at headquarters, testing and promotion through regional programs, and adoption and adaptation by farmers, have all yielded encouraging results.

As part of these efforts, ICARDA's agronomy unit has tested different types of zero-till (ZT) planters for several years at Tel Hadya. These planters help to save time and costs of conservation agriculture operations, and reduce moisture loss from the soil. But one problem is that planters, like plants, must be adapted to local conditions. The ZT planters available at ICARDA are imported. They meet the basic requirements, but cannot deliver ideal performances under local conditions (high-clay soils, hard surface, lots of rocks).
The new prototype zero-till planter, fabricated at a workshop in Kamishly ,was unveiled recently. The locally designed zero-till planter was tested successfully on farmers' fields in Kamishly, Syria.

The agronomy unit, supported by the ACIAR-Iraq project, is working with Syrian farm equipment manufacturers to develop local ZT planters. The team identified three manufacturers in Al Bab, Qabbaseen and Kamishly areas, and visited their workshops. The manufacturers, in turn, visited Tel Hadya to examine different types of ZT planters, and joined a field trip (organized during an ACIAR-Iraq meeting) to see how different planters performed in farmers' fields. Following further discussions, contracts were signed to locally design and manufacture low-cost ZT planters, initially as a pilot project, but with potential for commercial production and marketing.

The first planter was completed last month, in Kamishly. Two ICARDA staff – agronomist Atef Haddad and station operations technician Shukri Ismail – visited the manufacturer on 30 July. They report that the drill is well designed and fabricated, and despite a few defects (which can be rectified), the planter seems suitable for local conditions. With minor modifications, it has great potential for commercialization, especially in north-west Syria, where landholdings are often larger, and mechanization more widespread, than elsewhere in the country.

ICARDA and the manufacturers will now jointly run large on-farm trials to fine-tune the prototype.
 

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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