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 February 2009
Media contact: icarda-media@cgiar.org
 
Assistant Director General, Government Liaison
Dr Majd Jamal is ICARDA's new Assistant Director General for Government Liaison. He is a well known scientist and administrator, having held a number of senior positions in academia, regional bodies and government. For the past six years he served as Director General of the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR) under Syria's Ministry for Agriculture and Agrarian Reform. He is also Associate Professor at the College of Agriculture, Damascus University; Vice President of the Arab Society for Plant Protection; and a former member of ICARDA's Board of Trustees.

Dr Jamal is an entomologist by training, with a PhD from the University of Georgia, USA; and numerous published papers on integrated pest management of crop pests in general, and phytophagous mites in particular. He has been associated with major R&D institutions in the region, including the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA); Omar El-Mukhtar University, Libya; and the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD). His academic reputation and his vast experience in research management will be key assets in expanding the scale and scope of partnership between ICARDA and its host country Syria.

Welcome aboard!
 

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