The North Africa Regional Program (NARP) coordinates activities in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, and is administered through ICARDA's Regional Office in Tunisia.

Collaborative projects
Several collaborative projects were implemented in 2002, including a trans-regional project on "Development of Integrated Crop/Livestock Production Systems in the Low Rainfall Areas of West Asia and North Africa" (The Mashreq/ Maghreb Project), funded by IFAD, AFESD, and IDRC; "Development of Biotechnological Research in the Arab States," funded by AFESD; "Optimizing Soil Water Use," within the framework of the CGIAR Systemwide Program on "Soil Water and Nutrient Management (SWNM);" and the "Pilot IPM Site in Morocco," within the framework of the CGIAR Systemwide Program on "Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Two USDA-Tunisia bilateral projects continued for the second year: "Economic and Cultural Value of Herbal, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants" and "GIS for Watershed Management in South Tunisia," both with IRA Medenine.
     The Mashreq/Maghreb Project was in its final year in 2002, and its activities concentrated on (i) adoption studies and assessment of the impact of the technologies promoted by the project, (ii) community development plans, and (iii) finalization of a proposal for a new project building on the achievements of the Mashreq/Maghreb project in its two phases. Two sub-regional workshops were held, one in Syria (Mashreq) and the other in Tunisia (Maghreb), to standardize approaches for adoption and impact assessment studies.
     Five new collaborative projects were launched during 2002. Three of them were funded by USDA as bilateral projects with Tunisia, with ICARDA associated as a partner to provide backstopping: "Partnership to Improve Rural Livelihoods in North Africa and West Asia through Strengthened Teaching and Research on Sheep and Goat Production;" "Biological Control of Weeds with Plant Pathogens;"and "Research on Improving Productivity of Oats as Priority Forage Species." One regional project "Integrated Research and Durum Economics Network" that covers Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in addition to Turkey and Syria, was implemented with funding from IFAD. A sub-regional project funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) was started on "Sustainable Management of the Agropastoral Resource Base in the Maghreb, Phase II."

Research priority setting
Representatives from the development and NGO organizations and NARS of the five countries, and from ICARDA, CIMMYT and IPGRI, met in January in Hammamet, Tunisia to hold a consultation meeting to set research priorities for the region. Consultation followed a bottom-up participatory approach, and participants outlined research priorities and strategies with emphasis on the strong linkages between research, extension and

development for achieving sustainable agricultural development and food security in the region.

Workshops and coordination meetings
NARP organized three workshops in collaboration with FAO: (i) "Barley for Food," (ii) "Policy Aspects to Foster the Adoption of Appropriate Technologies by Small and Medium Farms in the Arid Zones of the Maghreb Countries," and (iii) "Expert Consultation on the Rehabilitation of Food Legumes in the Production Systems of the Maghreb Countries." The first two were organized in Hammamet, Tunisia, and the third in Settat, Morocco.
National coordination meetings were held in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia to review the results of collaborative research and develop work plans for the future. The Ninth Regional Coordination Meeting, which is held every two years, took place in Libya. NARS managers and scientists from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, in addition to managers and scientists from ICARDA, attended the meeting. Collaborative activities of the two years as well as new projects were reviewed and discussed. The meeting recommended for NARS of the region to join the CGIAR and strengthen the AARINENA regional forum.