ICARDA Communicator Mazen Al-Jarrah with Puong Thang, from Ho Chi Min University in Vietnam.

think visitors were quite surprised. They thought of agriculture in American terms and didn't realize that we in the West Asia and North Africa region have problems of food production and water scarcity. They were very interested."
So says ICARDA scientist Mazen Al-Jarrah of  the United States public. He spent some weeks meeting, and talking to, them as a Communicator at the second Gardening for Food Around the World exhibition. It was held from 28 April to 1 June as part of the Epcot Flower and Garden Show at DisneyWorld in Orlando, USA. The                     

reasoning behind the event, which is organized by the World Bank and DisneyWorld in collaboration with the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) and, this year, the Rodale Institute, is to communicate agricultural research and development issues to a wider audience than the traditional scientific community. "People learn and understand much more when they can see and feel what we are teaching," said William Ekere,

one of Mr Al-Jarrah's fellow Communicators.
This is the second year in which ICARDA and other Centers have participated in the exhibition; in 1996 Afif Dakermanji, from Syria, and Imad Eujayl, from Sudan, represented ICARDA in Florida (see Caravan No. 3). Mr Dakermanji, who is Training Coordinator for ICARDA's Natural Resources Management Program, explains that the project began in late 1995, when Epcot (Walt Disney World Co.) and the World Bank forged a partnership to publicize the problems of feeding the world. "The objective was to broadcast a powerful message about the global challenges of feeding future generations, as the world struggles with food-stock shortages, a rapidly-increasing population and reduced availability of arable land."  As ICARDA is part of the CGIAR, for which the World Bank is the largest donor and the 'umbrella' organization, ICARDA involvement was natural.
The first exhibition showcased 'typical' farms and farmers from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Communicators looked after these displays, and found themselves in great demand.
An estimated 670,00 people visited the 1996 Gardening for Food Around the World displays; an estimated 168,000 took time out to at least superficially study them, nearly 10,000 attended the 20-minute presentations given by the Communicators and an estimated 28,000 took the trouble to meet the Communicators personally. With these   

A distinguished visitor, former First Lady Mrs Barbara Bush, with ICARDA's Afif Dakermanji (right), Gina Zarasadias (IRRI) and Sudi Rao (ICRISAT).