The world faces a struggle to grow sufficient food for its growing population: food demand is expected to increase by 60 percent over the coming decades; while the actual cropping area is expected to grow by only 10 percent. Overcoming this deficit in food production will have to come from improvements in yields - by at least one percent annually.

Much of this increase will have to come from the Dry Areas. However, these regions, covering more than 40 percent of the world’s total agricultural area and home to more than 2.5 billion people, are also some of the most marginal environments in the world, characterized by frequent droughts, land degradation, and desertification.

ICARDA’s decentralization is an on-going effort to adjust to this reality – managing agricultural research and capacity development for increased efficiency and effectiveness. The Center has established research platforms and thematic research sites in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa, and North Africa.

Within this framework, and to build upon and strengthen on-going research activities, ICARDA scientists met recently with partners and collaborators in North Africa to review the progress of their collaborations and plan a strategic research agenda that could help the region’s countries produce sufficient food against a backdrop of climate change and increasingly scarce water resources.

A discussion led by country representatives addressed three significant questions related to the region’s agricultural research for development: the main constraints to agricultural development; the relevance of agricultural research strategies; and the main impacts these research strategies have had on improving food security and the welfare of farmers.

The consensus suggested that while significant advances had taken place, research continued to lack a long-term, strategic view, was often too narrowly focused, and did not always involve non-research partners in the formulation of research needs and the mobilization of resources.

In response, working groups were formed to identify necessary improvements in the following areas: fund raising and partnerships; new opportunities for agricultural research and development; and capacity strengthening. A series of priority areas were also identified, including adaptation to climate change, drought, water scarcity, markets, strengthening technical and economic efficiencies, and capacity development, particularly among the region’s young agricultural professionals.

ICARDA has a number of on-going initiatives working across the North Africa region to raise production: the Food Security in Arab Countries Project, funded by the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development (KFED) and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD); Conservation Agriculture in North Africa, supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Australian Center for International Agricultural Development (ACIAR); Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops (SARD-SC), funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB); and the Middle East and North Africa Water and Livelihood Initiative (WLI), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Food security is a critical issue for the Arab World. The region struggles to produce sufficient food for its growing population – and as a consequence, is the largest cereal importer of cereals globally, exposing its people to the vagaries of global commodity markets. Change is therefore desperately needed.

ICARDA works across the Arab World to help its production systems rise to this challenge – despite the constraints posed by climate change and other constraints. In recent years, these activities have included two major research programs targeting the improved production of strategic crops – one funded by the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) targeting food legumes, and the other promoting wheat production, with support from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD).          

The EU-IFAD funded food legumes initiative has tested, validated, and disseminated proven technologies and techniques to assist smallholder farmers; the AFESD wheat program is using large-scale interventions to improve yields and stabilize wheat production in dryland countries across North Africa and West Asia. Over the past few years the initiative has benefited over 25,000 farmers; achieved an average wheat yield increase of 28%; and introduced innovative practices such as Conservation Agriculture.

These successes were shared with delegates at the eleventh Arab Congress for Plant Protection, held in Amman, Jordan, late last year. Co-organized by the Arab Society of Plant Protection (ASPP) and the Balqaa Applied University, the event brought together over 300 participants from across the Arab World, Europe, and the United States.

ICARDA, represented by Dr. Majid Jamal, Assistant Director General, and Dr. Mustapha El Bouhssini, Entomologist within the Center’s Biodiversity and Integrated Gene Management (BIGM), met with HRH El Hassan Bin Talal, to brief the Prince on future plans for Jordan and the rest of the Middle East.