CGIAR Central Asia and the Caucasus

Second INCANA Meeting held in Tashkent

The Second Meeting of Inter-regional Cotton Network for Central Asia and North Africa (INCANA) was held in Tashkent , Uzbekistan from 6-8 September, 2004. The meeting was organized by PFU and ICARDA-CAC Regional Office under the umbrella of Central Asian and Caucasian Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (CACAARI).

ICBA-ICARDA Training Course held in Tashkent

Dr. Francisco Reifschneider visits CGIAR Program for CAC

CIP Director General visits Georgia

SEVENTH CGIAR-CAC PROGRAM STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING HELD

The seventh Program Steering Committee (PSC) meeting of the CGIAR Collaborative Program for sustainable agricultural development in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) was held in Baku , Azerbaijan , from 6-8 June, 2004. The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agrarian Sciences Center of Azerbaijan in collaboration with the CGIAR Program Facilitation Unit (PFU). In all, 46 participants attended, including the NARS Heads from the CAC region, representatives of donor organizations and the nine CG Centers participating in the Consortium.

English Training Course

New TCP project in Karakalpakstan

International Conference on Agrarian Reform in Kyrgyzstan

An International Research-and-Production Conference on Land and Agrarian Reform was held in Bishkek , Kyrgyzstan from 12-13 March, 2004. In all, more than two thousand participants, including policy makers, agricultural scientists, NGOs, farmers and international organizations, attended the conference. First day of the conference included five working sections, covering various aspects of agriculture development in Kyrgyzstan, such as modernization of scientific and advisory services, development of seed production and animal breeding, reforming of water management industry, improvement of crediting and investments in agrarian sector, strengthening of Land Reform, and involvement of rural women in Land and Agrarian Reform, etc. Dr. Raj Paroda, Head, PFU-CGIAR and Regional Coordinator, ICARDA-CAC participated in the Section 1 on development of cooperative farms, modernization of scientific and advisory services, processing, marketing, development of seed production and animal breeding, which was chaired by Mr. B. Talgarbekov, Head, Administration of the Prime-Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and co-chaired HE Dr. A. Kostyuk, Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Processing Industry. During the session, presentations were made by HE Dr. A. Kostyuk, Representative of GTZ, Mr. Mirzaliev, Head, Kemin District Administration, etc. Dr. Raj Paroda presented an overview on CGIAR activities in Kyrgyzstan.

New Agriculture Minister of Georgia Appreciates ICARDA

Agriculture Minister Appreciates ADB Project in Azerbaijan

The First National Coordination and Planning Meeting of the ADB funded project on " Improving Rural Livelihoods through Efficient On-Farm Water and Soil Fertility Management in Central Asia " was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 3 March, 2004 . More than 25 scientists from various collaborating research institutions participated in the meeting, which was opened by HE Dr. Irshad Aliev, Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan. He was highly appreciative of efforts by ICARDA to include Azerbaijan in the second phase of the project, emphasizing that issues of soil and water management are crucial for sustainable agricultural development in Azerbaijan . He also expressed his gratitude to ADB for having extended NRM research support to his country through this RETA.