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Association of Agricultural Research Institutions
in the Near East and North Africa
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Vol.7 No.1 June 2000 |
A Bi-annual Publication of the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa(AARINENA)
Contents
AARINENA
Seventh General Conference was held last March in Beirut, at the kind
invitation of the Government of Lebanon. The Conference approved
constitutional amendments for allowing the immediate re-election of the
President and Vive President for only one more term for the same office, and
added two new objectives in order to strengthen the Association's links with
the policy makers and to emphasize its role in the mobilization of financial
support to agricultural research and technology development efforts in the
region.
Within the framework of promoting decentralized informational systems,
AARINENA in cooperation with FAO and the NARS-SEC of the GFAR organized an
expert consultation (before the Conference) for the Development of a WANA
Agricultural Information System (WAIS) involving representatives of the five
sub-regions as well as of the main regional and international institutions
active in agricultural research for development.
The Association also enhanced its efforts for strengthening cooperation
with other regional fora like European Initiative for Agricultural Research
for Development (EIARD) and European Forum for Agricultural Research for
Development (EFARD) for the preparation of partnerships within the context of
the GFAR. In collaboration with its cosponsors successful case studies were
presented at the GFAR 2000 Conference in Dresden Germany.
The actions and activities envisaged in the framework for action revolved
around two central themes: bringing greater measure of efficiency and
continuity to the institutional set-up of the Association and, at the same
time developing a portofolio of concrete activities and mobilizing support for
their implementation.
Although
the Conference recognised that the transfer of the Secretariat from FAO-RNE
office in Cairo, Egypt to ARI, Cyprus has been a significant step forward the
need for a full time Executive Secretary was identified, but until securing
the necessary funds it was decided that for attaining greater efficiency the
Secretariat should go with the President. The work goes on as the Executive
Committee is preparing to hold its next meeting in Malta, September 2000.
Executive Secretary
Top
I
would like to express my gratitude to all AARINENA
Country representatives who
participated in the 7th General Conference held in Beirut during 22-23 April and their trust for my election as the President of the Association and their
trust in the election of the new
Executive Committee Members. I will serve
along with the new Members to do our best for the development of agricultural
research in our region and to strengthen the Association.
In recent years Near East Region started to face agricultural and food crises. It has prepared a project plan, where the executive committee members and full membership countries in every sub-region carried high responsibilities to achieve the goals of the association.
I would like to thank the outgoing
committee for its tremendous effort in promoting the goals of the Association.
Once
the cradle of agriculture, the Near East and North Africa Region is now food
deficit and for many years, it has been the largest net food importer among
developing countries. As some 60% or more of the population of the region live
in the rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihood, the
decreasing agricultural production is therefore not only affecting food
security in general but also hampering poverty alleviation efforts.
Ever
increasing demographic pressures is threatening the natural resources in the
Region including the important genetic diversity. The natural resources base
for agriculture in the region is very fragile with especially acute shortage
of water and arable land. Aridity is a prevailing feature in the Region,
making it the poorest in the world in terms of water resources, both globally
and on a per inhabitant basis. The land resources are characterized as being
both limited and fragile; desert or semi-desert covers a staggering 70% of the
total area, with 22% under pasture, leaving a meager 8% as potential arable
land.
Despite
affluence in some parts, poverty and food insecurity persists in the region
and some of its poorest countries are also the poorest in the world. Poverty
is pervasive in dry areas. Over 80 percent of the population live in countries
with an average per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.10 per day. More
than 70% of the impoverished people live in rural areas and largely depend on
agriculture as a source of income.
AARINENA's
assigned Mission is to contribute to the enhancement of agricultural and rural
development in the Region through fostering agricultural research and
technology development and by strengthening collaboration in this regard
within and outside the Region in order to achieve greater degree of
self-reliance in food and agriculture, and to improve the nutritional
well-being and overall welfare of the people of the Region, while at the same
time sustaining and further improving the productive capacity of the natural
resources base.
For
agricultural research to play such a vital role in halting the accelerating
decline in the fortunes of the Region's agriculture, AARINENA members
believe that the way forward is in bringing together the scientific strength
and talents available in the Region to collectively tackle the formidable
challenges and tasks ahead. AARINEA is looking ahead into the future with
renewed optimism and with a firm commitment to food security, to the fight
against poverty, and to the protection of natural resource base of
agriculture.
Mustafa
Yaghi
AARINENA
President
Top
The Seventh General
Conference of AARINENA
The
Seventh General Conference of AARINENA was held in Beirut, Lebanon, during the
period of 22-23 March 2000. The main decisions and recommendations of the
Conference were:
Election of New Executive Committee:
Dr.
Moustafa Yaghi, (President)
Dr.
Yousif Al-Shayji, (Vice-President)
Dr.
Ismail Abdulla Muharram (Member)
Dr.
Mohamed Roozitalab (Member)
Prof.
Anthony Scicluna-Spiteri, (Member)
Dr.
Christo Hilan, (Executive Secretary)
Adoption of the Programme of work for 2000/2001:
The Programme emphasizes the
completion of ongoing and already planned activities as well as a number of
new activities as detailed below:
Valorize
the information included in the "AARINENA/FAO/ICARDA/CIHEAM Country Profiles
and NARS Review Analysis" and initiates the process of developing a NARS
Directory for the WANA region.
Priority
setting to be updated for all member countries.
Establishment
of a regional Network for Date palm in the region.
Preparation
of new sub-regional/regional co-operative projects and enhance efforts for
securing funds for their implementation.
Completion
and continuous updating of AARINENA homepage that is now hosted by the web
site of ARI, Cyprus /ARI.
Enhance
efforts for strengthening research partnerships with other regions
Participation
and presentation of success case studies at the GFAR2000, Dresden, Germany.
Development
of a WANA Agricultural Information System.
In
cooperation with cosponsors organize training workshops (i.e. ICT).
Constitutional Amendments:
The General Conference
unanimously amended the two articles of the constitution as per article XV of
the constitution and proposed by the Executive Committee as follows:
1) Article III to add the following two new
objectives:
Assist
in the mobilization of financial and other forms of support to all efforts
aiming at strengthening agricultural research and technology development
in the Region.
2) Article VIII item 5 for allowing the immediate
re-election of the President and Vice President for only one more term for the
same office.
Appointment
of new executive secretary:
The
General Conference did not accept the proposal of ARI Cyprus for partial
covering of Secretariat Expenses so that ARI, Cyprus would continue offering
Secretariat's services. The Conference decided that the Executive Secretary
should go with the President and Lebanon to make available a Technical Officer
who will serve, free of charge, as AARINENA's Executive Secretary for the
next two years.
Date
of the Eighth General Conference:
The
General Conference has decided that the 8th AARINENA General Conference will
be held in Jordan in April 2002.
Europe/AARINENA meeting on agricultural research for development:
The President of AARINENA
Dr. Mohamed Roozitalab, The Executive Secretary Dr. Miltiades Hadjipanayiotou
and Dr. Christian Hoste, Senior Officer NARS-SEC of GFAR participated at a
Europe/AARINENA meeting on agricultural research for development held in
Lisbon, Portugal in February 11, 2000.
The
meeting underlined the high priority for Scientific partnerships, the
responsibility of both for increasing the concern among the decision-makers
and agreed on a Plan of Action: Who is doing what?
Promotion of AARINENA in Gulf countries:
The Vice-President of AARINENA Dr. Yousif
Al-Shayji visited the countries of Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia during the
period 18-27 February, 2000. Dr. Shayji had meetings with high officials in
all three countries and briefed them on AARINENA's objectives, goals and
activities and invited NARS in these countries to become members of AARINENA.
Expert Consultation Meeting for the Establishment of a Regional Date Palm Network:
The meeting was held at the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institution,
Ministry of Agriculture, during the period 5-6 May 2000. The meeting was
cosponsored by AARINENA, NARS-SEC and FAO/RNE, and was attended by the
President and the Executive Secretary of AARINENA, representatives from
FAO/RNE office, NARS-SEC of GFAR and ACSAD, and four Date palm specialists
from the region.
The
main output of the meeting was the finalization of a revised Version of
AARINENA proposed Regional Network on Date Palm that will be presented at GFAR
2000 at Dresden, Germany, during the period of 21-23 May. This will provide an
opportunity to interact with European donors.
Information Strategy for the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) Region:
As a result of discussions between AARINENA, FAO and the NARS Secretariat of the
Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), AARINENA called an expert
consultation (20-21 March 2000, preceding the 7th General Conference)
involving representatives of the five WANA sub-regions as well as the main
regional and international institutions (ACSAD, AOAD, CIHEAM, ICARDA,
IPGRI-CWANA, ISNAR, FAO) active in agricultural research for development (ARD)
in the WANA region in order to launch the process of formulating a WANA
Agricultural Information System (WAIS).
With
the support of NARS-SEC of GFAR and FAO/SDR, AARINENA hired a consultant who
prepared a report that was presented at the ICT consultation meeting.
Twenty-fifth FAO Regional Conference for the Near East:
The President and the participants
of the 7th General Conference of AARINENA attended the 25th FAO Regional
Conference for the Near East, Beirut, Lebanon, 20-24 March 2000 when the
President of AARINENA, Dr. Mohamed Roozitalab, was addressing the Conference.
In
his address Dr. Roozitalab presented to the Conference the existing situation
in the region in terms of food availability, population growth, increasing
threats in terms of land degradation, desertification, depletion of water
resources and erosion of genetic diversities. The president's presentation
then carried on by referring to the Association's goals, mission and
objectives and of activities undertaken in the last couple of years for
strengthening the national agricultural research systems and enhance the
regional collaboration among different stakeholders of agricultural research
and development in the region. The
need for allocating more funds on agricultural research was also underlined.
Participants
attending the 7th General Conference of AARINENA and the Information and
Communication Technology Meeting 22-23 and 20-21 March 2000, respectively
GFAR-2000 Conference:
AARINENA participated with all its Executive
Committee members and representatives from regional universities, NARIs,
farmers' organizations and NGOs in the first systematically prepared meeting
of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) that took place in Dresden, Germany, on 21-23 May
2000. The topic of the conference
was "Strengthening Partnership in
Agricultural Research for Development in the Context of Globalization".
The overall objective of the conference
was to strengthen research partnerships among the stakeholders of agricultural
research for development (ARD). Three specific objectives were assigned to the
Conference: (a) Formulation
and endorsement of a Global Shared Vision and development of a Global
Strategic Agenda; (b) identification
of new innovative research partnerships in four priority areas (Genetic
Resources Management & Biotechnology; Natural Resources Management &
Agro-ecology; Global Networks along the principle of Commodity Chains; Policy
Management & Institutional Strengthening) and consensus-building on the
respective implementation strategies; and
(c) promotion of information and knowledge exchanges between the GFAR
Stakeholders.
Over 400 participants attended the GFAR-2000 meeting
from the seven stakeholder constituencies that make up the Global Forum: national agricultural research systems (NARS),
international agricultural research centers (IARCs-CGIAR), advanced research institutes (ARIs),
farmers' organizations, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), the private
sector and donors. Participants
came from both developing and developed countries, and from all regions of the
world.
All background documents as well as those prepared
during the conference can be found on the GFAR website (see http://www.fao.org/NARS).
AARINENA Executive Committee Meeting:
The meeting was held at the side of the conference (Dresden, Germnay) and was chaired by AARINENA
President, Dr. Mustafa Yahgi, and attended by the members of the Executive
Committee, the co-sponsors, Executive Secreatry of NARS/GFAR and Dr. Ibrahim
Hamdan on his capacity as Trust Fund Operating Officer.
The summary of the meeting
was as follows:
Dr.F. Chapparo, NARS Executive Secretary indicated that he would help in the
implementation of AARINENA ICT Strategy and Date Palm Network and the
Establishment of Partnership with the European Forum.
Dr.M. Roozitalab, will follow-up with ICARDA on the "Project of Natural
Resource Management/Agro-ecology and the Use of Mulch-based Systems. Dr.
I. Hamdan, Trust fund operating officer presented the financial status of
AARINENA and membership contributions. It was recommended that follow up
and reminders for the payment of the membership fees for the year 2000 be
done by the Secretary. Strengthening
AARINEA Secretariat was discussed; it was recommended to appoint an
Assistant Professional Officer (APO) and request the help of FAO
Representative in Lebanon for providing pouch services for AARINENA
newsletter distribution and other correspondence. It
was agreed to discuss the rules and procedures for AARINENA and
Constitutional amendments in the Next Executive Committee Meeting to be
held in Malta 17-18, September 2000. The next meeting of the
Executive Committee will be a follow up of AARINENA 7th General Conference and
it will review the implementation of the decisions and recommendations taken.
The
Conference adopted the Final Version of the Dresden Declaration "Towards a
Global System for Agricultural Research for Development".
PREAMBLE
At the dawn of the 21st century, we, the stakeholders of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), wish to remind the international community of the increasing importance and relevance of the three challenges that have guided agricultural research over the past decades:
increasing food production, food access and quality to keep pace with or exceed the rate of population growth;
economic development in the rural areas to alleviate the poverty and improve the quality of life that leads to exclusion of an important part of the world population, especially small farmers in marginal areas;
development of sustainable agricultural production systems that are compatible with sustainable management and conservation of natural resources.
These challenges have to be addressed in a rapidly changing socio-economic context. The following trends provide uncommon opportunities but may also create some threats to agricultural research for development:
Decrease of public research funding in the agricultural sector and emergence of privatized agricultural research, which imply a major change in the division of labor, necessitate the building of new partnerships and raised the issue of private versus public intellectual property rights.
Globalization and trade liberalization may improve food security through increased access to food at a global level, yet all people may not benefit equally.
Scientific advances in areas such as agro-ecology, the use of advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) and modern biotechnology are offering opportunities for improving agricultural production and productivity as well as nutritional value, while ensuring sustainable agriculture. There is, however, a critical need to assess the potential impact of these new technologies on human health and the environment.
To address these challenges, the GFAR stakeholders gathered in Dresden, Germany, from 21 to 23 May 2000, have adopted the following Global Vision for Agricultural Research for Development which builds on the diversity and complementarity of the different GFAR stakeholders.
Advances in agricultural research and development, including major breakthroughs in the new areas of science, have significantly contributed to meeting the challenge of food and nutrition security, agricultural sustainability, production and productivity. However, the world still faces an increasingly complex challenge of feeding its growing population and of eradicating poverty, while assuring an equitable and sustainable use of its natural resources.
We, the GFAR stakeholders, believe that:
food security, nutritional quality and safety, poverty alleviation and sustainable natural resources management are not only of concern to developing countries but are critical global issues with major impact on the well-being of the society;
addressing these issues is a prerequisite for assuring peaceful coexistence, the attainment of human rights and basic human development in the new century;
tackling these challenges is a matter of urgency, considering the rapid process of environmental deterioration and increasing inequalities, with long-term, pervasive impacts taking place in many parts of the world;
agriculture, rural development and the management of natural resources are not only economic activities, but strategic dimensions of contemporary societies that have important economic, social and environmental functions. It also includes the access to resources by farmers such as land, water and genetic resources.
We share a vision for the future encompassing: (a) the appreciation of the role knowledge plays in the development of agriculture; (b) the conviction that knowledge generation and utilization is increasingly based on global research systems and networks and on farmers-led experiments and innovations; and (c) the belief that new developments in areas of natural resource management, information and communication technologies (ICT) and modern biotechnology generate new opportunities. These new developments represent an enormous potential but, at the same time, could lead to serious negative effects, widening of technology gaps and social exclusion processes. As a consequence, their socio-economic, human health and environmental impacts have to be monitored, risks and benefits evaluated and then regulated as appropriate.
The GFAR stakeholders envision the development of an agriculture including crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry, which is:
sustainable, equitable, profitable and competitive, fulfilling its functions in the context of community-centered rural development, fully recognizing the role of women in agriculture;
diversified and flexible in its structure to cope with heterogeneous and rapidly changing agro-ecological and socio-economic environments with an important role for the farm family;
responsive to multiple sources of knowledge and innovation, both modern and traditional.
This vision implies a progressive shift of paradigm in Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) towards a holistic "Knowledge Intensive Agriculture" accessible to small and poor farmers.
In implementing this vision, the GFAR stakeholders agree to adhere to the following principles:
Programmes should clearly be subsidiary and complementary to the on-going work and provide a clearly identifiable added value.
Agricultural research should be demand-driven and implemented through equal partnerships among GFAR stakeholders.
Priorities for the research agenda are set with a focus on farmers' perspectives, taking into account the multi-functionality and regional heterogeneity of farming systems.
Research design and dissemination should involve the intended users and beneficiaries, particularly farmers.
The
GFAR stakeholders commit themselves to establishing the following three
building blocks of the Global System for Agricultural Research for Development
as first steps to implement the Global Vision:
The formulation of a global strategic research agenda, which capitalizes on the comparative advantages and the strengths of the different GFAR stakeholders;
The promotion of innovative, participatory, cost-effective and sustainable research partnerships and strategic alliances;
The ICT networking among stakeholders and the establishment of specialized agricultural knowledge and information systems.
We are convinced that these concerted actions can contribute to the emergence of a global system for agricultural research for development. We are also convinced that this will not succeed without additional investments in agricultural research, which implies additional efforts from the international community and the establishment of new funding mechanisms to mobilize both the public and private sectors. Therefore, the GFAR stakeholders request the policy and decision-makers to strongly support the on-going renewal of agricultural research for development.
The
publication "The National Agricultural Research Systems in the West Asia and
North Africa Region" the result of a joint undertaking of ICARDA, FAO,
AARINENA and CIHEAM has been released in early 2000.
These
monographs, included in this publication were prepared in 1998/99 by small,
highly qualified national teams according to precise guidelines, provide the
background for a global and cross country analysis, which demonstrates the
large diversity of the national agricultural research systems, their
structure, human and financial resources, research activities, relations with
development.
KING SAUD UNIVERSITY, College of Agriculture Agricultural Research Center, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Helmi M. Hathoot. 1999. Unsteady Flow through A Pipe Connecting Two Reservoirs.
Research Bulletin No. 80.
Mosffer M. Al-Dagal. 1999. Microbial Quality and Safety of Sausages Processed in
Major Supermarkets in Riyadh City, and in National Factories. Research Bulletin No. 81.
N.R. Bhat, F.K. Taha, Habiba Al-Menaie and Mazid Al-Zalzaleh. 1999. Research
Bulletin No. 82.
Yahya A. Al-Nabulsi. 1999. Soil Properties as Affected by Crop Rotation and Nitrogen
Fertilization. Research Bulletin No. 83.
Saleh A. Al-Suhaibani and Mohammed F. Wahby. 1999. Repair and Maintenance Cost
Models of Seed Drill. Research Bulletin No. 84.
SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY, Sultanate of Oman
G.V. Chomo, A.S. Al-Marshudi and O.S. Al-Jabri. 1999. Food Import Demand: Meat,
Dairy Products, Eggs and Live Animals in Oman. Journal for Scientific Research
Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 1-6.
M.J. Soleimani and M.D. Deadman. 1999. Factors Affecting the Levels of Eyespot and
Fusarium Foot-Rot on winter Wheat cv. Hereward in Cereal Monocrops and wheat Clover
Bicrops. Journal for Scientific Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 7-12.
J.R.M. Thacker. 1999. Identification of a Plant Phytosterol with Toxicity against Arthropod
Pests. Journal for Scientific Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 13-18.
K.P. Akhtar, I.A. Kham, M.J. Jaskani and M.A. Khan. 1999. Isolation and Characterization
of Fusarium moniliforme var. subglutinans from Malformed Mango. Journal for
Scientific Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 19-26.
E.A. Elhag, A.H. El Nadi and A.A. Zaitoon. 1999. Ovipositional Deterrence of Methanolic
and Etherial Extracts of Five Plants to the Cowpea Bruchid, Callosobruchus
maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Journal for Scientific Research Agricultural
Sciences 4(2): 27-34.
A. Tanveer, M. Ayub, R. Ahmad and A. Ali. 1999. Phytotoxic Effect of Herbicides with
and without Surfactant on weed Growth and Yield of Wheat. Journal for Scientific
Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 35-40.
S.K. Nadaf, S.A. Al-Khamisi, M.G. El-Hag, A.H. Al-Lawati and Y.M. Ibrahim. 1999.
Productivity of Saltbush (Atriplex) Species Under Saline Soil and Water Conditions
in Oman. Journal for Scientific Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 41-46.
M.M. El-Fouly and M.M. Shaban. 1999. The Nutritional Status of some Horticultural
Crops in Salalah Region, Sultanate of Oman. Journal for Scientific Research
Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 47-52.
R. Ahmad, J.C. Stark, a. Tanveer and T. Mustafa. 1999. Yield Potential and Stability
Indices as Methods to Evaluate Spring Wheat Genotypes under Drought. Journal for
Scientific Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 53-60.
N. Guizani and K. Al-Ramadani. 1999. Microflora and Physical-Chemical Characteristics
of Omani Laban. Journal for Scientific Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 61-64.
M. Ahmed, S.A. Al-Rawahy, M.S. Al-Kalbani and J.K. Al-Handaly. 1999. Leaching
Potential of Some Omani Soils: Soil Column and Drip Irrigation. Journal for
Scientific Research Agricultural Sciences 4(2): 65-70.
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Visiting
Professorship in the Political Ecology of the Western Mediterranean
The
Centers for European Studies (CES) and for Middle Eastern and North African
Studies (CMENAS) at the University of Michigan anticipate funding to support a
Visiting Professorship for AY 2001-02. The Centers seek scholars whose
research and teaching concern issues of health, social, and environmental
policy in the western Mediterranean basin. The appointment would be held
jointly between the Centers and one or more suitable professional schools at
the University of Michigan (Public Health, Public Policy, Natural Resources
and Environment).
The
position would involve teaching two courses per year: one graduate-level or
elective professional school course and one undergraduate course. The Visiting
Professor would foster interdisciplinary collaborations between the Centers
and the professional schools on the theme of political ecology of the western
Mediterranean. Scholars or researchers at any stage of their career are
invited to apply.
Applicants should send a letter of interest, a curriculum vitae, and samples of written work, together with three letters of recommendation to the attention of:
Visiting Professorship Search Committee
Center
for Middle Eastern and North African Studies
The
International Institute
University
of Michigan
1080
South University Avenue, Suite 4640
Ann
Arbor, MI 48109-1106
USA
Fax:
734.764.8523
For
additional information, <cmenas@umich.edu>
CIHEAM:
International Center for Advance Mediterranean Agronomic Studies
Cources 1999-00, 2000-01
For
more information on courses programmed, as well as the application form search
the Web page <http://www.iamz.ciheam.org
>
Or
write to:
Intituto
Agronomico Mediterraneo de Zaragoza
Apartado
202-50080 Zaragoza (SPAIN)
Tel.
(34)976576013; Fax (34)976 57 6377
email: <iamz@iamz.ciheam.org>
All correspondence concerning this journal should
be addressed to:
Editor-in-chief University of Aden Journal of Natural
and Applied Sciences, University of Aden, Khormaksar,
P.O.Box 6312 Aden, Republic of Yemen.
Fax: 967-2-234426
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