ASSOCIATION OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
INSTITUTIONS IN THE NEAR EAST
AND NORTH AFRICA
(AARINENA)
Proceedings of the 10th General Conference of AARINENA
Sana’a, Yemen,25-27 June, 2006
CONTENTS
Opening
Session
Election
of Reporter & Nomination Officer & Adoption of the Agenda
AARINENA
Activities Report
Inter-Regional
Cooperation’s Session
Network
Activities Session
AARINENA
ICM-RAIS Advocacy Workshop
Administrative
Issues & Work Plan Session
Constitutional
Amendment
Financial
statement
Work plan for
2006-2007
Election of
the New Executive Committee of AARINENA
Date and
Venue of the 11th General Conference of AARINENA
Decisions
Taken by the Executive Committee
Annex I (List
of Participants)
Annex II
(Agenda)
Annex III (AARINENA
Activity Report)
Opening Session
The 10th General Conference of AARINENA was held in Sana’a, Yemen during the
period of 25 to 27th of June 2006, under the auspices of His Excellency Mr.
Abdel Kader Ba-Jamal, the Prime Minister of Yemen. The Conference was
cosponsored by FAO, ICARDA, GFAR and IPGRI in Collaboration with the
Agricultural Research & Extension Authority (AREA) in Yemen.
The opening session was addressed by H.E. Dr. Galal Fakirah the Minister of
Agriculture and Irrigation in Yemen. Adel El-Beltagy GFAR Chair, Dr. Mahmoud
Solh ICARDA Director General, Hashim A-Shami FAO/Rep in Yemen, Dr. George Ayad
IPGRI Regional Coordinator Dr. Abdelnabi Fardous AARINENA President and Dr.
Ismail Muharram, the Chairman of Agricultural Research & Extension Authority
(AREA) in Yemen.
Commemorative Awards of appreciation were presented to Dr Mohamed Zehni, Dr.
Abdelnabi Fardous, Dr. Ola Smith and Dr. Mohamed Roozitalab for their
contributions and support to AARINENA.
Nineteen Institution representatives from AARINENA member countries participated
in the conference: (Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya,
Malta, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen).
Representatives of 14 Regional and International organizations representatives
also participated in the conference: (AOAD, APAARI, FAO, FARA, FORAGRO, GFAR,
Heifer International, ICARDA, ICBA, IFAD, IFAP, IFPRI, IPGRI, and UNOPS. (Annex
I).
Election of Reporter, Nomination
Officer & Adoption of the Agenda
The conference elected Dr. George Attard from Malta as Reporter and Dr. Christos
Papacrhristforou from Cyprus as Nomination Officer. The agenda of the meeting
was adopted by the conference (Annex II).
AARINENA
Activities Session
The session was chaired by Dr. Fardous who presented Dr. Ibrahim Hamdan, the
Executive Secretary to report on AARINENA activities that was implemented since
the 9th General Conference held in Oman in April 2004. The report included the
decisions and recommendations of the Executive Committee meetings, RAIS-ICT
activities, Networks activities, Global post harvest initiative, publications
and meetings held during this period. (Report details are shown in Annex III).
Then the chairman requested AARINENA sub regional representatives to present the
activities in their sub-regions. Presentation was made by Dr. Ahmad Al-Bakri,
representing the Arabian Peninsula Sub-Region who reviewed the progress made in
the Arabian Peninsula sub region. Dr. Al-Bakri welcomed the new member's that
joined AARINENA and thanked ICARDA for establishing permanent office of AARINENA
at ICARDA Regional Office in Amman, Jordan. He was pleased that AARINENA
cosponsored two international activities in Oman on "Post Harvest Technology and
Quality Management in Arid Tropics" and on "Bio-safety". He listed various
activities conducted by the Arabian Peninsula sub region along with the
publication of a Success story from Oman on Rangeland seeds.
Dr. Ismail Muharram, representing the Nile Valley and Red Sea made a
presentation on the sub-region activities. He indicated that members of the
sub-region have participated in the activities of the Date-palm, Medicinal
&Aromatic plants and Olive networks and in the Regional Agricultural Information
System (RAIS). He stated that the newly elected chairman of the Information
&Communication Technology (ICT) Steering Committee is from Yemen. He described
his participation representing AARINENA in the IFAP meeting in Anatalya-Turkey.
He made a presentation on “Involving farmers and farmers’ organizations in the
research work” as a case study from Yemen.
Dr. Bouchaib Bolnour, on behalf of Dr. Hamid Narjisse, representing the Maghareb
sub-region summarized the activities of the sub-region as follows :a) AARINENA
Executive committee meeting (22-23 December, 2004) in Marrakech adopted a
proposal for establishing a Water Use Efficiency Network and recommended to
prepare GAP manual for Olive; b) INRA presented a country paper on the national
agricultural information system in Morocco at the Inter-regional ICT - RAIS
meeting 10-13 May, 2005; c) Represented AARINENA at FARA General Assembly
meeting 6 – 12 June, 2005 in Entebbe – Uganda and d) Represented AARINENA at
FARA Executive Committee Meeting, February 2006 in ACRA ; the meeting was
dedicated to governance issues in FARA management as well as discussion of
project initiatives presented by FARA on North African countries initiative
within FARA Organization, Promotion of Science and Technology for Agricultural
development.
Mrs. Taraneh Ebrahimi, on Behalf of Dr. M Roozitalab, representing the West Asia
sub-region, presented the activities in the sub-region which included the
Priorities of Collaboration in Agricultural Research, 2006-2010 And Agricultural
information management system Activities on the Design, collection of
data(Online) and establishment of Database on Agricultural Researchers in the
Western Asia Sub-Region (Iran, Pakistan, Turkey). The presentation included
information about activities on the Cotton Network.
Inter-Regional Cooperation’s Session
The session was chaired by Dr. A. El-Beltagy; several presentations were made
regarding inter-regional cooperation. GFAR presentation was made by Mr. Ola
Smith who indicated that Inter regional Collaboration next steps should include:
a) Continue and intensify mutual participation in RF activities (networking and
identification of opportunities), b) Formal studies to identify strengths and
opportunities, c) Intensify formal and informal exchanges of information,
knowledge and expertise (success stories) d) Adopt the EMBRAPA Labex model of
capacity building and e) Develop and implement joint activities of mutual
interest.
Mr. Jack Wilkinson, President of IFAP, centered his talk on the threat being
faced by small farmers all over the world. He felt that the small family farm is
in danger of becoming extinct. Furthermore, the emergence of large supermarkets
in all four corners of the globe is posing serious threats to the local small
farm holdings. He thus made a plea to those present to take note of this
situation and urged them to take a stand to protect the small farmer.
Dr. Mohamed Zehni, in his presentation, traced the steps that led to the
development of a Regional Conservation Strategy for the WANA Region. He stressed
that, while this was an initiative by the Global Crop Diversity Trust (the
Trust), the Strategy eventually would be further developed and owned by the
region. The Trust had envisaged, from the beginning, that the strategy to be
developed in consultation with AARINENA and other major stakeholders. Based on
the information gathered from twelve countries, Dr. Zehni indicated that so far,
countries in the region have made a good job in collecting and conserving PGRFA,
but he emphasized that crop diversity is at risk making the case for sustaining
major crop collections in the region. He reviewed measures to strengthen
coordination and collaboration at national and regional level and appealed to
the General Conference to endorse, in principle, the WANA Strategy allowing it,
along with any future PGR collaborative regional mechanism, to develop under its
auspices.
Dr. Raj Paroda presented APAARI activities related to Inter-regional Partnership
such as: membership among Regional Fora, participation in meetings, sharing
information through GFAR Global-RAIS initiative and success stories. He gave
examples of research networking including: INCANA, APCoAB, CLAN (ICRISAT,
ICARDA, and AVRDC). He mentioned other activities of inter-regional
collaborations: the new initiative on - Linking Farmers to Market (LFM):
Inter-RWG meeting on September 11-15, 2006, Cairo, Egypt. He cited partnership
in the future for collaboration with AARINENA: INCANA, date palm network and
medicinal & aromatic plants network. He called for Greater cooperation between
AARINENA, APAARI and CACAARI in Participation in meetings and in Joint
Publications. Dr. Paroda requested Support from: GFAR, FAO, ICARDA and ICRISAT
to strengthen partnerships and working together with an aim to strengthen
Agricultural Research in Asia –Pacific and throughout the World.
Mrs. Myra Woperies-Pura presented on behalf of Dr. Monty Jones “FARA
inter-regional partnership”. The presentation included information about Africa
in terms of its rural populations, average growth, land areas and arable land
and about low agricultural production. The pillars of Comprehensive African
Agricultural Development program (CAADP) were presented. Then she explained the
main Thrusts of FARA on 1) Advocacy & constituency building 2) Partnership
promotion and 3) Information and Learning Exchange. The status and activities on
these thrusts was presented in detail, in addition to the current status of ARD
in Africa and the Framework for African Agricultural Productivity (FAAP). The
presentation included information about the Sub Saharan Africa Challenge Program
(SSA CP), the pilot learning sites and projects in the sub –regions and the
Regional Agricultural Information Learning Program System (RAILS). Finally the
presentation focused on future partnership with AARINENA by facilitating the
North African countries involvement in all FARA regional initiatives
Dr. Cruz presented the Forum of the Americas for agricultural research and
technology development (FORAGRO). In his presentation he covered some important
characteristics of the Agriculture sector in Latin America .A region of large
capacity for agricultural production and livestock production. He also covered
the Agricultural challenges in the LAC from technological perspective tendencies
of the agricultural sector. He outlined the priority themes for the regional R&D
Agenda for FORAGRO: 1) Conservation, characterization and use of genetic
resource 2) Sustainable management of natural resources 3) Agri-business:
promotion and development 4) Development and use of new biotechnology products
and 5) Information systems and training in ICTs.
Dr. Wilberforce, Kisamba-Mugerwa presented Strengthening Impact Orientation in
Agricultural Research for Development Systems in Africa. In his presentation he
covered :IFPRI Vision and Mission; ISNAR Needs Assessments Results, Paradigm
Shift; ISNAR Primary focus; ISNAR division research Components; ISNAR division
Programs; Agenda setting for Impact Orientation; Alternative Institutional
Framework and Implementation Strategy.
Network
Activities Session
Dr. Mahmoud Solh chaired this session who emphasized that networks are a mean
and not an end in problem solving. Networking gives to more complementarily
activity and is a tool to have experts to discuss and collaborate together. He
asked Dr. A. Zaid the network coordinator for the Date-Palm Global Network to
make presentation on the network activities. Dr. Zaid presented information on
the network background, objectives, membership, technical working groups,
achievements and publications. He emphasized the importance of intensification
of scientific cooperation, as well as the effective exchange of information and
expertise.
Mrs Taraneh Ebrahimi presented the activities in the Inter-regional Cotton
Network for Asia and North Africa (INCANA). She covered the background
information on the network establishment by the three regional FORAs:AARINENA,
APAARI and CACARI supported by GFAR, then she presented the progress publishing
the second issue of E-Newsletter ,Publishing Success story and Making website
bilingual (English, Russian) . She described the traveling workshop on Bt-Cotton
conducted in India
Dr. Saleh Shdeifat presented the activities on the Regional Olive network which
included the first annual network meeting held in Cyprus. In this meeting the
members elected a new chairman of the board and reviewed the draft on olive Good
agricultural Practices (GAP) for AARINENA countries and proposed division of
labor for the participants for each chapter of the manual.
Dr. Mousa Fayad presented the progress made on the Regional Medicinal & aromatic
Plants. He gave information about its establishment, focal points and the
formation of new working groups. He described the first annual meeting of the
Network held in Malta and the preparation of the work plan for the next two
years.
Dr. Mohamed Al-Attar presented the activities of ICBA’s Inter-Islamic Networks
on Biosaline Agriculture which include over 70 member countries, including
AARINENA's member states. The network assists research institutions, extension
education services and centers, NGO's, and the private sector at the national,
regional, and international levels. It is worth noting that ICBA has made
extensive efforts to make all the information of this network available to its
member states. The network identifies effective irrigation methods, achieving a
sustainable production of agricultural crops grown on high salinity soils with
gene bank databases for salt-tolerant crops, as well as the evaluation of
selected field crops grown under saline conditions.
Dr. Rupert Best reviewed the status on the Global Partnership for Building
Smallholder Farmers’ Links to Growth Markets Position for the WANA region. He
described the purpose of the presentation as to a) Inform about progress towards
establishing WANA region’s participation in a Global Partnership Program on
Linking Farmers to Markets and b) Secure support, when required, in the
development of the program. He outlined the presentation to cover a) Global
Partnership Programs (GPP) and the Linking Farmers to Markets initiative b)
Origin and evolution of WANA region’s participation, c)The WANA region proposal
and d) Next steps to be followed by Presenting the proposal at the
inter-regional design workshop for the Global Partnership Program to be held in
Cairo, September 2006.
AARINENA RAIS- ICM Advocacy Workshop
Improving information and communications management (ICM) at the National
Agricultural Information Systems (NARS) and research institute level is critical
for agricultural research for development (ARD). Efficient and effective use of
information improves the quality of research which, in turn, contributes to
better agricultural technology generation and use by farmers and producers. This
contributes to improved farm productivity. At the moment, there is a perception
that ICM is not receiving due attention in terms of investment as also where the
investment should be directed for rapid improvement in information access and
use.
Under the ICM4ARD Global Partnership Program Plan of Work, workshops to create
awareness regarding investing in ICM and strengthening the capacity of NARS
leaders and policy to advocate for increased and improved investment in ICM are
being carried out by regional organizations.
The Workshop under the chairmanship of Dr. Ahmed Al-Bakri, was composed of three
parts. In the first part the major stakeholders of AARINENA presented the status
of ICM activities and future plans of work in the WANA region. In the second,
NARS leaders and policy makers, through a group exercise, identified their needs
in advocating for increased and improved investments in ICM for ARD. In the
third, a plenary session, a set of activities that could be conducted by
AARINENA to support the NARS leaders and policy makers in their advocacy role
was identified for action by AARINENA.
Dr. Ibrahim Hamdan presented the objectives and potential outputs of the
advocacy workshop. In his presentation, Dr. Hamdan stated that the WANA region
is a food deficient area. Its population growth is higher than the global
average. The need to reduce rural poverty and improve sustainable livelihoods
for the rural population is urgent in the region. For rapid agricultural
development, there is an urgent need to harness new technologies, especially
biotechnology, materials science and information and communications technology.
He stressed that these new technologies hold great potential to contribute to
agriculture in the region through new seeds and germplasm, conserving natural
resources, especially water and soil nutrients, and enabling effective use of
knowledge.
Dr. Nihad Maliha of ICARDA in his presentation focused on the importance of
using information and communications technology for agricultural research and
development in the region. His presentation indicated how it has become
important not to neglect the shift in the paradigm of agricultural research due
to introduction of new ICTs.
Mr. Robert Portegies-Zwart of WAICENT, FAO, Rome presented recent initiatives in
information and communications management for agricultural research and
development, such as AGRIS, IMARK and AGORA. He also described the outcomes of
an expert consultation of agricultural information systems held in Rome in
October, 2005 and the formation of a global “new AGRIS Initiative” in which all
major international agencies involved in improving information management for
agricultural research are participating. Mr. Portegies-Zwart also distributed an
IMARK CD-ROM on “Investing in Information for Development”.
On behalf of Dr. Enrica Porcari, Dr. Nihad Maliha presented the activities of
the ICT-KM initiative of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR). He highlighted the changes the initiative is bringing in the
CGIAR Institutes and the role the ICT-KM initiative is playing in the outcomes
of the Expert Consultations held in Rome in October, 2005.
Dr. Ajit Maru of GFAR highlighted the activities under the ICM4ARD Global
Partnership program and the GFAR draft Communication Strategy which includes
reengineering EGFAR and developing an electronic document repository for GFAR.
Dr. Mohamed Salaam, Chairman of the AARINENA.RAIS Steering Committee presented
the activities of AARINENA.RAIS. In his presentation, based on various country
reports made at the recent General assembly of AARINENA.RAIS at Amman, Jordan in
April 2006, he stated that while the ICT infrastructure in the NARS and in rural
areas, especially telephony, was improving rapidly, the capacities to deal with
electronic information within the region were very weak. He indicated that there
is a need to increase and improve investment both in material resources and
human skills in ICM. He stressed the need to develop capacity to generate
agricultural information useful to farmers, especially in Arabic. He indicated
the work plan of AARINENA.RAIS for the next 3 years and solicited support from
the senior NARS leaders present at the assembly.
Dr. Mohamed Rafea of ARC, Egypt, presented a report on the ongoing activities in
developing a National Agricultural Research Information Management System
(NARIMS) which will be shared as a model and application within the region.
Ms. Taraneh Ebrahimi presented the new look of the AARINENA.RAIS website. She
solicited support from the NARS leaders to share information in the region
through the AARINENA.RAIS website.
In the second part of the workshop there was a Working Group Session of NARS
leaders and policy makers. Mr. Robert Portegies-Zwart, Dr. Nihad Maliha, Dr.
Mohamed Rafea and Dr. Ajit Maru facilitated the two working groups. The NARS
leaders discussed what inputs they would need to advocate increased and improved
investment in ICM in their respective NARS and ARI. The two groups came to the
following needs:
• Ability to create a System-wide and Institutional vision for effective and
efficient use of ICTs and improved ICM
• Support for Needs Assessment, Feasibility Studies and funding proposals for
improving ICT use and ICM
• Support to identify appropriate infrastructure for the System and Institutes
and funding support for infrastructure
• Human capacity development especially in managing information and
communication through ICT enabled agricultural information systems, which
require a blend of knowledge and skills related both to agriculture and ICT. The
skills required are at various levels, especially management and managerial, and
are not filled by current short term training approaches. A major issue in the
NARS is also retaining good quality staff.
• Financial support as enabling effective use of ICTs and improving ICM in the
NARS goes beyond buying computers and involves significant changes in policy,
people, processes and procedures
• Establishing appropriate organizational structures for ICM in the NARS and
Research Institutes
• Setting up a monitoring and evaluation process for:
o Information and communications management
o Resources and project management using ICTs in the NARS
In the Plenary Session, NARS leaders and policy makers indicated activities that
AARINENA can undertake to support their advocacy for increased and improved
investment in ICM in their NARS and ARIS:
• A workshop of NARS leaders and policy makers to identify and prioritize the
needs for improving ICM in the WANA region for AARINENA to act on it
• A training workshop for NARS leaders and policy makers to enable them to
improve their advocacy
• Supporting the NARS in developing concept notes, proposals and feasibility
studies to improve ICM
• Enabling sharing and exchange of expertise on ICM in ARD within and outside
the region
• Sharing evidence in the form of case studies and documents related to ICM for
ARD in the region
• Identifying champions for ICM in the region
The Advocacy Workshop ended with concluding remarks by the Chairperson. Dr.
Ibrahim Hamdan thanked the Chairperson and the Rapporteur for their excellent
management and contributions to the Workshop.
Administrative Issues & Work Plan Session
The session was chaired by Dr. Magdy Madkour who summed up the response of the
conference to the newly developed Regional PGR Conservation Strategy for WANA
initiated by the Global Crop Biodiversity Trust. On the request of the Chairman,
Dr. Hamdan introduced the constitutional amendments, a financial statement and a
work plan for AARINENA and requested the approval by the Conference.
Constitutional Amendment:
1- All members present approved the amendment of Article X-1 regarding the
Executive Secretary appointment by deleting the words; “from among the technical
staff hosting the seat of the Association” thus making the appointment open to
any competent staff from any member country.
2- All members reconfirmed approval of the AARINENA permanent seat being located
at ICARDA’s office in Amman, Jordan.
Financial statement:
Financial Statement and audited report for the year 2004/2005 was presented and
distributed to all members.
Work plan 2006/2007:
The Conference agreed to implement the work plan of those activities that have
already secured funds and are in progress as follows:
i) Inter-regional Information and Communication Management for Agricultural
Development (ICM4ARD)
ii) Establish New Water Use Efficiency and Biotechnology networks
iii) Support the ongoing Global Post Harvest Initiative (GPHI) in linking
farmers to markets in the four commodity networks
With regard to the Global Crop Biodiversity Trust the conference:
o Welcomes and supports the initiative of the Global Crop Biodiversity Trust for
the development of a Regional Conservation Strategy for the WANA Region, with
the widest country representation from the region,
o Endorses in principle the establishment of the of the Regional Conservation
Strategy for the WANA Region under the umbrella of AARINENA allowing it to
develop further with the support of AARINENA member countries,
o Includes the further development of the strategy and related networking
capacities in future AARINENA work plans leading to a plant genetic resources
for food and agriculture (PGRFA) coordinating mechanism for the WANA Region,
o Urges the donors’ community to secure the financial for a successful
implementation of the Strategy.”
Dr. Christos Papacrhristforou pointed out the lack of animal-oriented
activities. Animal production is not presently included in any of AARINENA work
plan activities. Livestock production is a significant contributor to CDP and
genetic diversity. Animal production is very important in the Maghreb region. Dr
Madkour stated that ICARDA recognizes the contribution of livestock in the WANA
region. ICARDA is committed to work in the area in particularly small ruminants.
A lot of work has been done on plants but little work was dome on animals. The
members agreed to start discussing to identify themes of interest for animal
production.
Election of the New Executive Committee of AARINENA
The Nomination Officer declared that according to rules of procedure, the
sub-regional representatives elected five members from their respective
sub-regions as follows:
Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria representatives elected Dr. Majd
Jamal from Syria as Mashreq sub-regional representative.
Libya, Malta, Morocco and Tunisia representatives elected Eng. Adnan Gibriel
from Libya as Maghreb sub-regional representative.
Egypt, Sudan and Yemen representatives elected Dr. Ismail Muharram as Nile
Valley and Red Sea sub-regional representative.
Kuwait, Oman and UAE representatives elected Dr. Ahmad N. Al Bakri from Oman
as the Arabian Peninsula sub regional representative.
Then the conference moved to the election of the President, Vice President by
secret ballot. The results were: Dr. Ahmed El-Bakri, from Oman, was elected as
President of AARINENA and Dr. Ismail Muharram, from Yemen, was elected as Vice
President.
The Newly Elected Executive Committee members are:
1. Dr.Ahmad Nasser Al Bakri (Arabian Peninsula), President,
2. Dr. Ismail Muharram (Nile Valley & Red Sea), Vice-President,
3. Dr. Majd Jamal (Mashreq Sub-region), Member
4. Eng. Adnan Gibriel (Maghreb Sub-region), Member.
Date and Venue of the 11th General Conference of AARINENA
The 11th General Conference of AARINENA will be held in Syria in June 2008 and
the12th General Conference will be held in Libya in 2010.
The Newly-Elected Executive Committee Meeting
The newly-elected executive committee met at the end of the conference under the
chairmanship of Dr. Ahmad Al-Bakri and took the following decisions:
1- WANA delegation to GFAR 2006 in November 2006 in India will be composed of
the following:
o AARINENA Executive Committee Members
o AARINENA Network Coordinators
o AARINENA ICT Steering Committee Members;
o NGO Representatives
o Farmers Representatives
o University Representatives
2- With Regard to the work plan, it was agreed to implement those activities
which have already secured funds and are in progress as follows:
o Inter-regional Information and Communication Management for Agricultural
Development (ICM4ARD)
o Establish New Water Use Efficiency and Biotechnology networks Dr. M. Jamal
indicated that he will contact Mr. Abdel-Kareem Al-Amiri regarding the support
for the Biotechnology Network
o Support the ongoing Global Post Harvest Initiative (GPHI) in linking farmers
to markets in the 4 commodity networks
3- With Regard to the activation of the role of sub-regional representatives in
promoting AARINENA membership and activities within their sub-regions. Dr. Majd
Jamal indicated that he will contact the 4 universities in Syria to seek their
membership to AARINENA and requested application forms. Dr. Hamdan indicated
that the forms could be taken from AARINENA Website under Governance. Other
members promised to support AARINENA activities in their Sub-regions.
4- With the regard to Inter-regional Collaboration it was noted that the above
planned activities in the work plan have an inter-regional collaboration element
such as ICM4ARD and GPHI
5- With Regard to the West Asia sub-regional representative and in order to
conform to AARINENA Constitution, the Committee requested the secretariat to
address Pakistan which is a full member of AARINENA to nominate a representative
to the committee to serve as an observer. In case they do not respond within one
month another letter will be sent to Iran to nominate their representative to
the Committee as an observer.
6- Venue and date of AARINENA 11th General Conference, the Committee agreed to
the offer by Dr. Majd Jamal Mashreq sub-region representative to host the 11th
AARINENA general conference in Syria in May-June 2008 and the offer by Eng.
Adnan Gebriel, Maghreb Sub-region representative to host AARINENA 12th General
Conference in Libya in 2010.
7- The Committee agreed on the following tentative schedule of meetings:
- Executive Committee Meeting in conjunction of GFAR 2006 Conference, November
2006 in New-Delhi, India.
- Executive Committee Meeting in Aleppo – Syria May 2007 in conjunction with
ICARDA 30 Year anniversary meeting.
- Executive Committee Meeting In Libya in December 2007.
- Executive Committee Meeting in Damascus –Syria, May-June 2008 in conjunction
with AARINENA 11th General Conference.
At the end of the meeting the President thanked the Government of Yemen
represented by AREA for hosting the General Conference and for the excellent
arrangement for the meeting. He also thanked all members and participants for
their fruitful discussions and contributions.
Annex-I
List of Participants
Member Countries & Institutions:
Cyprus:
Dr. Christos Papachristoforou
Senior Agricultural Research Officer
Agricultural Research Institute
Ministry of Agriculture,
Natural Resources and Environment
P. O. Box 22016, 1516 Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel: +357 22 403122
Fax: +357 22 3167770
E-mail: Christos@arinet.ari.gov.cy
Egypt:
Prof. Dr. Tag El-Din Shehab El-Din
Vice President of Agricultural Research Center
9 Gamaa st.,
Giza 12619 Egypt
Tel: +202-5734447
Mobile: +20-10-6969264
Fax: +202-5714959
E-mail: drtag_arcres@yahoo.com
Dr. Mahmoud Rafea
Director of CLAES, ARC,
Gamaa st., Giza - Egypt
Tel: +202-3317615
E-mail: mahmoud@claes.sci.eg
IRAN:
Mrs. Taraneh Ebrahimi
RAIS-AARINENA Secretariat
Tabank Ave., Charlan Highway, Tehran, Iran
Tel: +98-21-22414338
Fax: +98-21-22400067
E-mail: t-ebrahimi@aarinena.org
Website: http://www.aarinena.org
JORDAN:
Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Kasrawi
Dean, Faculty of Agriculture
University of Jordan
Amman-Jordan
Tel: +962-6-5355000 Ext.: 2523
Mobile: +962-777 490545
Fax: +962 6 5355577
E-mail: kasrawi@ju.edu.jo
Dr. Mousa Fayyad
National Center for Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT)
P.O.Box 639 Baqaa-19381 Amman – Jordan
Tel: +962-6-4726680
Fax: +962-6-4726099
E-mail: musaf20022002@yahoo.com
Dr. Saleh Shdeifat
National Center for Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT)
P.O.Box 639 Baqaa-19381 Amman – Jordan
Tel: +962-6-4726680
Fax: +962-6-4726099
E-mail: salehshd2002@yahoo.com
KUWAIT:
KISR
Dr. Yousif Al-Shayji,
Manager/Biotechnology Department
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR)
P. O. Box: 24885
Safat 13109
Kuwait
Tel: +965-4836100/5500-5501
Fax: +965-4836637
E-mail: yshayji@kisr.edu.kw
PAAF
Mr. Faisal Yousif Al Sadeeki
Deputy Director General of Plant Resources
Public Authority of agriculture Affairs and Fisheries (PAAF)
POBOX: 21422
Safat 13075 Kuwait
Fax: 965-4765551
Mr. Adal abdulaziz Al Shuhab
Head of the Experimental and Laboratory sector
Wafra agriculture administration
Public Authority of agriculture Affairs and Fisheries (PAAF)
POBOX: 21422
Safat 13075 Kuwait
Fax: 965-4765551
LEBANON:
Dr. Michel Afram
President and Director of General of Lebanese
Agricultural Research Institute (LARI)
Lebanon
Tal Amara, Rayak,
P. O. Box Zahle 287
Tel : +961-8-901575 & 901576
Fax : +961-8-900077
E-Mail :lari@lari.gov.lb
LIBYA:
Dr. Adnan Faraj Gibriel
Director General of
Agricultural Research Center, ARC
Libya
P.O.Box 2480, Tripoli, Libya
Tel: +218 -913233462
Fax: +218 21 3614993
E-mail: adnangibriel@yahoo.com
MALTA:
Dr. George Attard
Director, Institute of Agriculture
University of Malta, Msida 06 Malta
Tel: +356-23402322
Fax: +356-2340221/21322230
E-mail: george.attard@um.edu.mt
MOROCCO:
Dr. Bouchaib Boulanouar
Director of Scientific Division
National Agronomic Research Institute
INRA
P. O. Box 415 Rabat,
Tel: +212-37770955
Fax: +212-37770049
E-mail: narjisse@lbnawam.inra.org.ma
OMAN:
Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al-Bakri
Director of Agriculture Production Research Center
Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries
P.O. Box 50, P C. 121
Seeb - Sultanate of Oman
Mobile: +968-99-359797
Fax: +968 24695909
E-mail: albakry98@hotmail.com
agricop@omantel.net.om
research@omantel.net.om
PALESTINE:
Dr. Ahmed Abu Tawahina
Director of General Management for
Socio Economic Research
Ministry of Agriculture
P. O. Box 209, Jericho, Palestine
Tel: +970-599-617201
Fax: 970-2-2321926
SUDAN:
Prof. Elsadig Suliman Mohamed
Deputy Director General,
Agricultural Research Corporation
P. O. Box 126
Wad Medani, Sudan
Tel: +249-511-842226
Fax: +249 511 843213
E-mail: aahamada56@yahoo.com
SYRIA:
Dr. Majd Jamal
Director General,
General Establishment for Agricultural
Scientific Research,
Ministry of Agriculture,
P. O. Box 113, Douma, Damascus
Tel : +963-11-5741940
Fax: +963-11-5757992
E-mail: gcsar-dir@mail.sy
E-mail: majdjama@scs-net.org
TUNISIA :
Dr. Habib Amamou
Director General
Institution de la Recherche
Et de l’Enseignement Superieur Agricoles (IRESA)
30 rue Alain Savary
1002 Tunis
Tel : +216-71-791056
Fax : +216-71-796170
E-mail: amamou.habib@iresa.agrinet.tn
UAE:
Dr. Abdallah Al-Aboudi
Ministry of Environment and Water
P.O Box: 1509, Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Fax: +971-42957766
E-mail: Research.maf@uae.gov.ae
YEMEN:
Dr. Ismail Muharram.
Chairman of Agricultural Research &
Extension Authority, AREA.
Sana'a PO BOX : 87148
Tel: +967-6-509413
Mobile: +967-737-25298
Fax: +967-6-6423913
Mobile: +967-733-725298
E.mail: muharram@yemen.net.ye
Dr. Mohammed Sallam
Director of Ext. Programs
AREA
P. O. Box: 87148
AREA, Dhamar, Yemen
Tel:+967-6-423913 or +967-77301426
Fax:+967-6-423914
e-mail: sallam2003@yemen.net.ye
ORGANIZATIONS
AARINENA
Dr. Abdel Nabi Fardous
President of AARINENA
Director General
National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT)
P. O. Box 639
Baqaa 19381 Jordan
Tel: +962-6-4726680
Fax: +962-6-4726099
E-mail: fardous@ncartt.gov.jo
Dr. Ibrahim Hamdan
AARINENA Executive Secretary
P. O. Box 950764 Amman 11195 Jordan
Tel: +962-6-5525750
Fax: +962-6-5525930
E-mail: i.hamdan@cgiar.org
AOAD:
Eng. Suleiman Awaji
Head of AOAD Office
Yemen
APAARI:
Dr. Raj Paroda
Executive Secretary APAARI
39 Phra Nakorn
Bangkok 10200 Thailand
Tel: +662-697-4371/2
E-mail: rujirek@appari.org
And Head, CAC ICARDA
P. O. Box: 4564
Tashkent 700 00
Uzbekistán
Tel: +99 87 11372169
Fax: +99 87 11207125
E-mail: cac-tashkent@icarda.org.uz,
pfu-tashkent@cgiar.org
FAO
Dr. Hashim AlShami
FAO Representative
Sana’a –Yemen
Dr. Robert Portegies Zwart
Information Systems Officer
WAICENT Capacity Building and Outreach Branch
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla – 00100 Rome
Fax: +39-06-57054049
Tel: +39-06-57056171
E-mail: Robert.PortegiesZwart@fao.org
FARA:
Ms M. Wopereis-Pura
Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary
FARA Headquarters
2 Gowa Close, Roman Ridge
PMB CT 173 Cantonments
Accra, Ghana
Tel: +233 21 773676
E-mail: mwopereispura@fara-africa.org
FORAGRO
Belarmino Emilio Ruz
Executive Secretary PROCISUR
Regional Specialist in T&I - IICA
Edificio MERCOSUR
Luis P. Piera 1992, Piso 3
11200 Montevideo, Uruguay
Tel.: (+598 2) 4101676
Fax: (+598 2) 4101780
e-mail: sejecutiva@procisur.org.uy
http://www.procisur.org.uy
GFAR:
Prof. Dr. Adel El-Beltagy
GFAR Chair
Cairo, Egypt
c/o ICARDA Cairo office
Tel: +202-5724358
Fax: +202-572099
E-mail: a.El-beltagy@cgiar.org
Dr. Olanrewaju Smith
Executive Secretary
Global Forum for Agricultural Research Secretariate
FAO c/o SDR
Viale delle Term di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
Tel.: +39 06 5705 3413
Fax: +39 06 5705 3898
E-mail: gfar-secretariat@fao.org
Dr. Rupert Best
Global Forum for Agricultural Research
c/o FAO, SDR
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
Tel: +39-06-57054475 (direct), 57055606
Fax: +39-06-57053898
E-mail: rupert.best@fao.org
Dr. Ajit Maru
GFAR Secretariate
FAO c/o SDR
Viale delle Term di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
Tel.: +39 06 5705 3413
Fax: +39 06 5705 3898
E-mail: ajit.maru@fao.org
Mr. Julian Gonsalves
GFAR External Reviewer
Mr. Dominique Hounkonnou
GFAR External Reviewer
Heifer Internaitonal
Dr. Eduardo Sabion
Country Director
Heifer Internaitonal Philippines
907 St. Center Tower
2206 Market Street
Madrigal business Park 1771 Alaban
Muntinlupa 1771
Philippines
Tel: +63 2 8096829
Fax: +63 2 8077104
E-mail: esabio@heiferphils.org
ICARDA:
Dr. Mahmoud Solh
Director General
P. O. Box: 5466 Aleppo, Syria
Tel: +963 21 2225517/2231330
Fax: +963 21 2225105/2213490
E-mail: M.Solh@cgiar.org
Dr. Magdi Madkour
Assistant Director General
International Cooperation
P. O. Box: 5466 Aleppo, Syria
Tel: +963 21 2225517/2231330
Fax: +963 21 2225105/2213490
E-mail: m.madkour@cgiar.org
Dr. Nihad Maliha
Library and information Services Manager
P. O. Box: 5466
Aleppo, Syria
Tel: +963 21 2225517/2231330
Fax: +963 21 2225105/2213490
E-mail: N.maliha@cgiar.org
ICBA:
Dr. Mohammed Al Attar
Chairman, Board of Directors
Director General
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture
P. O. Box: 14660 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 4 3361100
Fax: +971 4 3361155
E-mail: m.al-attar@biosaline.org.ae
Prof. Dr. Faisal K. Taha
Director of Technical Programs
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture
P.O. Box: 14660 Dubai United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 4 3361100
Fax: +971 4 3361155
E-mail: f.taha@biosaline.org.ae
IFAP
Mr. Jack Wilkinson
President
International Federation of Agricultural Producers
60 Rue St. Lazare
75009 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 45260553
Fax: +33 1 48787212
IFPRI
Dr. Wilberforce Kisamba Mugerwa
Director, International Service for National Agricultural Research Division
International Food Policy Research Institute
P. O. Box: 5689
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel.: +251-11-6462325
+251-11-6463215 ext. 280
Mobile: +251-91-1749155
E-mail: w.kisamba-mugerwa@cgiar.org
IPGRI:
Dr. George Ayad
Regional Director (IPGRI)
Regional Office for Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA
c/o ICARDA P. O. Box 5466
Aleppo,Syria
Tel: +963-21-2231412
Fax: +963-21-2273681
E-mail: G.Ayad@cgiar.org
UNOPS
Prof. Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid
Chief Technical Adviser / Director
Date Palm Research & Development Programme
United Nations Office for Project Services - UNOPS
UAE University,
P. O. Box: 81908, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Tel: +971 3 7832334
Mobile: +971 50 6633598
Fax: +971 3 7832472
E-mail: zaid@uaeu.ac.ae
Consultant
Dr. Mohamed Zehni
Advisor,
International Agriculture Studies
149, Triq il-Qasam,
Swieqi, STJ 11 Malta,
Telefax: +356-21375479
E-mail: mzehni@onvol.net
Agenda of
10th General Conference of AARINENA
Sana’a- Yemen 25-27 June 2006
Sunday 25, June 2006
08:30-09:00 – Registration
09:00-10:00 Opening Session:
Statement by the President of AARINENA
Statement by IPGRI Director General
Statement by FAO/RNE ADG
Statement by ICARDA Director General
Statement by GFAR Chair
Statement by H.E. the Prime Minister of the Government of Yemen
10:00 -10:30 Reception
ِِِِAARINENA Activities Session: Chairman: Dr. A. Fardous
10:30 -10:45 Adoption of the Agenda and Timetable
Election of Reporter and Nomination Officer
10:45 -11:10 AARINENA Activity Report (2004-2005), Dr. I. Hamdan
11:10 -11:25 Arabian Peninsula Sub-Region Activity, Dr. A. Al-Bakri
11:25 -11:40 Maghreb Sub-Region Activity, Dr. H. Narjisse/Dr. B. Boulanouar
Bouleunwar
11:40 -11:55 Nile Valley & Red Sea Sub-Region Activity, Dr. I. Muharram
11:55 -12:10 West Asia Sub-Region Activities, Dr. M. Roozitalab
12:10 -12:30 Coffee Break
Inter-Regional Cooperation Session : Chairman: Dr. A. El-Beltagy
12:30 -12:45 Inter-Regional Cooperation Next steps, Dr. Ola Smith
12:45 -13:00 Farmers’ Perspective to Agricultural Research, IFAP President
13:00 -13:15 Regional Conservation Strategy for WANA Region: An Initiative by
the Global Crop Biodiversity Trust, Dr. M. Zehni
13:15 -13:30 Inter-Regional Cooperation, APAARI/AARINENA, Dr. R. Paroda
13:30 -13:45 Inter-Regional Cooperation, FARA/AARINENA, Dr. M. Jones
13:45 -14:00 Inter-Regional Cooperation, FORAGRO/AARINENA, Dr. E. Ruz
14:00 -14:15 Strengthening Impact Orientation of Agricultural Research for
Development in Africa, Dr. W. Kisamba-Mugerwa
14:15 -15:15 Lunch Break
Networks Activities Session: Chairman: Dr. M. Solh
15:15 -15:30 Date Palm Global Network, Dr. A. Zaid
15:30 -15:45 Inter-Regional Cotton Network, Mrs.A. Gharedaghli/ Mrs.T. Ebrahimi
15:45 -16:00 Olive Network, Dr. B. Karray/Dr. Shedeifat
16:00 -16:15 Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Network, Dr. M. Fayyad
16:15 -16:30 Inter-Islamic Networks on Biosaline Agriculture, Dr. M. Al-Attar
16:30 -16:50 Improving Rural Livelihood through Linking Small Holder Farmers
to Markets in the WANA Region, Dr. R. Best/Dr. A. Zaid
16:50 -17:00 Election Announcement by the Nomination Officer
19:30 Dinner hosted by H. E. Minister of Agriculture, Yemen
Monday 26 June 2006
Advocacy Workshop
RAIS –ICT/ICM Session: Chairman: Dr. A. Al-Bakri
08:30 - 08:45 Goal, Purpose and Potential Use from the RAIS Advocacy Session,
Dr. I. Hamdan
08:45 - 09:00 Briefing Paper Presentation of importance of ICT use in ARD, Dr.
N. Maliha, ICARDA
09:00 - 09:15 Presentation on ICT/IM FAO Activities, Mr. Zwart
09:15 - 09:30 Presentation on CGIAR Activities, Ms. E. Pociari
09:30 - 09:45 Presentation on GFAR Activities, Dr. A. Maru
09:45 -10:00 Status of ICT-RAIS in the WANA Region, Dr. M.Sallam
10:00 -10:15 Development of prototype NARIMS, Dr. M. Rafea
10:15 -10:30 AARINENA –RAIS Web Site Enhancement Mrs. T. Ebrahimi
10:30 -10:45 FARA Approach to Regional Agricultural Information in learning
System. Ms M. Wopereis-Pura
10:45 -11:00 Coffee Break
Advocacy Working Session: Chairman: Dr. I. Muharram
11:00 -12:30 Facilitated working session: led by a short briefing paper, and
presentation to discuss issues raised by the NARS leaders related to ICT use to
improve ARD. Dr. A Maru
12:30 -14:00 Working Session (Brainstorming) on what can the NARS and AARINENA
do to improve efficient use of ICT in ARD and agricultural development.
14:00 -15:00 Lunch Break
Administrative Issues & Work Plan Session: Chairman: Dr. M. Madkour
15:00 -15:15 Constitutional Amendments
15:15 -15:30 Financial Statement
15:45 – 16:30 AARINENA Program of Work for 2006/2007
16:30 -16:45 Coffee Break
Election Session (Full Members Only): Chairman: Nomination Officer
16:45 -17:45 Election of the President and the Executive Committee Members
17:45 -18:00 Date & Venue of the 11th General Conference
18:00 Closure
Tuesday 27 June, 2006
8:30 -9:30 New Elected Executive Committee (Closed Meeting)
9:30 -16:30: Field Trip
ANNEX-III
Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North
Africa(AARINENA)
Activity Report(2004/2005)
Presented to AARINENA 10th General Conference ,Sana’a – Yemen 25-27 June 2006
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. AARINENA 9th
General Conference
2. AARINENA EXCO
Meetings
3. Highlights of the
Progress
3.1 AARINENA Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS)
3.2 AARINENA Web Site
3.3 ICT SC to Strengthen WANA- RAIS
3.4 Inter-Regional Information and Communication
Technology Consultation Meeting
4. Networks
4.1 Date Palm Global Network (DPGN)
4.2 Inter-Regional Cotton Network in Asia and North Africa (INCANA)
4.3 Olive Oil Network
4.4 Medicinal & Aromatic Network
4.5 Water Use Efficiency
4.6 Biotechnology Network
5. Implementation of the Global Post
Harvest Initiative
6. Publications
6.1 Newsletter
6.2 Success Stories
6.3 Proceedings of Meetings
7. Workshops, Training Courses & Expert
Consultation Meetings
8. Conclusions
Introduction
The Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North
Africa (AARINENA), was established in 1985 as an autonomous body on the basis of
the recommendations of the 14th and the 16th FAO Regional Ministerial
Conferences. Its main goal is to act as an instrument of change for
strengthening national and regional agricultural research capacities in order to
reverse the downward trends in agricultural productivity and the deterioration
of the natural resources.
AARINENA’s Mission is to contribute to the enhancement of agricultural and rural
development in member countries through fostering agricultural research and
technology development and by strengthening collaboration among them and with
the outside world. AARINENA endeavors to assist member countries in creating
effective national agricultural research systems that serve the goals of
sustainable agricultural development, as well as strengthening regional and
sub-regional scientific collaboration. In accordance with its mission, the
association has acted as a collaborator and partner with other relevant regional
and international institutions and recognized by the Global Forum on
Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR) as an important and formal regional association
representing the WANA region in global research community.
In this report the major activities of the association for 2004/2005 will be
presented. They include the Executive Committee meetings (following the 9th
General Conference), Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS), Regional
Networks, Global Post-Harvest Initiative (GPhI), publications and workshops and
training courses.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For presentation by Ibrahim Hamdan, AARINENA Executive Secretary, to the 10th
General Conference of AARINENA 25-27th of June Sana’a-Yemen
1. AARINENA 9th General Conference:
AARINENA 9th General Conference was held at the Sultanate of Oman between 11-13
April, 2004. It was inaugurated by H.E. the Special Advisor to His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos Bin Sayed. The conference was co-sponsored and supported by
AARINENA, ICARDA, GFAR and FAO and attended by representatives from 20 member
institutions and 12 regional and international organizations. The 9th General
Conference elected the following officers representing the five sub regions to
serve in the executive committee for the next 2 years: Dr. Abdel Nabi Fardous
(Mashreq sub region) President; Dr. Ahmed AlBakry (Arabian Peninsula sub-region)
Vice President; Dr. Hamid Narjisse (Maghreb sub-region) Member; Dr. Ismail
Muharram (Nile Valley and Red Sea Sub-region) Member and Dr. Mohammed Roozitalab
(West Asian sub-region) Member.
The work program 2004-2005 that was adopted by the conference includes:
1.1- Strengthening Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS) through:
- Enhancing AARINENA Web Site
- Publication of AARINENA Newsletter
- Implementation of RAIS Priority Projects:
1.2- Networks
- Supporting the activities of commodity networks (Date-Palm, Cotton, Olive and
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants)
- Establishing New Networks on Biotechnology
1.3- Publication of Success Stories
1.4- Implementation of the Global Post Harvest Initiative
1.5- Strengthen Inter-regional Cooperation
1.6- The conference empowered the Executive Committee to take decisions
regarding the following issues: i) AARINENA Account Transfer ii) Secretariat
Seat and iii) Membership Fees.
2. AARINENA Executive Committee Meetings:
AARINENA Executive Committee held three meetings after the 9th General
Conference: one in Muscat, Oman in April 2004, the second in Marrakech-Morocco,
December 2004, and the third in Sana’a-Yemen, September 2005. These meetings
reviewed the progress of the work plan and the adopted budget by the 9th General
Conference of AARINENA. The Committee recommended and took the following
decisions:
2.1 AARINENA Account:
Upon the request of FAO/RNE, The committee approved the transfer of the account
to AARINENA Secretariat in Jordan with the option of transferring it to ICARDA
later.
2-2. AARINENA Seat:
The committee requested bids from the members to host the permanent seat of
AARINENA providing all operational logistics.
2.3. Membership Issues:
The Committee recommended increasing the fees to $3000 for Full Members; $ 2000
for Associate Members and to $5000 for Regional & International Organizations.
2.4. Web Site
The committee requested to enhance the Website and to develop an Arabic version.
2.5. Approved the establishment of “Water Use Efficiency Network” in
collaboration with ICARDA and GFAR, and to follow up on establishing the
“Biotechnology Network”.
2.6. To open an account with ICARDA and deposit part of the funds in the account
2.7. The Executive Committee approved IFAP associate membership in AARINENA
Governing Bodies according to Article V of the constitution and full membership
in the networks.
2.8. The committee proposed a constitutional amendment for Article XI-1
regarding the Executive Secretary appointment by deleting the words; “from among
the technical staff hosting the seat of the association” thus making the
appointment open to any staff from any member country.
2.9. With regard to AARINENA Secretariat Seat, the Committee reviewed the offers
received from the seven member countries and recommended that ICARDA to host the
secretariat in order to provide long term stability.
3. Highlights of the Progress
3.1. AARINENA Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS)
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an essential component
for development, not only of the agricultural sector, but also of industrial,
environmental, and service sectors as well.
Addressing the development of the agricultural sector through the enhancement of
information and communication technology was put as an urgent priority for
AARINENA. The formation of the ICT Steering Committee, which proved to be
fruitful, launching a set of databases, and addressing the training needs are
good examples of the continuous efforts of AARINENA to improve the abilities and
enhance the capabilities of its member countries, to achieve sustainable
agricultural development. There is no doubt that information system development
requires intensive and integrated efforts by all countries to achieve the goals
and objectives set by the steering committee. The fact that cannot be denied is
that the development of the ICT sector must be backed-up and supported by
political commitment of all members.
3.2 AARINENA Web Site:
§ AARINENA RAIS-Web Site (www.aarinena.org) operating from AREO, Iran in
collaboration with GFAR.
§ The Arabic version of AARINENA RAIS-Web Site has been completed and the
English version was enhanced in collaboration with FAO/RNE.
3.3. ICT Steering Committee to strengthen WANA-RAIS:
The Committee includes representatives from AARINENA five sub regions and
representatives from AOAD, FAO, GFAR and ICARDA. The committee held two meetings
to prepare RAIS strategy and to review the achieved progress.
3.3.1. AARINENA facilitated and supported the second meeting of the AARINENA ICT
committee that was held in September 2004, in Iran, during which the committee
reviewed and approved AARINENA ICT strategy which consists of the following:
• Framework of action to develop the WANA-RAIS
• Implementation plan
• Collaborative programs
3.3.2. ICT-RAIS General Assembly meeting was held April 2006, in Amman-Jordan:
• The Assembly elected new ICT Steering Committee.
• Updated ICT-RAIS country profiles was reported
Working plan for the coming three years will be as follows:
• Identifying focal points in the member countries
• Preparation of terms of reference for the concerned focal points
• Use of GIS in improving data processing and data use
• Consolidating the preparation of ICT national strategies and policies
• Articulating outputs from the former steering committee particularly suite of
tools for NAIS.
• Thematic linkages with RAIS
• Human capacity building programs
• Measure impact of ICT on agricultural development
• Advocacy issues.
3.4. Inter-Regional Information and Communication Technology Consultation
Meeting:
The 2nd Inter-Regional Consultation Meeting on ICT was sponsored by GFAR held in
Cairo, Egypt during the period from the 10-11 May, 2005 to enable RAIS
stakeholders of Regional For a to a) present and discuss their respective
regional plan of work and budget for 2005 in the area of ICM for ARD and the
development of their RAIS ;b) take stock of existing initiatives and discuss
fresh initiatives from the Regional Fora in the area of ICM for ARD in order to
launch collaborative platforms between and amongst RAIS; c) define priorities
for GFAR financial support for regional and inter-regional activities within
collaborative platforms; d) define a consistent output oriented list of
activities and related budget for each of these collaborative platforms that
either GFAR Secretariat can support within its own 2005 POW&B or define
complementary proposals, consistent with the ICM4ARD proposals leading to fund
raising activities where GFAR Secretariat could play a leading role.
The workshop, as a part of the consultation process, considered the issues that
arose from the various presentations made during the meeting and consolidated
them as being around the following topics:
Development of NAIS
Sensitization and awareness of NARS Leaders, as a specific component of
advocacy for ICT enabled agricultural information systems
Capacity Development for ICM from the point view of Regional Fora
Governance of the activities under ICM4ARD framework.
Group discussions were held to discuss the activities of the Inter-Regional
collaboration. Recommendations emerged during the concluding plenary session
that include the following:
a. Strengthening Agro Web CAC as basis for the CACAARI-.RAIS, based on the
proposal presented during the consultation;
b. A Regional Workshop for National Information Nodal Points (NINPs) in APAARI
Region;
c. Publication of regional ICM success stories by APAARI;
d. Supporting sensitization and awareness building of NARS leaders on ICT/ICM
issues in Sub-Saharan Africa.
e. NARS discussion platform;
f. Assessment of information management policies and systems in each country and
sub-region of Latin America and the Caribbean;
g. Support to AARINENA-RAIS for the renewal of its Steering Committee.
The Inter-Regional or global activities for further consolidation and possible
GFAR support was as follows:
Inter-regional proposal based on AARINENA-RAIS and InfoSys + pre-proposal for
initiating inter-regional sharing and exchange of experiences, skills and tools
between AARINENA-RAIS and InfoSys +, leading to the development of NAIS. A
complementary WISARD proposal is expected to strengthen this collaborative
platform.
The first phase of this proposal has two objectives: a) develop an electronic
community at the regional level and b) develop a set of tools that facilitate
the development of NARIS.
The three main outputs of the first objective of the first phase are:
a. Establishing a methodology for developing the information management modules,
b. Developing software tools to be used by different NARS’s to build the
NARIS’s, and
c. Training participants from the three regions on using methodology and tools.
The second phase has also two objectives: a) implementing NARIS in all research
institutions members and b) building a Gateway function that has multi-host data
base search engine.
4. Networks
Technical cooperation networks have become an increasingly important means of
action which was initiated and supported by AARINENA in collaboration with GFAR.
These networks have become a generic model for the establishment of functional
mechanisms for collaboration and enhancement of communication and exchange of
experiences among different countries in one region and/or different regions of
the world.
Networks are found to reduce duplicative efforts among national institutions in
several countries and to provide a cost-effective instrument for information
exchange and institution building (including training). When the resources are
limited, networks become more effective means for the optimal utilization of
indigenous expertise and available resources among the countries themselves.
Given the current status of some important commodity crops, and in the absence
of a coordinating body for the promotion of cooperation among these countries
for the optimal utilization of limited available resources for the development
of the commodity crops agro-industry, the establishment of a Technical
Cooperation Network on these crops is a matter of urgency.
AARINENA established four commodity crops of particular importance to this
region: Date Palm, Cotton, and Olive and Medicinal and Aromatic plants. The
highlights of the progress on these Networks are as follows:
4.1 Date Palm Global Network (DPGN)
4.2 Inter-Regional Cotton Network in Asia and North Africa (INCANA)
4.3 Olive Oil Network
4 .4 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Network (MAP)
4.5 Water Use Efficiency Network
4.1 Date Palm Global Network (DPGN):
AARINENA and FAO organized an expert consultation to study the feasibility of
establishing a Date Palm Network for technical cooperation and to draft the
objectives and guidelines of the network. The meeting took place in Tehran,
Iran, during the period 13 – 14 October 1999, with the participation of
scientists from: Egypt, Iran, Libya, Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia, U.A.E.,
Sultanate of Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Pakistan. The consultation was hosted
by the Iranian Government. The outcome of the meeting was presented in the Date
Palm International Symposium that was held in Namibia, February 22 -25, 2000.
The program included a special session to discuss the network under the auspices
of the FAO. It was an important component of the Date Palm International
Symposium, which was held in Namibia, 22 - 25 February 2000, and was organized
by the Date Production Support Program in Namibia with the technical and
financial support of FAO.
The Network’s establishment meeting, held during 7–9 April, 2002 in Al Ain/UAE,
finalized the terms of reference of each the coordinating board. The General
coordinator, the working groups, and regional coordinators. During the same
meeting, the structure of the network was also adopted. The constitution
document, as well as the project document of the DPGN, were discussed and
adopted during the first technical meeting of the Coordinating Board, which was
held in Cairo, Egypt during 10– 11 June, 2003.
Network Activities:
1- The First Date Palm Exhibition was held in Al Ain City / UAE during 21 – 23
November 2004.The exhibitions was under the patronage of H.H Chancellor of The
UAE University. The Friends Society of Date-Palm co-sponsored the organization
of this exhibition in collaboration with the producers and processors of dates
from all centers inside and outside UAE to achieve the following goals:
§ Knowing the current status for grown palms, and to view the best and date rare
varieties;
§ Identify the problems facing production and processing of dates and
investigate the best solutions that improves encourage the date’s production and
processing sector
§ Showing the output of applying the latest techniques.
2- The Date Palm Global Network (DPGN) organized an international workshop on
True-To-Type-ness of Date Palm Tissue Culture-Derived Plants in Morocco during
23-25 May, 2005. Scientists from 14 countries attended the workshop.
The workshop aimed at updating the magnitude of tissue culture abnormalities and
developing a program of future activities. Presentations from various date
growing countries illustrated these variations which were focused on: dwarfism,
pollination failure and abnormal fruiting, abnormal morphology of the tree and
the leaves, twisted inflorescences and offshoots, leaf whitening and delayed
flowering time. Both commercial laboratories and the research units dealing with
date palm in vitro propagation were addressed. Moreover, the workshop provided
an opportunity to present and compare the date producing countries experiences
and to foster international technical cooperation. The participants recommended
the following:
• Most of the abnormalities of tissue culture-derived date palms are of a small
incidence (less than 5 %). They were classified into three categories: i)
Dwarfism, ii) Parthenocarpic fruits and iii) Morphological problems
• Tissue culture is certainly the most appropriate tool to provide the needs of
date palm plants.
• Create a web site to be linked to the DPGN web site.
• Strengthening collaboration between commercial laboratories and research units
and ensuring the continuous exchange of information.
• With regard to future activities, the following initiatives were adopted:
a. Develop a reliable marker to identify the dwarfism and the parthenocarpy
phenomenon.
b. Develop a data base of the date palm cultivars and abnormalities.
c. Collaborative approach to provide solutions to clonally fidelity issues.
d. Refine micro propagation protocols to eliminate factors inducing variations.
3- The Network organized the Third International Date Palm Conference that was
held 19-23 February, 2006 under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin
Zayed Al Nahayan, President of United Arab Emirates under the auspices of UAE
University. The Conference which was attended by approximately 300 participants,
calls attention to an important crop with significant production and marketing
issue. It will greatly enrich the world literature devoted to date palm through
publication of the proceeding in Acta Horticulturae.
4.2 Inter-Regional Cotton Network in Asia and North Africa (INCANA):
AARINENA, the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes
(APAARI) and Central Asian and Caucasian Association of Agricultural Research
Institutes (CACAARI), recognizing the importance of cotton production in a
number of developing countries in Asia and North Africa, producing more than
half of the world's cotton production, and considering the prime role and
importance of cotton in the agricultural economy with the support of GFAR and
ICARDA established the Inter-regional Cotton Network, in October, 2002. The
Cotton Research Institute of Iran at Varamin was selected to host the Network
Secretariat. The objectives of the network are:
- Increasing cotton yield in member countries through research collaboration and
exchange of scientific knowledge, success stories and new technologies.
- Providing a data base on cotton research production, and other related issues
to be used by the member countries.
- Increasing the knowledge through implementation of collaborative research
activities and training workshops on cotton related issues.
- Establishing close cooperation with other research networks on cotton in the
world (such as Mediterranean Cotton Research Network).
Network Activities:
1- 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 ICARDA-CAC Regional Office under the umbrella of
CACAARI. The meeting was co-sponsored by GFAR, AARINENA, APAARI and CACAARI. 35
scientists participated in the meeting, including representatives from Iran,
India Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Greece, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and
Azerbaijan. The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. the Minister of Agriculture and
Water Management of Uzbekistan. Country reports highlighted the problems and
promising results in cotton research and development
2- Traveling Workshop on Hybrid and Bt Cotton: INCANA organized a” traveling
workshop on Hybrid and Bt cotton in India” with the aim of Increasing knowledge
and increasing collaborations between the member countries
India was selected because hybrid cotton technology is well established in India
and 50% of area under cotton cultivation is covered by hybrids and Bt cotton,
India is one of the pioneers in the world. MAHYCO, a leading private company in
India agreed to provide internal financial support to the participants attending
the workshop. The workshop was also supported by APAARI, AARINENA and GFAR. The
representatives from India, Iran, Syria, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan attended
this traveling workshop which was held from 20 to 26 November, in India.
The expected outputs of the workshop are:
- Evaluation and qualifying the technology used for Hybrid and BT cotton in
India and compare it with other members.
- Finding the strengths and weaknesses of this technology
- Finding the ways of increasing collaborations among member countries on hybrid
and Bt Cotton.
4.3 Olive Oil Network:
AARINENA has organized an expert consultation meeting at the olive tree
Institute at Sfax-Tunisia during 16-18 of February, 2004. The meeting was
supported by GFAR, FAO and ICARDA. Olive experts from research institutions and
private sector of AARINENA olive producing countries; Tunisia, Morocco, Libya,
Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and from the European side: Spain, France, Turkey, Italy,
Portugal and Cyprus, attended the meeting which aimed to: a) Reviewing the
current status of olive research in the participating countries; b) Electing a
new coordinator for the olive network at ESCORENA; and c) Establishing AARINENA
olive Network for the Near East and the North Africa countries.The meeting
approved the establishment of regional cooperative Network for Olive to be
hosted by the Olive Tree Institute at Sfax and recommended strengthen
inter-regional cooperation by establishing linkages to the European System of
Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture (ESCORENA) . The participants
formed three olive technical working groups as follows:
1. Olive production and protection group to be hosted by Egypt.
2. Post-harvest processing technologies to be hosted by Jordan.
3. Socio-economic and commercialization group to be hosted by Syria.
The focal points were selected from NGOs, Private sector, research institutions
and universities. They will constitute the coordinating board of the network
which met in Marrakech, Morocco, December 20-23,2004 to elect the chairman of
the board and to approve the work plan for the network.
Network Activities:
4.3.1 AARINENA First Olive Network meeting was held in Marrakech, Morocco during
the period 20 - 22 December 2004, in order to discuss and identify collaborative
joint activities related to olive development in the Near East Region. This
activity was supported by GFAR and FAO/RNE.
The meeting was attended by 22 participants representing FAO, AARINENA,
ESCORENA, IPGRI, GFAR, in addition to AARINENA Olive Network Coordinator,
working group coordinators and focal points from Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia,
Jordan, Libya, Lebanon, Iran, Morocco, and Cyprus.
Based on the round table discussions, participants agreed on the following
recommendations:
Strengthening Inter-regional collaboration between Southern and Northern
Mediterranean olive producing countries:
It has been agreed that one of the best ways to strengthen collaboration between
South and North is to conduct joint activities, which can reflect common
interests and therefore the AARINENA Olive Network has proposed the following
steps to be undertaken for potential activities:
- Disseminate the results and/or findings of the on-going research and
development projects in the EU to the AARINENA region to narrow the gap between
north and south in R&D. Participants recognized that one of the major problems
facing the implementation of these projects is lack of funds. Therefore it is
very important for the inter-regional collaboration that both ESCORENA and
AARINENA Olive Networks endeavour their maximum efforts in securing additional
funds from interested donors to support the following:
Improve the quality of final products (table olives and olive oil).
Investigate and reinforce labeling requirements.
Exchange experts, experiences and knowledge in organic olive growing,
biological control of pests and post harvest technologies.
Launch joint projects to emphasize the importance of traceability systems in
the chain of olive production.
Develop manuals/guidelines for good agriculture practices (GAP).
Methods and means of minimizing and/or eradicating the negative impacts of the
olive industry on environment.
Potentials of expanding, developing and improving olive cultivation on
marginal lands.
Zone mapping of existing and potential areas of olive growing regions using
GIS or other methods.
Develop the organizational structure of the olive industry in AARINENA
sub-regional states using successful models applied in EU olive growing
countries.
Establish common methodology for analyzing problems and initiating solutions.
Organize common seminars, workshops and training courses with emphases on
farmers’ capacity building.
ESCORENA should continue strengthening the efforts of other institutions (FAO
– IOOC – EU - IPGRI) to establish national, regional and global collection of
germplasm.
Study the agronomic and oleotechnic behaviour of the new varieties derived by
crossings from previous genetic breeding projects, particularly under drought
and salinity conditions and to assess their resistance to pests and diseases.
ESCORENA and AARINENA will join efforts to re-publish in 2005 the OLEA News
Letter in a new form. During the general round table discussions Dr. Rallo
stated that the Spanish Government is willing to support the cost of
re-publishing OLEA newsletter in 2005.
ESCORENA and AARINENA should strengthen contacts with other institutions and
organizations such as CIHEAM, IOOC, EU, ISHS, COST, etc in order to organize
common activities.
The Coordinators of both AARINENA and ESCORENA Olive networks will seek
interested donors to sponsor any of the above mentioned projects. Priority for
executing any of these projects will depend on the initial budget, the available
funds and the degree of common interest between the two regions.
4.3.2 Guidelines on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Olive Producing
Counties.
A workshop was organized by AARINENA, GFAR & FAO/RNE and hosted by the
Agricultural Research Institute in Cyprus from 19-21 December 2005. The meeting
was attended by participants from 11 counties: Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt,
Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Palestine and Cyprus. Most the
participants were members of AARINENA Olive Network and representative’s form
ICARDA and ESCORENA.
The workshop was mainly dedicated to finalizing the guidelines on Good
Agricultural Practices (GAP) for AARNENA olive producing counties. There were
presentations on country profiles by Olive Network Focal Point Members and
extensive discussions on the various chapters of the draft handbook on GAP by
several working groups in order to modify and adapt the guidelines to the
existing conditions of AARINENA countries.
4 .4 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Network (MAP):
AARINENA organized an expert consultation meeting on medicinal and aromatic
plants in conjunction with “the 11th International Conference on Marketing
Strategies for Medicinal Herbs, Essential Oils and Functional Food Ingredients”.
The meeting was held in Cairo, Egypt on September 30, 2004 under the patronage
of H. E. the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and was supported by
GFAR .The meeting was attended by experts from Egypt, Malta, Morocco, Jordan,
Oman, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It was also attended by representatives from
AARINENA, ESMAP, ICARDA, IPGRI, Private sector and NGO and universities.
Participants presented the status of medicinal and herbal plants in their own
countries, constraints on research and production and recommendations to support
the establishment of a Regional Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Network.
The Participants adopted the proposed AARINENA Regional Network on Medicinal &
Aromatic plants and selected the four technical working groups on: 1-:
Conversation and Sustainable Use ,2-Agricultural Practices 3-Post Harvest
Technology Group and 4-Commercialization and Scio-economic Group
Network Activities:
4.4.1 The first annual meeting for the network was held in Malta during 7-9
November 2005 in collaboration with the University of Malta and the support of
GFAR. The meeting was divided into two sessions: the MAP Network annual meeting
and the MAP link to the Industry session.
The MAP Network annual meeting was aimed at the organising the working groups
and functions of focal points. This was an attempt to reorganize the network and
hence making it more vital and efficient.
The link to the industry session was organized with the aim of familiarising
participants with the European Union rules and conditions of agricultural
practices, manufacturing and marketing leading to better quality assurance to
the European consumer.
Participants included scientists from agricultural institutions in nine AARINENA
member states: Egypt, Malta, Jordan, Sudan, Oman, Morocco, Iran, Syria and Yemen
.The meeting was also attended by participants from the private sector dealing
with the commercial potential of MAP within the European Union.
Recommendations:
Participants restructured the networks as follows:
- Chairman of the Board : Dr. M Safwat and focal point of Egypt
- Network Secretary: Dr. Musa Fayyad the focal point of Jordan
-Technical working groups:
Dr. Firas AlAli; Post Harvesting Working Group coordinator , Jordan
Dr. Evaraldo Attard Socio-economic and Commercialisation group coordinator;
Malta
Dr. M. Boutfras Conservation and Use group coordinator , Morocco
Dr. Awatif Serbil Agricultural Practices group coordinator ;Sudan
Network members discussed the working plan and agreed on the following
activities to be carried in 2006:
Formulation of a questionnaire (Dr. E. Attard-Malta) that covers the current
projects and tools present in member countries, including information related to
the four working groups (key points – strengths and weaknesses). This will lead
to the drafting of concept notes, at least one per working group, before
February 2006.
Building the capacity of NARS in the area of MAPs through provision of
technical advice and training on MAP operations [Dr. F. Alali/ Dr.
M.Fayyad-Jordan].
Increase support to conservation, use of MAPs through public awareness
strategy; [Website for MAPs and publishing it at AARINENA website info to be
concluded by end of Dec. 2005 [Dr. F. Sefidkon-Iran]
Produce a brochure and a poster [Dr. M. Fayyad-Jordan] targeted at policy
makers in order to attract new members to AARINENA.
Empowering/Strengthening of local communities to better use of MAPs to improve
the livelihoods through provision of MAP information systems that document,
analyze and share traditional knowledge and socio-economic studies on MAPs.
IPGRI-GRIS can be used as modelling tool to establish this system [All focal
points - Dr. K. Durah-IPGRI].
Establishing contact lists for MAP