AARINENA’s Vision Towards Research Priority Settings

The Executive Secretary of AARINENA, Dr. Christo Hilan made the following presentation during the Brainstorming Meeting on Agriculture Research Priority Setting

In The Al-Mashreq (West Asia Sub-Region) held at ICARDA, on18, 19 November 2001

              AARINENA was established in 1985 as an instrument of change for strengthening national and regional agricultural research capacities to reverse the down trends in agricultural productivity and the natural resources base. It was also perceived as a forum for interaction among the countries of the Region and with the international research and development community. 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. The Mission Statement is as valid today as when it was first adopted.

            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. AARINENA envisions:     

·        Effective national agricultural research systems that serve the goals of sustainable agricultural development and the overall socio-economic development of the countries of the Region.

·        Regional and sub-regional collaboration building on experiences in and outside the countries of the region.

For the above to be achieved, AARINENA members resolve to transform the Association into a dynamic, self-reliant, highly credible organization. This could only be achieved if: 

q       Countries and relevant organizations, which have not done so, join hands in building a strong base for regional and sub-regional collaboration and commit themselves to the Mission and the Goals of the Association.  

q       Governments accord agricultural research a high priority in national development strategies and in their negotiation with the international community, and accordingly allocate to the sector sufficient human and financial resources.

q       International organizations and donor agencies support national governments long- term efforts to build viable national agricultural research systems and foster regional and sub-regional collaboration.

                        Based on reports of individual consultants and NARCs of all country members, a comprehensive methodological study was prepared before 1996 reflecting real priorities of national or regional agricultural and economic development. The following are the proposed main priorities for the AARINENA Region classified in three categories:

1- Traditional research priorities:

·        Water management and increasing water use efficiency.

·        Land degradation and measures for its control.

·        Crop improvement for wide adaptability and/or tolerance to biotic and non-biotic stresses.

·        Breeding and management of livestock nutrition.

·        Management and sustainable use of salt affected soil.

·        Use of saline and poor quality water of crop production.

·        Sustainable use and management of dry land areas.

·        Minimizing the inputs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

·        Farming system research.

·        Agro-forestry research.

·        Aquaculture research.

2- Emerging research priorities:

·        Genetic resources.

·        Integrated pest management.

·        Natural resource management.

·        Biotechnology.

·        SPS.TBT related matters.

3- Institutional research priorities:

·        Formulating agricultural research strategies at national and sub-regional levels.

·        Improving all components of research management.

·        Enhancing information systems at all levels.

·        Strengthening collaboration among research institutions.

·        Establishing formal mechanisms for linking research institutions with extension agencies and users.

In May 1998, during its 6^th General Conference held in Tahran, AARINENA strongly recommended the representatives of country members, grouped according to the five sub-regions, already defined, to prepare sub regional cooperative projects that have common priority for the economic development of the sub region and for the whole region. Based on these priority settings, project proposals were prepared. AARINENA’s aim, through these project proposals, is to form an interaction among the countries of the Region and with the international research and development community. The establishment of such project proposals would contribute to the enhancement of agricultural and rural development in the Region.

The project proposals were listed in the previous Newsletter issue, Vol. 9, No. 2.

Why we need to renew our research priority settings?

The general objectives set in developing a National Research Strategy for a NARS are the following:

·        Policy statement which specifies the agricultural development objectives to which research is expected to contribute and defines the mandate, mission, clients, and the guiding principles for Agriculture Research Institutions and other research institutions;

·        Overall investment plan for agricultural research, with an appropriate justification based on analysis of the research resources, and the situation (financial, human, and physical) of the reseach institutions;

·        Priorities for allocating resources within and between commodity and non-commodity research programs;

·        Long term research plan by commodity, resource base and geological zones and systems;

·        Improved structure and efficiency of research institutions, their inter linkages and linkages with extension services, other national research systems, regional and international research organizations.

The last decade proved that the improper production of food, because of its technology, could cause unbalanced that will endanger the biodiversity, air, water, earth pollution and raising the planet temperature.

And as we all know, the whole world is changing: climate, water, soil, communication, trade exchange, socio-economical standards, globalization and the emerging of new technologies such as: genetic resources and biodiversity.  All of these factors initiate the need to reset the priorities in the region according to the above changes. These priorities are going to be synthesized in order to identify the common points of interest that can solve common problems. The countries of WANA region, in order to triumph over the difficulties and have access to food security, sustainable agriculture, conservation of genetic resources, poverty and social justice challenges, will have no alternative but to collaborate with one another and enter into a close regional partnership. Thus, attention should be directed towards seeking complementarities and synergisms between the efforts of different actors or stakeholders in the region. This is the kind of cooperation that the regional strategy and regional priorities should assure, in order to increase the effective use of scarce resources and given the increasing financial constraints that agricultural research is confronting at both the national and regional levels.

                        AARINENA 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.