Association of Agricultural Research Institutions

Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa

A Bi-annual Publication of the Association of Agricultural Research Institutions

AARINENA Secretariat: National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer(NCARTT)

Amman,P.O.Box 639 Jordan. Tel.: 962-6-4726680, Fax:962-6-4726009

The Executive Committee was pleased by the high number of member institutions and organizations that participated in the Eighth General Conference of AARINENA that was held in Amman, Jordan,May, 2002. It is a positive step toward achieving the main objectives of our Association to promote an exchange of information and to identify regional and national needs and priorities. This issue will include highlights of many activities that were conducted during this period such as: the eighth General Conference, the meeting of Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) , the annual meeting of the Global Forum for Agricultural Research(GFAR)and the results of AARINENA

As a result of the progress achieved, AARINENA has emerged as an effective Regional Forum to strengthen regional and sub regional cooperation for research and facilitate interaction between NARS and the CGIAR system.The President of the Association was elected to represent the regional fora in the Executive Council of CGIAR and the Vice- President was selected as GFAR Chairman.

AARINENA Secretariat extends its congratulations to the newly elected President, Vice-president and Executive Committee members. Thanks is due to member countries who responded positively to our call to join the Association and to our cosponsors FAO, ICARDA and ISNAR for their continued support to strengthen AARINENA in achieving its goals and objectives.

The 8^thGeneral Conference of AARINENA was held in Amman, Jordan during the period of 26 to 28^th of May 2002, under the auspices of His Excellency Dr. Mahmud Duwayri, the Minister of Agriculture in Jordan. The Conference was co-sponsored by the FAO Regional Office for the Near East, ICARDA and ISNAR, in collaboration with the National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer in Jordan (NCARTT). Representatives from Institutions in sixteen member countries attended the Conference: Cyprus, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Representatives of Regional and International Organizations also participated in the Conference: ACSAD, AOAD, CIRAD, FAO, ICARDA and ISNAR.

The Conference elected the following persons as new Executive Committee for the next two years:

Dr. Mustapha Yaghi, the former President of AARINENA presented the Association’s activities during the past two years. He thanked the Jordanian Government and expressed his gratitude to the NCARTT for its’ efforts in organizing the General Conference. Dr. Yaghi emphasized the importance of having a professional Executive Secretary to enhance the activities of AARINENA.

Dr. Abdel Nabi Fardous was born in Irbid, Jordan in 1949. He graduated in 1971 from Aleppo University – Syria as an Agricultural Engineer, and holds M.Sc. in Soil and Irrigation Science, from the University of Jordan, 1982. Dr. Fardous holds a Ph.D. in Irrigation and Soil Physics from Washington State University – USA (1993). Dr. Fardous has held several posts and presently, he is the Director- General of the National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT) in Jordan. Dr. Fardous also participated in a number of workshops, training courses and annual meetings at the national and international levels. He has published many agricultural and scientific articles in both regional and international journals.

Member Countries were contacted to host the AARINENA Secretariat and Jordan responded positively to this request. Upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee Meeting in Kuwait in April 2001, the Eighth General Conference of the Association in May 2002 approved the proposal by the Government of Jordan to host the AARINENA Secretariat for four years.

The “Workshop on Regional Agricultural Information Systems” held in Cairo, in October 2000 recommended the establishment of a Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS) for the WANA Region. The Executive Committee in December, 2001 approved the proposal from the Agricultural Research and Education Organization In the Islamic Republic of Iran (AREO) to host RAIS. Ms. Taraneh Ebrahimi was appointed by AREO to fulfill the duties of the RAIS-Web Manager. In January 2002 the web.site of AARINENA (http://www.aarinena.org) was developed and became operational in July 2002, after consultations with GFAR-Secretariat and Executive Committee Members of AARINENA.

The CWANA consultation meetings for the Research Priority Settings were held from 12-18 May 2002, at ICARDA in Aleppo, Syria. The main objectives of this Meeting were to update and revise regional priorities and to strengthen the collaborative regional research projects and the CGIAR/NARS partnership. The main goals of the priority setting process include:

§Revising with NARS their sub-regional and regional research priorities, taking into consideration sustainable agricultural development and natural resource management.

§ Harmonizing and integrating CGIAR activities within CWANA research priorities.

§ Identifying operational modalities for the integration of CGIAR activities and cooperation with AARINENA and the CAC/NARS Forum.

o Operational modalities for integration of CGIAR activities and cooperation with AARINENA and CAC/NARS Forum.

oIdentifying steps needed to move from the strategic action plan to the actual implementation.

Agricultural research priority settings have been determined depending on the questionnaire’s results from the five sub-regions constituting AARINENA. All information and recommendations of the priority research have been organized and five meetings were held during the period from September (2001 till January 2002) as follows:

1) Central Asia Sub-Region with participation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan: September 20, 2001 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

2) Nile Valley and Red Sea Sub-Region, with participation of Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen: September 27, 2001 in Cairo, Egypt.

3) West Asia Sub-Region with participation of Cyprus, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey: Nov. 18-19, 2001 in Aleppo – Syria.

4) North Africa Sub-Region with the participation of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia: January 8-9, 2002 in Hamammat, Tunisia.

5) Arabian Peninsula with the participation of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen: January 24, 2002 in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

The CWANA region reviewed the results and the research priorities that were identified, and then categorized into five clusters:

Date Palm Network

The Date Palm Global Network (DPGN) was established in cooperation with FAO and The United Arab Emirates. As a result of contacts with Dr. A. Zaid, General Coordinator of the Global Network, AARINENA has become a member in the Coordinating Board, which would, hopefully, strengthen the Network. Dr. Abdel Nabi Fardous, President of AARINENA was selected as the Middle East Regional Coordinator for the Date Palm Global Network. The Network established a Website for disseminating information among date palm producing countries:

A meeting of the date Palm Global Network, chaired by Dr. Zaid, the Network Coordinator, was held during the International Date Palm Forum in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Technical Secretariat of the DPGN was formed officially from FAO officers; Mr. E.J. Arias/ AGPC–FAO HQ and Mr. Fawzi Taher, Regional Crop Production Officer, FAO / RNE.

The Agricultural Research and Education Organization (AREO) of Iran, ICARDA, AARINENA, GFAR, and CAC-Forum jointly organized a workshop on cotton research, held from the 12th-13th October 2002 in Tehran, Iran. The main objective of the Workshop was to encourage research partnership among NARS of Central and West Asia and the Caucasus in agricultural research areas of common interest, mainly Cotton. The Workshop provided an opportunity for the exchange of information on cotton production and marketing issues and paved the way for effective partnership to solve common technical and non-technical problems. Representatives from Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as invited experts from Greece (representing Mediterranean Cotton Network) and India, participated in this Workshop. Mainly cotton related issues were discussed, such as water management, integrated pest and disease management, germplasm improvement, crop management, and economics. A visit was arranged for the participants to view research facilities and work at the Iranian Cotton Research Institute at Varaminl, 80km from Tehran.

The Association President attended the third meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Executive Council, which took place at the World Bank in Washington, D.C, 23rd – 24th September, 2002. Many International Organizations attended that meeting including: FAO, World Bank, IFAD, CDC, CBC, TAC/SC, NGO’s, and Donor countries such as the USA, Japan, France, Norway, Denmark, and representatives from Brazil, South Africa and China. Three different proposals were discussed during this meeting:

The first two proposals were endorsed and presented for approval by the CGIAR , with some modifications recommended on the proposal of Global Challenges Program on Water and Food. The proposal on the Unlocking Genetic Diversity in Crops for Resource-Poor countries was postponed for further discussion. The financial requirement of the year 2003 research programs and their financing as projected by the CGIAR centers were discussed. International and Regional Organizations were expected to increase their support by 30%. Contributing to this increase will be mainly IFAD and UNEP, while smaller increases were forecasted from the African Development Bank, the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development AFESD and FAO. The meeting recommended enhancing the role of CWANA in activities of the CGIAR, and it was strongly recommended that ICARDA be involved in these activities.

Dr. Abdel Nabi Fardous, President of AARINENA, and Dr. Mohammad H. Roozitalab, the Vice- president attended the GFAR Annual General Meeting, which was held in Manila, Philippines from 26^th October to 1st November 2002. During the meeting, two programs were discussed and approved: 1) Global Challenges Program on Water and Food, and 2) Biofortified Crops for Improved Human Nutrition. The focal institute for the first program will be the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). The project will focus mainly on water basin areas such as those in India, Pakistan, and Latin America.

A Desertification project was approved, and ICARDA, in cooperation with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India (ICRISAT), Jordan, Nigeria and Niger will share projects.

An Association Executive Committee meeting was held in Oman during the period of 27-28 December 2002, which recommended the following:

A training Course was held under the auspices of H.E. the Minister of Agriculture in Jordan during the period 6-8 January, 2003; in collaboration with National Center for Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT) and was supported by FAO/RNE and AARINENA.

This training course was intended to act as a forum for interaction between people interested and concerned with the post harvest sector, and had the following objectives:

Seven Experts were involved in the training: Two from University of California, Davis, USA, one from the Autonomous University of Queretaro, Mexico, one from Egypt, University of Alexandria, and two from Jordan, University of Jordan. More than 30 trainees, from 14 countries, attended the course representing: Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya.

Ample supporting material was provided to the trainees. Brochures, bulletins, some selected scientific papers, and a post harvest-directory were also made available to the trainees. At the end if the training, CDs containing some of the papers presented during the training and other important materials were also made available to all attendants. The trainees were taken to a number of demonstration visits, to Amman Central Market. private sector’s packing houses, storage facilities including cold , controlled, and modified storage facilities, to acquaint them with the different packing house operations of the available produces and the technologies utilized in maintaining quality.

Two advanced post harvest training activities are also planned in 2003, the first in Tunisia, and the second in 2004 in the Islamic Republic of Iran or Turkey.

The Consultation was organized by AARINENA, GFAR, FAO/RNE and CIAES/ARC, Egypt. The President of AARINENA, Dr. J.F Giovannetti, GFAR and Dr. M. Khalifa, president of Agricultural Research Center (ARC) Egypt, gave the opening remarks. Participants attended the meeting from: Cyprus, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and from regional and international organizations.

Participants at the Meeting were divided into working groups and they recommended the following:

1. Endorsement the proposal for “Regional agricultural information system for WANA Region”, prepared by AARINENA, in April 2001, as a relevant regional framework for action;

2. Defining of an articulated set of collaborative programs consistent with this regional framework. These collaborative programs can be seen as different modules and their later integration would constitute the future RAIS;

3. The said collaborative programs (i) would be led by the NARS, each acting as a leader for a specific collaborative program and (ii) would involve NARS, regional organizations, international centers or Agencies as a common platform making use of the available expertise;

4. These collaborative programs would be defined through a specific plan of work and budget, systematically including (i) a content generation component and, (ii) a training component;

5. These collaborative programs would adopt methodologies and tool kits already available for agricultural information management, or when necessary, would customize or develop such tools and methodologies;

6. The information contents would be made available in the local language, or whenever possible, local language and English or French according to the various sub-regions of AARINENA;

7. AARINENA Executive Secretariat would seek catalytic funds in order to achieve the definition and the launching of these collaborative programs. For this purpose, Regional and International Organizations could play a significant role;

8. The launching of an AARINENA-RAIS Steering committee, which would deal with the following issues: (i) facilitate the management of an articulated and consistent set of collaborative programs leading to a three-years plan of work, (ii) monitor and evaluate the activities undertaken within this plan of work, (iii) ensure that there is a timely delivery of the expected outcomes of the collaborative programs, (iv) facilitate the communication between all the stakeholders involved in these activities (v) report to the AARINENA Executive Committee, and that the Associate Members of AARINENA-RAIS Steering Committee could include sponsors and partners.

9. A Steering Committee, composed of this information technology and information management specialists from AARINENA and RAIS would be nominated for a three-year period, consistently with a sub-regional balance and personal and institutional commitment of its members,

10. AARINENA Executive Secretariat, in consultation with FAO and GFAR, explore the possibility of assigning a scientific assistant to be in charge of the Information and Communication Management (ICM) activities within the Secretariat;

·Enhancing management information systems at national level. That would include the following modules (a) management of institutional information, (b) management of research activities and research project information, (c) management of information on experts, and (d) management of information on research outputs,

· Launching of electronic forum of discussion enabling and fostering dialogue within and amongst all the stakeholders involved in agricultural research for development in the Region,

·Establishment of a gateway function at the regional level facilitating accesses to information managed by NARS.

The participants elected five members as AARENENA-RAIS Steering Committee as follows: Egypt to represent the Nile Valley & the Red Sea sub region, Kuwait to represent the Arabian Peninsula sub-region, Jordan to represent the Mashreq sub region, Iran to represent the West and Central Asia sub-region and Morocco to represent Maghreb sub-region.

GFAR-2003 Conference will be held in Dakar, Senegal during the period of 22-24 of May. The President of Senegal is expected to inaugurate the Conference and several distinguished world figures would present statements in the Opening Session. Plenary Sessions and the Working Groups will also be chaired by prominent international personalities. The Agenda of the Conference includes important global strategic issues, particularly those related to linking research to rural innovations and sustainable development through participatory approach.

Please access the GFAR website (www.egfar.org) for more information on the logistical aspects and registration process.

AARINENA in consultation with the respective constituencies will select and nominate representatives of NGOs and farmers unions/organizations in the Region to attend the Conference. Participation of these constituencies (farmers organizations and NGOs) is very important because of the nature of the Conference.

Irrigation/Fertigation Training Course, Cyprus, May 2003

The Agricultural Research Institute, with a long tradition in irrigation/fertigation, is organising an advanced course to share the know-how attained in Cyprus on this aspect with other countries facing similar problems and challenges. The duration of the course is 10 days during the period from May 25 to June 4, 2003, with the following objectives:

1. Offer a scientific and technological background on the efficient and effective application of water and fertilizer.

3. Provide information for upgrading, implementation, and operation of micro-irrigation/fertigation systems.

4. Provide modern management solutions and innovative approaches through rational use of water and fertilizers to increase yield, improve quality and safeguard sustainable production.

5. Provide a basis for the development of national guidelines and code of practice for micro-irrigation/fertigation.

Further information may be obtained from: Dr. Dora Chimonidou 1516 Nicosia, P.O. Box 22016 Nicosia, Cyprus Tel.: (357) 22403212 Fax: (357) 22316770 e-mail: Dora.Chimonidou@arinet.ari.gov.cy Registration fees for the entire course amount to US$1000, covering tuition, coffee breaks and field trip expenses.

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AARINENA Secretariat: National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer(NCARTT)

Amman,P.O.Box 639 Jordan. Tel.: 962-6-4726680, Fax:962-6-4726009

E-mail: aarinena@ncartt.gov.jo

The Elected President :

Date Palm Network

Irrigation/Fertigation Training Course, Cyprus, May 2003