|
International
Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
(ICARDA)
“Established in 1977, ICARDA is one of the 15
centers strategically located all over the world and
supported by the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR). With its main
research station and offices based in Aleppo, Syria,
ICARDA works through a network of partnerships with
national, regional and international institutions,
universities, non-governmental organizations and
ministries in the developing world; and with
advanced research institutes in industrialized
countries.”
“ICARDA serves the entire developing world for the
improvement of barley, lentil, and faba bean; and
dry-area developing countries for the on-farm
management of water, improvement of nutrition and
productivity of small ruminants (sheep and goats),
and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In
the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA)
region, ICARDA is responsible for the improvement of
durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage
legumes and farming systems; and for the protection
and enhancement of the natural resource base of
water, land, and biodiversity.”
Mission
“ICARDA's mission is to improve the welfare of poor
people and alleviate poverty through research and
training in dry areas of the developing world, by
increasing the production, productivity and
nutritional quality of food, while preserving and
enhancing the natural resource base.”
Go to
ICARDA’s website.
Genetic resources activities
ICARDA genebank
“Since its inception, ICARDA has mounted 71
collection missions in 40 countries and currently
holds over 110,000 accessions of its mandate crops
in its genebank (55,000 cereals, 27,000 food
legumes, 28,000 forages). These collections are held
in trust in the Center's cold store under the
auspices of FAO. Each year, ICARDA distributes on
average, over 30,000 samples to ICARDA and other
researchers worldwide.”
Find out more about
ICARDA’s genebank.
Integrated Gene Management: Conservation,
Enhancement and Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity
in Dry Areas
“Several food, feed and horticultural crops
originated in Central and West Asia and North Africa
and their wild relatives and landraces are still
found in the area. They have survived in the harsh,
dry environments for thousands of years, and
therefore contain useful genes that can be used in
plant breeding to produce varieties that can
withstand the conditions in the region. However, the
rising population and increased degradation of the
land is causing their erosion. ICARDA is working
with national programs to collect and store
germplasm of these precious species in the field and
in its genebank. In addition, ICARDA's breeding
programs with national partners continue to develop
new and improved crop varieties that are released in
various countries of the region and beyond.”
Diversification and Sustainable Improvement of Crop
and Livestock Production Systems in Dry Areas
“The goal of alleviating poverty in dry areas cannot
be achieved by productivity increases alone.
Innovative options are needed to diversify income
generating opportunities available to rural
households. Such options include the diversification
of cropping systems and increasing the quality and
end-use value of agricultural commodities. ICARDA's
research in this area is, therefore, focusing on
crop and livestock systems especially for
smallholder farmers, household investment and
marketing opportunities for value-added crop and
livestock products and options to both increase and
diversify the value of crop production.”
To find out more about ICARDA’s work in these areas,
click here.
Inter-Centre Working Group on Genetic Resources
Each of the CGIAR Centres has a representative on the Inter-Centre
Working Group on Genetic Resources, SGRP’s steering
committee. ICARDA is represented by two members, one
representing the plant genetic resources sector and
one representing the livestock sector. The Committee
sets the strategy and priorities for SGRP and meets
annually to review its workplan.
To find out who are
ICARDA’s representatives,
please go to our
Contacts page. |
The CGIAR System
Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
Bioversity International
CIAT
CIFOR
CIMMYT
CIP
ICARDA
ICRISAT
IFPRI
IITA
ILRI
IRRI
IWMI
World Agroforestry Centre
WorldFish Center
|
