The Fourth Regular Session of ITPGRFA, March 2011, Bali- Indonesia

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2 AARINENA IN ACTION The Fourth Regular Session of ITPGRFA, March 2011, Bali- Indonesia AARINENA delegation including Dr. Ahmad Tawfik, the chair of the coordinating board of the NENA-Plant Genetic Resources Network (PGRN); Dr. Sobhia Saifan, Jordan PGRN focal point; and Dr. Ali Al-Lawati, Oman PGRN focal point participated in the Fourth Regular Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) held at the Bali International Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia from March The meeting was preceded by two days of regional consultations from March Agriculture ministers and senior officials from more than 100 countries paved the way forward on the eve of a meeting of the Treaty s Governing Body Meeting, adopting a lengthy declaration designed to steer the Treaty s future course to face food insecurity and climate change. The ITPGRFA Session saw a diversity of side events nearly 14 in total. One of the successful side events was GFAR side event on Putting Article 6 Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources into force that GFAR not only showed what the GFAR is all about by illustrating the development opportunities in sustainable use of plant genetic resources, but also highlighted a collective movement, recently initiated among a wide range of international programmes and multi-stakeholder Regional Fora, to strengthen the role and value of agro-biodiversity in development. GFAR side event was opened by the Executive Secretary of GFAR, Dr. Mark Holderness who welcomed the participants and highlighted the role of GFAR in improving sustainable use of plant genetic resources. He presented the interaction between GFAR and the ITPGRFA and explored how actions in the sustainable use of agrobiodiversity can contribute to desired development outcomes. The side event highlighted the need for the governing body of the ITPGRFA to provide its support for collaborative action under Article 6 to encourage national, regional and international processes and a work program of sound actions around the sustainable use of agro-biodiversity. Representatives of AARINENA, UNEP-GEF, Asia- AARINENA Delegation with ICARDA Representative s (right) at the Fourth Regular Session of the Governing Body of the ITPGRFA, March 2011, Bali- Indonesia Pacific Region, Suwon-Korea, and Agricultural Biodiversity Initiative for Africa (ABIA) presented their institutes experiment in the sustainable use, management and utilization of plant genetic resources and proposed actions to strengthening among stakeholders partnerships at all levels. Dr. Ahmad Tawfik made a presentation on the AARINENA PGR Network focusing on the feature of NENA region, the network goal, objectives and working groups. He addressed the scope of the network, and proposed the following priority activities for the : - Conduct SWOT analysis of PGR programs in some NENA member countries; - Contact ITPGRFA and others for support of a workshop on PGRFA and GR policies and legislations; - Identify breeder s traits of interest for major crops grown in the region; - Co-organize training course and workshops with regional and international organizations and other institutions; - Develop joint proposals based on agreed themes; and - Organize at least one meeting of the PGR network for presenting the achievements and developing future work plans. The International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium, April 2011, ICARDA- Syria AARINENA along regional and international organizations cosponsored the International Wheat Stripe Rust Symposium held at ICARDA Headquarters, Aleppo, Syria from April The Meeting organized by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in collaboration with Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Development Research Center (IDRC, Canada), and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). More than 100 scientists and policymakers from 31 countries convened at the meeting to review the current global status of wheat stripe rust epidemics that have severely affected crop yields in Central and West Asia, the Near East and North and East Africa in recent years and deliberate on the risk and potential implications of epidemics of yellow (stripe) rust disease on wheat production. The 2 AARINENA Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 1- August 2011

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4 AARINENA IN ACTION The meeting deliberated and agreed to develop a Concept Paper on using Spatial Information System for integrated agricultural and water resources management to effectively benefit small holder farmers of the region by AARINENA and ICARDA in collaboration with GFAR and PROGIS. The participants recommended that AARINENA and its partners: - Advocate and explain the potential of using GIS for agricultural development and environment in the region. - Advocate and promote increased, improved and targeted investment in the development of spatial data infrastructure for research in GIS applications. - Advocate the need for new capacities, especially human capacities and skills in the area of GIS. - Develop greater regional and sub-regional collaboration in this area of ICT application - Linking GIS Educational Institutions to Agricultural institutions should be advocated, promoted and supported. - AARINENA should take lead in the development of institutional structures for data management for agricultural use and research in the region. Expert Consultation: Building the CIARD Framework for Data and Information Sharing, June 2011, Beijing-China Participants of the Expert Consultation: Building the CIARD Framework for Data and Information Sharing, June 2011, Beijing-China Mr. Otman Sebbata, INRA- Morocco and Dr. Mohamed Sallam, Director of Extension Projects and Programmes, Agricultural Research and Extension Authority (AREA)- Yemen represented AARINENA in the International Expert Consultation: Building the CIARD Framework for Data and Information Sharing held in Beijing- China from June The Expert Consultation organized by the Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD) partners, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS), and supported by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). More than 82 experts from around the world representing international organizations, regional fora, NARS and private sector identified priority actions for the development of the framework, drawing on the findings of an e-consultation on the subject held in April on the E-Agriculture community site ( org). The Consultation aimed to take stock of the current collaborative bilateral, multilateral, global coherence frameworks and collaboration in management and sharing of information; to share experiences of national, regional and global collaboration in managing, sharing and exchange of agricultural research information in the context of new challenges to agriculture; and to chart future action, strategies and activities for action to further enable collaboration and partnerships involving fast growing economies in global agricultural research information sharing and exchange. Dr. Mohamed Sallam from AREA-Yemen highlighted the Status of Data and Information Sharing in Yemen focusing on local organizations that deal with agricultural information, mechanisms and constrains of data and information sharing, use of information and communication technologies, data/information storage and retrieval systems, information policies and strategies. He proposed actions for better information sharing and interoperability, and underlined case studies of available 4 AARINENA Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 1- August 2011

5 AARINENA IN ACTION digital sources of agricultural research information. Mr. Otman Sebbata from INRA-Morocco presented the Status of Data and Information Sharing in Morocco focusing on national policies and strategies, mechanisms and channels for information/data sharing, interoperability between types of digital information/data, and priority areas for enhancing sharing of Agricultural research outputs. In the framework of the Expert Consultation, 24 organizations shared their experiences at the Info-share Marketplace which was organized on 20 June The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) shared its experiences for the CIARD-RING which the Forum leads. The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) launched the CIARD Website ( in Chinese on 21 June The Beijing consultation examined in some detail the three main areas that need to be resolved in building the framework for data and information, namely (a) harnessing of the rapidly evolving technologies around linked open data concepts; (b) provision of organizational support so that interoperable linked data is openly available, and (c) advocacy for and emergence of a coherent global community involved in agricultural innovation and shares and uses data appropriately. The Expert Consultation also recognized that collaboration and partnerships at various levels worldwide are key to effective sharing of data and information for agricultural innovation. Building trust and institutional structures to bring this collaboration and partnerships must be a part of the framework. The participants concluded that the outputs from the 2011 programme of consultations will be summarized in an issues paper on Enabling Collaboration in Global Agricultural Research Information Sharing and Exchange for the consideration of the global ARD community, with suggestions/recommendations for governments for submission to the intergovernmental Technical Consultation is planned in late 2011 or early 2012 in Rome, and following that the GCARD The process of e-consultation and face to face consultation was a learning process with good opportunity to learn from participants for IARCs and NARS on the state of the art of information and data sharing. The First Coordinating Board Meeting of the NENA- PGR Network, June 2011, Muscat- Oman Participants of the First Coordinating Board Meeting of the NENA PGR Network, June 2011, Muscat- Oman AARINENA with the support of Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Sultanate of Oman, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and Bioversity International (BI) has organized and cosponsored the First Coordinating Board Meeting of the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Plant Genetic Resources Network (PGRN) took place from June 2011 in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and attended by 20 participants representing 12 national focal points of member countries and institutes (Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen), in addition to representatives of Bioversity International, GFAR and ICARDA. The agenda of the meeting included: i) Reporting on the network activities since 2008; ii) Country status reports; iii) Governance and mechanisms for action and followup; iv) Priority areas for collaboration, networking and interregional cooperation; v) Financial requirements and related matters; vi) Development of project proposals and network strategy; vii) Development and adoption of an annual work plan for ; viii) Election of a chairperson for the Coordinating Board for the coming year ( ); and ix) Deciding on the venue and dates for the second meeting of the Coordinating Board. AARINENA Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 1- August

6 AARINENA IN ACTION The participants discussed and adopted the following recommendations: - Review the establishment document of NENA PGRN adopted in 2008 by the AARINENA Conference, in order to serve as the network main document. - Update the PGR strategy for WANA region developed in 2006 to serve as a strategy for the NENA -PGRN. - Identify possible contributors for the planned joint workshop with ECPGR on the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) which will be held in Izmir- Turkey in September Identify two areas for immediate preparation of concept notes for full regional project proposals including Harmonization of PGR Information Systems in NENA and Assessment of Status of the Current PGR Programs in NENA. - Prepare a proposal on activation of working groups by the coordinator. - Elect Oman as chair of the CB for the coming year ( ). - The Second Coordinating Board Meeting will be held in Egypt in June Dry Land Systems Regional Planning Working Meeting, June 2011, Nairobi- Kenya Dr. Ghassan Hamdallah represented AARINENA and was appointed to chair the WANA Group for the Dry Land Systems Regional Planning Working Meeting, held in Nairobi- Kenya from June The main objective of the meeting was to address the CGIAR Fund Council s conditions requiring to revise the Consortium Research Program (CRP1.1) on Integrated Agriculture Systems for the Poor and Vulnerable in Dry Areas (DrylandSystems). This Program was developed by ICARDA together with eight other CGIAR Centers in consultation with stakeholders. Furthermore, the Working Meeting focused on identifying two Benchmark Areas in each of the program s Five Target Regions (West African Sahel and Dry Savannas, Eastern and Southern Africa, North Africa and West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia) and, within these benchmark areas, identifying Action Sites. WANA Group comprised 16 participants representing AARINENA, ICARDA, and National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) in: Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and Syria. Dr. Nasri Haddad, Regional Coordinator of the ICARDA-West Asia Regional Program (WARP) made the WANA Group presentation which included selection of two Bench Marks (BM), within the (CRP 1.1). These BM areas were identified as follows: BM 1, representing Reducing Vulnerability and Risk Management (SRT-2 System) extending f r o m C e n t r a l J o r d a n t o S o u t h e r n Tu r k e y -representing basically (Rangelands with less than 300 mm of rainfall); and BM 2, representing High Potential Systems with Sustainability Emphasis (SRT-3 System) extending from Central Morocco to Central Algeria, with annual rainfall of more than 500 mm. Two Action Sites were identified within this SRT-2 Bench Mark Area. The first, was in Central Jordan (basically the location of the Water Bench Marking Study by ICARDA); and the second was in Central Syria (Al-Salamiya region). A Satellite Action Site was also identified in Central Tunisia, representing rangeland in highland areas. In addition, Two Action Sites were identified within the SRT-3 System as Bench Mark Areas, including the Central Morocco/Meknes area; and a River Basin area in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A Satellite Action Site was identified in Nile Delta area, representing a High Potential System at Nubaria location. The following criteria parameters were identified by the CG reviewers in selecting a Bench mark Area: (a) Accessibility of the location; (b) Suitability to test hypothesis; (c) Representative-ness of its location; d) Potential for outscaling; (e) Ability to attract resources; and (f) Potential synergy with other CG projects. The Fifth CGIAR Fund Council Meeting, 6-8 July 2011, Washington, DC The Executive Secretary, Dr. Ibrahim Hamdan represented AARINENA in the Fifth CGIAR Fund Council Meeting which took place at the Word Bank in Washington, DC from 6-8 July. The meeting comprised three sessions including the Opening Session, Brainstorming Session, and Decision Session. At the Opening Session, the Consortium Office presented the 2011 financing plan and revised 2011 funding stability proposal, while the Trustee/Fund Office highlighted the cash flow projection. At the Brainstorming Session, the CGIAR Fund members which include developing and industrialized country governments, foundations, and international and regional organizations deliberated on how to achieve Efficiency Gains in the whole-of-cgiar including CGIAR Research 6 AARINENA Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 1- August 2011

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9 AT A GLANCE Share Your Views with CGIAR-FAO-GFAR A major challenge faced by researchers today is how to communicate their research outputs more effectively. The CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and GFAR (Global Forum on Agricultural Research) are conducting a global survey to gather evidence from researchers on potential gains and concerns of a wider communication of research results, and promote innovative pathways for better sharing of their outputs. The survey is intended for researchers working in agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries, food and nutrition, and related biological, environmental, economic and social fields. This survey is part of a study on Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research in Development (CIARD). To Share your views by taking a short survey, please visit ( surveymonkey.com/s/ciard-researcher). Khalifa International Date Palm Award 2012 Starts Receiving Applications for the Fourth Session Applicants wishing to participate in the Fourth session of Khalifa International Date Palm Award 2012 are advised to apply from the 1st of June until end of October 2011, announced the General Secretariat of the Award. Interested candidates can apply to any of the award five categories including: Research, Studies and Technologies; Best Producer for Institutions; the Best New Technique; the Best Development Project; and Influential Figure(s) in the Date Palm Industry. The administrative office of the award will coordinate with the candidates to ensure the completion of all necessary paperwork. For more information, please visit ( GFAR and GCARD Road Map Recognized in G20 Ministerial Declaration The Group of Twenty (G-20) Agriculture Ministers, met in Paris, France from June 2011 to address the issue of food price volatility with the ultimate objective to improve food security and agree on an Action Plan on food price volatility and agriculture that will be submitted to the G20 Leaders at their Summit in November The Ministerial Declaration Action Plan on food price volatility and agriculture recognizes GFAR and the GCARD Road Map as essential mechanisms to strengthening agricultural research and innovation systems to better respond to the needs of farmers and ensure that agricultural research leads effectively to increased food security, sustainably increased agricultural production and productivity, and improved rural incomes. The G20 Agriculture Ministers agree to strengthen agricultural research and innovation and support results based agricultural research for development through their national agricultural research systems, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). They will promote technology transfers, knowledge sharing and capacity building through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation. All involved in GFAR value this recognition and they continue to work towards transforming agricultural research development systems for global impact. FAO Conference Elected a Newly FAO Director General and Approves Budget Increase José Graziano da Silva of Brazil was elected Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 26 June 2011 at the biennial 191 member Nation Conference of FAO. As Brazil s Extraordinary Minister of Food Security and Fight against Hunger he was responsible for implementing the country s highly-successful Zero Hunger programme, in whose design he also played a leading role. The programme helped lift 24 million people out of extreme poverty in five years and to reduce undernourishment in Brazil by 25 percent. Since 2006, he has served as FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. He holds a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences from the State University of Campinas. Graziano da Silva is FAO s eighth Director-General since the Organization was founded in Quebec City, Canada on October 16, Furthermore, FAO s governing Conference has unanimously approved a regular programme budget of US$1,005.6 million for the Organization for the biennium, equivalent to a 1.4 percent increase over the current biennium. The budget provides for full implementation of the proposed programme of work as well as the Immediate Plan of Action for FAO renewal. AARINENA Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 1- August

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11 ANNOUNCEMENT Announcement International Conference on Adaptation to Climate Change and Food Security in West Asia and North Africa (WANA), Kuwait City, Kuwait, November 2011 Background West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region has long had the challenge of providing sustainable livelihoods for its increasing populations in the fragile ecosystems of semi-arid and arid areas facing the challenging issues of absolute water scarcity, drought, land degradation and desertification. Climate change is already a reality in WANA and it places additional constraints on the already fragile ecosystems of dry areas and limited natural resources. There is evidence of the global decline in food production; and the developing countries in WANA will be hit the hardest. Organizers - World Meteorological Organization-WMO ( - Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa-AARINENA ( - Food Agriculture Organization-FAO ( - International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas-ICARDA ( - Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research-KISR ( and - Ohio State University ( - Global Forum on Agricultural Research-GFAR ( - European Union (EU). Objectives - To provide a better understanding and assessment of the climate change impacts on agriculture and the associated vulnerability in the WANA region; - To discuss and develop informed decisions on practical adaptation strategies for the agricultural sector in the WANA region; - To discuss and suggest the appropriate ways to promote adaptation planning and implementation and it s integration into the sustainable development planning in different countries in the WANA region; and - To develop a Regional Adaptation Framework for continuous information exchange on climate change impacts and adaptation amongst the different countries in the WANA region. Expected Outputs Senior experts in the field of climate change, agro-meteorology, as well as members from AARINENA will be invited to prepare state-of-the-art discussion papers to address the above objectives. The programme for the meeting will be designed to engage all the participants in deliberations on each of these discussion papers and develop a Climate Change Adaptation Framework for the WANA region that could enhance cooperation among WANA countries to better manage climate change risks; and enhance integration of adaptation with mitigation and sustainable agricultural development in WANA. Participation This Conference aims to bring together experts from the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), key decision-makers, and practitioners to discuss real world applications and innovative techniques for coping with climate change and offering recommendations for planning and implementing an effective Climate Change Adaptation Framework for WANA. Proceedings of the Meeting will be published by WMO, AARINENA, FAO, ICARDA, KISR and Ohio State University and will be widely distributed. For more information, please contact: - Dr. M.V.K. Sivakumar, Director, Climate Prediction and Adaptation Branch Climate and Water Department World Meteorological Organization; (7bis, Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland; Phone: ; Fax: ; msivakumar@wmo.int). - Dr. Ibrahim Hamdan, Executive Secretary, AARINENA, C/O ICARDA West Asia Regional Program; (P.O. Box , Amman 11195, Jordan; Phone: ; Fax: ; I.Hamdan@cgiar.org). AARINENA Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 1- August

12 NEW PUBLICATIONS A Training Guide on Forest Genetic Resources Bioversity International launched a training manual for forestry practitioners, lecturers, trainers and students to increase understanding of how to manage diverse and complex forest and other tree based ecosystems sustainability. The new Training Guide - Forest Genetic Resources (FGR)-can be used for teaching and learning about FGR issues both in formal education and on-the-job training. The manual is a part of bioversity training materials series. For further information, please visit ( org). A Book on Date Palm Biotechnology The Date Palm Biotechnology reference book is the first comprehensive resource worldwide that reflects research achievements in date palm biotechnology, documenting research events during the last four decades, current status, and future outlook. It brings together the principles and practices of contemporary date palm biotechnology. The book is essential for researchers, policy makers, and commercial entrepreneurs concerned with date palm. It is invaluable for date palm biotechnology students and specialists. This monument is written by an international team of experienced researchers from both academia and industry. In addition to an introductory chapter, the book consists of thirty two review chapters highlighting progress and current research status covering various aspects of date palm biotechnology. For more information, please visit ( FAO Publication Biotechnologies for Agricultural Development Biotechnologies for Agricultural Development book represents the proceedings of the FAO international technical conference dedicated to Agricultural Biotechnologies in Developing Countries (ABDC-10) that took place in Guadalajara, Mexico on 1-4 March A major objective of the conference was to take stock of the application of biotechnologies across the different food and agricultural sectors in developing countries, in order to learn from the past and to identify options for the future to face the challenges of food insecurity, climate change and natural resource degradation. At the Near East & North Africa (NENA) parallel session, AARINENA delegation presented the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) in the field of modern agricultural biotechnology in WANA to face the challenges of food insecurity and climate change. The proceedings are organized in two main sections. The first section contains ten chapters with an extensive series of FAO background documents prepared before ABDC-10. The second section contains five chapters dedicated to the outcomes of ABDC-10, namely the reports from 27 parallel sessions of sectoral, cross-sectoral and regional interest. 12 AARINENA Newsletter Vol. 19 No. 1- August 2011

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