J. Dodds
ICARDA Assistant Director General, Research
Dear Colleagues
On behalf of Prof Dr Adel El Beltagy, Director General of ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), who apologises for not being with us today, I welcome you to the consultation on ‘Setting Livestock Research Priorities in WANA.’ The presence of representatives from 25 different countries in West Asia, North Africa (WANA), Central Asia, Europe and North America is a clear indication of your interest in attending the consultation.
As we all know, Syria lies in the heartland of the region where agriculture originated some 10,000 years ago. But it is even more pertinent that we are sitting today close to the region where small ruminants were first domesticated at about the same time. The consultation is a landmark in the history of ICARDA for a number of reasons. First, ICARDA has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Second, it is the largest meeting on livestock ever held at ICARDA. And third, it is the first meeting in WANA between ICARDA, which is now responsible for research on small ruminants in the dry areas, and ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute).
In 1996 ICARDA, along with ILRI and the other centres within the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research), completed the preparation of its new Medium-Term Plan (MTP) for the period 1998–2000. The MTP outlines the course that ICARDA will take until the year 2000 and beyond, and presents the research activities that will be conducted to fulfil its mandate and achieve its goals. In his presentation, Dr Euan Thomson will go into greater detail about the research on small ruminants envisaged in the MTP. However, it is worth noting certain points.
WANA is a region with a population that is expected to double by the year 2025 to 1,500 billion. Achieving the additional food, and indirectly feed, production to meet the increasing demand of the people will put even greater pressures on the already scarce water and land resources. These prospects have important implications for the future of livestock and rangeland research in the region. ICARDA recognises this and small ruminant and rangelands are explicitly included in our mission statement. The MTP also presents the expanded geographical area of the centre to include the dry areas of Central Asia, Mongolia and north-west China, northern Mexico, southern America, southern Africa and northern India.
The joint FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)/ICARDA regional workshop held here in July 1997 is further evidence of the significance that ICARDA attaches to livestock, in particular small ruminants. That workshop laid the foundation for a future programme of research on the conservation, management and characterisation of species and breeds of livestock in WANA and central Asia. It will involve many national programmes, three CGIAR centres— ICARDA, ILRI and IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute)—as well as FAO. The nearly completed laboratory/animal house, dedicated to Dr Orita who worked at ICARDA for eight years with generous support from Japan, will strengthen the current research facilities already available at ICARDA. Thus, ICARDA is taking seriously the importance of livestock in the countries of the region where they account for 20–50% of agricultural gross domestic product.
But let us not deceive ourselves about the future. Core funding of research is decreasing to critical levels. This has resulted in greater efforts being made to raise funds for special projects which now finance more than half of ICARDA’s total research efforts. Several of us here today, including our colleagues from ILRI, have just returned from the 1997 annual meetings of the CGIAR with donors in Washington. What we discussed and heard reinforces our awareness of the challenges ahead. We will have to take greater care to focus our scarce resources on research that has impact at the farm level, contributes to poverty alleviation and helps to strengthen the human resource capabilities of national programmes in specific areas.
We will have to carefully identify the roles of national programmes, international research organisations and advanced centres of research and teaching both within and outside the region. This will enable us to exploit the comparative advantage of these different entities. But comparative advantage does not mean we should work in isolation. Indeed, we are actively pursuing synergies among the collaborating partners This consultation is part of a process to bring us all closer together.
Let me say something about one of our major clients, the farmers and their families. They cultivate the land and tend the animals, and they are exposed to so many factors beyond their control—the weather, pests and disease, and the policy and marketing environment to mention but a few. We are critically aware of these issues and know that farmers will not change unless they see substantial benefits arising from the new technologies scientists develop. It is therefore more important than ever to involve farmers in the whole research process: from the identification of constraints, through the planning of the research, to its implementation. Participation of farmers in the research process is now beyond doubt a key to the successful adoption of new technologies. This is why this consultation is so timely and relevant. It will help us achieve our goal of conducting focused research that is relevant to the needs of the region.
Before closing, let me thank ILRI for its support to livestock research in WANA and for participating in this consultation. And we thank IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) for the generous financial support which has made the consultation possible. On behalf of the Director General and all my colleagues here at ICARDA, we hope that the coming few days will be productive and enjoyable.
