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+{"metadata":{"id":"03b0f8fda6eddef8355f3225c6d2534f","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/638d5b46-ee5c-4dcf-ae9b-89844720a71a/retrieve"},"pageCount":56,"title":"","keywords":[],"chapters":[{"head":"Science for resilient livelihoods in dry areas","index":1,"paragraphs":[]},{"head":"A unified approach","index":2,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":72,"text":"Any reflection on 2020 will likely dwell on the magnitude and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, our enduring memory will be of the ICARDA family of staff, farmers, partners, and donors, among others, who came together to overcome the challenges of lockdowns, travel restrictions, labor shortages, and supply issues. Their commitment enabled ICARDA to remain on track with our objectives across the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region."},{"index":2,"size":84,"text":"We were also grateful for the exceptional flexibility and adaptability of donors, such as the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) and the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) who were key to our ongoing capacity building activities, bestowing additional support and leadership during these challenging times. Furthermore, our strong networks with country stakeholders, including the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) partners, enabled swift action and contingencies to continue our work and keep our staff and family farming communities safe."},{"index":3,"size":47,"text":"Our work on climate-smart crops, genebanks, and international nurseries continued largely unaffected due to the vital support of donors and partners. Research, delivery, and training packages meant new and past improved crops varieties continue to flourish under climate change to boost yields and income throughout the region."},{"index":4,"size":48,"text":"Our sustainable crop and livestock programs, again with the support of our donors and partners, gained strength across Ethiopia, Sudan, and beyond. Our research delivered hardier, more productive community herds, the means to grow forage sustainably, and the social and economic insights needed to create more employment opportunities."},{"index":5,"size":30,"text":"Our land, soils, and water teams continue to restore soil quality and biodiversity throughout the region by upscaling pioneering and innovative approaches that protect and sustainably manage valuable water sources."},{"index":6,"size":193,"text":"More than anything, the pandemic made us determined to help drive CGIAR's ongoing transition to a streamlined, integrated, and dynamic One CGIAR that delivers a greater impact and more robust food systems efficiently -both across the dry areas where we work and globally. After officially joining the One CGIAR in late 2020, our restructured science teams were already in place for a much higher degree of integration. Across the CGIAR, and alongside our partners, donors, and other CGIAR Centers, we began developing the multi-stakeholder initiatives that will frame One CGIAR's future work. We are also reaching out to relative newcomers, non-CGIAR countries, and bilateral donors to ensure that ICARDA continues to serve them either bilaterally or within One CGIAR. Above all, 2020 highlighted our long-term host country arrangements and the trust we have built with partners and donors over four decades in the Central and West Asia, and North Africa (CWANA) region and beyond. Under a united One CGIAR, we will be uniquely placed to improve food and water security for dryland family farmers and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Regardless of the 2020 challenges, we see a bright and unified future."},{"index":7,"size":23,"text":"Foreword: joint message from CGIAR Regional Director of CWANA and ICARDA Director General, Mr. Aly Abousabaa, and ICARDA Board Chair Mr. Michel Afram"}]},{"head":"Aly Abousabaa Michel Afram","index":3,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":60,"text":"Throughout 2020, we continued digitalizing our research to facilitate faster, better, and more accurate data collection, knowledge sharing, analysis, and decisionmaking. Global developments in technology, digital analytics, remote sensing, networks, and software, especially on now-ubiquitous smartphones, make data collection, analysis, reporting, and knowledge sharing easier and more efficient, even in the most isolated and fragile dry areas where we work."},{"index":2,"size":67,"text":"Our unique and growing pool of big data -based on four decades of drylands research -helps to model and analyze new approaches, climate variability, assessment of new crop varieties and livestock improvements, socioeconomics, and decision-making at all levels. When consolidated with other Centers under the ongoing One CGIAR reformulation, our data will constitute a formidable resource that will contribute significantly to the battle against global climate challenges."},{"index":3,"size":30,"text":"In 2020, our Geoinformatics for sustainable Agro-Ecosystems (GeoAgro) Team led by Dr. Chandra Shekhar Biradar ramped up the digitalization of research through its geo-big data-driven platform to leverage the latest"},{"index":4,"size":52,"text":"Digitalizing research for a level playing field cutting-edge technological innovations. Selected ICARDA projects contained GeoAgro pilot elements while staff and partners were trained on geotagging tools. The implementation of geo-referenced field data collection with geotagging tools led to collection of over 2,500 datasets for mapping farming systems across dry region in 2020."},{"index":5,"size":65,"text":"We were also thrilled when 4 GeoAgro-related projects made it to the final 15 (out of 120 entries) of the CGIAR Big Data Inspire awards. Two projects went on to win -one helps farmers monitor locust activity, and the other, supported by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) alongside ICARDA's Dr. Mounir Louhaichi, facilitates accurate decision-making in rangelands health by pooling data and satellite imagery."},{"index":6,"size":56,"text":"ICARDA's Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Team, led by Dr. Enrico Bonaiuti, developed tools such as the WOCAT digital explorer and the Central Asia Climate Portal. These tools pool valuable data and knowledge such as climate information and global agricultural innovations from official international sources to support organizations, policymakers, and researchers in decisionmaking, monitoring, and learning."},{"index":7,"size":63,"text":"MEL also developed tools such as the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Quality Assurance Processor, or 'M-QAP', which pools large data sets from mainstream research databases to simplify and support research and encourage standardization across global databases. These tools have been adopted by the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) to strengthen the extent and complexity of their knowledge frameworks."},{"index":8,"size":67,"text":"Also in 2020, the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) began using ICARDA's Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) as its prime monitoring and evaluation tool, to strengthen the extent and complexity of its intervention framework. PRIMA is a joint program undertaken by its 19 participating states aimed at creating a competitive environment for solutions development in research and innovation across the Mediterranean area."},{"index":9,"size":75,"text":"Through its Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Team, ICARDA also became the official AGROVOC editor in Arabic, in addition to its contribution to the English AGROVOC version, vastly increasing the integration of online tools and systems, which are available in multiple languages. It also improves the discoverability of knowledge from the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region in line with the recent Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) policy approved by CGIAR."},{"index":10,"size":81,"text":"Another exciting, digital-focused initiative is ICARDA's involvement through Dr. Filippo Bassi, in the Activated Genebank Network (AGENT) project, funded by the European Union and launched in 2020. It standardizes and pools phenotype information from global genebank networks within a single database and revolutionizes plant genetic resource information sharing. Our Genetic Resources Team is also accelerating research digitalization through tools such as the CGIAR Breeding Program Assessment Tool, which aids design and analysis, and helps the breeding management system centralize breeding data."},{"index":11,"size":49,"text":"Our Query the Breeding Management System (QMBS) initiative was developed and published in 2020 to offer scientists and researchers easy ways to access knowledge from a wide range of analytics, visualization, and data transformations from within the Breeding Management System -an established tool that helps breeders manage their processes."},{"index":12,"size":64,"text":"Finally, ICARDA also embraces low-cost digitalization for services to stakeholders with a low technology, affordable approach. The ICT2Scale project uses cell phone-based services to offer e-learning and extension services for crop and small ruminant production, beekeeping, and conservation agriculture to farmers in Tunisia, and farmers in our community-based livestock projects in Ethiopia use the DTREO app to capture and share details about productive animals."},{"index":13,"size":8,"text":"Read about digitalization in detail in the appendix."}]},{"head":"Boosting wheat production in Sudan and Ethiopia through the TAAT wheat compact project","index":4,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":1,"text":"The "}]},{"head":"Capitalizing on idle land for better food security in South Asia","index":5,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":16,"text":"The ICARDA-South Asia &  To find out about our 2020 work in climate-smart crops, click below:"}]},{"head":"Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP)","index":6,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":3,"text":"The DIIVA-PR Project "}]},{"head":"Date palm","index":7,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":112,"text":"ICARDA also works across the Arabian Peninsula to improve date palm, an important crop for the region where 90 percent of global date production is concentrated. Funded by the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the project improves date palm production systems in GCC countries, employing modern technology to increase crop management, post-harvest seed operation, and market and value chain development. Major project milestones in 2020 include applying drone technology to monitor pests, applying new liquid pollination techniques, and post-harvesting monitoring and control. Liquid pollination resulted in cost reductions of 80 percent, savings of 70 percent in pollen grains, and a profitability ratio of 1:9 when compared to conventional methods."}]},{"head":"New elite lines of our crops aligned to market-oriented product profiles can be found in ICARDA's International","index":8,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":1,"text":"Nurseries."},{"index":2,"size":32,"text":"ICARDA's International Nurseries Team implemented seed production and distribution for 1,295 sets of 28 International Nursery trials, covering 1,566 genotypes spread over the 7 ICARDA crops, to 114 cooperators in 43 countries."},{"index":3,"size":28,"text":"From ICARDA-generated germplasm under development, distributed to national counterparts through the International Nursery system, we released 2 barley and 14 wheat varieties for crop production in 4 countries."},{"index":4,"size":55,"text":"We also distributed three tons of quality seed of ICARDAoriginated varieties of its six mandated crops to Syria and Lebanon for further multiplication and distribution. And we produced 160 kg of seed from 200 genotypes, selected from 1,300 accessions of dryland forages, for distribution to livestock-based livelihood communities in Lebanon, accompanied by a training video."}]},{"head":"WHEAT","index":9,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":87,"text":"As demand for wheat rapidly grows across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, ICARDA is urgently addressing growing climatic challenges, pests, and diseases that hinder domestic production. We do this by generating an effective wheat-breeding strategy and new wheat varieties, alongside the training needed to help them flourish, and new technologies and tools. Our improved varieties deliver high-yield potential, resistance and tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, and acceptable end-use qualities. We also develop diversified wheatpulse cropping systems that boost soil biodiversity while improving wheat's nutritional value."}]},{"head":"ICARDA wheat research in 2020","index":10,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":48,"text":"The African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation Wheat Compact project expansion in Ethiopia and Sudan, the fantastic Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) Award for outstanding paper, and our work on wheat in fragile states and territories, can all be found on our highlights page."},{"index":2,"size":34,"text":"Our Crop Breeding Teams are also working alongside other CGIAR Center Research Teams to develop the new initiatives that will define future approaches to wheat breeding across the globe under the One CGIAR reformulation."},{"index":3,"size":6,"text":"Other 2020 developments in wheat include:"}]},{"head":"Identifying disease and pests","index":11,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":106,"text":"Our disease and pests research in Turkey is supported by TAGEM (General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and is headed by Dr. Kumarse Nazari. In 2020, we helped the Regional Cereal Rust Research Center identify new stem and yellow rust races for the first time in some countries in the region. These rust races are resistant to current rustresistant breeds in Central and West Asia, and North Africa (CWANA) countries, and research is underway to monitor their movement and find new rust-resistant traits to combat the ever-evolving threat. "}]},{"head":"Better bread wheat for dry areas","index":12,"paragraphs":[]},{"head":"Durum wheat in Senegal","index":13,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":59,"text":"Funded by the Swedish Research Council and CIMMYT, and headed by ICARDA's Dr. Filippo Bassi, the area along the Senegal River cultivated with new durum wheat varieties that can withstand up to 40°C heat exceeded 8,000 ha, benefitting some 50,000 farmers. Seeds of durum wheat varieties identified in Senegal were provided to farmers' associations and non-governmental organizations across Africa."}]},{"head":"Agricultural trainings and support in Central and West Asia, and North Africa","index":14,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":47,"text":"In addition to our Arab Peninsula Regional Program (see highlights), in 2020 we implemented over 1,100 demonstrations in farmers' fields in the region, led by Dr. Science for resilient livelihoods in dry areas COVID-related challenges, the outstanding efforts of NARS partners enabled over 5,800 farmers to benefit."}]},{"head":"ZAR3i -better wheat under harsh conditions in Morocco","index":15,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":91,"text":"A project led by ICARDA's Dr. Rachid Moussadek, funded by one of the largest mills in Morocco and supported by CIMMYT, aims to improve cereal quality and productivity by offering farmers the right choice of varieties adapted to different production areas. In 2019, in collaboration with L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc (INRA-M), local varieties were tested under different agroclimatic conditions including under drought, and local wheat germplasm was identified and multiplied in an irrigated area to secure the germplasm material to be tested next season with selected farmers."},{"index":2,"size":8,"text":"Read about wheat in detail in the appendix."}]},{"head":"FOOD LEGUMES","index":16,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":84,"text":"ICARDA implemented numerous research projects in 2020 to deliver climate-smart food legumes for family farmers in dry areas to increase their income and household nutrition. ICARDA improves the productivity, nutritional quality, and yield stability of legume crops such as faba bean, grasspea, kabuli chickpea and lentil by developing elite germplasm, resistant to key diseases and insect pests and adaptive to rising temperatures, and water stress. We also look at ways to intercrop these varieties into staple crop systems such as wheat, barley and rice."},{"index":2,"size":57,"text":"Our elite food legume lines are made available to the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) partners through ICARDA's International Nurseries. ICARDA's Food Legumes Team is also working alongside other CGIAR Centers to develop the One CGIAR initiatives that seek to unify efforts in crop improvement globally and across Central and West Asia, and North Africa (CWANA) countries."},{"index":3,"size":69,"text":"Our projects receive funding from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Government of Odisha, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Union, the Ashutosh Sarker and Nigamananda Swain also looked at intercropping faba bean, grass pea, Kabuli chickpea, and lentil into rice fallow, durum wheat, and barley systems and examined the use of remote sensing images to identify suitable fallows for such diversified crop systems."},{"index":4,"size":52,"text":"We also develop early-maturing food legumes to fit within short maturing windows, and for a project in South Asia funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and led by Ashutosh Sarker, our early-maturing lentils used between rice harvests increased system productivity by 25-30 percent where adopted, for over 23,845 farmers."}]},{"head":"Safer grass pea","index":17,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":53,"text":"And with the support of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and in partnership with the John Innes Center, we generated the genomic resources required to deliver varieties of grass pea with low ODAP (a natural toxin) accurately and efficiently, to make this hardy and nutritious crop safe"}]},{"head":"Speed breeding","index":18,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":63,"text":"ICARDA can now produce up to five generations of barley, chickpea, grass pea, lentil and wheat crops per year through rapid generation advancement following speed breeding protocols that shorten the period for new variety releases from 10 to 6 years. The new screening and breeding infrastructure, which will be completed by the end of 2021, will increase capacity from 3,000 to 100,000 plants."},{"index":2,"size":24,"text":"for human consumption. Research by Dr. Zewdie Bishaw also identified grass pea mutants with low ODAP that were suitable and safe options for farmers."},{"index":3,"size":9,"text":"Read about food legumes in detail in the appendix."}]},{"head":"BARLEY","index":19,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":134,"text":"Barley is the ultimate multipurpose crop in the drylands of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, covering 3.3 million ha, mainly in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Providing food, feed, forage and/or malt, barley increases food and feed security by intensifying animal and crop production per unit area. For many traditional subsistence farmers, barley is the only and often last option to feed their livestock, especially in drier years. Yet making a profit on produce is a challenge even when conditions are optimal. Climate change is expected to reduce rainfall by up to 50 percent and increase temperatures up to 4ºC in the region by the end of the century. Therefore, new technologies need to be developed and deployed to increase the productivity per unit area in a scenario of worse climatic conditions."},{"index":2,"size":54,"text":"The ICARDA Global Barley Breeding program has developed new barley genotypes, producing 10 percent more grain and straw under severe drought conditions than commercial checks (conventional varieties). New wild relative-derived genotypes with consistently higher B-glucan content for increased nutritional value have also been developed, together with new genotypes with 30 percent more forage production "}]},{"head":"Global spring barley trials","index":20,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":19,"text":"In 2020, ICARDA's Dr. Miguel Sanchez-Garcia assembled four Global Barley International Nurseries and distributed new varieties to 23 countries."}]},{"head":"Low-input environments","index":21,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":99,"text":"These trials/nurseries are targeted to global lowinput production conditions for rainfed agriculture, or in areas of drought and other challenges. The yield trial constitutes of 25 lines, including one local/ national check, and with genotypes that have proven performance and adaptation from typical to severe dry regions of the world. These are coupled with disease resistance and they target different products and uses (especially food, feed, and fodder). The observation nursery has approximately 120 diverse, advanced barley lines, which combine climate smart, pest, disease, and yield traits, to deliver variability to national breeders for use in their own programs."}]},{"head":"High-input environments","index":22,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":111,"text":"The ICARDA barley nurseries for high-input environments provide materials targeted for areas where barley is grown under more favorable conditions and with the use of near-optimum level of inputs. The yield trial contains 25 lines including one local/national check and is constituted by elite barley genotypes with proven grain yield performance and adaptation across high-input testing sites around the world (India, Lebanon, Morocco, among others), coupled with disease resistance and targeting different products and uses (especially food, feed, malting, forage and fodder). The observation nursery has approximately 120 diverse, advanced barley lines, combining traits of interest to deliver variability to national breeders to make selections and use in their own program."},{"index":2,"size":91,"text":"Our innovations reduce the environmental footprint of dryland agriculture and aim for Land Degradation Neutrality through restoration measures that adapt to climate change. We also deliver knowledge and skills to rural households to ensure product safety and maximum benefits from value addition. To ensure that CGIAR Resilient crop-livestock systems ICARDA's integrated approach towards more productive and sustainable crop-livestock systems focuses on farmer-and communitybased solutions for improving sheep and goat production, sustainable management and restoration of rangelands, producing water-efficient dryland forages, and better integration of crop and livestock in mixed dryland systems. "}]},{"head":"Sustainable land, soils and water","index":23,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":76,"text":"The agricultural future of global dry areas is at grave risk from intensifying climate change, land degradation, and diminishing resources, especially water. To build livelihoods resilience and diversify cereal-based irrigated, rain-fed, and conservation agriculture food systems, ICARDA carries out sustainable land, soil, and water management research-for-development on diversified and sustainable practices for family and large-scale farming. We also develop sustainable desert agriculture and promote the safe use of treated wastewater to produce feed, forage, and trees."},{"index":2,"size":36,"text":"In 2020, ICARDA's Soil, Water, and Agronomy Team collaborated with other CGIAR Centers on the new frameworks that will define CGIAR's future water management and soil health approaches across the globe under the One CGIAR reformulation."},{"index":3,"size":51,"text":"Other In 2020 core activities included developing and applying best practices for acquisition, pre-breeding, regeneration, conservation, distribution, and documentation of genetic resources. The Genetic Resources (GRS) Team also continued reconstructing active base collections in Lebanon and Morocco, regenerating and characterizing accessions in 2020. Further collection missions were carried out in countries."},{"index":4,"size":42,"text":"As well as this, to ensure that CGIAR harnesses ICARDA's expertise and genetic resources under the One CGIAR reformulation, the Genetic Resources (GRS) Team is also working with other CGIAR Centers on the new frameworks that will define CGIAR's future genebank approaches."},{"index":5,"size":54,"text":"Efforts to improve performance in 2020 means that the ICARDA genebank system now responds faster to genetic resources research requests by intensifying the Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy approach and ensuring safety duplications at two levels, as targeted by the CGIAR Genebank Platform. The Moroccan dryland agrobiodiversity genebank facility was also completed in November."},{"index":6,"size":28,"text":"High on our 2020 agenda was strengthening prebreeding activities for ICARDA mandate crops such as grass pea and accelerating pre-breeding for drought, heat, and salt tolerance/resistance for barley."},{"index":7,"size":39,"text":"ICARDA was also proud to lead a multi-nation project, funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, (GRDC), to develop sets of germplasm which allows characterization of virulences of the Aschocyta blight pathogen and identify good sources of resistance."},{"index":8,"size":118,"text":"We also contributed to the Activated Genebank Network (AGENT) project funded by the European Union and launched in 2020. It standardizes and pools phenotype information from global gene bank networks within a single database and will revolutionize plant genetic resources information sharing. Improving rural livelihoods ICARDA's Social, Economic, and Policy (SEP) Research Team plays a crucial role in analyzing our innovations' socioeconomic viability, adoption, scaling up, and impact on poverty alleviation, food security, systems resilience, and social inclusiveness. Our solutions aim for more inclusive markets and value chains, better natural resource management and governance, and optimization of sustainable land and livestock management options. Our approaches also include socioeconomic evaluation and gender transformative approaches, as well as context-sensitive targeting."}]},{"head":"K E Y I M P A C T S","index":24,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":37,"text":"In 2020, the Social, Economic, and Policy (SEP) Team carried out several studies to analyze factors that can drive transformations in farmers' livelihoods and inform decision-makers and institutions on effective policies and strategies for improving agricultural productivity."},{"index":2,"size":82,"text":"In  As more men migrate to urban areas and more research is carried out into gender inequalities and the potential of women in agriculture, CGIAR Centers such as ICARDA step up their support. We prioritize research that enhances access to land, water, seeds, credit, knowledge, and innovation, and we empower women through capacity development that facilitates their role as leaders and active agents of change. We also help them engage in more lucrative economic activities through agricultural diversification, intensification, and value addition."},{"index":3,"size":45,"text":"In addition, we advocate for improvements in wages and working conditions and the eradication of genderbased inequality. We also investigate promising formal and informal institutional arrangements that enhance women's voice and power in dry area communities, and we promote proven technologies that reduce agriculture-related drudgery."},{"index":4,"size":11,"text":"In 2020, we published several important studies and organized numerous workshops:"},{"index":5,"size":87,"text":"A workshop organized by the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2019 drew experts from all over the world, including LSE professor of Gender and Development, Naila Kabeer, to discuss the continued limited access to labor market opportunities for women in South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The subsequent report published in 2020 featured recommendations and methodologies for greater recognition of women as workers rather than helpers, property ownership perceptions, pay equality, and the revitalization of agriculture as a valuable occupation in society."},{"index":6,"size":80,"text":"Throughout much of 2020, ICARDA's Gender Scientist Dina Najjar carried out gender-focused studies such as one that investigates the vital contribution women make to livelihood resilience. The study uncovered women's undervalued and hidden contributions to rural dryland farming practices and examined domestic issues. It suggests that building women's resilience to the impacts of COVID-19 and life afterward through better transport, digital access, consistent and affordable feedstock supplies, and other agricultural inputs will strengthen the resilience of households and whole communities."},{"index":7,"size":54,"text":"Dr. Najjar also published a critical study revealing, among other data, how women in Egypt, who are generally disadvantaged compared to men with regards to land management, are reluctant to pass land on to their daughters. This is most probably for fear of the daughters then being unable to protect ownership from extended family."},{"index":8,"size":71,"text":"Another of Dr. Najjar's studies showed how intensifying male outmigration in dryland areas affects women's roles in agriculture and related activities, with broader implications for productivity and gender equity. The findings reveal that women are performing more farm labor in agricultural communities due to the increasing outmigration of men. Furthermore, many socio-cultural and economic factors influence migration-related agricultural feminization in drylands, with ongoing negotiations of these happening at different societal levels."}]},{"head":"K E Y I M P A C T S I N 2 0 2 0","index":25,"paragraphs":[]},{"head":"7,355","index":26,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":7,"text":"South Asian women trained in value addition"}]},{"head":"68","index":27,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":13,"text":"women-owned demo sites in Egypt planted with improved wheat and faba bean 1"},{"index":2,"size":12,"text":"Safaa Kurari named as one of the BBC's '100 Inspiring Women 2020'"},{"index":3,"size":7,"text":"Science for resilient livelihoods in dry areas"}]},{"head":"Awards and recognition","index":28,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":29,"text":"In 2020, ICARDA was thrilled for our staff, partners, and students to win several prestigious awards for their research and fieldwork. Here is a list of our 2020 highlights."},{"index":2,"size":13,"text":"ICARDA projects won two out of seven CGIAR Big Data Inspire Challenge Awards."},{"index":3,"size":31,"text":"ICARDA scientist, Safaa Kumari, was recognized as one of the world's '100 inspiring women 2020' by the BBC for her work in protecting globally important crops from destructive pests and viruses."}]},{"head":"Marco Ferroni","index":29,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":1,"text":"Chair "}]},{"head":"United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland","index":30,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":8,"text":"Find out more about our Board of Trustees."}]},{"head":"Science for resilient livelihoods in dry areas","index":31,"paragraphs":[]},{"head":"Appendix DIGITALIZATION IN DETAIL","index":32,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":137,"text":"To ensure CGIAR can harness our unique knowledge assets for better decision-making and global knowledge sharing, we continued to digitalize our research across disciplines in 2020, in preparation for the One CGIAR reformulation. The future combined strength of this pooled data and tools from all CGIAR centers will constitute a formidable resource that will contribute significantly to the battle against global climate challenges. Through its Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Team, ICARDA became the official AGROVOC Editors for Arabic in addition to its contribution to the English language version, vastly increasing integration among ICARDA's online tools and systems. These are now accessible in multiple languages, which has helped to improve knowledge discoverability from the Central and West Asia, and North Africa region -in line with the recent Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) policy approved by CGIAR."}]},{"head":"Pooling global resources","index":33,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":105,"text":"In 2020, our Geoinformatics for sustainable Agro-Ecosystems (GeoAgro) Team led by Dr. Chandra Shekhar Biradar ramped up the digitalization of research through its geo-big data-driven platform to leverage the latest cutting-edge technological innovations driven by geo big-data, earth observation, citizen science and ICTs. The GeoAgro Team also developed a number of Geotagging and Agrotagging tools to assist digitalization of research and outreach. Selected ICARDA projects contained GeoAgro pilot elements while staff and partners were trained on geotagging tools. The implementation of georeferenced field data collection with geotagging tools led to the collection of over 2,500 datasets for mapping farming systems across dry regions in 2020."}]},{"head":"Award winners","index":34,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":15,"text":"We were also thrilled in October 2020, when 4 of our Geoinformatics for sustainable Agro-Ecosystems "}]},{"head":"AGENT of change","index":35,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":64,"text":"Another exciting, digital-focused initiative is the Activated Genebank Network (AGENT) project funded by the European Union and launched in 2020. Working with ICARDA's Dr. Filippo Bassi, AGENT standardizes and pools phenotype information from global gene bank networks, including those of CGIAR, within a single database. The project will revolutionize the sharing of plant genetic resource information and uncover a rich collection of genetic resources."}]},{"head":"Low cost, high impact digital approaches","index":36,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":79,"text":"Working in a different area is our ICT2Scale project. Funded by German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), this project aims to enhance access to e-learning and cell phone-based services to strengthen extension for smallholder farmers in Tunisia. In 2020, ICT2Scale sent out technical SMS to 1,000 farmers concerning crop and small ruminant production, bee-keeping, and conservation agriculture. The market prices for 10 agricultural commodities were also made available to the beneficiary farmers via cell phones."},{"index":2,"size":104,"text":"Led by ICARDA's Khaled Al-Shamaa, and funded by the Breeding Modernization project, the Query the Breeding Management System (QBMS) enables scientists to retrieve their experiment data from the standard Breeding Management System (BMS) database for further use within the 'R' context. QBMS provides coverage of a wide range of analytics, visualization, data transformations, and manipulations that could not have been delivered within the BMS itself. The interface combining all the flexibility of an R environment with the referential integrity, persistence, and cohesion of a centralized database like the BMS. QBMS fits with the CGIAR strategy expectation set by the Excellence in the Breeding initiative."}]},{"head":"WHEAT IN DETAIL","index":37,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":69,"text":"ICARDA's durum and bread wheat breeding programs make extensive use of wild relatives to develop elite germplasm well adapted to the drastic and frequent droughts that affect the region in which ICARDA operates. In the last 10 years alone, more than 60 ICARDA-originated bread wheat varieties have been released across the Central and West Asia, and North Africa (CWANA) region, and sub-Saharan Africa by national programs in these regions."},{"index":2,"size":9,"text":"Significant 2020 developments in our work on wheat were:"}]},{"head":"Improving food security in the Arab region","index":38,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":96,"text":"As well as our work on the Arab Peninsula Regional Program (see highlights), ICARDA works across Arab countries on the Enhancing Food Security in Arab Countries project to improve food security in the region. Headed by Dr. Habib Halila, phase III of the project is funded by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development (OFID). The project helps to improve food security and the growth of the agricultural sector by improving wheat production and training young scientists and national agricultural support staff."},{"index":2,"size":84,"text":"As part of its third phase, the project continued to build on the results achieved during the previous phases, by verifying and fine-tuning recommended technology packages (wheat and food legume cultivars, agronomic and water management technologies). Working in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen, the project expanded the number of pilot sites to other agro-ecologies thereby out-scaling the technologies to more end-users and strengthening the capacity of national research and extension systems to promote the technologies for wider adoption."},{"index":3,"size":83,"text":"In the 2020 season, the project implemented activities in 28 pilot areas distributed in the participating countries. These pilot sites represent the wheat-based production systems followed by farmers in the concerned countries. The project implemented more than 1,100 demonstrations in farmers' fields covering various improved technologies for wheat and legumes production. The results of the demonstrations showed that improved production technologies can lead to an increase in wheat yield varying, from 15 to 97 percent depending on the country and the production systems."},{"index":4,"size":34,"text":"The average increase across all countries was 30 percent and the maximum average increase was 69 percent, indicating that higher potential and greater room exist for further improvement in wheat yield in all countries."},{"index":5,"size":64,"text":"Concerning the project's capacity-building activities, these were affected during the 2020 season by COVID-19 due to confinement and shutdowns. However, the National Agricultural Research Systems' (NARS) partners stepped up their efforts in implementing the planned capacity-building activities, while taking obligatory safety measures into account. Due to these efforts, more than 5,800 farmers benefited from field days and farmers' field schools in the project countries."}]},{"head":"Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation in Sudan and Ethiopia","index":39,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":50,"text":"The ICARDA-coordinated Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) wheat compact project, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), continued to significantly strengthen production capacity and seed systems across Africa, including in ICARDA-led programs in Ethiopia and Sudan."},{"index":2,"size":40,"text":"Led by ICARDA's Dr. Zewdie Bishaw, collectively about 80,191 tons (670 t basic seed; 77,150 t certified seed, and 2,367 t of quality declared seed) were produced in 6 target countries, which is sufficient to plant around 1 million ha."},{"index":3,"size":147,"text":"In 2020, Sudan's bumper harvest produced 1.15 million tons of wheat and ICARDA and its partners are working to improve the sustainability of wheat production with proper input management and diversified rotations. In 2020/21, Sudan reached 375,000 ha with expected productivity of 3.6 tons ha -1 and production of 1.35 million tons -a wheat area expansion of 87 percent, productivity increase of 26 percent, and production increase of 135 percent, respectively, from a 2017/18 cropping season baseline. Similarly, Ethiopia continued expansion of irrigated wheat production (180,000 ha) in Amhara and Oromia States spearheaded by the government. The average productivity of irrigated wheat is 4.4 tons ha -1 , 50 percent higher than rainfed wheat. As a result of its irrigated wheat land area expansion, Ethiopia is now harvesting an additional 0.8 million tons of wheat, accounting for 52 percent of the imported wheat of 1.7 million tons."}]},{"head":"Disease identification in maize and wheat","index":40,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":199,"text":"Funded by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), ICARDA's team headed by Dr. Kumarse Nazari, supported identification for the first time in Turkey, and Tunisia, by the Regional Cereal Rust Research Center (RCRRC), of stem rust races TKTTP and TKKTP that are virulent even on rust-resistant wheat cultivar Sr24. The stem rust Ug99 race TTKTT was It is likely that most of the wheat cultivars and breeding germplasms in Central and West Asia, and North Africa (CWANA) countries are protected from wheat stem rust by the presence of stem rust genes SrTmp, Sr24 and Sr31. If the environmental conditions favor the spread of these races, they may cause a significant threat to wheat production. A new yellow rust race with a combination of virulence for Yr10 and Yr24 was also identified in Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria by the Regional Cereal Rust Research Center (RCRRC). Preliminary research shows that previously resistant durum wheat is particularly susceptible to this new variant. Resistant sources of durum germplasms within ICARDA's and CIMMYT's trials and durum wheat landraces from ICARDA genebank are available. The varieties are also resistant to yellow rust disease, which causes significant yield loss in the region."}]},{"head":"Climate-smart wheat for fragile countries and territories","index":41,"paragraphs":[]},{"head":"Durum wheat in Senegal","index":42,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":45,"text":"Funded by the Swedish Research Council and CIMMYT, and headed by Dr. Filippo Bassi, the Senegal River Basin initiative uses non-genetically modified molecular breeding techniques to develop a set of durum wheat varieties that can withstand up to 40°C heat along the Senegal River basin."},{"index":2,"size":71,"text":"In 2020, the area cultivated with durum wheat along the Senegal River exceeded 8,000 ha benefitting some 50,000 farmers, and seeds of the varieties identified in Senegal were provided to farmers associations and non-governmental organizations in, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia. In Ghana and Nigeria, local government support is quickly pushing durum cultivation, with several farmers already adopting the technology."}]},{"head":"ZAR3i","index":43,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":106,"text":"ZAR3i, a project led by ICARDA's Dr. Rachid Moussadek, funded by one of the largest mills in Morocco (Forafric) and supported by CIMMYT, aims to improve cereal quality and productivity by offering farmers the right choice of varieties adapted to different production areas. The project improves the grain quality of 200,000 tons of bread and 50,000 tons of durum wheat being produced under rain-fed conditions in Morocco to reduce grain imports. The project will help in developing a digital platform, with the support of a private Portuguese and Moroccan company (named Deepface) for cereals that will help to set up incentives for grain quality in Morocco."},{"index":2,"size":41,"text":"In 2020, in collaboration with L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc (INRA-M), local varieties were tested under different agroclimatic conditions and with different management (conventional tillage and no-tillage). Quality analyses were carried out at INRA-M and ICARDA's technical laboratories."},{"index":3,"size":84,"text":"Trials were increased at L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc (INRA-M)/ICARDA experimental stations and farm sites in Meknes, Zaer, and Chaouia to assess drought-tolerant wheat varieties tested during this cropping season. The result of the effect of crop management, such as conservation agriculture, on yield was obtained, the preliminary study on the grain quality was implemented, and promising local wheat germplasm was identified and multiplied in an irrigated area to secure the germplasm material to be tested next season with selected farmers."}]},{"head":"Bread wheat in Morocco","index":44,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":40,"text":"The ICARDA bread wheat breeding program, headed by Dr. Tadesse Degu, applies classical and molecular breeding tools with a modified shuttle and speed breeding scheme, which enables the completion of the whole breeding cycle in an average of 4 years."},{"index":2,"size":86,"text":"In 2020, the elite high-yielding and drought tolerant wheat genotypes from ICARDA's bread wheat breeding program showed 50 percent yield levels higher than the commonly grown wheat cultivars in Morocco. Furthermore, using molecular markers and inter-country shuttle and hotspot screening, ICARDA developed yellow rust-resistant, high-yielding bread wheat genotypes distributed to National Agriculutral Research Systems (NARS) in the Central and West Asia, and North Africa (CWANA) and sub-Saharan Africa regions from which, in the last 7 years alone, more than 60 varieties of ICARDA-origin have been released."},{"index":3,"size":66,"text":"ICARDA team. The project is under the European Union's Horizon 2020, a consortium of 25 partners that develops collections of chickpea, common bean, lentil, and lupin to generate a pool of genetic and genomic resources for accelerated improvement of the crops. In 2020, we multiplied genetically pure chickpea seed and lentil germplasm through the single seed descent method for multilocation phenotyping in the next crop season."}]},{"head":"Grasspea project","index":45,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":89,"text":"Under the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Templeton World Charity Foundation-funded project on grass pea, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and ICARDA (led by Dr. Shiv Kumar), are researching 384 grass pea genotypes, while developing a speed-breeding protocol and interspecific hybridization with crop wild relatives, to widen the genetic base and optimize useful traits in cultivated species. In 2020, 27 7 introgressed lines were advanced using the speed breeding protocol and the diversity panel of 384 grass pea germplasm was phenotyped and genotyped for establishing marker-trait association."}]},{"head":"Genomics-enabled legume improvement","index":46,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":104,"text":"In 2020, the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (CRP-GLDC) and Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)-funded research optimized the protocol of genome editing in chickpea, intending to apply this technology to improve chickpea production. The research also optimized the genomic selection method for improving chickpea improvement accuracy by developing an efficient single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping for genome-wide association study, to associate specific genetic variations with biotic and abiotic stresses. We also evaluated MAGIC (an innovative technique to increase the speed and efficiency of breeding) population in chickpea for Ascochyta blight and drought tolerance using field screening and multilocation testing. "}]},{"head":"Legumes research under the CRP-GLDC","index":47,"paragraphs":[]},{"head":"UPGRADE project on grass pea","index":48,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":153,"text":"As part of ICARDA's UPGRADE project with funding from the John Innes Centre, the Legume Team screened grass pea germplasm against major abiotic stresses, including drought, heat, waterlogging and salinity. ICARDA's Dr. Zewdie Bishaw headed the research to assess the effects of drought and heat on the concentration of the grass pea natural toxin ODAP. In 2020, the research identified grass pea mutants with low ODAP (a natural toxin) that were suitable and safe options for farmers. In 2020, the program expanded to 3 major regions of Ethiopia (Amhara, Oromia, and South) with a total of more than 60 legal breeders' cooperatives now leading day-to-day operations. An upscaling operation, undertaken with financial support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Konso, Ethiopia, involved more than 2,000 households, the purchasing and dissemination of 479 goat bucks from existing Community-Based Breeding Programs (CBBPs), and mass synchronization and artificial insemination to disseminate improved genetics."}]},{"head":"LIVESTOCK IN DETAIL","index":49,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":57,"text":"Farmers were also linked with one of the biggest export slaughterhouses in Ethiopia (Allana), and the purchase of 100 goats was facilitated, which were slaughtered and exported to Dubai. Results on meat quality and consumer evaluations were very positive. The program is now being replicated in Burkina Faso, Iran, Liberia, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda."}]},{"head":"Cactus pear -nutritious and income-generating food for humans and livestock","index":50,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":28,"text":"As well as being an income-generating fodder for livestock, which requires minimal agronomic inputs, cactus pear is also packed with nutrition and ideal for human consumption. In 2020 "}]},{"head":"Silvopastoral/Tunisa rangelands project","index":51,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":111,"text":"Funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock), and led by Dr. Mounir Louhaichi and Dr. Mouldi Gamoun, the indigenous ranglands plants research in Tataouine, Tunisia investigates indigenous rangelands plants in Tataouine, Tunisia for their human health benefits and their attributes as feed for livestock and wildlife. Tataouine rangelands accommodate 27 percent of the country's total rangelands, making it the top region for pastureland for an estimated 1.3 million head of sheep, goats, and camels. Despite all the restoration and protective efforts, overgrazing, overharvesting, and recurrent droughts continue to degrade these rangelands. In addition to their pastoral value, Tataouine's rangelands are home to countless valuable medicinal and aromatic plants."}]},{"head":"Sheep Fattening Project","index":52,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":66,"text":"In Ethiopia, a team led by ICARDA's Dr. Jane Wamatu, under the Sheep Fattening Project, and with the support of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock), the Southern Agricultural Research Institute, and the Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute in Ethiopia, has been expanding opportunities in agribusiness to youth as a means to advance rural livelihoods and economic development across three regional states in Ethiopia."},{"index":2,"size":25,"text":"In 2020, a survey on forage options and perceptions of forage utilization revealed that farmers select forages based on biomass yield and acceptability by animals."},{"index":3,"size":73,"text":"ICARDA also researched sweet lupin, a multi-purpose forage with immense potential for feed, food, and soil fertility maintenance. The study revealed varying effects of different processing procedures of the alkaloidladen sweet lupin grain on ram fattening. Participant farmers were later champions in the demonstration and promotion of processing techniques of sweet lupin grain before supplementation. The demonstration aimed to enhance the performance of Doyogena rams, in a farmer exposure and learning field day."},{"index":4,"size":86,"text":"Meanwhile, youth members continue to undertake sheep fattening, with Doyogena and Bonga successfully registering five youth cooperatives; each cooperative is an amalgamation of several youth groups. An entrepreneurial skills development training manual was also translated into Amharic and Keficho for use across rural areas. These services included the installation and repair of drip systems, the sale of Biozote (biofertilizer) and gypsum, planting of crops on ridges and beds, laser land levelling, soil testing for accurate and balanced use of fertilizers, andwheat planting with zero till drill."}]},{"head":"Watershed restoration in Jordan","index":53,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":25,"text":"The Happy Seeder (a tractor-mounted machine that cuts and lifts rice straw) and a banana residue chopper, reduced residue burning to prepare land after crops."},{"index":2,"size":69,"text":"Our scientists conducted 45 surveys with the agriculture service providers (ASPs) to document the impact of the technologies through assessing income generation rates and sustainability. All the ASPs reported that they are satisfied with their business and that they would continue it after the end of the project. The study showed almost 50 percent of the ASPs earned between 100,000 rupees ($1,300USD) to 300,000 rupees ($3,900USD) in one season."}]},{"head":"IMPROVING RURAL LIVELIHOODS IN DETAIL","index":54,"paragraphs":[]},{"head":"Factors to boost incomes of Ethiopian livestock farmers","index":55,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":1,"text":"In "}]},{"head":"Impact of zero tillage on production in dry areas","index":56,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":134,"text":"Using a sample of 621 farmers in Syria, the study (El-Shater, Mugera and Yigezu, 2020) assessed the impacts of the adoption of zero tillage (ZT) technology on productive efficiency, input-specific resource use efficiency, and production risk. Model results showed that adoption of ZT proved to be an effective risk management strategy in dryland production systems, where it led to 95 percent and 33.3 percent reductions in the risk of obtaining wheat yield levels below 1,000 kg/ha and 1,500 kg/ha, respectively. A clear indication that using ZT leads to improvements in productive efficiency is a 93 percent reduction in the risk of obtaining efficiency levels below 40 percent among users of ZT. Future research will be needed to clarify whether coupling ZT with the other components of conservation agriculture will reverse some of these effects."}]},{"head":"Explaining yield and gross margin gaps in wheat-based dryland systems","index":57,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":40,"text":"Another study by Drs. Mina Devkota and Yigezu Atnafe Yigezu, funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (CRP Wheat), showed how substantial scope exists for improved agronomic practices that increase wheat yields and gross margins for farmers in Morocco."},{"index":2,"size":77,"text":"It identified tillage methods and fertilizer rates as important causal factors of the yield gap in rainfed systems, followed by the quantity of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizer, seed quality, and the type of preceding crop. In the irrigated environment, the preceding crop was the most important variable in explaining the yield gap, followed by variety, seed quality, and quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. Grain yield and grain price were the most important variables explaining gross margins."}]},{"head":"Agricultural growth and sexdisaggregated employment in Africa","index":58,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":101,"text":"A research team that included ICARDA Drs. Aymen Frija and Boubkaer Dhehibi studied the impact of investment in alternative agricultural research and development investment across 14 African countries. The aim was to investigate how these investments can mitigate future challenges like climate change and population pressure on national economies. Results showed increased investments in agriculture could generate higher overall employment and reduce gender disparities in labor participation. Further, in 8 out of the 14 countries, female employment increased more than male employment in response to agricultural investments, and infrastructure investments had a higher impact on female employment growth than productivity scenarios."}]},{"head":"Towards an innovative olive oil value chain","index":59,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":9,"text":"Another study from the Social, Economic, and Policy (SEP) "}]},{"head":"Center of Excellence technology training in Egypt and Sudan","index":60,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":96,"text":"The Center of Excellence project, funded by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), and led by Dr. Seid Kamal, strengthens technology innovation and scaling by improving the skills and knowledge of researchers. In 2020, two in-country trainings were organized for the Agricultural Research Centers of Egypt and Sudan to improve the skills and knowledge of young researchers in classical and modern crop breeding tools and methods. The aim was to enable the researchers to modernize their breeding programs to increase genetic gains in wheat and food legume breeding, for wheat-based irrigated cropping systems."},{"index":2,"size":46,"text":"In Egypt, 15 young researchers working in wheat and legume improvement participated in field and lab training covering major crop breeding topics; methods, and strategies; breeding tools (speed breeding, genomic selection, marker-assisted selection); breeding for quality; genotype x environment interactions, and statistical analysis and seed systems."},{"index":3,"size":68,"text":"A similar module was carried out in Sudan for accelerated genetic gains in wheat and food legumes in irrigated wheat-based production systems. A total of 24 trainees (37 percent female) from 8 research stations across Sudan were trained in experimental designs and data analysis using Genstat; breeding methodologies and genetic gain; genetic resource utilization; biotechnology and speed breeding; product profile; mainstreaming nutritional quality in breeding, and variety maintenance."},{"index":4,"size":10,"text":"All trainees completed the course and received certificates from ICARDA."}]},{"head":"International training on the design of sustainable dry region farming","index":61,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":114,"text":"As part of the SemiArid project funded by ERANET ArimNet 2 (an agri-research group from the Mediterranean region), with the support of ICARDA and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Lebanese University, a group of lecturer-researchers from Mediterranean institutions held an international training course dedicated to the design of sustainable farming systems in dry areas. Around 40 students were trained on integrated analysis methods to explore the role that diversity can play (i.e., crop variety and cropping systems, access to resources, etc.) to design more efficient agricultural systems. The course also taught students how to guide and help farmers and local decision-makers to reflect on strategic production choices concerning climatic, technical, or socioeconomic constraints."}]},{"head":"Online learning","index":62,"paragraphs":[{"index":1,"size":1,"text":"In "}]}],"figures":[{"text":" than commercial checks. In total, 335 new elite barley genotypes have been distributed to 34 collaborators in 23 countries upon demand. The project has been funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock), the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. "},{"text":" identified from Ethiopia and Iraq by RCRRC for the first time. This first report of TTKTT in Iraq represents only the third instance of a member of the Ug99 race group outside of Africa since the first detection of race TTKSK in Yemen in 2006, and Iran in 2007. "},{"text":" the framework of the ICT2Scale project in Tunisia, ICARDA and its national partners -the Agricultural Training and Extension Agency and the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Tunisia -have developed eight e-learning modules. Three modules are in French or Arabic and strengthen the capacity of agricultural trainers and extension workers to support local farmers. The modules cover: i) cactus production, ii) andragogy, iii) project development, iv) beekeeping, v) complementary irrigation, vi) 'Innovation Platform', vii) cattle and dairy, and viii) medical plants. So far, over 200 online participants have completed the courses and received an online certificate. "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"  "},{"text":"win Crop Science Society of America outstanding paper award  HIGHLIGHTS OF 2020 Water and soil management in Egypt The iNASHR project is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and developed alongside Egypt's Agricultural Research Center (ARC) and Ministry of Agriculture her work protecting globally important crops from destructive pests and viruses. Her plant epidemiology 120 RESEARCH research focuses on the most damaging viruses PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED IN 66 COUNTRIES affecting key dryland crops, such as barley, chickpea, faba bean, lentil, and wheat, crucial to local and global food security. In 2010, Dr. Kumari discovered 1,900 TRAINEES BENEFITTED FROM TRAINING and led by ICARDA's Bezaiet Dessalegn. The project addresses Egypt's water scarcity and soil quality while improving food security for smallholder family farmers. In 2020, ICARDA established 420 demonstration a faba bean variety immune to the faba bean necrotic lead the breeding program. An upscaling process yellows virus, an insect-transmitted virus that, until her undertaken with financial support from The United discovery, wiped out faba bean crops across the Middle States Department of Agriculture (USDA) involved more than 2,000 households, the purchasing East and North Africa (MENA) region. HIGHLIGHTS OF 2020 Water and soil management in Egypt The iNASHR project is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and developed alongside Egypt's Agricultural Research Center (ARC) and Ministry of Agriculture her work protecting globally important crops from destructive pests and viruses. Her plant epidemiology 120 RESEARCH research focuses on the most damaging viruses PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED IN 66 COUNTRIES affecting key dryland crops, such as barley, chickpea, faba bean, lentil, and wheat, crucial to local and global food security. In 2010, Dr. Kumari discovered 1,900 TRAINEES BENEFITTED FROM TRAINING and led by ICARDA's Bezaiet Dessalegn. The project addresses Egypt's water scarcity and soil quality while improving food security for smallholder family farmers. In 2020, ICARDA established 420 demonstration a faba bean variety immune to the faba bean necrotic lead the breeding program. An upscaling process yellows virus, an insect-transmitted virus that, until her undertaken with financial support from The United discovery, wiped out faba bean crops across the Middle States Department of Agriculture (USDA) involved more than 2,000 households, the purchasing East and North Africa (MENA) region. sites, 16 percent of them women-owned. Planted with improved wheat and faba bean varieties, the Climate-smart wheat for fragile demonstration sites benefit 400 individuals directly countries and territories and distributing of 479 goat bucks from existing Community-Based Breeding Programs (CBBPs), and COURSES mass synchronization and artificial insemination sites, 16 percent of them women-owned. Planted with improved wheat and faba bean varieties, the Climate-smart wheat for fragile demonstration sites benefit 400 individuals directly countries and territoriesand distributing of 479 goat bucks from existing Community-Based Breeding Programs (CBBPs), and COURSES mass synchronization and artificial insemination from capacity-building efforts, of which 21 percent to distribute improved genetics. We also linked from capacity-building efforts, of which 21 percentto distribute improved genetics. We also linked are women. farmers to better market routes including through are women.farmers to better market routes including through  slaughterhouse companies, livestock cooperatives, and slaughterhouse companies, livestock cooperatives, and  buyers in Dubai. buyers in Dubai. International Fund for Agricultural Development  International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) continued to increase the productivity and  (IFAD) continued to increase the productivity and profitability of indigenous sheep and goat breeds  profitability of indigenous sheep and goat breeds across Ethiopia. Led by Dr. Aynalem Haile, the  across Ethiopia. Led by Dr. Aynalem Haile, the programs expanded to 3 major regions of Ethiopia  programs expanded to 3 major regions of Ethiopia and more than 60 legal breeders' cooperatives now  and more than 60 legal breeders' cooperatives now PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS SIGNED OR 43 COUNTRIES RENEWED DISTRIBUTED TO PARTNERS IN BREEDING LINES 172 50 1,619 ICARDA was thrilled when the 2020 Outstanding Paper Award of Crop Science Journal by the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) went to a paper led by Dr. Khaoula El Hassouni, a former Ph.D. student of ICARDA, and the Universite Mohammed V, collaborating with Prof. Hickey and Dr. Alhamad of the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, and with senior author Dr. Filippo Bassi of focus on scaling out developed technology packages, adaptive research, improving date palm production, and nationals benefitted from group courses, individual degrees, and non-degree training. Regional projects Projects improve agricultural productivity across the region without depleting water and soil resources while increasing the resilience of farmers and farming systems to climatic change. In 2020, 1,500 Arab PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS SIGNED OR 43 COUNTRIES RENEWED DISTRIBUTED TO PARTNERS IN BREEDING LINES 172 50 1,619ICARDA was thrilled when the 2020 Outstanding Paper Award of Crop Science Journal by the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) went to a paper led by Dr. Khaoula El Hassouni, a former Ph.D. student of ICARDA, and the Universite Mohammed V, collaborating with Prof. Hickey and Dr. Alhamad of the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, and with senior author Dr. Filippo Bassi of focus on scaling out developed technology packages, adaptive research, improving date palm production, and nationals benefitted from group courses, individual degrees, and non-degree training. Regional projects Projects improve agricultural productivity across the region without depleting water and soil resources while increasing the resilience of farmers and farming systems to climatic change. In 2020, 1,500 Arab  ICARDA. Recognized as one of the premier showcases capacity building. ICARDA. Recognized as one of the premier showcases capacity building. 134 ISI JOURNAL ARTICLES 18 of agricultural scientific research, the Crop Science Journal is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal. The award-winning research was funded by BBC 100 Women 2020 134 ISI JOURNAL ARTICLES 18of agricultural scientific research, the Crop Science Journal is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal. The award-winning research was funded by BBC 100 Women 2020 PUBLISHED RELEASED BY NATIONAL PARTNERS  PUBLISHED RELEASED BY NATIONAL PARTNERS  "},{"text":"Crop diversification for better soil and yields CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (CRP-GLDC), the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development (OFID) and Templeton World Charity Foundation, among others. One such project, led by Dr. Shiv Kumar, is the INCREASE project within the European Union-funded Horizon 2020 project, through which ICARDA and Climate-smart food legumes Climate-smart food legumes Food legumes variety, technology, and seed systems Food legumes variety, technology, and seed systems strengthening project in Odisha (India) led by Dr. strengthening project in Odisha (India) led by Dr. Ashutosh Sarker and Dr. Nigamananda Swain with fund Ashutosh Sarker and Dr. Nigamananda Swain with fund support from the Government of Odisha's Department support from the Government of Odisha's Department of Agriculture & Food Production, was implemented of Agriculture & Food Production, was implemented in the year with 1,115 farmers in 838.8 ha. The Village in the year with 1,115 farmers in 838.8 ha. The Village Seed Hubs produced 217.13 quintals of quality seed Seed Hubs produced 217.13 quintals of quality seed  "},{"text":" harnesses our expertise now and in the future, our teams collaborate with other CGIAR Centers on new initiatives and frameworks that define future crop-livestock approaches under the One CGIAR reformulation.  ICARDA also continued to research rangeland ICARDA also continued to research rangeland  restoration and management throughout 2020. restoration and management throughout 2020.  Dr. Louhaichi's team in collaboration with the Dr. Louhaichi's team in collaboration with the  International Union for Conservation of Nature are International Union for Conservation of Nature are  also developing a rangeland restoration toolkit, and in also developing a rangeland restoration toolkit, and in In 2020 ICARDA's Community-Based Breeding 2020 added several sustainable rangeland management In 2020 ICARDA's Community-Based Breeding2020 added several sustainable rangeland management Programs (CBBP) continued to ensure farmers' practices including the grazing management to improve Programs (CBBP) continued to ensure farmers'practices including the grazing management to improve access to climate-resilient and productive breeding soil stability and enhances plant health and diversity. access to climate-resilient and productive breedingsoil stability and enhances plant health and diversity. animals. Supported by the CGIAR Research Program They also developed the direct seeding approach which animals. Supported by the CGIAR Research ProgramThey also developed the direct seeding approach which on Livestock (CRP Livestock), and the Ministry of is a set of rapid and cost-effective options that reduce on Livestock (CRP Livestock), and the Ministry ofis a set of rapid and cost-effective options that reduce Agriculture in Ethiopia through the World Bank time and labor over conventional shrub transplanting Agriculture in Ethiopia through the World Banktime and labor over conventional shrub transplanting and led by Dr. Aynalem Haile, ICARDA's CBBP's for large-scale restoration of degraded environments. and led by Dr. Aynalem Haile, ICARDA's CBBP'sfor large-scale restoration of degraded environments. operate in three major regions of Ethiopia. Over  operate in three major regions of Ethiopia. Over 60 legal breeders' cooperatives now lead day-to-day Meanwhile, in Jordan, research continued on watershed 60 legal breeders' cooperatives now lead day-to-dayMeanwhile, in Jordan, research continued on watershed operations and an upscaling operation funded by restoration to help restore degraded rangelands, operations and an upscaling operation funded byrestoration to help restore degraded rangelands, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with support from the United States Forest Service, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)with support from the United States Forest Service, involved over 2,000 households, the purchasing and the Jordanian National Agricultural Research Center involved over 2,000 households, the purchasing andthe Jordanian National Agricultural Research Center dissemination of 479 bucks from existing CBBPs, and (NARC), Utrecht University's Copernicus Institute of dissemination of 479 bucks from existing CBBPs, and(NARC), Utrecht University's Copernicus Institute of mass synchronization and artificial insemination to Sustainable Development, and WADI for Sustainable mass synchronization and artificial insemination toSustainable Development, and WADI for Sustainable disseminate improved genetics. We also linked farmers Ecosystems Development. Due to COVID restrictions, disseminate improved genetics. We also linked farmersEcosystems Development. Due to COVID restrictions, to better market routes through slaughterhouse ICARDA's Stefan Strohmeier communicated with to better market routes through slaughterhouseICARDA's Stefan Strohmeier communicated with companies, livestock cooperatives, and buyers in Dubai. local communities through digital media and trained companies, livestock cooperatives, and buyers in Dubai.local communities through digital media and trained  community members to take over vital field monitoring community members to take over vital field monitoring Dr. Jane Wamatu's Sheep Fattening program in activities. The research team also joined with the Food Dr. Jane Wamatu's Sheep Fattening program inactivities. The research team also joined with the Food Ethiopia funded in 2020 by CGIAR Research Program and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Ethiopia funded in 2020 by CGIAR Research Programand Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on Livestock (CRP Livestock) in collaboration with (FAO) to establish an inventory of sustainable land on Livestock (CRP Livestock) in collaboration with(FAO) to establish an inventory of sustainable land the Southern Agricultural Research Institute and the management practices with the potential to prevent the Southern Agricultural Research Institute and themanagement practices with the potential to prevent Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute, sand and dust storms. Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute,sand and dust storms. supported 44 youth groups and 44 champion farmers  supported 44 youth groups and 44 champion farmers by improving feeding and management strategies, The Crop Livestock Conservation Agriculture by improving feeding and management strategies,The Crop Livestock Conservation Agriculture developing entrepreneurial skills, and facilitating the (CLCA) project is led by Mourad Rekik funded by the developing entrepreneurial skills, and facilitating the(CLCA) project is led by Mourad Rekik funded by the formation of seven officially registered cooperatives International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) formation of seven officially registered cooperativesInternational Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) from the youth groups. Locally adapted forages that in collaboration with the International Maize and from the youth groups. Locally adapted forages thatin collaboration with the International Maize and reduce feed costs were also researched, including Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Institution reduce feed costs were also researched, includingWheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Institution sweet lupin, a forage with potential for feed, food, and of Agricultural Research and Higher Education in sweet lupin, a forage with potential for feed, food, andof Agricultural Research and Higher Education in soil fertility maintenance. Tunisia, and the Technical Institute of Field Crops (ITGC) soil fertility maintenance.Tunisia, and the Technical Institute of Field Crops (ITGC)  in Algeria. In 2020 the project promoted innovative in Algeria. In 2020 the project promoted innovative In collaboration with the Jordanian National Agricultural livestock and crop management practices to optimize In collaboration with the Jordanian National Agriculturallivestock and crop management practices to optimize Research Center (NARC), CGIAR Research Program on climate-resilient and integrated crop-livestock systems Research Center (NARC), CGIAR Research Program onclimate-resilient and integrated crop-livestock systems Livestock (CRP Livestock), and with the financial support under conservation agriculture in Algeria and Tunisia. Livestock (CRP Livestock), and with the financial supportunder conservation agriculture in Algeria and Tunisia. of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development The project was implemented across 2,000 ha with of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social DevelopmentThe project was implemented across 2,000 ha with (AFESD), Dr. Mounir Louhaichi and Dr. Sawsan Hassan 117 farmers, a 40 percent increase compared to 2019. (AFESD), Dr. Mounir Louhaichi and Dr. Sawsan Hassan117 farmers, a 40 percent increase compared to 2019. duplicated the cactus nursery in Jordan to other research In addition, CLCA activities in Algeria expanded to over duplicated the cactus nursery in Jordan to other researchIn addition, CLCA activities in Algeria expanded to over station, where over 100 different cactus pear accessions five new districts, 430 farmers and 1,732 ha, compared station, where over 100 different cactus pear accessionsfive new districts, 430 farmers and 1,732 ha, compared are now well established. Cactus pear, a dryland to 982 ha and 241 farmers in 2019. are now well established. Cactus pear, a drylandto 982 ha and 241 farmers in 2019. forage focus crop for ICARDA, was also selected as a  forage focus crop for ICARDA, was also selected as a CGIAR@50 innovation and added to the WOCAT SLM  CGIAR@50 innovation and added to the WOCAT SLM database as cactus fruit plantation in arid lands.  database as cactus fruit plantation in arid lands.  "},{"text":" Some of the services introduced to the ASPs are installation and repairing drip systems, planting of crops on ridges and beds, and laser land leveling At the end of 2020, we launched a new Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)-funded project led by Dr. Aymen Fija to develop soil and water conservation technologies tailored to specific and highly variable social and ecological contexts in Tunisia and upscale these across the relevant regions. and duplicate the precious collection means that to date, 83,702 accessions, out of the original 91,751 are available for distribution to global breeding programs. Efforts to regenerate the remaining accessions are ongoing.  water, 32 percent increase in wheat grain yield and water, 32 percent increase in wheat grain yield and  98 percent increase in water use efficiency. 98 percent increase in water use efficiency.  ICARDA, in collaboration with the United States ICARDA, in collaboration with the United States  Department of Agriculture (USDA) and various federal Department of Agriculture (USDA) and various federal  and provincial institutes, developed a model to transfer and provincial institutes, developed a model to transfer 2020 highlights include: land and water management technologies to small 2020 highlights include:land and water management technologies to small  farmers in Pakistan. The project trained agriculture farmers in Pakistan. The project trained agriculture ICARDA's Dr. Vinay Nangia completed successful service providers (ASPs) on technologies and business, ICARDA's Dr. Vinay Nangia completed successfulservice providers (ASPs) on technologies and business, Ultra-Low-Energy (ULE) Drip Irrigation trials on disseminating 11 technologies to 1,266 farmers over an Ultra-Low-Energy (ULE) Drip Irrigation trials ondisseminating 11 technologies to 1,266 farmers over an olive and citrus trees and fruits and vegetables. area of 12,474 acres (5,050 ha) generating income of up olive and citrus trees and fruits and vegetables.area of 12,474 acres (5,050 ha) generating income of up ICARDA conducted trials in collaboration with the to 300,000 rupees ($3,900USD) per season for trained ICARDA conducted trials in collaboration with theto 300,000 rupees ($3,900USD) per season for trained Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc (INRA-M). In six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, a public-private research partnership with Jain Irrigation Systems Limited successfully tested ULE drippers for irrigating date palm plantations in six GCC countries. ASPs. ICARDA also signed an agreement with the African Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc (INRA-M). In six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, a public-private research partnership with Jain Irrigation Systems Limited successfully tested ULE drippers for irrigating date palm plantations in six GCC countries.ASPs. ICARDA also signed an agreement with the African  Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) to further research Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) to further research  in nutrient management. The partnership has already in nutrient management. The partnership has already  led to joint research proposals to external donors, led to joint research proposals to external donors,  and APNI and ICARDA will collaborate under the One and APNI and ICARDA will collaborate under the One  CGIAR initiatives targeting Africa. CGIAR initiatives targeting Africa. The iNASHR project is funded by The Deutsche  The iNASHR project is funded by The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH  Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and developed alongside Egypt's Agricultural  (GIZ) and developed alongside Egypt's Agricultural Research Center (ARC) and Ministry of Agriculture  Research Center (ARC) and Ministry of Agriculture and led by ICARDA's Bezaiet Dessalegn. The project  and led by ICARDA's Bezaiet Dessalegn. The project addresses Egypt's water scarcity and soil quality while  addresses Egypt's water scarcity and soil quality while improving food security for smallholder family farmers.  improving food security for smallholder family farmers. In 2020 ICARDA established 420 demonstration  In 2020 ICARDA established 420 demonstration sites, 16 percent of them women-owned. Planted  sites, 16 percent of them women-owned. Planted with improved wheat and faba bean varieties, the  with improved wheat and faba bean varieties, the demonstration sites benefit 400 individuals directly  demonstration sites benefit 400 individuals directly from capacity-building efforts, of which 21 percent  from capacity-building efforts, of which 21 percent are women. ICARDA also scaled up its raised bed (RB)  are women. ICARDA also scaled up its raised bed (RB) wheat planting technology in Egypt. Results obtained in  wheat planting technology in Egypt. Results obtained in farmers' fields during 2020 showed a clear advantage of  farmers' fields during 2020 showed a clear advantage of the RB technology with a 31 percent saving in irrigation  the RB technology with a 31 percent saving in irrigation  "},{"text":" Ethiopia, the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (CRP-PIM) and CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock) fund important studies led by ICARDA's Dr. Girma Kassie. These demonstrate how livestock market facilities could improve smallholder livestock keepers' market participation as well as the price of their livestock. Complementary studies highlight key livestock market facilities prioritized by the livestock keepers themselves, that they are willing to pay for. wheat and legume production in 28 target areas and,  wheat and legume production in 28 target areas and, despite COVID restrictions, the outstanding efforts of  despite COVID restrictions, the outstanding efforts of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) partners  National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) partners enabled over 5,800 farmers to benefit.  enabled over 5,800 farmers to benefit. Funded by the International Fund for Agricultural  Funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) the Strengthening Agricultural  Development (IFAD) the Strengthening Agricultural Knowledge Management (SKIM) project, is led by  Knowledge Management (SKIM) project, is led by ICARDA's Dr. Akmal Akramkhanov. As well as training  ICARDA's Dr. Akmal Akramkhanov. As well as training sessions across the region, we supported the University  sessions across the region, we supported the University of Khartoum in scientific poster development, and  of Khartoum in scientific poster development, and the Virtual Learning Route was created to build a  the Virtual Learning Route was created to build a framework of agricultural knowledge sharing to support  framework of agricultural knowledge sharing to support stakeholders and entrepreneurs across Sudan.  stakeholders and entrepreneurs across Sudan. Training tomorrow's experts  Training tomorrow's experts In collaboration with the Center of Excellence project  In collaboration with the Center of Excellence project and funding from the Arab Fund for Economic and  and funding from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), ICARDA's Dr. Seid-  Social Development (AFESD), ICARDA's Dr. Seid- Ahmed Kemal held two in-country trainings for the Agricultural Research Centers of Egypt and Sudan. Capacity building in fragile states Ahmed Kemal held two in-country trainings for the Agricultural Research Centers of Egypt and Sudan.Capacity building in fragile states Fifteen young researchers in Egypt developed their and territories Fifteen young researchers in Egypt developed theirand territories knowledge in wheat and legume improvement through  knowledge in wheat and legume improvement through field and lab training. Across Sudan, 24 trainees Led by Dr. Abdoul Aziz Niane, ICARDA works with field and lab training. Across Sudan, 24 traineesLed by Dr. Abdoul Aziz Niane, ICARDA works with (37 percent female) from 8 research stations learned the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United (37 percent female) from 8 research stations learnedthe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United contemporary agricultural approaches Nations (FAO) in Syria to rehabilitate the country's seed contemporary agricultural approachesNations (FAO) in Syria to rehabilitate the country's seed  sector by developing basic seed stocks for national sector by developing basic seed stocks for national As part of the SemiArid project, funded by ERANET, farmers. Weekly field-based demonstrations and As part of the SemiArid project, funded by ERANET,farmers. Weekly field-based demonstrations and ArimNet 2 (an agri-research group from the WhatsApp-facilitated COVID-19 question-and-answer ArimNet 2 (an agri-research group from theWhatsApp-facilitated COVID-19 question-and-answer Mediterranean region) with the support of ICARDA sessions took place, and an illustrated training manual Mediterranean region) with the support of ICARDAsessions took place, and an illustrated training manual and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Lebanese in Arabic was developed and distributed to pioneer and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Lebanesein Arabic was developed and distributed to pioneer A study across 14 African countries funded by the University, held an international training course for farmers, the national seed support team, and other A study across 14 African countries funded by the University, held an international training course forfarmers, the national seed support team, and other CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and 40 postgraduate students and young researchers national agriculture extension experts. An FAO-funded CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and 40 postgraduate students and young researchersnational agriculture extension experts. An FAO-funded Markets (CRP-PIM) and led by ICARDA's Drs Aymen dedicated to the design of sustainable and diverse As well as research studies, our ICT2Scale project, funded water management training program also introduced Markets (CRP-PIM) and led by ICARDA's Drs Aymen dedicated to the design of sustainable and diverseAs well as research studies, our ICT2Scale project, funded water management training program also introduced Frija and Boubkaer Dhehibi showed how increased farming systems in dry areas. by German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft modern irrigation techniques and rainwater harvesting Frija and Boubkaer Dhehibi showed how increased farming systems in dry areas.by German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft modern irrigation techniques and rainwater harvesting investments in agriculture could generate higher für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and led by to increase agricultural production. investments in agriculture could generate higherfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and led by to increase agricultural production. overall employment and reduce gender disparities in Support for Uzbekistan Udo Rudiger and Dr. Boubaker Dhehibi, uses cell phone- overall employment and reduce gender disparities in Support for UzbekistanUdo Rudiger and Dr. Boubaker Dhehibi, uses cell phone- labor participation. It also demonstrated how women's based services to offer helpful information on crop and Agricultural trainings funded by the United Nations labor participation. It also demonstrated how women'sbased services to offer helpful information on crop and Agricultural trainings funded by the United Nations employment rises over men's in response to agricultural ICARDA together with Regional Environmental small ruminant production, beekeeping, and conservation Development Programme (UNDP) in Syria and led by employment rises over men's in response to agricultural ICARDA together with Regional Environmentalsmall ruminant production, beekeeping, and conservation Development Programme (UNDP) in Syria and led by investments and how infrastructure investments Center for Central Asia (CAREC) Uzbekistan and the agriculture for over 1,000 smallholder farmers in Tunisia. ICARDA's Majd Jamal were carried out in farmers' fields investments and how infrastructure investments Center for Central Asia (CAREC) Uzbekistan and theagriculture for over 1,000 smallholder farmers in Tunisia. ICARDA's Majd Jamal were carried out in farmers' fields delivered a higher impact on female employment growth European Union, became members of a consortium Current market prices for 10 common agricultural rather than classrooms due to COVID restrictions. In delivered a higher impact on female employment growth European Union, became members of a consortiumCurrent market prices for 10 common agricultural rather than classrooms due to COVID restrictions. In than productivity. led by DT Global IDEV Europe, S.L. Spain. The project commodities are also shared. Eight e-learning modules 2020, 18 sessions were held and attended by more than productivity. led by DT Global IDEV Europe, S.L. Spain. The projectcommodities are also shared. Eight e-learning modules 2020, 18 sessions were held and attended by more provides support to Uzbekistan to assist with the were also developed to strengthen the capacities of than 285 farmers, 53 extension agents, 50 researchers, provides support to Uzbekistan to assist with thewere also developed to strengthen the capacities of than 285 farmers, 53 extension agents, 50 researchers, implementation of the government's Agri-Food trainers and extension workers. and 12 policymakers. implementation of the government's Agri-Foodtrainers and extension workers. and 12 policymakers. Development Strategy 2019-2030, develops dialogue  Development Strategy 2019-2030, develops dialogue forums, and enhances sector statistics and monitoring Read about improving rural livelihoods in detail in forums, and enhances sector statistics and monitoringRead about improving rural livelihoods in detail in and evaluation systems. the appendix. and evaluation systems.the appendix.  "},{"text":" of the Board of the CGIAR System Organization  Shilpa Patel Shilpa Patel  Principal Advisor to the Finance Center at the World Principal Advisor to the Finance Center at the World Adjunct Professor in Agriculture and Environmental Resources Institute Adjunct Professor in Agriculture and EnvironmentalResources Institute Sciences at McGill University Belgium Sciences at McGill UniversityBelgium Global Institute for Food Security at the University of  Global Institute for Food Security at the University of Saskatchewan Board Alice Ruhweza Saskatchewan BoardAlice Ruhweza Switzerland Africa Region Director for the World Wide Fund for SwitzerlandAfrica Region Director for the World Wide Fund for  Nature (WWF) Nature (WWF) Fadlallah Gharzeldeen Uganda Fadlallah GharzeldeenUganda Deputy Head of Planning Affairs -Planning and  Deputy Head of Planning Affairs -Planning and International Cooperation Commission of the Syrian Lindiwe Sibanda International Cooperation Commission of the SyrianLindiwe Sibanda Arab Republic Professor, Director and Chair of the African Research Arab RepublicProfessor, Director and Chair of the African Research Syria Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in SyriaUniversities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in  Food Systems at the University of Pretoria Food Systems at the University of Pretoria Neal Gutterson Co-Chair of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Neal GuttersonCo-Chair of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Agriculture (GACSA) Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer ofAgriculture (GACSA) Corteva Agriscience Advisory Board Member of Infinite Foods Corteva AgriscienceAdvisory Board Member of Infinite Foods United States of America Board Member of WorldVeg, Associate Fellow at United States of AmericaBoard Member of WorldVeg, Associate Fellow at  Chatham House Chatham House Mouwafak Jbour Zimbabwe Mouwafak JbourZimbabwe Deputy Director General of the General Commission for  Deputy Director General of the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture Hilary F. Wild Scientific Agricultural Research, Ministry of AgricultureHilary F. Wild and Agrarian Reform Audit, Finance & Risk Committee on the CGIAR System and Agrarian ReformAudit, Finance & Risk Committee on the CGIAR System Syria Board SyriaBoard  Trustee and Audit Committee Chair of WaterAid UK, Trustee and Audit Committee Chair of WaterAid UK, Alyssa Jade McDonald-Baertl Chair of the Church Commissioners Audit and Risk Alyssa Jade McDonald-BaertlChair of the Church Commissioners Audit and Risk Policy and Programs Advisor in the European Commission Committee and a member of the Oversight Advisory Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Policy and Programs Advisor in the European CommissionCommittee and a member of the Oversight Advisory Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Australia  Australia Trilochan Mohapatra  Trilochan Mohapatra Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and  Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education & Director General, Indian Council of  Education & Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture,  Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India  Government of India India  India  "},{"text":" At Egypt's ICARDA/Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute research center led by ICARDA's Dr. Aladdin Hamwieh, research is carried out on chickpea, faba bean, and lentils focusing on disease resistance as well as climate-smart traits. This research is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (CRP-GLDC), and Egypt's Agricultural Research Center (ARC). In 2020 working in close collaboration with legume pathologists and partners in the Central and West Asia, and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA led a global Ascochyta blight consortium to gain a better global understanding  "},{"text":" Mounir Louhaichi, facilitated the foundation of a cactus nursery at the Mushaqqar research station in Jordan. Over 100 different cactus pear accessions are now well established. by Dr. by Dr. ICARDA, in collaboration ICARDA, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CactusNet, the Jordanian United Nations (FAO), CactusNet, the Jordanian National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock), CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock), and with the financial support of the Arab Fund for and with the financial support of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), and led Economic and Social Development (AFESD), and led  "},{"text":" , led by Dr. Vinay Nangia, and in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc (INRA-M), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), conducts irrigation research and 241 farmers in Year II). This was possible by involving five additional Technical Institute of Field Crops (ITGC) regional stations and two new ITELV regional stations. control the amount and timing of irrigation in rainfed agricultural areas. The innovation removes the need for large-scale irrigation infrastructure, and diversifies crop sand and dust storms. Moreover, the research investigated considerable on-site benefits (less soil and carbon loss) and off-site impacts (less dust transported Wastewater management in Egypt Wastewater treatment and reuse have great potential to Soil protection and rehabilitation of degraded soil for food security and 241 farmers in Year II). This was possible by involving five additional Technical Institute of Field Crops (ITGC) regional stations and two new ITELV regional stations. control the amount and timing of irrigation in rainfed agricultural areas. The innovation removes the need for large-scale irrigation infrastructure, and diversifies cropsand and dust storms. Moreover, the research investigated considerable on-site benefits (less soil and carbon loss) and off-site impacts (less dust transported Wastewater management in Egypt Wastewater treatment and reuse have great potential to Soil protection and rehabilitation of degraded soil for food security SUSTAINABLE LAND, SOIL, AND WATER IN DETAIL Drip irrigation in Morocco management options by enabling individual control in water use, and reducing crop failure risk due to drought. Now used across Africa, China, and India the system improves the resilience of farmers to water-related shocks. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank, and the Global Alliance on Climate-Smart Agriculture promote the system as a climate-smart practice. In 2020, the innovation was selected as one of the top 50 CGIAR innovations in the field of irrigation for smallholder farmers and was also included in the International Fund for Agricultural Development's (IFAD) Panorama Rural Solutions Portal. iNASHR -water management in Egypt to urban areas) through mechanized micro-water harvesting and plantation of native shrubs in Badia. An integrated for crop-livestock conservation agriculture in North Africa ICARDA's Crop Livestock Conservation Agriculture (CLCA) Initiative in North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia), led by Drs. Mourad Rekik and Aymen Frija, promoted innovative practices to optimize climate resilience and integrated CLCA in the fragile livestock-cereal belt of semi-arid Algeria and Tunisia. The project is supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education in contribute towards addressing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) water crisis. ICARDA's ReWater MENA project covering Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and managed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Led by Dr. Bezaiet Dessalegn, ICARDA manages the Egypt component of the project, focusing on the direct and indirect management and reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture. In 2020, the project established a new site in Ismailia, near the Serapeum Wastewater Treatment plant, to assess At the end of 2020, ICARDA, led by Dr. Aymen Frija, launched a new Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)-funded project in line with the Tunisian 2050 soil and water protection strategy to develop soil and water conservation technologies tailored to specific, and highly variable, social and ecological contexts. These technologies have been upscaled across the relevant regions. A key component of the initiative is in establishing appropriate indicators and tools for monitoring the impact of scaling investments. potential direct reuse options. The production of wheat and barley crops using treated wastewater of permissible Agriculture service providers model on water quality -as per the National Reuse Code -was successfully tested. land and water technologies transfer in Pakistan SUSTAINABLE LAND, SOIL, AND WATER IN DETAIL Drip irrigation in Morocco management options by enabling individual control in water use, and reducing crop failure risk due to drought. Now used across Africa, China, and India the system improves the resilience of farmers to water-related shocks. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank, and the Global Alliance on Climate-Smart Agriculture promote the system as a climate-smart practice. In 2020, the innovation was selected as one of the top 50 CGIAR innovations in the field of irrigation for smallholder farmers and was also included in the International Fund for Agricultural Development's (IFAD) Panorama Rural Solutions Portal. iNASHR -water management in Egyptto urban areas) through mechanized micro-water harvesting and plantation of native shrubs in Badia. An integrated for crop-livestock conservation agriculture in North Africa ICARDA's Crop Livestock Conservation Agriculture (CLCA) Initiative in North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia), led by Drs. Mourad Rekik and Aymen Frija, promoted innovative practices to optimize climate resilience and integrated CLCA in the fragile livestock-cereal belt of semi-arid Algeria and Tunisia. The project is supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education in contribute towards addressing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) water crisis. ICARDA's ReWater MENA project covering Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and managed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Led by Dr. Bezaiet Dessalegn, ICARDA manages the Egypt component of the project, focusing on the direct and indirect management and reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture. In 2020, the project established a new site in Ismailia, near the Serapeum Wastewater Treatment plant, to assess At the end of 2020, ICARDA, led by Dr. Aymen Frija, launched a new Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)-funded project in line with the Tunisian 2050 soil and water protection strategy to develop soil and water conservation technologies tailored to specific, and highly variable, social and ecological contexts. These technologies have been upscaled across the relevant regions. A key component of the initiative is in establishing appropriate indicators and tools for monitoring the impact of scaling investments. potential direct reuse options. The production of wheat and barley crops using treated wastewater of permissible Agriculture service providers model on water quality -as per the National Reuse Code -was successfully tested. land and water technologies transfer in Pakistan ICARDA's iNASHR project is funded by the German Tunisia, and the Technical Institute of Field Crops (ITGC) ICARDA's iNASHR project is funded by the GermanTunisia, and the Technical Institute of Field Crops (ITGC) development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für in Algeria. ICARDA, in collaboration with the United States development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fürin Algeria. ICARDA, in collaboration with the United States Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) and various federal Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) andDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) and various federal implemented in partnership with Egypt's Agricultural Key to the project is the development of Crop-Livestock and provincial institutes, developed a business model implemented in partnership with Egypt's AgriculturalKey to the project is the development of Crop-Livestock and provincial institutes, developed a business model Research Center (ARC) and Access Agriculture. Led by Integration Options (CLIO) that encompass forage to transfer land and water management technologies Research Center (ARC) and Access Agriculture. Led byIntegration Options (CLIO) that encompass forage to transfer land and water management technologies Dr. Bezaiet Dessalegn, the project helps to address inclusion, such as stubble management for mulching, to smallholder farmers in Pakistan. The project trained Dr. Bezaiet Dessalegn, the project helps to addressinclusion, such as stubble management for mulching, to smallholder farmers in Pakistan. The project trained Egypt's water scarcity and soil quality to improve food feed, and soil cover crops, and herd health management, agriculture service providers (ASPs) on technologies Egypt's water scarcity and soil quality to improve foodfeed, and soil cover crops, and herd health management, agriculture service providers (ASPs) on technologies security for smallholder farming families by promoting among others, in dryland crop and livestock farming and business, disseminating 11 technologies to 1,266 security for smallholder farming families by promotingamong others, in dryland crop and livestock farming and business, disseminating 11 technologies to 1,266 sustainable intensification of wheat-based systems approaches. Another important aspect of the project has farmers over an area of 12,474 acres (5,050 ha). sustainable intensification of wheat-based systemsapproaches. Another important aspect of the project has farmers over an area of 12,474 acres (5,050 ha). by facilitating adoption and multiplication of ICARDA- been the introduction of community 'knowledge hubs' by facilitating adoption and multiplication of ICARDA-been the introduction of community 'knowledge hubs' ICARDA's Stefan Strohmeier, alongside the United improved seed varieties, modernizing traditional raised which, in 2020, led to self-sustained scaling of CLIOs in ICARDA's Stefan Strohmeier, alongside the United improved seed varieties, modernizing traditional raisedwhich, in 2020, led to self-sustained scaling of CLIOs in States Forest Service, the Jordanian National Agricultural bed (RB) farming methods, and reintroducing a cereal/ Tunisia and Algeria. States Forest Service, the Jordanian National Agricultural bed (RB) farming methods, and reintroducing a cereal/Tunisia and Algeria. Research Center (NARC), Utrecht University's legume crop rotation on-field, through mechanization.  Research Center (NARC), Utrecht University's legume crop rotation on-field, through mechanization. Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, and In 2020, 420 demonstration sites were established, of During Phase III of the project in Tunisia in October- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, and In 2020, 420 demonstration sites were established, ofDuring Phase III of the project in Tunisia in October- WADI for Sustainable Ecosystems Development (local which 16 percent are owned by women. These were December 2020, Crop Livestock Conservation WADI for Sustainable Ecosystems Development (local which 16 percent are owned by women. These wereDecember 2020, Crop Livestock Conservation Jordanian non-governmental organization) developed planted with improved varieties of wheat and faba Agriculture (CLCA) was implemented across 2,000 ha Jordanian non-governmental organization) developed planted with improved varieties of wheat and fabaAgriculture (CLCA) was implemented across 2,000 ha a community-based watershed rehabilitation approach bean using good agricultural practices. Moreover, about with 117 farmers, a 40 percent increase compared a community-based watershed rehabilitation approach bean using good agricultural practices. Moreover, aboutwith 117 farmers, a 40 percent increase compared that effectively restores degraded rangelands in Badia, 400 individuals, of which 21 percent were women, to the year before. A total of 57 pioneering women that effectively restores degraded rangelands in Badia, 400 individuals, of which 21 percent were women,to the year before. A total of 57 pioneering women Jordan. This approach will decrease the fodder shortage directly benefited from capacity-building efforts farmers were involved in the CLCA on-farm trials and Jordan. This approach will decrease the fodder shortage directly benefited from capacity-building effortsfarmers were involved in the CLCA on-farm trials and of local livestock keepers who will, in turn, rely less including farmer field schools and training of trainers. demonstration plots. Further, in addition to the districts of local livestock keepers who will, in turn, rely less including farmer field schools and training of trainers.demonstration plots. Further, in addition to the districts on external aid to feed their animals. In 2020, despite A total of 2,495 direct and 14,525 indirect beneficiaries of Beja, Jendouba, Kef, Kasserine, Siliana, and Zaghouan on external aid to feed their animals. In 2020, despite A total of 2,495 direct and 14,525 indirect beneficiariesof Beja, Jendouba, Kef, Kasserine, Siliana, and Zaghouan COVID-19 restricted access to the Badia Research were reached during the reporting period. ICARDA (the focus of Year II), the project activities were extended COVID-19 restricted access to the Badia Research were reached during the reporting period. ICARDA(the focus of Year II), the project activities were extended Site watershed, the local community kept close also scaled up its RB wheat planting technology in to the districts of Bizerte and Gafsa. Site watershed, the local community kept close also scaled up its RB wheat planting technology into the districts of Bizerte and Gafsa. communication with the scientists through digital media Egypt. Results obtained in farmers' fields during 2020  communication with the scientists through digital media Egypt. Results obtained in farmers' fields during 2020 and took over some of the field monitoring works. showed a clear advantage of the RB technology with In Algeria, Phase III Crop Livestock Conservation and took over some of the field monitoring works. showed a clear advantage of the RB technology withIn Algeria, Phase III Crop Livestock Conservation a 31 percent saving in irrigation water, 32 percent Agriculture (CLCA) project activities expanded from 6 to a 31 percent saving in irrigation water, 32 percentAgriculture (CLCA) project activities expanded from 6 to In addition, ICARDA joined an inter-regional Food and increase in wheat grain yield, and 98 percent increase in 11 target districts, and during the third cropping season, In addition, ICARDA joined an inter-regional Food and increase in wheat grain yield, and 98 percent increase in11 target districts, and during the third cropping season, Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)-water use efficiency. directly facilitated the establishment of 1,732 ha by Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)-water use efficiency.directly facilitated the establishment of 1,732 ha by Technical Cooperation Program project on combatting almost 430 smallholder farmers (compared to 982 ha Technical Cooperation Program project on combattingalmost 430 smallholder farmers (compared to 982 ha  "},{"text":" Ethiopia, ICARDA researchers, led by Dr. Girma Kassie, study factors that impact market access for livestock farmers and inform the government's investments in the sector to improve smallholders' market participation and performance to boost livestock production and productivity. The project is funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets (CRP-PIM), and the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock). One study revealed that introducing animal sheds for animals to rest and refresh can significantly improve the market price of stock and consequently smallholder farmers' market participation. A related study investigated what market facilities farmers are most willing to pay for, whereby animals' sheds, veterinary service posts, holding barns, water troughs, and feed selling facilities were the most valued by the farmers.  "},{"text":" Team, funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems (CRP Drylands) and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (CRP-PIM), analyzes relationships between the olive oil value chain leading operators in Tunisia and how they can be improved for better performance and Continuing our capacity development support of fragile countries and territories, in 2020, with funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ICARDA carried out a series of training in Syria through projects led by Dr. Majd Jamal. Due to COVID-19 social distancing, on-the-job training and business development support was provided in farmers' fields instead of in the classroom with the ICARDA and UNDP team members and local extension specialists. Also in 2020, led by Dr. Abdoul Aziz Niane, ICARDA delivered quality legume seeds from advanced varieties bred by its scientists to Lebanon as part of an ICARDA-Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) joint capacity development project. With funding from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), ICARDA provided LARI with 722 kg of breeder seeds that included 450 kg of chickpeas (from seven advanced varieties), 155 kg of faba bean seeds (from six varieties), and 117 kg of lentil seeds (from five advanced varieties).  "}],"sieverID":"eb0794cc-1664-4a80-976d-0cc1d7e7f243","abstract":""}
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