Impact Stories

Ultra-Low Energy Drip Irrigation: MIT emiter (photo credti ICARDA)

January 15, 2020

Ultra-Low-Energy Drip Irrigation helps small farmers save water, energy, and money!

Water scarcity issues in arid areas of the MENA region make efficient irrigation systems, like drip irrigation, a great investment for farmers. Unfortunately, drip irrigation is not as widely implemented as it could be.

January 06, 2020

Agricultural and Livestock Technology Transfer Preferences in Tunisia

The objective of this research study was to assess the sources of information on two improved agricultural and livestock technologies (barley variety and feed blocks) as well as the ecacy of numerous agricultural technology diffusion means introduced in the livestock–barley system in semi-arid Tunisia.

Crop rotation known as spatial and temporal alternation of crops with different root geometry and secretion of exudates is believed to break life cycle of soil born diseases and pests and largely influence the rizhosphere and the microorganisms

December 16, 2019

The economic advantages of legume-based rotations over cereal mono-cropping in dry areas

Current land use trends show an increasing preference for monocropping – mostly a consequence of policies and incentives aimed at enhancing the intensification of cereals. This shift has caused some to question whether legume–cereal rotations can remain economically viable options for farmers, particularly in the dry areas.

Land suitability map for faba bean var. Doshaas established in the present study

December 09, 2019

Faba bean seed system landscape in the highlands of Ethiopia

Successful scaling of agricultural technology requires a spatial explicit framework for targeting the right variety at the right place. This entails a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) approach, using a set of determining factors to delineate the scaling domains for faba bean (Vicia faba L.) varieties in and identify potentially suitable land area in a specific region, and zone in Ethiopia. Meeting this challenge will require a solid spatial framework.

Ahmed Amri with Mariana Yazbek in the active collection of ICARDA's genebank at Terbol station in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Photo: Michael Major/Crop Trust

November 26, 2019

Ahmed Amri: From Morocco to Syria … and back again

As a young man working the fields of his family’s farm in the drylands of Morocco, Ahmed never thought he would attend university, let alone become the head of genetic resources at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Aerial imaging showing micro 9 water harvesting catchment treatment after planting

November 09, 2019

Vallerani micro water harvesting

Desertification has resulted in significant loss of ecosystem processes and services. The techniques and processes to restore degraded watersheds are not linear and integrated watershed management (IWM) must address physical, biological and social approaches to achieve Sustainable Land Management (SLM) objectives.

The Raised Bed Machine (RBM) was developed by the International Centre for Agriculture Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) in collaboration with Egyptian research centres, public and private sectors. Copyright: Atef Swelam

November 05, 2019

Egypt rolls out water-saving smallholder equipment

New agricultural equipment increases yields by up to 20 per cent. Smallholders in Egypt have received incentives to use the technology. The invention also saves water, a dwindling resource in north Africa.

Strips, composed of marketable plants such as oil seeds, spices or food crops, attract a higher diversity of pollinators

August 21, 2019

Enhancing pollinator protection in the dry areas

An innovative, cost-effective approach to pollinator protection is raising farmer yields and incomes in Morocco. Success here offers critical lessons for other dryland countries worried about declining pollinator populations