Water harvesting and supplemental irrigation for improved water productivity of dry farming systems in West Asia and North Africa
In the dry areas, water, not land, is the most limiting resource for improved agricultural production. Maximizing water productivity, and not yield per unit of land, is therefore a better strategy for dry farming systems. Under such conditions...
Sabkhat al-Jabbul, a Threatened Ramsar Wetland in Syria
Sabkhat al Jabbul is a large wetland lying between the fertile cultivated areas around Aleppo, the Euphrates basin and the Syrian steppe. In the last 20 years, it has been modified from a typical seasonal saline lake (sabkhat) to a complex...
GPS/GIS-integrated approach to the assessment of current soil erosion by water – experiences from Mediterranean NW-Syria
The assessment of site-specific soil erosion and the detection of its causes are preconditions for the implementation of adapted land use and land management practices. “Soil erosion damage mapping”, a well-tried erosion assessment method, was...
Ties that Bind: La Tunisie et L'ICARDA. 25 Annees de Collaboration
L'accord de collaboration entre l'ICARDA (Ie Centre International de Recherche Agricole dans les Zones Seches) et la Tunisie a ete signe en 1979 et ratifie par l' Assemblee Nationale en 1980. L'ICARDA a son siege a Alep en Syrie et dispose de...
The Netherlands is one of the few developed countries that have been consistent in supporting development cooperation at levels agreed by the UN and OECD. Every year the country allocates 0.8% of its GNP to poverty reduction programs around the...
Effect of population size on the estimation of QTL: a test using resistance to barley stripe rust
The limited population sizes used in many quantitative trait locus (QTL) detection experiments can lead to underestimation of QTL number, overestimation of QTL effects, and failure to quantify QTL interactions. We used the barley/barley stripe...
Ties that Bind: Morocco and ICARDA. Collaboration since 1977 (second, revised and updated version)
Agriculture contributes about 20% of Morocco's gross domestic product (GDP), but this proportion varies widely depending on rainfall. The country has about 8.5 million hectares of good agricultural land, of which nearly 90% is rainfed. However...
Salinity effect on grain quality of two durum wheat varieties differing in salt tolerance
The salt tolerant variety Cham-1, created by ICARDA, showed a higher grain yield than the less salt tolerant landrace Haurani, but the main parameters for the pasta quality declined considerably. Salinity had a slight positive effect on the...
In 2004, ICARDA began strategic visioning, driven by the global focus on achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the realignment of the CGIAR System priorities by the Science Council. It involved, among other actions, a consolidation of...
Caravan 22: Review of agriculture in the dry areas
This issue of Caravan provides examples of ICARDA's work with its partners to help ensure sustainability of livelihoods for the poor in marginal areas.
