29 August 2013: The 2012 Annual Report of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) notes that despite significant challenges due to the on-going conflict in Syria, the Center has made significant achievements in translating research into action and policy impact, highlighting its leadership in the high-level international conference on Food Security in the Dry Lands, as well as enhanced partnerships with Canada and South Asia.

The report underscores work on climate change mitigation in India, improved seed systems in Ethiopia, climate change adaptation in Palestine, conservation agriculture in North Africa, and science for adaptation in Central Asia and China.

It describes results to improve crops to combat drought, develop and distribute new seeds, implement conservation agriculture, and test new approaches to improve efficiency in water use in response to climate change. ICARDA outlines its successes in managing genetic resources, mining agricultural genebanks to speed the pace of innovation and deliver food security, managing soil salinity, and reversing rangeland degradation. The report notes the differing outcomes of its new Research Program on Dryland Systems that relate to minimizing risk and reducing vulnerability in low-potential drylands and seeking to support sustainable intensification in higher potential dryland regions.

On research for development initiatives, the report describes three dry area initiatives on enhancing food security in Arab countries, the Middle East Water and Livelihoods Initiative, and Harmonized Support for Agricultural Development. It also notes the efforts of ICARDA’s regional and country programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, West Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, South Asia and China, the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. [Publication: ICARDA 2012 Annual Report]