The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) April 2014 Newsletter describes new and ongoing activities in Ethiopia, Jordan and Sudan, as well as efforts to safeguard ICARDA's genebank, which has been under threat due to civil conflict in Syria.
8 May 2014: The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) April 2014 Newsletter describes new and ongoing activities in Ethiopia, Jordan and Sudan, as well as efforts to safeguard ICARDA’s genebank, which has been under threat due to civil conflict in Syria.
The newsletter features ICARDA’s conversations with the Prime Minister of Jordan to discuss research collaboration through the expansion of research facilities in Jordan and the development of an action site that creates an integrated systems approach to agricultural research for development. In the bulletin, ICARDA also announces an agreement with the Ethiopia Institute of Agricultural Research and the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute to formalize partnerships on germplasm collection and management, knowledge management, and capacity development. In Sudan, ICARDA notes the establishment of a research facility to breed heat tolerant, early season wheat and food legume varieties. ICARDA highlights that the sites in Sudan are particularly important as they represent an ideal location to test resilient crop breeds. The organization plans to expand its research programme in the country over the coming years. The Newsletter also announces ICARDA progress in moving its genebank from Aleppo, Syria to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
ICARDA is a member of CGIAR. [ICARDA Newsletter] [Svalbard Global Seed Vault]