Director-General of IOFS had an online meeting with Director-General of ICARDA

On February 10, Director-General of IOFS H.E. Yerlan Baidaulet and Director of Programs and Projects Office Dr. Ismail Abdelhamid held a virtual meeting with Director-General of ICARDA H.E. Aly Abousabaa and Deputy Director-General for Research Dr. Jacques Wery.

Director-General of IOFS provided a comprehensive overview of the IOFS programs, and briefed on its history and structure.

The ICARDA side also shared its extensive 47-year long experience in research-for-development programs in agriculture, which were implemented in 17 countries worldwide. Many of ICARDA’s projects correlate with the interests of IOFS, such as increasing water management efficiency in agriculture; ICARDA has successfully implemented such projects in dry areas like Egypt and Jordan. Mr. Abousabaa also shared the organization’s work on biodiversity: ICARDA collected, characterised and conserved thousands of crop genetic resources in a gene bank, established in 1985 in Syria. The organization also undertook work on rice and wheat development in India and Iran.

ICARDA has a number of specialized centres worldwide, each focusing on a particular geographic area or area of research. Mr. Abousabaa offered ICARDA’s technical help and experience of any of its research centres. He suggested to tailor the programs to country’s specific needs and work closely with the ministries of agriculture, as well as potential funding bodies.

Following the meeting, the sides agreed to create a task force group, which would be able to elaborate further on the information provided and suggest areas for joint work.