Session II: Sharing experiences & lessons learned

Case Studies ICARDA: The Drylands

6 April 2016, Bonn, Germany.Andrew NobleICARDA Deputy Director General 

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Presentation Outline

• Introduction• Case Studies

–Water Benchmarks and Raised Bed Seeder

–Germplasm Exchange for Legumes

• Concluding remarks

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Addressing the Challenges of Food Security

Our focus is on creating vibrant andprosperous rural communitieswhere men and women enjoyincreased job opportunities andincomes in agriculture, betteraccess to nutritious food and goodhealth, and increased capacity toinnovate, use and manage naturalresources in an equitable andsustainable way.

Water the most significant challenge for MENA Region

1.1

2.7

5.4

5.6

8

13

20.3

34.5

35

0 10 20 30 40

Middle East & North Africa

South Asia

Western Europe

East Asia & Pacific (& Japan & Koreas)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Europe & Central Asia

North America

Latin America & Caribbean

Australia/New Zealand

Reg

ion

ARWR per capita (1000m3/yr)

Actual Renewable Water Resources (ARWR) per capita

Total renewable water resources withdrawn (%)

1.4

2.2

3.2

6.2

8

9.4

10.3

25.1

72.7

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Latin America & Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

Australia/New Zealand

Europe & Central Asia

North America

East Asia & Pacific (& Japan & Koreas)

Western Europe

South Asia

Middle East & North Africa

Reg

ion

Percent

Percent of total renewable waterresources withdrawn

• MENA is the world’s most water-scarce region

• Highest water withdrawal is in MENA

• On-farm water use efficiency is as low as 40%, suggesting over-use of this scarce resource.

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MENA and CAWA are the cradle of crop domestication

The MENA region is home to important diverse landraces and wild relatives of major food crops that have evolved over thousands of years in the Fertile Crescent. 

Opportunities for genetic improvement through gene mining to increase yields under changing climate conditions. These include important agronomic traits and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses which in turn will support the efficient and effective use of the region’s natural resource base. 

A Platform for South to South and North and South Collaboration 

Research collaborators• National Agricultural 

Research Systems (NARS) in 7 countries (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, and Yemen)

• National and 3 Regional Universities 

• 4 US Land Grant Universities

• USDA‐ARS, and • 2 CGIAR Centers

Goal: To improve rural livelihoods in the MENA region by harnessing local, regional and international expertise pilot test integrated water and land management strategies on selected benchmark sites for out‐scaling.

Case 1: The Water Benchmark: Raised Bed Seeder

Regional Socio‐Economic Comparative Study on Technology Adoption 

Country Specific Location

ProposedTechnology

PartneringInstitution

JordanJordan Badia

MarabsNCARE

Palestine Nassaryaand Tamun

Silage production NARC

Egypt Old Lands Raised Bed ARC

Iraq Abu Ghraib Sub‐surface Irrigation under protected agriculture

State Board of Agricultural Research (SBAR), MoA

Lebanon El Qaa Conservation Agriculture

Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI)

A matrix of where technological intervention have the highest probability of going to scale

Raised‐bed and Grain Drill Combination Machine

Originally an Indian design but modified, Reduce applied water by 30% Increased yields by 25%  Reduced seed rate by 50%  Increased WUE by 72%  70,000 acres (feddan) in Egypt in two years

FP: furrows irrigation  FlP: flat bed irrigation  RBP: raised bed irrigation 

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Case 2: Widening the Genetic Base of Lentil in South Asia

The Challenge:• South Asian lentils have narrow genetic base due to evolutionary process.

• West Asia is the origin of lentil –wide genetic base.

• Using material from WA hybridization achieved using breeders from India, Morocco and ICARDA.

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International Nurseries Developed with Indian Partners

Crops Total linesChickpea 300Lentil 330Faba bean 240Lathyrus 75

Number of elite lines shared with NARS partners through International Nurseries

CropsNo of 

nurseriesNo of 

requestsNo of 

collaborators

Faba bean 7 13 4

Chcikpea 10 43 13

Lentil 10 63 11

Grass pea 4 18 4

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Sharing of Germplasm Across India and Bangladesh

Sharing of germplasmCountry specific crossesSharing of international and special nurseries  Capacity building

AICRP network

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Outcome of Breeding Program: Nepal – emerged as an exporter of lentil in South Asia

• ~60% (124,578 ha) area under improved varieties

• Production of improved varieties = 124,952 tons.

• Total additional = 61.92 m USD annually 

• The present export value is >three times the value in 2001

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Local varieties Improved varieties

Grain yield (kg/ha)

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Outcome: Biofortified lentils in Bangladesh

• Five short duration varieties with high Fe, Zn and yield released in Bangladesh

• BARI M8 is released this year with high Fe and Zn content

• 186,000 ton micronutrient dense lentil produced  from 145,600 ha 

Enablers and Barriers to SSC

Enablers:• Collaboration is more effective when 

there is common interest and when all partners stand to gain from collaboration

• Create opportunities for the collaborators to come together and dialogue.

• Institutional and personal commitment to collaboration.

• Institutional support to enable data sharing.

• Need for training on specific skills required for the collaborative research.

• Need for committed champion and buy in at the highest level

Barriers:• High turn over of staff within the 

collaborative team• Budget limitations to facilitate 

collaboration and offer partners incentives to engage

• Technical capacity at the national level to engage in high level research, assure data quality, or effectively engage in dissemination efforts

• Security – at least in the case of the MENA region resulting in travel restrictions, delays in data collection, etc. 

Thank you