US embassy cable - 05AMMAN8144

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 008144 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV, EAGR, TPHY, XF, SY 
SUBJECT:  ICARDA and USDA Developing Cooperation on Water 
and Food Safety 
 
 
1.  Summary: USDA/FAS water specialist Sylvana Li and 
Amman-based ESTH FSN Rana Safadi visited the 
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry 
Areas (ICARDA) in Aleppo, Syria September 22-23 to 
develop new activities with ICARDA on water reuse and 
water quality.  Li will work with ICARDA in preparing 
USDA's water management for food safety workshop planned 
for Tunis in 2006.  USDA/FAS/ICD and FAS/Rabat work 
closely with ICARDA on watershed management and 
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) projects in Tunisia 
and other NEA locations.  End summary. 
 
ICARDA Working to Increase Water Productivity 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  ICARDA Assistant General Manager for Research William 
Reskine expressed interest in cooperation with the USG 
and with American NGOs.  Li described an upcoming USDA- 
sponsored workshop in Tunisia in Fall 2006 on water 
management for food safety, and asked for ICARDA 
assistance with that workshop and more generally, with 
USDA's work on water reuse and water quality. 
 
3.  ICARDA staffers Manzoor Qadir and Bogachan Benli 
discussed the organization's Management of Scarce Water 
Resources and Mitigation of Drought in Dry Areas (MP1) 
project.  MP1 does research on sustainably increasing 
water productivity in arid areas.  The scope of the MP1 
project began at the farm level, and has expanded to the 
basin level in Central and West Asia and North Africa 
(CWANA).  Fifteen countries in that region are below the 
water poverty level, according to ICARDA.  Renewable 
water resources are limited, and rainfall is highly 
variable and unpredictable.  According to ICARDA, West 
Asia and North Africa are forecast to get hotter and 
drier, exacerbating water scarcity and increasing drought 
frequency.  These changes will further threaten the 
already precarious livelihoods of the poor, especially in 
the rural areas, who depend on agriculture. 
 
4.  ICARDA is working with national programs in the 
region to increase water productivity through better 
management of water resources, development of drought 
tolerant crops, and agronomic management of cropping 
systems.  This requires development of supportive policy 
options, and building the capacities of farmers, 
extensionists, and researchers. 
 
Land Management for Combating Desertification 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  Project Director Richard Thomas and Range Management 
Scientist Jim Tiedman talked about their Land Management 
for Combating Desertification project (MP3). 
Desertification is sometimes caused by natural 
degradation, but in many areas degradation is accelerated 
by human activities.  ICARDA aims to identify options for 
rehabilitating degraded land resources, and to improve 
and strengthen systems of land management to control 
degradation and sustain future production. 
 
Field Trip 
---------- 
 
6.  Adriana Bruggeman led a field trip in areas around 
Aleppo on September 23.  The trip included the Qwayk 
valley, irrigated areas near Sfere, Jabbul Salt Lake, and 
Khanasser Valley, where the MP1 water management project 
operates.  The field trip showcased the water and drought 
situation in that part of Syria, and ICARDA's efforts in 
dealing with the issue.  There is great potential for 
wastewater treatment and water reuse for agricultural 
applications in Syria. 
 
Background on ICARDA 
--------------------- 
7.  ICARDA, established in 1977, is one of the 15 
agricultural research centers located around the world 
supported by the Consultative Group on International 
Agricultural Research (CGIAR).  With its main research 
station and offices based in Aleppo, Syria, ICARDA works 
through a network of partnerships with national, regional 
and international institutions, universities, non- 
governmental organizations and ministries in the 
developing world; and with research institutes in 
industrialized countries. 
 
8.  ICARDA's mission is to improve the welfare of poor 
people and alleviate poverty through research and 
training in dry areas of the developing world by 
increasing agricultural production, productivity and 
nutritional quality while preserving the natural resource 
base.  ICARDA works with national agricultural research 
organizations in developing and industrialized countries. 
While most of ICARDA's collaborative activities are based 
on written agreements, some joint research is also 
carried out informally based on the center's personal 
contacts with colleagues in other institutions. 
 
9.  This cable has been cleared by Embassy Damascus and 
by Dr. Li. 
 
HALE