Key Researchable Issues in the WANA Region, Progress and Synthesis of E-Consultation

1. Key Researchable Issues in the WANA Region, Progress and Synthesis of E-Consultation Dr. M. Majdalawi

2. The participants of E-consultation • The total Participants were 200 from: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab of Emirates and Yemen in addition to some guests out of WANNA region.

3. E-Consultation of WANA Region

4. The participants of E-consultation • 150 messages have been received from about 85 participants. • The participants from different organizations, institutions working on agricultural research for development in WANA region mainly ICARDA, FAO, ACSAD, AOAD, IDRC, USAID, universities, ministries, research centers, NGOs and the private sector from different countries.

5. The main fields of specialization of the participants were: • Livestock and animal breeding. • Plant Protection (Integrated Pest Management, Pesticides, Cereal Rusts resistance and management). • Field Crops, Agronomist, Crop Physiologist, Vegetable and Ornamental Plants. • Plant breeding. • Microbiology.

6. The main fields of specialization of the participants were: • Resource and Agricultural Economics. • Soil, Irrigation, Water Management and Environment. • Land use management (GIS. RS). • Extension • Geo-informatics. • Computer Science and Information and Communication Technologies.

7. Challenges facing WANA Region: • Water shortage and Water poverty, there are also still inefficient use and misuse of this resource. • Agriculture production is characterized by low efficiency in the use of all production inputs. • Disparity of living conditions between urban and rural areas is quite obvious.

8. Challenges facing WANA Region: • The region suffers from shortage of food. • Poverty levels increasing through time. • Increasing desertification. • Losing more and more land due to soil and water salinization.

9. Challenges facing WANA Region: • In many livestock activities, research is not integrated with other disciplines of agriculture, i.e. crops, water, soils, energy etc. • The negative impact of the spread of peri-urban area and commercialization /industrialization on livestock. • Lack of Sharing information about animal and plant diseases.

10. Challenges facing WANA Region: • The research in most countries is still repeating the same ideas. • The missing link between the different stakeholders. • Market and policy research is overlooked in the research priorities.

11. Challenges facing WANA Region: • The climate change will affect agricultural production and food security. • Agricultural extension has not effective and efficient service role. • Conservation of biodiversity and plant genetic resources and utilize them in a good manner.

12. Challenges facing WANA Region: • Agricultural research agenda is not based on commodity chain approach. • The research on the natural resources management is carried out without adequate attention to the socio-economic constraints and to the environmental conditions. • The negative impact of political conflicts, like war, on the availability and sustainability of land and water resources.

13. Challenges facing WANA Region: • Soil and water pollution. • The feedstuff shortage is a serious problem facing livestock producers, • The significant increase in the costs of production inputs.

14. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

15. Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Need to introduce crop varieties and management practices that result in better water use efficiency. • Improve on-farm water-use efficiency. • To rationalize use of ground water and decrease the expansion of withdrawal from shallow aquifers.

16. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

17. Food Security and Poverty • Need to emphasis on environmental poverty and to enhance local food production. • Need to develop accurate, efficient and economicmonitoring systems and sharing information. • Need to improve high yielding high quality crop varieties and utilize the good traits in the local breeds.

18. Food Security and Poverty • There is a need to find the best ways to use the medicinal, herbal and aromatic plants in agro- industries producing medicines, cosmetics, and food additives, etc. • To analyze the impact of political conflicts, especially war, on the availability and sustainability of land and water resources.

19. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

20. Protection of the Environment • Finding suitable alternative environment friendly crops that tolerate drought and salinity. • To protect the land from Salinization and to pay attention to the soil degradation. • Utilization of indigenous rangeland grass species to grow commercially for replacing high water consuming exotic grass species. • Conservation of local plant and animal genetic resources and developing mechanisms to preserve genetic resources and establishing" Gene Banks”.

21. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

22. Meeting the special challenges • Over grazing is another large contributor to our desertification problem.

23. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

24. policy and institutional research • Need to support research and development in all nationally needed fields of agriculture. • Need to Link research to development projects, especially for natural resources management research. • Need to strengthen the linkages between NARS and International R&D Centers and local extension services and between extension services and farmers.

25. policy and institutional research • Need to identify policies and improve decision makers and politician awareness on the importance and role of agricultural research and innovation. • Building Impact-oriented Research, Knowledge and Development Institutions.

26. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

27. Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Search for a mechanism to link all the centers in the region with a viable communication network. • Participatory approach should take priority. • Need to enhance the monitoring and evaluation system and developing their researches. • Need to adopt methods for disseminating and scaling out improved technologies under rainfed conditions. • Need for "Knowledge Management" experts and implementing science in research for development.

28. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

29. Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • The need for agricultural research that benefits the resource poor farmers and producers.

30. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

31. Market and marketing • Enhancing socially based economic agri-enterprises through empowering the farmers' cooperatives economical and marketing activities. • Long-term relationships, planning, technical cooperation and transparency are necessary throughout the supply chain.

32. Market and marketing • Organizing a regional project that aims to document specifications and the definition of taste and smell to those favorable for WANA consumers. • Developing a Geographic Identification system (GIS) for agri-food produced.

33. Agricultural Researchable Issues • Water Scarcity. (new) • Water Scarcity. (new) • Food Security and Poverty • Food Security and Poverty • Protection of the Environment • Protection of the Environment • Meeting the special challenges • Meeting the special challenges • policy and institutional research • policy and institutional research • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Technology, information, knowledge and innovations • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Improvement of the Declining Living Standards of Farmers • Market and marketing • Market and marketing • Energy • Energy

34. Energy • Enhance the utilization of renewable energy resources for agricultural practices to reduce the utilization of chemicals and reduce polluting practices.

35. Thank You