Research
ICARDA’s research effort for the dry areas ranges includes both basic and applied research on crops, natural resources and livestock, policy and institutional studies, technology dissemination and impact assessment. Through it all runs a focus on helping resource-poor farmers.
Three decades of collaborative research have shown that long term food security and productivity growth in dry areas can only be achieved by looking beyond specific crops and production methods to focus on improving the performance of whole agro-ecosystems.
This systems approach includes research on integrated crop-livestock-rangeland systems, more efficient use of soil and water resources, and the introduction of new crops and crop varieties into traditional farming systems to improve yield and yield stability, nutrition, incomes and livelihoods. ‘Ecosystem-based farming’ has the potential to reduce crop water needs by 30 percent and energy costs of production by up to 60 percent.
Improving national ‘infrastructure’ can have a direct impact on the lives and incomes of smallholder farmers and pastoralists. While others work on parts of this picture, ICARDA is one of the few research centers to link integrated agro-ecosystem based research on global issues such as water scarcity and climate change, to field work with farmers and communities.
Sustainable system intensification is a key part of the research portfolio, and the work with government partners and smallholder farmers – and in the new CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems. This multi-partner program, led by ICARDA, aims to better understand the nature of system-level interventions, and promote approaches that can be applied widely across the world’s dry regions.
ICARDA’s research portfolio is structured under four themes -
- Biodiversity and Integrated Gene Management
- Integrated Water and Land Management
- Diversification and Sustainable Intensification of Production Systems
- Social, Economic and Policy Research
Read more about this topic: International Center For Agricultural Research In The Dry Areas
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