An estimated 25,000 hectares of Iraqi farmland are abandoned every year because of elevated salt levels from a combination of poor drainage system and salt-laden irrigation water, particularly in the Tigris-Euphrates basin in central and southern Iraq – the country’s traditional breadbasket. The ‘roadmap’ to implement evidence-based salinity reduction and management is no doubt...

The Iraqi government and United Nations agencies have earmarked $2.5 million this month to boost literacy and train women and girls in rural provinces to work in agriculture.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is closely monitoring the impact of the Syria crisis on food security, nutrition, agriculture and livelihoods in Syria and neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Assessments carried out across the affected subregion indicate that threats to food security and...

The objective of the study was to investigate how smallholder farm communities could sustain economically viable agricultural production in the salt-affected areas of Al-Musayyeb in ‘Central Iraq’. It aims at opening a new dimension to farmers and policy makers on how to increase production in soil-affected areas by determining the...

Climate change assessments are based on predictions, or - more accurately - projections of future conditions of temperature and precipitation in a given area. These projections are generated by very complex models, Global Circulation Models (or GCMs). There are three major hurdles in interpreting correctly the results from these models:...

The Iraq Salinity Project is a partnership between the Iraqi Government and a group of international research centers, lead by ICARDA, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.  The research aims to better understand and provide options for reducing the negative effects of salinity on Iraqi agriculture....

The HSAD-Iraq program is a collaborative effort between the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and ICARDA. Special thanks for continued support and guidance to Dr. Mahdi El Kaisey (Technical Deputy Minister of Agriculture), Dr. Faisal Rasheed (Advisor to...

The humanitarian situation in Syria is of grave concern, with domestic, regional and growing international consequences. As the conflict enters its fourth year, insecurity, generalized violence and specific persecution continue to force the people of Syria to seek safety and protection elsewhere, both inside the country and in the neighbouring...

Approximately 2,000 participants received training under the project for Harmonized Support for Agriculture Development (HSAD). The project is a research for development initiative that aims to improve the competitiveness of selected Iraqi agricultural/ agribusiness value chains and raise incomes. Trainings reflected the main objects of the HSAD project: improving extension,...

This report is the second in a series of three publications that comprises an overview of the Iraq Salinity Assessment. This report documents solutions and impacts identified in the first report in this series. The third report in the Assessment proposes investment options and methods to analyze the investment options...

This working paper summarizes the findings of the socioeconomic component of the research project Improved livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Iraq through integrated pest management and use of organic fertilizer, that was managed by ICARDA and funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ministry of Agriculture...

This working paper summarizes the findings of the socioeconomic component of the research project Improved livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Iraq through integrated pest management and use of organic fertilizer, that was managed by ICARDA and funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ministry of Agriculture...

The objective of the study was to investigate how farmers could sustain an economically viable agricultural production on salt affected areas of Al-Musayyeb area in Central Iraq. It aims to assess the impacts of salinity on crop productivity, resource use and profitability under different soil salinity levels. Earlier research could...

This issue of Caravan presents some successes of the collaboration of scientists and other stakeholders from ICARDA and national partners, where participatory research with local communities and women’s groups in particular, has reaped a range of benefits through an integrated systems approach. These examples demonstrate a path forward for sustainably...

The project leader for the third phase of the project joined ICARDA in July 2012, and a project instigation meeting was conducted in Amman where the previous progress was reviewed, objectives discussed, and a comprehensive work plan developed. In the autumn of 2012, 29 zero-tillage (ZT) demonstrations were established in...

This report presents examples, approaches and evidence on conservation agriculture and its potential for use in low-income countries. It is designed to help policy makers and development partners appreciate the issues and evaluate how conservation agriculture can contribute to rural development and food security goals, paving the way for its...

This technical report series captures and documents the work in progress of the Iraq Salinity Project, in its seven research themes, working at the regional, farm and irrigation system scales. Technical reports feed into the Iraq Salinity Assessment, a synthesis and solutions to solving the problem: Situation Analysis (Report 1);...

This technical report series captures and documents the work in progress of the Iraq Salinity Project, in its seven research themes, working at the regional, farm and irrigation system scales. Technical reports feed into the Iraq Salinity Assessment, a synthesis and solutions to solving the problem: Situation Analysis (Report 1);...

The RECOFI Workshop on Social and Economic Aspects of Fisheries in the RECOFI region was held in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain from 22 to 24 April 2012, following the agreement at the sixth session of the Regional Commission for Fisheries held in Rome from 10 to 12 May 2011. The...

This final report synthesizes the results of the Iraq Salinity Project, a research partnership between five Iraqi ministries and national agencies and an international team of researchers, led by ICARDA, specializing in land and water management, crop improvement and plant breeding, geoinformatics, and socioeconomics. This research builds on previous work...