Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 29
By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend:
The agreement signed between Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in August this year, envisages cooperation in developing and introducing innovative technologies and approaches in crop diversification, integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems, seed production and ‘farmer-to-farmer’ seed delivery programs, ICBA representative told Trend in an interview.
“Under the agreement, the parties will also work on salinity management and improvement of land and water productivity,” the official added.
Moreover, the ICBA representative added, joint activities will focus on research on climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, environmental sustainability through evaluation of ecosystem services and resilience of agroecosystems of Uzbekistan.
“ICBA will assist in elaborate policies and strategies on developing value chains for cash and food crops, including post-harvesting, food processing and marketing to ensure better livelihoods, food security and nutrition in rural areas,” the official said.
The representative stated that International Center for Biosaline Agriculture will also support the capacity building of national agricultural research institutions in Uzbekistan through knowledge sharing, training programs, seminars, conferences and collaborative research.
ICBA is an international, non-profit agricultural research center established in 1999. Through its work, ICBA helps to improve food security and livelihoods for some of the poorest rural communities around the world.
Headquartered in Dubai, ICBA is a unique applied agricultural research center with a focus on marginal areas where an estimated 1.7 billion people live. It identifies, tests and introduces resource-efficient, climate-smart crops and technologies that are best suited to different regions affected by salinity, water scarcity and drought.
The center has so far implemented programs in over 30 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus.
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