From Board Chair Michel Afram and ICARDA Director General Mr Aly Abousabaa
In the region where we work, rising temperatures and growing water scarcity already pose an existential threat to agroecosystems and the livelihoods of farming communities. So although we will factor new and unprecedented shocks into our future work, in 2021 we stayed firmly on track with our demand-driven research obligations.
If dryland farmers are to keep pace with the impact of rapid climate change on their ability to produce, they must be prepared to integrate game-changing technologies into their approaches. But how to locate and harness relevant innovation, and then help farmers adopt it? The ICARDA-led Integrated Desert Farming Innovation Platform offers a means for countries to collaborate on sourcing, testing, and delivering evidence-based innovation for sustainable and climate-resilient agri-food systems.
Social media and news are essential tools for global communication in the research-for-development field. Through social media interaction and press coverage of our projects and publications, ICARDA’s influence and impact grew in 2021.