The document summarizes an annual consultation meeting for a project aimed at improving water management for sustainable mountain agriculture. The goal is to promote sustainable agriculture through better water management. The project has four components: developing water harvesting guidelines, improving water management, assessing policies, and capacity building. It is active in Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco, working with local partners in each country. It focuses on developing and demonstrating improved irrigation, crop management, and diversification practices. The emphasis in 2014 is on disseminating results through expanded demonstrations, training, and publications. While progress has been made, more time is needed to fully utilize results and maximize impacts on natural resources and perennial crops.

1. Annual Consultation Meeting
IFAD/ICARDA
Project: Improved Water Management for Sustainable
Mountain Agriculture: Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco
Mohammed Karrou, IWLMP-ICARDA
Amman, October 21-22, 2014

2. Goal and Purpose
· Goal: to promote sustainable agricultural production practices, higher
incomes and improved livelihoods for rural communities in mountain
agro-ecosystems through better management of the scarce water
resources.
· Purpose: to introduce and promote adoption of optimal and
integrated water, land and crop management techniques for
sustainable increases in agricultural productivity and profitability as
well as for ceasing land degradation in mountainous areas

3. Components of the project
• Component 1: Development and validation of mountain water
harvesting assessment model and design guidelines.
• Component 2: Improved water management for sustainable
mountain agriculture
• Component 3: Assessing institutional and policy frameworks in
mountainous areas
• Component 4: Capacity building in improved water management for
mountain agriculture

4. Our partners in Jordan:
NCARE, ARMP; MOA, University in Al Karak
Location of the Erak site (basin)

5. Our partners in Lebanon:
LARI, GP, HSAD project ,MOA
Location of Merj Hine site

6. Our partners in Morocco:
INRA, PDRMO project, DRA of Fes
Boulmane, DPA of Boulmane
Location of Talzemt site

7. Project Budget, up to September 2014
Cost Category Budget
2011
Expenses
2012
Expenses
2013
Expenses
2014
Expenses
Total
Expenses
Remaining
Balance
Personnel 200,000 56,595 42,906 76,784 13,558 189,842 10,158
Operations 310,000 43,341 101,315 125,544 29,638 299,838 10,162
Equipment 130,000 - 17,556 23,082 55,704 96,342 33,658
Meeting &
Workshops
80,000 23,096 8,631 - 24,502 56,229 23,771
Training &
Dissemination
130,000 - 29,218 13,430 60,804 103,452 26,548
Indirect Costs 150,000 33,091 35,228 42,147 24,828 135,294 14,706
Total
1,000,00
0
156,123 234,854 280,986 209,034 880,997 119,003

8. Project Budget, up to September 2014
Cost Category Budget Jordan Morocco Lebanon Regional Total
Remaining
Balance
Personnel 200,000 - 28,836 7,167 153,839 189,842 10,158
Operations 310,000 99,742 64,022 117,205 18,869 299,838 10,162
Equipment 130,000 21,963 58,195 16,184 - 96,342 33,658
Meeting &
Workshops
80,000 2,030 5,660 8,825 39,714 56,229 23,771
Training &
Dissemination
130,000 32,065 14,316 6,022 51,048 103,452 26,548
Indirect Costs
150,000
10,291 9,262 10,457 105,284 135,294 14,706
Total 1,000,000 166,091 180,293 165,860 368,755 880,997 119,003

9. Component 1: Development and validation of mountain
water harvesting assessment model and design guidelines.
· Sites characterized and land suitability maps developed;
· The existing water sources (springs, earth ponds) and WH
systems analyzed and options of their rehabilitation
described;
• Semicircular bunds (Olive); Vallerani machine(Pastoral
plants); Gabion, Check dams implemented and
demonstrated to the farmers in Jordan;
• Semi-circular SC/WH structures with almond planting
demonstrated and implemented by farmers in Morocco;
• Farmer’s trained on how to enlarge and improve small
farmers’ water reservoirs for irrigation purpose in
Lebanon;

10. Component 2: Improved water management for
sustainable mountain agriculture
Irrigation management:
•On-farm trials conducted on deficit irrigation with
drip system of different crops : saving of 20 to 25 % of
irrigation water in open field and plastic greenhouse
without negative effect on yields.
Crop management:
•Improved crop management packages
demonstrated to farmers on fruit trees and
vegetables in their fields (planting density, pruning
and fruiting, Irrigation scheduling, fertilization, IPM).

11. Component 2: Improved water management for
sustainable mountain agriculture
Diversification of cropping systems:
•Borlotti beans, Broccoli, Cucumber, several Brussels’
small cabbage, blackcurrants, apple in Lebanon;
•Apple varieties and Almond in Morocco;
•Vegetable crops; atriplex, barley, Crocus corms in
Jordan.

12. Component 3: Assessing institutional and policy frameworks in
mountainous areas
•Existing policies described and analyzed: Strengths and weaknesses
identified;
•The relevance, effectiveness and farmers access to the existing
financial policy incentives in terms of cost sharing and subsidies as well
as legislative and capacity development measures being applied in
support of land and water use efficiency for sustainable mountain
agriculture have been assessed;
•The performance of the institutions involved in the implementation of
the above policies have been assessed

13. • Technicians and engineers from the IFAD development project involved in
the design and implementation of the work plan;
• The project stimulated and enhanced the synergy between the different
actors involved in the management of water and land in the Mountainous
areas
• The On-farm trials of the project are used as platforms/field schools for
IFAD development project engineers/technicians and farmers;
• On-the-job training organized for farmers and extension
engineers/technicians on improved irrigation management, WH/SWC
systems and crop management;
• 727 dunum implemented with Vallerani machine in 25 farmer’s fields ;
1,000 atriplex (Jordan);
• 14 ha (40 farmers)of almond trees planted by IFAD development project
(Morocco)
How the project is linked to/helped IFAD
development projects in targeted countries?

14. Training course on: Identification of Suitable Sites
for Hill Lakes Using Google Earth
Training Activities for GP engineers:
 Hill lakes functions and criteria for site selection
 Introduction to the use of
Google Earth and its features
 Integrating information layers such as
land use/land cover, water resources, soil,
geology, population and others to Google
earth using different data sources on
global, regional and national level.

15. Training Activities:
 Exercises on suitable sites selection, using various data sources, with Google
Earth (PCs)

16. Training Activities:
 Site visits and investigations

17. Training Activities:
 Site analysis and conclusions

18. What is the emphasis in 2014
In the last year of this phase (2014) the emphasis has been made
on the dissemination of the technologies and information:
•Doubling of the number of the on-farm demonstration trials;
•Field days;
•Training of the farmers and extension engineers and technicians;
•Development of technical guides, pamphlets, leaflets;
•Preparation of reports and publications.

19. What is next?
• Despite the effort made in developing improved technologies and in
linking the project activities with IFAD development programs in the
participating countries;
• it is obvious that there is still a need for further fine-tuning and out-scaling
the developed TIPOs of natural resources management;
• The project needs more time to fully utilize its outputs and maximize its
impacts that cannot be achieved in a short term in this kind of research
(natural resources and perennial crops);
• As the project aims at saving and better use of three main sources of
water in WANA region, the future work should aim at the development,
for each case, of models of sustainable and integrated water use at up
and downstream levels and out-scaling them in similar mountainous
areas;
• In addition to the technical aspects, the model should integrate the
policy, institutional and market issues.

20. Thank you