This document summarizes the goals, activities, and results of a project aimed at improving food security in dry areas of West Asia and North Africa. The project works to deliver innovations to increase productivity of wheat and food legume production systems. It involves 8 countries and focuses on seed systems, technology dissemination, surveys, research, and capacity building. Key achievements include establishing community seed enterprises, releasing new varieties, demonstrating technologies that increased yields by 21% on average, and training over 8,500 farmers and researchers. The project also facilitated collaboration between organizations and ideas for future work integrating livestock and expanding conservation agriculture.

2. GOAL:
Enhanced food and nutritional security, improved livelihoods of rural
communities and agricultural sector growth in the countries of West
Asia and North Africa (WANA) in the face of increasing climatic
variability and change
PURPOSE:
Deliver pro-poor scientific and technological innovations to
increase and stabilize the productivity of wheat and food
legume based production systems in the dry areas of WANA

3. 8 countries of WANA region directly involved :
(Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey)
Different components are considered
1. Seed component (seed delivery system)
2. Technology dissemination
3. Socio-economic surveys and studies
4. Backup research for technologies development and adjustement
5. Capacity Development

4. Seed Delivery Systems
1. Wheat and faba bean seed system study (policy, variety release,
seed production and market, quality assurance, seed value chain) was
conducted in Morocco and report will be discussed with stakeholders
in Open Workshop organized in the Agriculture Fair of Meknes in 2015
2. Communities based seed enterprises/groups targeting mainly food
legumes are established: 5 mobile seed cleaning and processing units
were provided to serve 5 farmers communities
Morocco (Merchouch), Tunisia (Boussalem), Sudan (Eddamer,
Hudeiba), Algeria (Constantine) and Jordan (Maru region)
3. Several varieties of food legume and wheat were recently released
by NARS. They are increased by the project for dissemination

5. Seed Delivery Systems
Clean
treated
seed
Original seed
before processing

6. Breeder and pre-basic seed increase
in 2013/14 within ICARDA-EU-IFAD Project
Crops Number of Varieties
Increased
Amount of breeder and Pre-
Basic seeds produced (T)++
Durum wheat 15 27.7
Bread wheat 14 258.9
Chickpea 19 382
Faba bean 18 73.7
Lentil 17 19.2
Total* 83 761.7
53 FL var. 475 T
475 tons of 53 varieties of faba bean, chickpea and lentil produced
with NARS partners and will be increased and distributed to
farmers for dissemination in 2014/15
* Gross production

7. On-Farm Demonstrations of Technologies Egypt
Percentage increase in grain yield between faba bean demonstration fields and
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Kafr El-
Sheikh
2012/13
Dakahlia Sharkia Nubaria Assiut Mean
Governorates
% increase in Grain Yield
farmers fields in 2012/13 and 2013/14 cropping Seasons by governorates
 2013 & 2014 data showed an average increase of around 21%
in yield of farmers applying recommended package (RP).
Adoption survey done in 2014 on 700 farmers showed that :
-Farmers applying recommended package saved 2670 EP/ha (370 USD/ha)
-24 % of surveyed farmers adopted the FB variety GIZA 843 (tolerant to orobanche)
-Net margins of farmers applying RP is 540 USD/ha higher than farmers following TP

8. 250
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Area (1000 ha)
Production (1000 T)
Yield (q/ha)
Year
The ICARDA-EU-IFAD-ICARDA project and the national campaign
by promoting the new varieties with improved package start to
show impact on faba bean production and productivity in Egypt

9. Sudan
Performance of Chickpea improved varieties with
recommended package in Sudan in 2013/14 (Gezira state)
192 %
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Grain Yield (kg/ha)
Chickpea varieties
For chickpea data of 2013 and
2014 showed that the Yield is
doubled in demonstration fields
applying improved package with
substantial increase in net
benefit
Pioneer Farmer-Shendi Neighboring Farmer Field-Shendi

10. Morocco
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Grain Yield NT
Grain Yield CT
*
Farm 1 Farm 2 Farm 3
Yield (q/ha)
Effects of Non Tillage (NT) and Conventional Tillage on grain and straw yield
(q/ha) of lentil at 3 sites in Zaer
(*) means significant difference (t-student test)

11. Participatory Variety Selection
Many programs have released varieties applying
participatory approach involving farmers mainly
in food legumes:
In 2013:
- 2 faba bean varieties (Shendi and Merowe) in Sudan
- 1 chickpea variety (Rebha) in Tunisia
In 2014:
- 4 chickpea varieties (FLIP03-59C, FLIP03-50C,
FLIP01-37C and FLIP01-6C) in Sudan
Several other wheat and food legumes lines
are selected for further testing in Tunisia,
Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan
Merowe
Shendi

12. Socio – Economic Studies
Work is in progress
• Around 1300 farmers surveyed in Morocco in 2013
• Around 700 farmers surveyed in Egypt in 2013 and 2014
• The other countries conducted a survey in the project regions in 2014
• Gender survey is conducted in Morocco in 2014

13. Capacity Development
Training activities achieved by NARS partners in 2013/14 season
Type of
training
Numbers Nb of direct
Beneficiaries
Countries
FFS 19 FFS Around 2000
direct
beneficiaries
Egy, Sud,
Tun, Leb, Mor,
Tur
In-
Country
Courses
15 in 6
countries
Around 365
participants
Egy, Sud, Alg,
Leb, Mor, Tur
Field
days
370 Around 6100
participants
Alg, Egy, Jor,
Leb, Mor, Sud,
Tun, Tur
Total Around 8500
FFS In Sudan

14. Electronic newsletter of the project
H.E. Dr. Lassad Lachaal, Tunisia’s Minister
of Agriculture, talking to farmers and
research staff and to media
Governor of Al Sharkia (Egypt) visiting one
the project farmer
President of ARC Sudan talk to media
about the project achievements

15. Linkages and Seed
Morocco: successful collaboration, links and synergy between OCPF initiative on Food
Legumes with EU-IFAD, CRP-GL and CRP-DS; 3 seed machines support seed activities
of the three projects.
Sudan: need more collaboration between ICARDA-EU-IFAD and FS. Seed processing
machine will be based in ARC Sudan (Hudeiba Research Station) and modalities of its
use would be under the leadership of the Union of Farmers.
Algeria: ITGC will provide the seed machine to a small leader farmer (Constantine)
hoping that this could drive more interest and investments from policy makers.
Tunisia: seed machine would be made available for a community of small farmers
based in Boussalem that would facilitate access to agriculture inputs and services for
the members (presently, farmers associated with the ICARDA- EU-IFAD, FS and CA
projects).
Jordan: the seed machine will be managed by an NGO in the North of Jordan near
Maru station of NCARE that would take care of servicing small farmers of the project
target area.

16. IFAD Developmental Projects
Morocco:
Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme in the Mountain Zones of Taza Province
Rural Development Project in the Eastern Middle Atlas Mountains
Tunisia:
Agropastoral Development and Local Initiatives
Integrated Agricultural Development Project in the Governorate of Siliana (Phase II)
Egypt:
Promotion of Rural Incomes through Market Enhancement Project
On-Farm Irrigation Development Project in the Oldlands
Upper Egypt Rural Development Project
West Noubaria Rural Development Project
Sudan:
Seeds Development Programme
Butana Integrated Rural Development Project
Jordan: Agricultural Resource Management Project - Phase II
Turkey: Murat River Watershed Development Project
Ardahan-Kars-Artvin Development Project
Diyarbakir, Batman and Siirt Development Project

17. Ideas for future collaboration with IFAD
• Integrate feed legumes and livestock: develop integrated innovation platforms
for small holder farms to add value (community label products) of farm products.
• Scale-out the use of faba bean small seed to feed cattle (commonly used in North
Africa to improve the quality of meat) and develop labeled products (particularly
in Sudan). (ICARDA has selected several improved lines with low level of tannins
that can improve the digestibility of FB).
• Scale-up and Scale-out the raised bed mode of sowing of faba bean initiated in
2013/14 in few demonstration fields in Egypt in EU-IFAD and CRP DS to cover more
area in Egypt and Sudan since it gave a promising results (most of faba bean
demonstration fields will be conducted under raised bed in 2014/15 within EU-IFAD
in Egypt).
• Establish new community based seed enterprises targeting mainly food and feed
legumes and providing them access to new varieties.
• Adapt legislation to favour small seed enterprise and farmer
produced and marketed seeds

18. • Disseminate the new varieties of FL mainly selected through PSV
(Sudan, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt).
• Extend CA in different countries for small holder farmers in
appropriate area by using low cost seeders through the IP
• Use new CA on-farm platforms in Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria
and Morocco created by ICARDA- EU-IFAD and other projects to
monitor the advantages of CA.
• Use new IPM options to reduce yield losses due to diseases and pest
such as seed dressing with new efficient chemicals.
• Develop, improve and disseminate the machineries adapted to
small holder farmers of food and feed legumes (raised bed planter,
pesticides sprayers, direct seeders, threshers, …)

19. THANK YOU