The eight Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) together with international development agencies, research-for-development and partner organizations from more than 40 countries launched CGIAR Research Program CRP titled "Integrated and Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems for Improved Food Security and Livelihoods in Dry Areas".
Dry areas cover 41% of the earth's land area and are home to more than one-third of its population. Drylands face serious environmental constraints, which are likely to worsen as a result of climate change. Traditional research and development approaches, focusing on a particular commodity or system component, have largely failed because of the complexity of the dryland systems. CRP1.1 will use an integrated approach, looking at the system as a whole, to promote and support innovation.
The purpose of the Regional Inception Workshop is to bring together partners working in the target areas identified for CRP 1.1 in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC). CAC is one of the five Regions globally where the CRP1.1 approach will be implemented. More specifically, the participants will review key hypotheses and research questions; discuss, validate and agree on outputs and activities for the Action Sites, and develop implementation plans. Characterization data compiled for the three Action Sites will be presented and reviewed. The Workshop will be attended by about 100 participants representing the different partner groups from all five Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan.
CRP1.1 “Dryland Systems” is the first large-scale research program to use an integrated agro-ecosystems approach to improve productivity and livelihoods in the dry areas. It aims to enhance food security for the rural poor and ensure environmental sustainability in dryland agro-ecosystems while enhancing social and gender-equitable development. CRP1.1 was developed from CGIAR Thematic Area 1: Integrated Agricultural Systems for the Poor and Vulnerable, described in the new CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework (SRF).
CRP1.1 will focus on target dryland areas/systems, identified by two criteria: (i) those with the most vulnerable populations, and often associated with severe natural resource degradation, environmental variability and social marginalization, and (ii) those with the greatest potential to impact on food security in the short to medium term.
To ensure the future livelihoods of dryland communities, it is critical to both manage risk more effectively and enhance productivity through the diversification and sustainable intensification of production systems. Past experience shows that an integrated approach would need to include better management of natural resources, improvement of agricultural crop, livestock, tree and fish production, creation of an enabling policy environment and institutional support. It is also critical to address social inequities in distribution of and control over resources, access to information, livelihood opportunities and decision-making.
The program seeks to prioritize key agricultural systems for impact, identify researchable issues within target agro-ecosystems, increase the efficiency and sustainability of natural resource use, develop more resilient agricultural systems to manage risk and production variability, promote in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity, improve the productivity and profitability of agricultural systems through sustainable intensification, diversification, value-added products and market linkages, identify niches of importance to the most vulnerable livelihoods, address constraints faced by the most marginal farmers, and develop new partnerships and models of working together. It also provides the poorest and most vulnerable sectors and individuals with the means and capabilities to contribute to innovation, benefit from these innovations and to enhance their own livelihood and that of their households.
CRP1.1 is driven by a conceptual framework in which four Strategic Research Themes (SRTs) cut across the five focus Regions. These SRTs represent the steps in the impact pathway. The outputs required to achieve each SRT have been defined. SRT2 and SRT3 focus on agro-ecosystems with different relative emphasis on increasing resilience versus increasing productivity.
During the CRP1.1 proposal development phase, it was apparent that details of implementation within each of the five Regions would need to be further developed in consultation with regional partners and stakeholders, and based on groundwork and detailed information on each target location, called “Action Sites”. It was therefore agreed to work on these details through Regional Inception Workshops in each target Region. Partners and stakeholders include: national research organizations, advanced research institutes with experience in dryland systems research, farmers’ organizations, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, water users associations, womens’ organizations, government representatives and policy makers, extension and rural advisory services, development agencies, as well as the international Centers themselves. The lead CGIAR centre for CRP 1.1 is the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dryland Areas (ICARDA).
The preparatory work and the structure of the Workshop were developed by an interim Interdisciplinary Research Team in Tashkent, composed of AVRDC – the World Vegetable Centre, Bioversity International, International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), International Potato Center (CIP), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), supported and facilitated by the CGIAR Program Facilitation Unit (PFU) and several consultants.
In Central Asia and the Caucasus, CRP 1.1 has identified three Action Sites, two largely meeting the conditions described as SRT 2 (Reducing vulnerability) and one largely meeting the conditions described as SRT 3 (Sustainable Intensification). In addition, two Satellite Sites were identified, both associated with SRT 3 type. The Sites are as follows:
| Target SRT 2 Action Site | Aral Sea Lowland: Dashoguz province in Turkmenistan, Khorezm province and Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic in Uzbekistan, part of Kyzylorda province in Kazakhstan |
| Target SRT 2 Action Site | Rasht Valley: Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan |
| Target SRT 3 Action Site | Fergana Valley including Batken, Jalalabad, Osh provinces in Kyrgyzstan, Sogd in Tajikistan, Andijan, Namangan and Fergana provinces in Uzbekistan |
| Target SRT 3 Satellite Site | Kura-Araks Lowland in Azerbaijan |
| Target SRT 3 Satellite Site | Kashkadarya province in Uzbekistan |
The Sites and the criteria originally used for identifying them are listed in the Tables below. The Sites were initially selected during a CRP1.1 global consultation in Nairobi, in July 2011. The preparatory groundwork for the Regional Inception Workshop included a detailed characterization of each Action Site according to a common set of bio-physical and socio-economic indicators. A set of research hypotheses and proposed Outputs and Activities were also developed. These documents will be shared with the participants and will provide the basis for Workshop discussion.
12-14 June 2012, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Outputs (leading to these outcomes):
Program of the Regional Inception Workshop for CAC
Research Hypotheses
Outputs and Activities - last consolidated version, July 2012
CRP 1.1 Site Characterization Data
List of Participants
Press Release
Introductory Presentations
CRP 1.1 Document
Published Articles on the Web
21-23 August 2013, Fergana, Uzbekistan
Participants list of the Meeting
The Program of the Meeting
Intermediate Development Outcomes (IDO) titles
IDO wise activities outcomes
Activity outputs grouped by IDOs
Research Activities to be implemented in 2013-2014 within DS CRP for Central Asia
Finalizing Logframe [Session 3]
Logframe for Central Asia