Regular meeting of Board of Trustees of International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas starts in Baku
Baku, December 2 (AZERTAC). The 53rd meeting of the Board of Trustees of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) ha s opened in Baku. The meeting brings together nearly 70 representatives from 30 countries.
At its opening remarks, BoT chairman Camilla Toulmin stated that ICARDA conducts the meeting in Baku for the first time.
"This is a reflection of the importance of our cooperation with the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, and at the same time a reflection of their willingness to communicate with us," she added.
Mahmoud Solh, Director General of ICARDA, spoke of the activity of Organization, its projects and programs, as well as cooperation with the Central Asia and Caucasus countries.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Ilham Guliyev of Azerbaijan pointed out that ICARDA’s activity acquires global importance due to climate change, which affects increasingly the agricultural sector, and on the other hand, Azerbaijan is ready to expand cooperation with the Center for the optimization of agricultural activities in the country.
"We see great opportunities for enhanced collaboration with ICARDA, as new plant varieties and new farming technologies proposed by the Center, coupled with increased reclamation can increase by 2 or 3 times agricultural productivity in the country," Guliyev said.
Azerbaijan has been an ICARDA member since 1995 and within the framework of this cooperation has created a national gene bank with about 7,000 plant specimens. During this period it was zoned 10 varieties of crops, proposed by the Center, 4 of which have passed the state selection committee, as well as 86 varieties of vegetables (one grade has accepted so far).
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