Once the cradle of agriculture, the Near East and North Africa Region is now food deficit and
for many years, it has been the largest net food importer among developing countries. As more
than 60% of the population of the region live in the rural areas and depend on agriculture for
their livelihood, the decreasing agricultural production is therefore not only affecting food
security in general but also hampering poverty alleviation efforts.
Ever increasing demographic pressures is threatening the natural resources in the Region

This document was discussed and adopted, as amended, by
AARINENA¿s Seventh General Conference held in Beirut,
Lebanon from 22 to 23 March 2000

This document was discussed and adopted, as amended, by
AARINENA¿s Seventh General Conference held in Beirut,
Lebanon from 22 to 23 March 2000

Proposal for the Establishment of a
Regional Network for Date-Palm in the Near East
And North Africa

The Inter-regional Cotton Workshop was jointly organized by the Agricultural, Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) of Iran, ICARDA, AARINENA, GFAR and CAC-forum to encourage research partnerships among NARS of Central and West Asia and the Caucasus in cotton research areas of common interest. Cotton has been an important industrial and commercial crop of countries of this region. However, the recent developments at global level in recent years, have directly or indirectly affected cotton production.

CARDN was started in 1991 but operations began only after signing the contract with the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) as the executing agency in 1996. IFAD has supported the project with US$ 1.5 m. ACSAD has secured co-finance from the Islamic Development Bank (US$ 1.0 m for equipment) and from the French government (US$ 50,000). The network operates through national co-ordinators in 12 member countries.

The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) is an undertaking by all the
stakeholders of agricultural research for development aimed at promoting cost-effective partnerships
and strategic alliances among the key players involved in this area of research. One of the premises
of GFAR is the conviction that knowledge generation and utilization is increasingly based on
transnational research systems and networks in the globalized world of today. The mission of the