Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The 53rd meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) kicked off in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on November 30.

The meeting, which will last by December 4, brings together nearly 70 representatives from 30 countries.

Addressing the event, BoT chairman Camilla Toulmin said 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 said.

Mahmoud Solh, Director General of ICARDA, informed the guests about the activity of organization, its projects and programs, as well as cooperation with the Central Asia and Caucasus countries.

In his remarks Azerbaijan's deputy Agriculture Minister Ilham Guliyev said ICARDA's activity acquires global importance due to climate change, which affects increasingly the agricultural sector.

He said 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.

ICARDA is the global agricultural research center working with countries in the world's dry areas.

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 there were zoned 10 varieties of crops, proposed by the center, four of which have passed the state selection committee, as well as 86 varieties of vegetables (one grade has accepted so far).