Eco-Regional Research Program for Sustainable Agricultural
Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus

11th Program Steering Committee Meeting

21-23 JUNE 2008
ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN

PROCEEDINGS

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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Contents!

Message from the Head, PFU..........................................................................................................1
Proceedings of the Meeting.............................................................................................................2
INAUGURAL SESSION.................................................................................................................2
ADOPTION OF AGENDA AND PRESENTATION OF CCER REPORT............................................2
PFU PROGRESS REPORT 2007-2008.........................................................................................6
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING...........................................................................................7
PLENARY SESSION......................................................................................................................8
Appendices......................................................................................................................................9
Appendix 1: Participants of the Meeting.....................................................................................9
Appendix 2: Program of the Meeting........................................................................................13
Appendix 3: Consortium-Commissioned External Review (CCER) - Summary and
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................15
Appendix 4: Terms of Reference for the Program Facilitation Unit.........................................21
Appendix 5: The “Astana Declaration”.....................................................................................23

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
1
Message!from!the!Head,!PFU!

In 2008, the Program for Collaborative Research in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC Program) is
looking back on 10 years of its existence. It has grown and has made encouraging progress since its
inception. This was the reason why an external review of the Program had been commissioned by the CAC
Program at its 10th Steering Committee Meeting in 2007 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This “Consortium-
Commissioned External Review” (CCER) was successfully carried out in the first half of 2008. Three
eminent scientists, Prof. Elias Fereres (University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain), Dr. Gurdev Khush
(University of California, Davis, USA) and Dr. Mohammad Roozitalab (Agricultural Research, Extension
and Education Organization, Tehran, Iran) carried out the review.
The CCER report was the major agenda item at this year’s Steering Committee Meeting in Astana,
Kazakhstan. As the CCER report was partly based on a hearing carried out on 28-30 April, 2008 in
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at which comprehensive center and country presentations had been made, there was
a general feeling that repeating these presentations at the SCM would be superfluous, especially
considering that these country- and center-wise reports had been well reflected in the CCER report.
Therefore, it was decided to focus on the CCER report and its recommendations, by organizing the meeting
around break-out working groups that discussed in detail several of the most important recommendations of
the CCER, and how to move forward with regard to their implementation.
The 11th Steering Committee Meeting of the Program was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 21-23 June,
2008. The meeting was attended by approximately 50 scientists from seven CAC countries (Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and eight CG centers (Bioversity
International, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), International Potato Center
(CIP), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Water
Management Institute (IWMI)), two other International Centers (AVRDC - the World Vegetable Center,
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA)), and from Michigan State University (MSU). A
representative of the World Bank office in Astana, Kazakhstan, was also present at the meeting.
Our most sincere thanks go to the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, “KazAgroInnovatsiya”, Astana’s
Seifullin Agrotechnical University, and of the “Asyl Tulik” Joint-Stock Company for their immense
assistance in the professional organization of the meeting.
Thanks are also due to all meeting participants for their enthusiasm to make this program successful. We
are looking forward to intensified collaboration during the next decade, aiming at the sustainability of
agriculture and the improvement of living standards of the rural poor in this highly important region.
Christopher Martius
Head,
Program Facilitation Unit (PFU)
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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Proceedings!of!the!Meeting!
INAUGURAL!SESSION!
The 11th Steering Committee Meeting of the Program was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 21-
23 June, 2008. The meeting was attended by approximately 50 scientists from seven CAC
countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) and
eight CG centers (Bioversity International, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT), International Potato Center (CIP), International Center for Agricultural Research in
the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Water Management Institute (IWMI)), two other
International Centers (AVRDC - the World Vegetable Center, International Center for Biosaline
Agriculture (ICBA)), and from Michigan State University (MSU). A representative of the World
Bank Astana was also present at the meeting. The list of the participants is given as Appendix 1.
Dr. Colin Chartres, DG, IWMI, the in-coming Chair of the Consortium, and Dr. Akylbek
Kurishbaev, Minister of Agriculture, Kazakhstan opened the meeting. Dr. Mahmoud Solh,
Chairman, AE Task Force for CAC and DG, ICARDA delivered a Special Address. Dr. Chartres
mentioned the immense benefit which the international collaboration can bring to all countries of
this region. In his inaugural address, Dr. Kurishbaev was highly appreciative of the efforts of the
CG Centers and the donor communities for their serious efforts in resolving the complex natural
resource management (NRM) issues and developing technologies that now are beginning to bear
their fruits in Kazakhstan. He also thanked Dr. Solh and ICARDA for taking upon them the
leadership role and bringing together several key Centers to help national scientists to develop a
viable action program to deal with serious NRM problems.
In his speech, Dr. Solh highlighted the achievements of the Program and remarked that national
partners have made tremendous efforts in the last decade to overcome the effects of transition. He
also indicated that Central Asian countries are at the crossroads between the past and the future,
and that national governments must make additional investments in agricultural “research for
development” so that the joint ingenuity of researchers and farmers generates innovations that
help the land users mitigate and adapt to the consequences of desertification and global warming.
Dr. Solh emphasized that the PFU unites the consortium partners, and plays the role of a catalyst
and integrator.1
!
ADOPTION!OF!AGENDA!AND!PRESENTATION!OF!CCER!REPORT!
The Session was opened by Dr. Solh, who co-chaired the session with Prof. Abdushukur
Khanazarov. The agenda of this Steering Committee meeting was unanimously accepted by the
participants (cf. Appendix 2).

1
One day before, on 21st June 2008, Dr. Mahmoud Solh, DG of ICARDA, delivered a Special Lecture at
Agrotechnical University of Kazakhstan on "The Role of ICARDA in Central Asia and the Caucasus",
which was a comprehensive account of the achievements of the CG Centers and of the PFU in Central Asia
and the Caucasus. The presentation can be found under
http://www.icarda.org/cac/files/rol_of_icarda_in_cac.pdf.

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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Then, Dr. Solh invited Dr. E. Fereres to present the report of the Consortium-Commissioned
External Review (CCER). The other members of the CCER Panel were Dr. G.S. Khush, and Dr.
M. H. Roozitalab. Mr. J. Fitzsimon, Director of the CGIAR Internal Auditing Unit, and Dr. R.
Paroda, former Head of the PFU and ADG (IC), ICARDA also provided their inputs in
finalization of the report. The full report had been circulated to all the participants in English and
Russian language in advance. It will soon be made available at http://www.icarda.org/cac/CCER.
The executive summary, which contains the 33 recommendations made in the report, is included
here as Appendix 3. The Panel prepared seven general and 26 specific recommendations, the
latter under seven thematic areas, including aspects related to the management and role of the
PFU, the NARS, and the International Centers, in improving agricultural science quality.
The Chair of the CCER, Dr. E. Fereres, summarized the Panel’s findings by stating that “the
Panel found the CAC Program to be productive and highly important for the CAC region. It
needs to be continued and sustained by the CGIAR. The Program should be re-adjusted for future
challenges”. The Panel stated that the CAC-Program represents an important contribution to
agricultural research and development in the region at a historically critical moment. It
highlighted the foresight with which ICARDA undertook a leadership role in the development
and coordination of the Program.
The Panel highlighted the need for the CAC Program to capitalize on its achievements in order to
promote conservation agriculture as a strategic platform for integrated efforts on poverty
alleviation, and to concentrate the work on different agricultural systems in a few focal areas in
the partner countries, while disseminating the results among all members. It pointed to the need
for training and educating a new young generation of scientists in all the CAC countries.
It was also highlighted that the Head of the PFU should have the mandate to lead the coordination
and integration of the work of the Consortium members in the CAC region. The CCER Panel at
the same time expressed some concern over the financial sustainability of the Program and of the
PFU (which is currently funded through the mechanism of the System-Wide Ecoregional
Programs (SWEP) of the CGIAR). It encouraged larger support to the Program from the CAC
countries, and by the international donor community. Responses of the Consortium to each of the
CCER recommendations were discussed in-depth and will be formally prepared by the
Consortium under coordination by PFU.
In order to initiate follow-up on the CCER recommendations, the Steering Committee decided to
form four ad-hoc working groups during the meeting. The working groups were:
! WG 1 – Priorities for the CAC Program (Dr. Maarten van Ginkel and Acad. Shota
Chalaganidze);
! WG 2 – Reforms and program expectations (Acad. Djamin Akimaliev and Dr. Herath
Manthrithilake);
! WG 3 – Linking Seed Production and Breeding systems (Acad. Hukmatullo Akhmadov
and Dr. Hans Braun);
! WG 4 – Water and Land Management (Prof. Abdushukur Khanazarov and Dr. Colin
Chartres); and
! WG 5 – Training and capacity building (Dr. Levon Minosyan and Dr. Charles Crissman)
WG 1 – Priorities. The first work group set out to identify commonalities in the priorities
identified earlier for the region by CACAARI (RNA Meeting 2007) held in Tashkent in March
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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20072 and those listed in the CCER report (2008). It identified coinciding priorities as well as
those identified only in either one of the reports. The outputs of the Working Groups have been
summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: Priorities identified for the CAC Region in the CACAARI workshop 2007, and the CCER
report 2008 – commonalities, and differences
Topics/
Theme
Area
Priorities coinciding across CCER and
CACAARI Priorities in CCER, and not or
less so in CACAARI Priorities in CACAARI, and
not or less so in CCER
Comparisons
between
Recom-
mendations
! Collection, conservation, exchange &
evaluation of genetic resources
! Strengthening of breeding (e.g.
training; molecular markers)
! Breeding for disease resistance (e.g
wheat & Ug99)
! Conservation agriculture (e.g. crop
residues; breeding adapted varieties)
! Rotating with alternative crops,
environmental quality and pesticide
use
! Soil fertility: role of legumes
! Irrigation management (e.g. crop
choice; irrigation scheduling;
supplementary irrigation)
! Crop/variety diversification in saline
regions
! Crop diversification (e.g. F&V, wool)
! Animal genetic resources (with ILRI)
! Publishing research in refereed
journals
! Testing varieties released by
neighbors
! Seed systems (e.g. seed
production; national seed
boards; regional seed
association)
! Livestock and markets
! Policy research
! Management of rangelands /
feed / livestock
! Land management in
mountainous and hill agro-
ecoregions
! Rehabilitation of irrigated
systems
! Improved linkages between
biotechnology and genetic
resources
! Genetic resources
management: regional
strategy for biotech tool use
! Exchange of genetic
resources: regional
standardization & training
! Water and wind erosion
! Rangeland management
! Environmental quality
concerns (e.g. drainage &
waste water use; carbon
sequestration)

Capacity
building ! Investing more in research
! Training workshops
! Reform extension service
! Strengthen links through
CACAARI
! Strengthen links with advanced
research institutes in region
! Short technical courses
! Strengthen PFU

Socio-
economic
Research
! Marketing and policy research ! livelihoods and poverty
analysis and gender research
! adoption and impact
assessment
! land tenure and local
institutions
! competitiveness and trade

The CCER report was discussed and then unanimously adopted by the Steering Committee. This
includes also the new Terms of Reference for the PFU (Appendix 4). The report and the
Consortium’s response will be submitted by the PFU to the Science Council of the CGIAR and to
all DGs of the CG system.

2
R. Paroda, S. Beniwal, R. Gupta, Z. Khalikulov and A. Mirzabaev (Editors). 2007. From Issues to
Actions: Final Report of the Expert Consultation a Regional Research Needs Assessment in Central Asia
and the Caucasus, 7-9 March 2007. GFAR, CACAARI, ICARDA- CAC, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.14 p.

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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WG 2 – Reforms. This WG discussed expectations towards the program from the side of the
NARS as well as the participating centers. Most recommendations endorsed those from the
CCER document. The Program’s visibility with NARS and donors in the regions should be
heightened. A general call was issued for more funding to the CAC region, and a specific call
upon the PFU donors to continue or even increase financial support on a larger scale. CAC
country governments were also recommended to allocate not less than 1 % of GDP to agricultural
research. The CACAARI network (Central Asia and Caucasus Association of Agricultural
Research Institutions) urgently needs to be re-activated and restructured with better financing and
priority setting (the annual CACAARI member meeting will take place in September 2008).
The work group concluded with the proposition that PFU initiate the joint development of a
position paper on common issues, strategies, priorities and pathways for food security in the
region.
WG 3 – Linking Seed Production and Breeding Systems. This Work Group observed that the
CCER has recommended that (1) varieties released in one country should be evaluated in other
countries of the region (especially those adhering to the International Union for the Protection of
New Varieties of Plants (UPOV); cf. below); (2) the often unbalanced competition between
private and state seed sector needs to be removed; (3) seed boards and national seed industry
associations need to be set up; and that (4) regional seed associations for seed law harmonization,
developing regulatory framework and policies as well as common methodology for variety testing
and evaluation need to be set up.
The group was in agreement with the CCER recommendation that there is an urgent need to
harmonize seed regulations in the CAC countries. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan are
members of UPOV - Georgia and Kazakhstan plan to join. Regulatory frameworks exist, but their
implementation leaves room for improvement. The group recommended that IFPRI should take
the lead to organize a high level workshop on seed sector regulations.
The Working Group also evaluated the potential of farmer-based seed systems and observed that
varieties released through the official systems often do not reach the farmers; that the seed sector
in the CAC is highly heterogeneous, and that no single system may suit all crops or all countries.
Where official seed systems are inefficient, it may be advantageous to develop farmer-based seed
systems suited for each crop and country, in which varieties are more efficiently spread through
participatory variety selection (PVS) and mother-baby trials. However, PVS-identified varieties
may not be accepted for release by the official sector. Also, quality control in farmer-based
systems remains problematic.
The group was of the opinion that the PFU and the concerned crop centers and Bioversity
International should step up their efforts for advocacy of regulating the seed sector through (1)
establishing a formal seed sector for longer-term sustainability, and (2) developing seed delivery
systems based on best fit on a crop and country basis, mostly still through the informal seed
sector, to achieve the urgently needed short term impact.
WG 4 – Water and Land Management. This group emphasized that water related issues
should be looked at from a river basin water management level to resolve issues of water
allocation in integration with policies and the regulation of on-farm water management to reduce
further land degradation. The group strongly advocated additional research on soil erosion
(irrigation- and wind-induced) in mountainous areas.

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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The work group agreed that the Research Prospectus, a framework program for sustainable land
management research (SLMR) developed earlier by ICARDA, outlines the bio-geophysical
setting of Central Asia, identifies the problems and drivers of dryland degradation, discusses the
SLMR priorities and outlines the opportunities and approaches to enhancing the productivity and
sustainability of the production systems in the specific agro-ecologies of the region. The group
agreed to the suggestion that natural resource management research should be conducted in a
watershed approach, using conservation agriculture as a common basis for all efforts to fight land
degradation effectively. An integrated crop/tree/livestock approach will enhance productivity of
the major production systems commonly practiced in the area, i.e., (a) irrigated, (b) rainfed, (c)
mountain areas, and (d) rangeland and pasture systems.
The group made detailed and specific suggestions to the formation of four work groups on these
four agro-ecological areas, around which concept notes for donors will be developed. For each
area, one CGIAR or associated International Research Center was given the role of coordinator.
This will be taken up in the response to the CCER report.
WG 5 – Training and capacity building. The group specifically discussed the CCER’s
recommendations on Capacity Building (Appendix 3, points 26-32). Strengthening the science
capacity in the region is a crucial component to implementing the consortium agenda. The PFU
should coordinate the preparation of a position statement for capacity strengthening by the
consortium, and guidelines for capacity strengthening in research proposals prepared and
presented by consortium members, by October 2008. These guidelines should include:
1. Every funding proposal should strive to include funded studentships or post doctoral
positions.
2. Every funding proposal should strive to embed the trained scientists in the proposal so
that they return to the region after training.
3. Numerous universities are eager to collaborate with the consortium, supplying students
and faculty supervisors for those students.
4. The PFU should facilitate the compilation of a list of regional universities and
collaborating professors to ease the identification of students and their support for
consortium members.
5. Where possible, the consortium scientists could contribute to university courses on topics
as seen appropriate.
PFU!PROGRESS!REPORT!2007"2008!
Dr. Christopher Martius, Head, PFU, presented the PFU Annual Report in a session chaired by
Acad. Shota Chalaganidze and Dr. Dyno Keatinge. He gave an overview of highlights from the
ongoing projects according to research topic. The full report can be found under
http://www.icarda.org/cac/files/astana/PFU_ANNUAL_REPORT.pdf. In his presentation Dr.
Martius emphasized that the CAC region has a very high potential that tends to be overlooked,
because degraded landscapes are often perceived as naturally poor. He presented a vision for
PFU, and provided information on issues such as on (i) opening up partnerships & networking,
(ii) capacity building, (iii) information dissemination, (iv) resource mobilization and (v)
challenges ahead (e.g. climate change- raising temperatures and its implications on agriculture in
CAC; continuing land degradation; increasing pest virulence (e.g. Sunn pest; wheat stem rust
(Ug99)) that contribute to poverty and reduce food security.
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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The Annual Report of PFU was discussed and accepted by the Steering Committee (SC) with the
remarks that concerted efforts should be made by all the participating members to (a) streamline
and integrate their programs on conservation agriculture platforms, (b) develop multi-
disciplinary, multi-institutional programs to address complex issues, (c) increase the role of the
program in policy advocacy. The SC also stressed that members should renew their efforts in
fundraising so that new programs could be taken up to meet the emerging situations. It was also
suggested that national programs should also should request their respective governments to raise
contributions to “research for development” in respective countries.
EXECUTIVE!COMMITTEE!MEETING!!

In this session co-chaired by Dr. Mahmoud Solh and Dr. Toleutay Rakhimbekov, Dr. Christopher
Martius, the Head PFU reported on the on-going projects and several projects in the pipeline.
Projects in the pipeline were endorsed by the Executive Committee and Head PFU was
encouraged to look for funding for these projects together with the respective partners which
developed them. The Executive Committee congratulated the leaders of projects which had been
successfully completed during the year.
Head PFU provided3 budget information for 2008 for the PFU; the estimated budget for 2008 was
384,000 USD, but after re-assessing it by the end of May, when the expenditures had amounted to
194,842 USD, and the balance was 189,158 USD, a slightly lower spending of 179,453 USD (or
374,295 USD for the whole year) is now expected. Nevertheless, this is 29.301 USD more than
the available funds of 344,944 USD, which include the grant to PFU under the SWEP
(Systemwide Ecoregional Program) mechanism and the membership fees received from AVRDC,
ICBA and MSU. PFU expects to cover this difference through cost recovery from services
delivered to projects.
IRRI has informed the Head, PFU, of the wish to withdraw from the CAC Consortium, given the
fact that their contribution – mainly germplasm supply to the CAC region - would be better
served through the participation of the Temperate Rice Research Consortium (TRRC) in the
consortium. The ExCo is asking the Head, PFU, to respond positively to the withdrawal, while
pointing at the needs for the TRRC to provide membership fees, if PFU is asked to provide
services to the TRRC.
The Executive Committee supports the Government of Kazakhstan’s desire to become a member
in the CGIAR, and encourages all other countries of the CAC region to also become members. It
was decided to reflect this support in a declaration, which was developed in the course of the
Steering Committee Meeting and ratified unanimously on the last day (“Astana Declaration”; cf.
Appendix 5).
The CCER report was received very positively. Full endorsement of the CCER report by the
SCM Plenary on the first day of the meeting was highlighted. This includes the new TORs for the
PFU, which attribute to PFU the role “to coordinate and integrate the program”.
! Head PFU will develop a draft of consortium response to the CCER recommendations, in
consultation with the partners, until 20 July. After that, comments will be collected during
the first two weeks after the meeting. Head PFU will also prepare a letter to the SC and
all Center’s DG’s, informing them about the report.

3
Via e-mail after the meeting, on July 1, 2008. Approval from all ExCo members was received by July 10, 2008.
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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! Head PFU will coordinate efforts to prepare an implementation strategy for the
recommendations of the CCER and
! Report on the implementation at the next SCM.
Head, PFU, will coordinate the preparation of a plan containing scenarios for the financial
sustainability of the PFU after 2008, containing at least three alternative scenarios for funding, for
next ExCo meeting in 2009.
As the next venue should be in the Caucasus region (rotational principle), Tbilisi, Georgia, was
elected as the venue for the 12th SCM Meeting in 2009.
Acad. Shota Chalaganidze (President, Georgian Academy of Ag. Sciences) and Dr. Colin
Chartres (DG, IWMI) were elected as new co-chairs of the Steering Committee during the period
of 2008-2009.
In regard to ExCo’s composition, it was decided that future ExCo’s will consist of the two
Chairpersons, one Head of Delegation from each of the NARS and centers, representative(s) of
the Donor(s), and Head, PFU, as ex-officio secretary.
PLENARY!SESSION
This session, co-chaired by Dr. Dyno Keatinge and Dr. Mahmoud Solh, was opened with the
brief reports from the workgroups, which were followed by a discussion. The discussion notes are
given above, under the respective sessions. A report of the chairman of the Executive Committee
(Dr. Solh) followed (see Executive Committee Results Report above). The Astana Declaration
(Appendix 5) was discussed and finalized. The 11th Steering Committee Meeting was closed with
complementary remarks from the NARS and delegation heads.
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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Appendices!
Appendix!1!Participants!of!the!Meeting!

# NAME POSITION ORGANIZATION ADDRESS Tel/Fax/Email
I. Participants National Programs Consortium Partners
1 Dr. Mohtasim
Akhmedov Deputy Director
"ELITE" Scientific
Production Center,
RI Crop Husbandry
Sovkhoz 2, 370098
Baku Azerbaijan Tel: +99412 4974931
yguliyev@agroagency.gov.az
Tel: 37410 524641, 524834
2 Dr. Levon Minosyan
Head of
sciences,
education and
consultancy
department
Ministry of
Agriculture and
Nature Use, Armenia
Government
Building 3, Republic
Square, Yerevan,
375010, Armenia
Fax: 37410 523793
E-mail: frdmoa@agrounit.am
3 Acad. Shota
Chalaganidze President
Academy of
Agricultural
Sciences, Georgia
13 km.,
Agmashenebeli ave,
Tbilisi, 0131,
Georgia
Tel.: +99532 595694
Fax: +99532 522997 E-mail:
guram_aleksidze@yahoo.com
4 Prof. Akylbek
Kurishbaev Minister
Ministry of
Agriculture,
Kazakhstan
49, Abay Avenue,
473000, Astana,
Kazakhstan
Tel.: +3172 323763
Fax: +7172 324541
E-mail: nauka@minagri.kz
E-mail: nauka@mail.kz
5 Acad. Djamin
Akymaliev Director
General
Kyrgyz Research
Institute of Crop
Husbandry,
Kyrgyzstan
73/1, Timur Frunze
Str., Bishkek,
720027, Kyrgyz
Republic
Tel: +996 312 647154
Fax: +996 312 647907
Tel: +996517 229103 (mob)
E-mail: krif@mail.kg
6 Acad. Hukmatullo
Akhmadov President
Tajik Academy of
Agricultural
Sciences
44, Rudaki ave.,
734025 Dushanbe,
Tajikistan
Tel: +992 372 217004
Fax: +992372 215794/510037
E-mail: ahmadov@yandex.ru
7 Prof. Abdushukur
Khanazarov
Deputy Minister
of Agriculture,
DG of UZSPCA
Uzbek Scientific
Production Center
for Agriculture
1, Usman Yusupov
Str. Tashkent,
Uzbekistan
Tel.: +998 71 2449152,
Fax: +998 71 1394993
E-mail: uzspca@tkt.uz

II. CGIAR and other Organizations Consortium Partners

8 Dr. Dyno Keatinge Director
General AVRDC-the World
Vegetable Center
P.O. Box 42,
Shanhua, Tainan
74199, Taiwan
Tel: +886 6 583 7801
+886-6-5835418 (direct)
E-mail:
dyno.keatinge@worldveg.org
9 Dr. Ravza Mavlyanova Regional
Representative AVRDC-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000
Tel: 99871 237-16-49
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail:
r.mavlyanova@cgiar.org
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10
10 Dr. George Ayad Regional
Director
Bioversity
International -
CWANA Regional
Office
P.O. Box 5466, Tel
Hadya, Aleppo,
Syria
Tel: +963 21 2231412
Fax: +963 21 2273681
E-mail: g.ayad@cgiar.org
11 Mr. Azam Kabirov Office
Coordinator Bioversity
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-21-71
Fax: 99871 120-71-20
E-mail: a.kabirov@cgiar.org
12 Dr. Hans Braun GWP-Director CIMMYT Apdo.Postal 6-641,
06600, Mexico, D.F.,
Mexico
Tel: +52(55)5804 2004
Fax:+52(55)5804 7558
E-mail: h.j.braun@cgiar.org
13 Dr. Patrick Wall Principal
Scientist/Agron
omist CIMMYT
PO Box MP 163,
Mount Pleasant,
Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel/Fax: +263(4)301 327
E-mail: p.wall@cgiar.org
14 Dr. Alexey Morgounov
Head,
International
Winter Wheat
Improvement
Program
CIMMYT CIMMYT, PL 39
Emek, 06511,
Ankara, Turkey
Tel/Fax: +90(312)287 8955
E-mail: a.morgounov@cgiar.org
15 Prof. Muratbek
Karabayev Country
Representative CIMMYT
P.O. Box 1446,
Astana, 010000
Kazakhstan
Tel/Fax: +7172 343713
8-333-2509609 (mob)
E-mail: m.karabayev@cgiar.org
16 Dr. Charles Crissman DDG-Research CIP Box 1558, Lima 12,
Peru
Tel: +51-1-317-5307
Fax: +51-1-317-5303
E-mail: cip-ddg-
research@cgiar.org
17 Dr. Carlo Carli Regional Potato
Seed Specialist CIP
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-17-82
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: c.carli@cgiar.org
18 Dr. Mahmoud Solh
Director
General and
Chairman, AE
Task Force for
CAC
ICARDA P.O. Box 5466, Tel
Hadya, Aleppo,
Syria
Tel: +963 21 2210741
Fax: +963 21 2225105
E-mail: m.solh@cgiar.org
19 Dr. Maarten van
Ginkel
Deputy Director
General -
Research ICARDA
P.O. Box 5466, Tel
Hadya, Aleppo,
Syria
Tel: +963 21 2210741
Fax: +963 21 2225105
E-mail: m.vanginkel@cgiar.org
20 Dr. Theib Oweis Research
Program
Director ICARDA
P.O. Box 5466, Tel
Hadya, Aleppo,
Syria
Tel: +963 21 2210741
Fax: +963 21 2225105
E-mail: t.oweis@cgiar.org
21 Dr. Kamil Shideed Research
Program
Director ICARDA
P.O. Box 5466, Tel
Hadya, Aleppo,
Syria
Tel: +963 21 2210741
Fax: +963 21 2225105
E-mail: k.shideed@cgiar.org
22 Dr. Amor Yahyaoui Senior Cereal
Pathologist ICARDA
P.O. Box 5466, Tel
Hadya, Aleppo,
Syria
Tel: +963 21 2210741
Fax: +963 21 2225105
E-mail: a.yahyaoui@cgiar.org
23 Dr. Mesut Keser Sr. Winter
Wheat Breeder ICARDA
P.K. 39 Emek,
Ankara 06511,
Turkey
Tel: +90312 287-35-95
Fax: +90312 287-89-55
E-mail: m.keser@cgiar.org
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
11
24 Dr. Abdullah
Aldakheel
Field and
Forage Group
Scientist ICBA
PO Box 14660
Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 336 1100
Fax: +971 4 336 1155
E-mail:
a.dakheel@biosaline.org.ae
25 Dr. Kristina Toderich Plant Scientist ICBA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: k.toderich@cgiar.org
26 Dr. Colin Chartres Director
General IWMI
PO Box 2075,
Colombo,
Sri Lanka

Tel: +94 11 288 0000
Fax: +94 11 278 6854
E-mail: c.chartres@cgiar.org
27 Dr. Herath
Manthrithilake Head of IWMI-
Tashkent office IWMI
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-04-45
Fax: 99871 237-03-17
E-mail: h.manthri@cgiar.org
28
Prof. George W. Bird Department of
Nematomology
Institute of
International
Agriculture, MSU
416 Plant and Soil
Science Building,
Michigan State
University, East
Lansing, MI 48824,
USA
Tel: +517 353 5262
Fax: +517 432 1982
E-mail: birdg@msu.edu
29 Dr. Murat Aitmatov Research
Fellow IPM-MSU/ICARDA
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: m.aitmatov@cgiar.org

III. Donors/Other Organizations

30 Prof. Elias Fereres Chairman CCER Cordoba, Spain

Tel: + (34) 957499229
Fax: + (34) 957499252
E-mail: ag1fecae@uco.ec

31 Prof. Abdrakhman
Ombaev Director
South- Kazakhstan
Scientific-Production
Center of
Agriculture
3a, Al-Farabi
Square, 480019,
Shymkent,
Kazakhstan

Tel: +8 701 7107449 (m)
Tel: 7252-569828
Fax: 3252-567906
E-mail: karakul@sonet.kz
karakul@nursat.kz

32 Dr. Toleitay
Rakhimbekov President
"KazAgroInnovatsiy
a" Joint Stock
Company
49, Abay Avenu,
Astana, 473000,
Kazakhstan
Tel: 3172 323763
Fax: 3172 324541
E-mail: nauka@minagri.kz
33 Dr. Bayan
Alimgazinova Head of Science
Department
Ministry of
Agriculture of
Kazakhstan
49, Abay Avenu,
Astana, 473000,
Kazakhstan
Tel: +7172 323763
Fax: +7172 324541
E-mail: nauka@minagri.kz
34 Mr. Talimjan Urasov Expert The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW,
Washington, DC
20433 USA

Tel: +202 473 8975
Fax: +202 614 0698
E-mail: turazov@worldbank.org
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
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IV. PFU-CGIAR/ICARDA-CAC Office

35 Dr. Christopher
Martius
Head, PFU-
CGIAR
Regional
Coordinator,
ICARDA
ICARDA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan

Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: c.martius@cgiar.org

36 Dr. Raj Gupta SLM-R Project
Coordinator ICARDA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: rajgupta@cgiar.org
37 Dr. Zakir Khalikulov Germplazm
Scientist ICARDA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: z.khalikulov@cgiar.org
38 Dr. David Bedoshvili Consultant PFU/ICARDA/CIM
MYT - Caucasus
2, Gelovani str., 409
room, Tbilisi 0159,
Georgia
Tel/Fax: +99532 36-06-09,
38-06-69
E-mail: d.bedoshvili@cgiar.org
cimmyt@caucasus.net
39 Mr. Alisher Mirzabaev Project
Administrative
Assistant ICARDA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000,
Uzbekistan
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: a.mirzabaev@cgiar.org
40 Mr. Muzaffar Aliev Office
Administrator ICARDA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: m.aliev@cgiar.org
41 Mr. Sherzod Qosimov Web Specialist ICARDA-CAC 6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: q.sherzod@cgiar.org
42 Ms. Lola Yuldasheva Secretary,
ICARDA-CAC ICARDA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: pfu-tashkent@ giar.org;
icarda-tashkent@cgiar.org
43 Ms. Dilafruz
Tursunova Secretary,
SLMR ICARDA-CAC
6, Murtazaev street,
Yunus-Abad district,
Tashkent, 100000
Tel: 99871 237-21-69
Fax: 99871 120-71-25
E-mail: slmr-project@ cgiar.org

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
13
Appendix!2:!Program!of!the!Meeting!

Eleventh Meeting of the Steering Committee of the CGIAR Program
for Central Asia and the Caucasus
21-23 June, 2008, Astana, Kazakhstan

20 June (Friday)
Presentation of Dr. Mahmoud Solh, DG of ICARDA at the Agrotechnical University of Kazakhstan
on "The Role of ICARDA in Central Asia and the Caucasus". ´

21 June (Saturday)
09:00-10:30 Inaugural Session
Co-Chairs: Dr. Colin Chartres and Dr. Toleutay Rakhimbekov

09:00-09:10 Opening Dr. Colin Chartres, DG, IWMI
09:10-09:30 Inaugural Address Dr. Akylbek Kurishbaev, Minister of Agriculture,
Kazakhstan.
09:30-10:00 Special Address Dr. Mahmoud Solh, Chairman, AE Task Force for
CAC and DG, ICARDA

11:00-13:00 Adoption of Agenda and Presentation of CCER Report
Co-Chairs: Dr. Mahmoud Solh and Prof. Abdushukur Khanazarov

11:00 – 11:20 Adoption of Agenda
11:20 – 12:30 CCER Report Dr. Elias Fereres, Chairman, CCER Panel

13:30 – 14:45 Discussion of CCER report
14:45 – 15:00 Adoption of CCER Report

15:30-16:30 PFU Progress Report 2007-2008
Co-Chairs: Acad. Shota Chalaganidze and Dr. Dyno Keatinge

15:30 – 16:00 PFU Annual Report Dr. Christopher Martius, Head, PFU

16:00 – 17:00 Discussion of Annual Report of PFU

17:00-17:30 Follow-Up to CCER: Discussion of Work Groups

22 June (Sunday)
08:00-09:30 Executive Committee Meeting (For members only)
Co-Chairs: Dr. Mahmoud Solh and Dr. Toleutay Rakhimbekov

09:30-11:00 Work Group: Priorities and Integration
Co-Chairs: Dr. Maarten van Ginkel and Acad. Shota Chalaganidze

11:30-13:00 Parallel Work Groups
a) Expectations and reforms
Co-Chairs: Acad. Djamin Akimaliev and Dr. Herath Manthrithilake

b) Seed/breeding
Co-Chairs: Acad. Hukmatullo Akhmadov and Dr. Hans Braun

14:30-16:00 Parallel Work Groups:
a) Water/ land management
Co-Chairs: Prof. Abdushukur Khanazarov and Dr. Colin Chartres
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
14

b) Training + capacity building
Co-Chairs: Dr. Levon Minosyan and Dr. Charles Crissman

16:30-18:00 Session: Plenary session
Co-Chairs: Dr. Dyno Keatinge and Dr. Mahmoud Solh

23 June (Monday)
08:30-10:00 Plenary Session to discuss the “Astana Declaration”
Chair: Dr. Mahmoud Solh
10:00 – 14:00 Field visit (Visit to the “Asyl Tulik” Joint Stock Company for Livestock
Production) and Farewell Lunch
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
15
Appendix! 3:! Consortium"Commissioned! External! Review! (CCER)! "!
Summary!and!Recommendations!

By Elias Fereres, Gurdev S. Khush, Mohammed H. Roozitalab
The Panel has assessed the CGIAR Eco-regional Collaborative Research Program for Sustainable
Agricultural Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC Program) through field visits
and desk study in the period from January to May 2008. The Panel worked for a total of 24 days,
during which it visited six of the eight CAC countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Uzbekistan), and the ICARDA Headquarters in Aleppo, Syria. The
CAC program consists of a consortium of 9 CGIAR Centers and 3 non-CG partners (Advanced
Research Institutes).
The Panel found the CAC Program to be productive and highly important for the region. It is a
Program that definitely needs to be continued and efforts must be undertaken at various levels of
the CG system to ensure its future sustainability. The focus of the CAC Program also should be
re-adjusted for future challenges and the Panel has the following recommendations:

General
1. After the first ten years, the CAC-Program must focus on capitalizing on its achievements, and
on enhancing its activities in the countries and regions that are at an economic disadvantage, all in
the fields where it has comparative advantages. On the first issue, there is a significant
opportunity for the Program to catalyze large productivity increases for cereal-based cropping
systems through conservation agriculture in the years to come. On the second, there is more need
for integrative approaches at the system level that focus on poverty alleviation, rather than to
continue with discipline-oriented and isolated research efforts.
2. Although the CAC Program is one of the larger SWEPs, its dimensions are nevertheless small
relative to the needs of the region, and it is evident that hard choices must be made in the
prioritization of activities and of locations. Not everything can be done everywhere. However, it
might be possible that by selecting to work on different agricultural systems in different
countries, maximum program efficiency will be achieved if the results of each activity are
appropriately disseminated to the other countries through their NARS. The additional advantage
of a scheme of this sort is that every country would have a specific program of its own.
3. Throughout its visits, the Panel found very competent and dedicated scientists in all of the
institutions visited. However, the Panel is concerned that in view of the rather advanced average
age of the scientists, the much reduced level of recruiting observed in many of the local programs
is a threat to the continuity of the valuable national efforts. It is apparent that there is an urgent
need for the training and hiring of new young scientists everywhere. In this regard, the Panel
believes that the CAC-Program could make substantial contributions to the post-graduate training
of the young scientists of the Region.
4. The Panel believes that the Head of PFU should have a leading role in coordinating and
integrating the work of the Consortium members in the CAC region, in order to ensure maximum
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
16
efficiency and synergy among the respective programs. It is highly desirable that the PFU serves
as an effective liaison office for developing joint research proposals between members of the
CAC Consortium Program and the CAC countries. The PFU should also ensure that research
problems identified by NARS are presented to the appropriate Consortium members (or a group
of them, if considered necessary), as well as that global research problems discussed in the
CGIAR system are presented to the NARS, and the PFU should coordinate any eventually
ensuing project preparation.
5. The Panel is concerned about the sustainability of the CAC-Program in general, and of the
PFU, in particular. While the former depends largely on the support of the donors, the Panel
thinks that if the PFU is to provide the critical support and partner integration, it is important that
the Centers make explicit provision in their CAC project budgets for the PFU as well. Right now,
this responsibility seems to rest too much on the convening Center (ICARDA) alone. Also,
Consortium Centers should allocate funds for PFU support in all future project budgets submitted
to donors. The Panel also strongly recommends the CGIAR/World Bank to continue supporting
the CAC-Program on a high priority level, while the SWEP mechanism is in place.
6. The Panel notes an encouraging development in relation to national contributions to Program
funding. CA countries which have benefited from recent economic growth have started
contributing to the CG system. The Panel believes that substantial additional support to the
Program from the CAC countries will be needed in the future to sustain this Program.
7. The CAC-Program represents an important contribution to agricultural research and
development in the Region at a historically critical moment. The Panel wishes to highlight the
foresight with which ICARDA undertook a leadership role in the development of the Program,
and the very significant efforts this center has made over the last ten years both in research
activities and in its coordinating role among the CGIAR Centers that are actively involved in
CAC. The Panel believes that, under the present structure of the CGIAR, it is important for the
sustainability of the Program that ICARDA maintains its present role as the convening Center of
the CAC-Program.

Specific
On Science Quality, Outputs, and Impact
8. Research must always be conducted in a fashion that leads to scientific publications. The Panel
noted the hard work undertaken by the Centers in producing many kinds of publications, in
particular by ICARDA, which contributed almost 70% of the total number of publications. The
Panel recommends that efforts are undertaken so that more research findings of this Program are
published in scientific, peer-reviewed international journals, preferably in collaboration with
NARS scientists.

On Genetic Improvement
9. The Program should continue the distribution and evaluation of crop and animal germplasm
obtained from the CGIAR Centers and other sources. Additionally, close cooperation between
NARS and CAC-Program breeders should ensure that national breeders have direct access to
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
17
materials with specific traits which are considered desirable for the Region. Gene bank material
documentation must be enhanced; e.g. by using modern IT technologies, to ensure its wider
application. Specifically, the Panel thinks that there is a need for breeding cereals better adapted
to the conservation agriculture techniques used in the Region.
10. Varieties released in one country should be thoroughly evaluated in the other countries of the
region. Entries found superior but not released as varieties should be conserved in the gene banks
to serve as parents in future breeding programs.
11. Availability of germplasm from abroad should not be considered as a substitute for local
breeding efforts. The Panel believes that the strengthening of the national breeding programs by
training young scientists and supported financially, should be a priority in their agricultural
research efforts.
12. Wheat rusts are a serious threat to the industry of the Region. All varieties should be
evaluated for their reaction to rusts before they are released. The shuttle breeding program
between CIMMYT and Kazakhstan should incorporate genes for resistance to rusts. The stem rust
race Ug99 is likely to arrive in the region sooner or later. Its occurrence should be monitored, and
as soon as resistance becomes available it should be incorporated into local breeding programs
(CIMMYT and ICARDA).

On Seed Systems
13. For the development of seed production in the region, assist in removing, where such situation
exists, the unfair competition between state and private seed production companies and marketing
enterprises. Governments should be encouraged to consider enacting investment promotion
programs for new entrants in seed production and marketing business.
14. Support, at national level, setting up of a national seed board, having representation from all
stakeholders including research and private sector, should be stimulated to oversee seed industry
development. A national seed industry association should be constituted covering all enterprises
involved in seed production and marketing in CAC.
15. To support regional harmonization it is suggested for the CAC countries to establish a
regional seed association. Harmonization of policies and regulatory framework, and a common
methodology for variety testing variety evaluation, release, certification, and seed testing on
regional basis should be implemented.

On Cropping Systems and Diversification
16. Promote, among the NARS, field experimentation on conservation agriculture techniques
tailored to the different cropping systems of the Region. Expand efforts for the effective transfer
of these technologies to all potential users.
17. Evaluate the introduction of new crops alternative to those prevailing in the current cropping
systems, with a view of decreasing risks and increasing farmers’ income. There are significant
opportunities for the production of high quality fruits and vegetables in the region. Efforts should
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
18
be made on value chain analyses and marketing of fruits and vegetables to link farmers to
markets.
18. Investigate the medium and long-term effects of the current unsustainable practices that are
depleting soil fertility. Research on the role of conservation agriculture, of the introduction of
cover crops and legumes in the rotation and other measures in mitigating this problem should be
of high priority.

On Water and Soil Management
19. Improvement of irrigation management must continue to be one of the main pillars of the
CAC-Program. Because of the magnitude and urgency of the water management problems, the
balance between research and development has been, understandably, tilted towards immediate
applications. It seems now desirable to enhance the research component by:
a. Expansion of the current research in the Ferghana Valley on canal management to other
irrigated areas, while increasing on-farm research and demonstration activities at the
same time.
b. Focusing on the improvement of current surface irrigation methods by a combination of
improved land leveling, and by matching water flows to field dimensions, soil
characteristics, and crop water needs. For the latter, computer models of furrow irrigation
should be an invaluable tool.
c. Addressing the apparent urgent need for much closer integration between basin-wide and
on-farm irrigation research efforts. More emphasis on measuring and quantifying water
seems also desirable.

20. The excellent inter-Center initiative on ‘Bright Spots’ is coming to an end. If new funding for
its continuation is not available, it would be desirable to incorporate its concepts and participating
farmers into the CACILM program.
21. Continue the efforts to improve production in saline areas by close integration of crop
diversification efforts using more salt-tolerant species and cultivars, with improved irrigation
management techniques that enhance uniformity of application and produce minimum leaching.

On Livestock Production Systems
22. The current research oriented towards communities and markets, aimed at increasing income
of resource-poor producers, is of great interest for the region and could be expanded to other
areas, for which additional investments from donors are required.
23. The Panel could not find evidence of significant work on the conservation of animal genetic
resources or on animal health. These are two topics that directly fall on the mandate of one of the
Centers, ILRI. The Panel is of the opinion that the CAC-Program and ILRI need to reach an
agreement on what work to expect from ILRI on these topics.

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
19
On Socioeconomic research
24. The exploitation of new opportunities such as production of fruits and vegetables or of fine
wool products, requires the development of value chains and of renewed efforts to link farmers to
markets. The Panel feels that this is an important area of research that should receive additional
attention.
25. The need for policy research in the Region cannot be overemphasized. Thus the Panel feels
that the recent collaboration between ICARDA and IFPRI on policy and economic research in
CAC-Program will benefit greatly the countries of the Region, and will strengthen the CGIAR
role as agricultural research and development catalyst.

On capacity building, regional and international collaboration
26. The Panel found that the Consortium efforts in capacity building were among the most
successful activities throughout the Region. The Panel believes that some countries are not
investing enough in their agricultural research systems. It is recommended that all countries,
particularly those with better economies, increase their investments in agricultural research and
enhance the basic facilities and infrastructure of their research institutions. To better plan future
investments, it would be desirable if each country, with the support of IFPRI and PFU if required,
would prepare a national strategic plan for agricultural research.
27. The Program should organize more training workshops to strengthen human resource capacity
of NARS, particularly for young scientists in the fields of agricultural research management,
production and processing of high added value crops, integrated crop-range- livestock production
systems, soil and water management, and marketing and trade.
28. Lack of effective extension systems in many CAC countries is the main constraint in
transferring technologies to the farmers and end users. It is recommended that each country
establishes or reforms its extension service to facilitate technology transfers to farmers.
29. Although the support of the PFU to CACAARI (the Regional Association of NARS) is
commendable during the last decade, the sustainability of CACAARI depends on the ownership
of the Association by the NARS members. PFU should take gradual but watchful steps to make
sure that CACAARI activities and its Secretariat’s function are managed and owned by the
NARS partners. An independent and full time Executive Secretary is needed for enhancement of
CACAARI activities. The experience of sister organizations such as AARINENA and APAARI
might be used to strengthen the ownership of CACAARI by the NARS members.
30. The Program needs to further expand its collaboration with other NARS components such as
universities, science academies, NGOs and the private sector in the region. The Panel noted the
readiness and enthusiasm of universities to strengthen their collaboration, particular in capacity
building and training events.
31. The Panel believes that teaching of the English language, per se, is to be deemphasized.
Instead, the PFU should concentrate on offering short courses on technical subjects such as
research methods and technologies, report writing, use of the web for agricultural research,
writing scientific publications, and on specific subject matters, as requested by the NARS.
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
20
32. The Panel recommends that, while continuing the publication of the CAC Newsletter
(preferably by electronic means), the CAC Program disseminates its scientific and technical
results in the form of a periodic scientific publication, in English with abstracts in Russian. There
exists already a good effort along these lines, with the publication “Agromeridian” currently
edited by CIMMYT in Kazakhstan, which could be expanded to include all institutions
participating in the CAC-Program. This would be a way to encourage national scientists to
present their results in publishable form and following standards of refereed, international
scientific publications. This is, in turn, would attract the attention of the international scientific
community to the research conducted in the region.
33. The Panel believes that the PFU must be strengthened to ensure more coherence and
coordination of the CAC-Program. The Panel reviewed the PFU Terms of Reference and has
suggested a number of changes, described in a new text given in Appendix 2.

CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
21
Appendix!4:!Terms!of!Reference!for!the!Program!Facilitation!Unit!

The CCER Panel has suggested changes in the current Terms of Reference of the Program
Facilitation Unit (PFU) of the CGIAR Eco-regional Collaborative Research Program for
Sustainable Agricultural Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) and proposed the
following revised ToR, which were approved by the plenary session of the 11th SCM 2008 in
Astana, Kazakhstan, on 21. June, 2008:
1. PFU, which is hosted by ICARDA’s Regional Office for CAC in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, will
have a leading role in coordinating and integrating the work of the Consortium members in the
CAC region, in order to ensure maximum efficiency and synergy among the respective
programs. PFU will serve as liaison office for developing joint research proposals between
members of the CAC Consortium Program and the CAC countries. PFU will also ensure that
research problems identified by NARS are presented to the appropriate Consortium members
(or a group of them, if considered necessary), as well as that global research problems are
presented to the NARS, and PFU should coordinate any eventually ensuing project
preparation.
2. PFU will support the Program Steering Committee (PSC) of the CAC-Program in its functions
by providing secretariat support for the PSC meetings. This will include preparing brief
reports on the previous year’s meeting, budget statements, efforts on resource mobilization,
current status of on-going, pipe-line and new projects.
3. PFU will provide support services necessary for effective use of Program resources including
organization of meetings and workshops, language translation and interpretation, internal and
international travel arrangements as well as visa for all staff of the Consortium members and
their visitors, import of equipment and vehicles, authorizations to travel within the countries of
the CAC region, accreditation issuance for the PFU, all staff, visiting scientists and vehicles,
and communication.
4. PFU will provide assistance to the members of the Consortium in elaborating arrangements for
collaborative research activities with the local partners and will also intervene in cases of
conflicts arising under such arrangements.
5. PFU will function as a central documentary and information exchange center and as a
repository for Program documents and publications.
6. PFU, in consultation with implementing institutions/agencies, will share information and
assist in information exchange between Program participants and other stakeholders through
direct contacts, brief reports, a periodic “Update on Activities”, a quarterly Newsletter, and a
periodic research journal. Use of electronic means to reduce production and mailing costs is
recommended. PFU will also work to increase the visibility of the CAC program through
holding regular contact with all relevant media in the countries.
7. The Focal Point institutions of different projects will share the responsibility with PFU for
ensuring that all likely Program participants are informed of dates and locations of project
planning workshops so that the maximum participation in research projects is obtained
(participating NARS, extension agencies, NGOs and privately owned production
farms/companies), all of which are expected to take an important role in the dissemination of
the improved technology expected to be generated in this Program.
8. PFU will maintain contacts with institutions conducting research activities in the CAC region,
which are outside this Program and funded by external agencies and by private industry.
9. PFU will be responsible for establishing linkages on behalf of the Program with other
international agencies operating in the CAC region, and for identifying potential partners, and
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
22
will encourage the individual partners in the Program to develop potential partnerships where
this is practical and feasible.
10. The Head of PFU will coordinate his activities closely with Center Focal Points and organize
meetings minimum at monthly frequency to ensure effective communication and coordination
among the Program partners.
11. PFU collects membership fees to ensure financial coverage of its services from members and
projects.
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
23
Appendix!5:!The!“Astana!Declaration”!

The Eleventh Steering Committee meeting of CGIAR Program for Sustainable Agricultural
Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC-Program) met in Astana, Kazakhstan,
between 21 and 23 June, 2008. The Program is implemented by a Consortium of partners, namely
the eight National Agricultural Research Systems of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, eight International Centers of the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) – Bioversity International,
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), International Potato Center
(CIP), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International
Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water
Management Institute (IWMI); two other International Centers – AVRDC - the World Vegetable
Center, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA); and Michigan State University
(MSU).
The Program was established in 1998, and the activities of the Program over the last ten years
have been positively evaluated by its External Review in 2008. Achievements were made in
germplasm improvement, seed supply systems, cropping systems and agricultural diversification,
integrated system of livestock and fodder production, integrated on-farm soil, water and salinity
management, conservation of plant genetic resources, small ruminants breed characterization,
socioeconomic and policy research, capacity development and regional and international
cooperation.
During the meeting the participants started working actively on means and ways to implement the
recommendations of the Review Panel, principally with regard to further improving the overall
integration of all research components of the Program.
The Participants recognize the progress achieved in sustainable agricultural development of the
CAC region, and note the need for more to be done, principally in view of globally challenging
and pressing problems such as increased food prices, climate change, food insecurity, water
scarcity, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, and the urgent need for poverty alleviation and
improvement of livelihoods. The participants support the efforts undertaken by all the
Consortium members, including national programs and international agricultural research centers,
to coordinate and integrate the Program’s activities through the Program’s Facilitation Unit
(PFU). Based on their comparative advantages and knowledge accumulated thus far, the
participants give high priority to approaches that address the above-mentioned problems and
challenges through conservation agriculture, integrated land and water management, agricultural
water productivity, crop improvement, integrated pest management, diversification of production
systems, improved mountain agriculture, integrated livestock/rangeland/crop management, and
socio-economic and policy research. They express their commitment to actively work for
improving the interaction of the CAC Program with academic, research and development
institutions, civil societies and the private sector, which are actively involved in the region to
contribute to sustainable agricultural development in the CAC region.
The Meeting Participants agree to jointly develop a fund-raising strategy for the Program
activities to seek a wider attraction of financial resources from the international and regional
donors. Furthermore, the participants endorse their National Partners’ efforts to raise the
contribution of the national budgets invested in agricultural research.
CAC Program - Steering Committee Meeting June 2008, Astana – Proceedings
24
The participants welcome and support the intention of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan
to become a member in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
The participants express appreciation to the Government of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of
Agriculture for hosting this meeting in Astana and for all the support and hospitality to make this
meeting a success.
Astana, Kazakhstan, 23. June 2008
! ! !

Resources93 | Last Update by Stefan Einarson | October 22, 2008 | 5:09 PM

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