September 2006 Katherine Sierra: First Woman to Chair the CGIAR The CGIAR is pleased to announce that its 64 members have unanimously endorsed the nomination of Katherine Sierra as their new chair. She is the first woman to occupy this position. Saving Syria's Lake al-Jabbul The Ramsar Convention lists Lake al-Jabbul as one of only 300 lakes in the world that are "wetlands of international importance". Improved Starch Promises Stiff Competition from Industrial Cassava Scientists in Colombia have discovered a mutant strain of cassava whose starch chemistry opens new opportunities for farmers and industrialists while protecting the environment. New Flood-Tolerant Rice offers Relief for World's Poorest Farmers A gene that enables rice to survive for up to two weeks underwater could overcome one of agriculture's oldest challenges and offer relief to millions of poor rice farmers around the world. A Considerable Contribution: Parliamentarians Visit Kenya As part of its continuing outreach to key stakeholders in research for development, the CGIAR jointly organized the Kenya field trip with the PNoWB. AGM06 Update AGM06's evolving agenda will provide the setting for a meeting that will be rich in substance, and innovative in form. Alleviating Poverty in Borno State An IITA project launched three years ago is succeeding in reducing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria. The area suffers from excessive heat, poor rainfall, and marginal soils. Africa's Oldest Enemy In June, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) sponsored a four-day workshop on People, Mice and Livestock, the Story of Trypanosomosis in Africa. The disease kills people and cattle across a swath of sub-Saharan Africa as large as the continental United States. Truth in Bananas After years in deep storage in Belgium, hundreds of banana plants have been sent back to tropical fields for a thorough health check and to ensure that they really are what they appear to be. The Right Tree for a Dry Place Increasing water scarcity in many regions of the world has triggered a heated debate: Will planting trees ease water shortages or make them worse? Improving the Management of Scarce Water Resources in Central Asia's Ferghana Valley The Ferghana Valley is one of Central Asia’s most densely populated agricultural and industrial areas. In recent years, increasing competition for scarce water resources has sparked local conflicts, with potential international ramifications. Watershed Projects Aim to Improve Farmers' Incomes ICRISAT and a consortium of partners have pioneered a model to better manage watersheds in India, China, Vietnam and Thailand and East Africa. The results have been positive and the response enthusiastic When Papa Said "No" A young farmer in India dared to try zero tillage against his father's instructions, thereby changing his life and his father's low opinion of "planting without plowing". A Song of Progress with a Richer Timbre Women are increasingly indispensable partners in development strategies, and nowhere is this more evident than in Cameroon, where women working in forests are frontline fighters against rural poverty. Transforming Sub-Saharan Africa's Rice Production through Rice Research Although most of the world’s rice is produced and consumed in Asia, demand for it is soaring in Africa. Women Scientists Poised to Make Africa's Green Revolution a Reality Nearly 80 African women scientists will reap the benefits of professional mentoring, leadership and networking opportunities over the next two years. One-Stop Information Shopping: the CGIAR Virtual Library Imagine a single website offering scientists, economists, and other develoment professionals access to thousands of full-text documents related to agriculture, hunger, poverty, and the environment, drawn from some of the best available sources. Generation Sambas into Annual Confab Every year, the Generation Challenge Program holds an Annual Research Meeting (ARM) that brings together project leaders and partners to present the progress of their research and to discuss scientific issues of relevance to the future of the Program. Expert Systems can reduce Dependence on Harmful Pesticides Every year, farmers face billions of dollars in crop losses from pests and disease. Despite huge investments in preventative measures, pest epidemics continue to cause severe hardship to poor farmers and developing-country economies. Update on Joint CGIAR-FONTAGRO Call for Proposals Fourteen research proposals for the Americas out of 101 submitted in 2006 are now in final stages of evaluation.