On July 27, 2021, ICARDA’s Director-General, Mr. Aly Abousabaa, led a scientific virtual lecture titled “ICARDA’s Efforts and Achievements in Developing Date Palm Cultivation Sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,” which the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation (KIAAI) organized. More than a hundred experts and specialists attended, representing 16 countries.
During the lecture, Mr. Abousabaa highlighted the achievements of ICARDA’s project on developing sustainable date palm production systems in the GCC countries – launched in 2016 in cooperation with all National Agricultural Research System (NARS) centers in the GCC countries. The project focused on five research themes that correspond to the GCC countries’ priorities: crop management, post-harvest transactions, integrated pest control, biotechnology, and economic and social studies.
