Former Director General of ICARDA and Champion of Dryland Agriculture ICARDA is deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Dr. Mahmoud El Solh on Sunday, 16 November 2025, a distinguished scientist, former Director General, and one of the most influential figures in ICARDA’s history. For decades, Dr. El Solh’s leadership, generosity, and unwavering dedication shaped not
A breakthrough in carob propagation is empowering Tunisia’s forestry sector to restore degraded lands, support rural livelihoods, and enhance climate adaptation. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua), a native Mediterranean tree, stands out as one of Tunisia’s most promising climate-resilient crops. With its ability to thrive in drought-prone, degraded soils, carob offers ecological protection, economic opportunity, and social value, particularly in silvopastoral systems
Once considered just a simple grain, wheat in Zimbabwe is now part of a broader story—one of innovation, entrepreneurship, and local resilience. 10-12 September 2025 – At SOS Hermann Gmeiner High School in Bindura, students, teachers, farmers, and researchers gathered for a workshop on wheat value addition, turning classrooms into laboratories of creativity. The event was organized by the Directorate
As the world marks the 2025 International day of Rural Women and approaches the International Year of the Woman Farmer, we highlight a new study co-authored by ICARDA’s Senior Gender Scientist Dr. Dina Najjar and Dr. Daniel Amok at the Trent School of the Environment, Trent University, and funded by CGIAR, underscores the urgent need to place women at the heart
In 2014, a joint bold scientific experiment set out to test how wheat fared against West Africa’s relentless heat. Ten years later, the collaboration has delivered heat-tolerant varieties, empowered thousands of farmers, and transformed agriculture along the Senegal River, inspiring new policies, global recognition, and a wheat revolution across the region. In 2013, the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish
ICARDA, represented by Director General Aly Abousabaa, and Jordan Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), represented by Dr. Jihad Al-Mahamid, Secretary-General of MWI, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to intensify cooperation on water and agricultural resource management and strengthen Jordan’s capacity to adapt to drought and climate change challenges. In Jordan, the world’s second most water-stressed country, limited rainfall
Women farmers in Walana village, Pakistan, are turning farm waste into a valuable resource thanks to a compost-making training organized under the ICARDA–U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fertilize Right (FR) project. This practical training equipped women with innovative techniques to reduce chemical fertilizing, improve soil health, and create a new source of income. From 3–4 September 2025, in partnership with
With support from the Government of Japan, and in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), ICARDA has set a new standard for sustainable agriculture in water-scarce regions with completion of the Enhancing Agricultural Productivity project in Egypt, leaving a blueprint for further advancements through technological