Getting agricultural research innovations into use in the dry areas is critically important, especially since these regions cover 40 per cent of the earth’s surface and are home to 2.5 billion people – a significant percentage of the world’s population.

This is the core work of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area (ICARDA), which works with partners worldwide, developing innovations to improve food security and the livelihoods of the rural poor. ICARDA’s work targets non-tropical dry areas in developing countries, and also produces international public goods with potential for global application.

Research covers crops (wheat, barley, faba bean, lentil, chickpea and forage legumes), the management of natural resources (water, land, biodiversity), small ruminant production (sheep and goats), farming systems (intensification, diversification, integration between farming system components), and socio-economics and policy research – on how policies can be more relevant to the situation of low income countries.

The estimated benefits of ICARDA’s crop improvement research and production of new varieties over the past 3 decades has been estimated at US$850 million per year. Over 900 improved varieties of wheat, developed from ICARDA material, have been released for cultivation worldwide. The new varieties offer higher yields; better tolerance to drought, heat, cold and salinity; and improved resistance to diseases, weeds and insect pests.
Watch our short video -  ‘ICARDA - What We Do’ 

Agriculture & Farming

ICARDA; International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

Aly Abousabaa

Laura Becker

Juliana Adjem Anchang

Dina Najjar

Akmal Akramkhanov

Mariana Yazbek

Abdul Majid

Majd Jamal

Yigezu Atnafe Yigezu

Wuletaw Tadesse Degu

Mourad Rekik

Girma Tesfahun Kassie

Aynalem Haile

Research and Science

Human Resources and Administration

Agricultural Economics and Project Management

Leadership Team

Teams at ICARDA; International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

Research and Science

Human Resources and Administration

Agricultural Economics and Project Management

Leadership Team