Biography:

Dr Mahmoud Solh, ICARDA Director General

Dr. Mahmoud Solh assumed office of the Director General of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) on 8 May 2006. He has been associated with international agricultural research and development in the dry areas since 1972 when he became a staff member of the Arid Land Agricultural Development (ALAD) Program of the Ford Foundation in the Near East, the predecessor of ICARDA.

Dr. Solh returned to ICARDA after serving for four years as Director of Plant Production and Protection Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for four years. Prior to that he had served ICARDA, with distinction, for 16 years in various capacities as: Lentil Breeder, Regional Food Legume Breeder in North Africa, Regional Coordinator of the Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional Program, and Assistant Director General for International Cooperation. From 1980 to 1986, he has worked as Professor of Plant Genetics and Breeding at the American University of Beirut, in Lebanon.

Dr. Solh holds a PhD, in Genetics from the University of California, Davis, USA, and has an impressive record of scientific publications. Throughout his professional career, Dr. Solh?s involvement has focused on working with developing countries to enhance food security, protect natural resources and improve livelihoods of resource-poor farmers in dry areas. He has in-depth knowledge of needs and aspirations of the national agricultural research and development systems in Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He was involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating agricultural research and development projects, as well as projects for human and institutional capacity development. He has long experience in promoting north-south and south-south cooperation. He has rich experience in donor relations and fund raising. Dr. Solh is the author of more than 120 publications/papers and articles, including books and chapters of books. His contribution to agricultural research and development has been recognized through several prestigious awards from and honors.

Abstract:

Coping with Climate Change in Dry Areas: Challenges and Potential for Agriculture, Food Security and Improving Livelihoods

For 35 years, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) has been enhancing food security through science and technology, in the challenging and variable environments of rain fed agriculture in the world?s dry areas. In recent years, changes and unpredictable climate patterns have brought additional significant challenges for countries in dry areas to improve agricultural productivity, livelihoods, and food security, creating increasingly complex stressful environments for rural communities.

Climate change has a serious impact on agriculture in dry areas for a variety of reasons. These include: reduced precipitation; more frequent droughts; increases in temperature; changes in climatic zones, from favorable to less favorable to agriculture; shorter growing seasons; and a threat from diseases and insect pests largely due to temperature increases that are emerging in areas where they were not previously a problem. Through these factors, climate change has a negative effect on all components of food security, including: production and availability, accessibility, stability, and food supply.

Countries can adopt several strategies to cope with the negative effect of climate change on agricultural production in dry areas. These include strengthening the adaptive capacity of production systems; improving resilience of farming systems; and mitigating climate change by improving carbon sequestration in crop and grazing lands.

The strategies to be followed to cope with climate change in dry areas depend on the targeted production agro-ecosystem in these areas. Production systems in dry areas can be classified in two major agro-ecologies: 1) high potential, or more favorable areas; and 2) low potential areas or marginal lands. The strategies for coping with climate change in these two agro-ecologies differ significantly.

For high potential areas, research clearly shows agricultural productivity can be increased through the sustainable intensification and diversification of food production systems. Strategies for enhancing food productivity under climate change include: adopting improved crop varieties that are adapted to biotic and abiotic stresses, improved management of water and land resources with appropriate inputs. Several examples from ICARDA's research program will be presented that demonstrate how countries can successfully follow these strategies to improve food security in their high potential agro-ecologies of dry areas.

For low potential areas or marginal lands, the best climate change strategy is to enhance the resilience of agricultural production systems. Pursuing production system intensification in these areas can cause serious and irreversible damage to these low potential agro-ecosystems, resulting in desertification. Here, an effective solution for countries is to develop integrated crop/rangeland/livestock production systems. In these low rainfall areas, small ruminants (mainly sheep and goats), provide an important source of livelihoods for the rural poor?as a stable source of nutrition and as income for farmers who can produce meat, and milk or wool products.