This report summarizes the experience of an integrated approach for the selection and characterization of watersheds for research, development, or research for development activities.

This is the fundamental scope of the Irrigation Benchmark Project, where the emphasis was placed on introducing and implementing new water saving technologies. Additionally, emphasis was laid on the participation and involvement of farmers in water users’ associations (WUA) and other community organizations, as well as with government organizations – particularly, those concerned in the Extension Service of the Ministry of Agriculture.

This report summarizes results from a large multi-partner project, Integrated watershed development
for food security and sustainable improvement of livelihood in Barani, Pakistan. The project (2007
to 2010) aimed to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate cost-effective technologies for monitoring
and use of water and land resources at watershed scale. It used an integrated approach combining
applied research, capacity building, and watershed improvement/rehabilitation through community

The objectives of this report are to evaluate and test, with community participation; the benchmark water management options which sustainably improve water productivity, net return per water unit, and optimize water use. The strategies evaluated have to be economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally sound in the three different agricultural eco-systems.

The rangelands of West Asia and North Africa are the grazing grounds for the Bedouin with their flocks of sheep, goats and camels and are known as al Badia in the Middle East region. Average annual rainfall in the Badia ranges between 50 and 250 mm (Haddad 2006). Despite its scarcity, rainwater is generally poorly managed and much of it is lost through runoff and evaporation. To improve production in hese areas, there is a need for the sustainable management of natural resources – land and water (FAO 1983).

The literature identifies two common approaches for estimating technical efficiency. One approach is based on non-parametric, non-stochastic, linear programming. This suffers from the criticism that it does not take into account the possible influence of measurement error and other noise in the data (Coelli, 1995). The second approach uses econometrics to estimate a stochastic frontier function, and to estimate the inefficiency component of the error term. The disadvantage of this approach is that it imposes an explicit and possibly restrictive functional form on the technology.

The world is witnessing a period in its history when the increasing socio-political upheavals are taking the lives of thousands, and destroying the natural wealth of our planet. Poverty and food insecurity are two key forces driving this destruction. These ongoing problems compound those already being posed by an increasing shortage of water, scarcity of productive land, an expanding population, and the threat of global warming.

The year 2002 marked ICARDA's 25th anniversary, and coincided with several honors and awards for the center's excellence in research. Research on developing high-yielding kabuli chickpea varieties that thrive in cool, wet winter conditions earned the 2002 King Baudouin Award of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), jointly with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which focuses on desi chickpea.

CropSyst is the crop growth model chosen as a decision tool for the Tadla Benchmark project. CropSyst is a daily time step simulation model. The model was developed to serve as an analytic tool to study the effect of cropping systems management on productivity and the environment. The model simulates the soil water budget, soil– plant nitrogen budget, crop canopy and root growth, dry matter production, yield, residue production, and decomposition. Management options include cultivar selection, crop rotation, irrigation, nitrogen fertilization, tillage operations, and residue management.

The best use of irrigation water is reflected in the strategic approach of the Ministry of Agriculture and the major research objectives of institutions working on sustainable irrigation management. Related research programs can be summarized as follows:
• crop water requirements;
• irrigation techniques, especially surface irrigation;
• irrigation scheduling; and
• soil and water quality as affected by irrigation and drainage.

For ICARDA, 2012 has been a time of change and evolution. We have been busy tackling the many issues of dryland agriculture and global food production against a backdrop of focusing our efforts as a force for change for people living in the world's drylands and our areas of scientific expertise.

2013 has been a fruitful year for ICARDA marked by research accomplishments and a sense of gratitude. Our longstanding partner countries provided important support in making decentralization of the Center’s research a reality. This transition positions our research programs to more expressly target agroecosystem-based solutions, needed for wider impacts.