ICARDA’s collaborative research on integrated management of Sunn pest in West and Central Asia won the CGIAR Award for Innovative Partnership at a competition held on 5 December during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the CGIAR in Washington, DC. Dr Mustapha El-Bouhssini, ICARDA entomologist, and Drs Bruce L. Parker and Margaret Skinner, from the University of Vermont, USA, who have been leading the partnership for over a decade in collaboration with scientists from national agricultural research systems as well as specialists worldwide, received the award from Dr Katherine Sierra, Vice-President of the World Bank’s recently formed Sustainable Development Network , and the new CGIAR Chair. The award was won in the “People’s Choice” category.

Sunn pest is an insect that causes serious losses in wheat yield and quality in West and Central Asia. Over US$150 million is spent each year on pesticides, including the Sunn pest-prone areas. In addition to the high cost of chemical control, insecticides pose a risk to nature’s balance, human health, water quality, wildlife, and the environment as a whole. Supported by the USAID Linkage Funds, the Sunn pest research team has developed integrated pest management strategies that are contributing to safeguarding wheat production in the region. One significant impact of the team’s work is that national policymakers are replacing government-supported aerial
applications of chemical insecticides by environmentally sound biological control and other IPM approaches. Another important outcome of the partnership has been the formation of a Sunn Pest Advisory Council composed of Ministry-appointed representatives from Syria, Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan. This group promotes implementation of management strategies region-wide to protect wheat from Sunn pest damage. Implementation of these research approaches was supported by DFID (UK).

Forty-six partnerships from around the world competed in the event. They presented their work for review by scientific jurors and over 500 participants who were present at the AGM. The entries were judged based on achievements and impacts, the novel character of the partnership, the relevance and applicability of the work to other agricultural problems, the evidence of joint decision making by partners, and the significance of the initiative for strengthening capacity.

The Sunn pest team was invited to present their work to Dr Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, who toured the exhibition after addressing participants at the AGM opening ceremony. Speaking on behalf of the team, Dr El-Bouhssini said they were deeply gratified and honored to receive the award. Despite the progress that has been made towards ecologically sound Sunn pest management, he said, much still remains to be done – and the team is looking forward to using the $30,000 cash award to expand their collaborative efforts.

Congratulating the winning team, Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General of ICARDA, said: “The award is an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of national scientists who are active members of the Sunn pest team, and of support from donors. The dividends from this research are truly high.”

Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org) serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley,
lentil, and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition and health, and protecting the environment.