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Job vacancies at ICARDA - The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

Welcome to the career site of The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) at Impactpool!

 

ICARDA is an international, autonomous, non-profit research organization currently based in Beirut, Lebanon. ICARDA is committed to improve the livelihoods of the resource-poor in dry areas by enhancing food security and alleviating poverty through agricultural research, and the equitable use of natural resources.

ICARDA was established in 1977 and is one of 15 centers supported by the CGIAR. ICARDA promotes agricultural development in the dry areas of developing countries remains highly relevant today. Although global food production has increased by 20 per cent in the past decade, food insecurity and poverty remain widespread, while the natural resource base continues to decline.

Dry areas cover 41 per cent of the world’s land area and are home to one-third of the global population. About 16 per cent of this population lives in chronic poverty, particularly in marginal rainfed areas. The dry areas are challenged by rapid population growth, frequent droughts, high climatic variability, land degradation and desertification, and widespread poverty. The complex of relationships between these challenges has created a "Poverty Trap."

“Our biggest asset is our staff” - career at ICARDA

ICARDA’s biggest asset is its staff – 600 highly skilled men and women from 32 different countries. ICARDA offers several regional programmes. Below list is an overview where regional programmes are offered, you find more information about these programmes at www.icarda.org.

  • West Asia
  • South Asia and China
  • North Africa
  • Nile Valley and Sub Saharan Africa
  • Central Asia and Caucasus
  • Arabian Peninsula
  • Highlands

How ICARDA work?

ICARDA works with a focus on the problem-solving needs of resource-poor farmers, achieving this through the in-field delivery of its research outputs.

International research centers such as ICARDA, which have helped drive previous improvements, continue to deliver new technologies to support sustainable growth in agriculture, and crucially, to work with a wide range of partners to accelerate the dissemination of these technologies.

ICARDA’s research and training activities cover crop improvement, water and land management, integrated crop-livestock-rangeland management, and climate change adaptation. 

Other interventions include:

  • Water harvesting - supplemental irrigation and water-saving irrigation techniques
  • Conservation agriculture methods to reduce production costs and improve sustainability
  • Diversification of production systems to high-value crops – horticulture, herbal and medicinal plants
  • Integrated crop/rangeland/livestock production systems including non-traditional sources of livestock feed
  • Empowerment of rural women – support and training for value-added products.

The ICARDA genebank holds over 135,000 accessions from over 110 countries: traditional varieties, improved germplasm, and a unique set of wild crop relatives. These include wheat, barley, oats and other cereals; food legumes such as faba bean, chickpea, lentil and field pea; forage crops, rangeland plants, and wild relatives of each of these species.

ICARDA’s research portfolio is part of a long-term strategic plan covering 2007 to 2016, focused on improving productivity, incomes and livelihoods among resource-poor households.  The strategy combines continuity with change – addressing current problems while expanding the focus to emerging challenges such as climate change and desertification.

ICARDA works closely with national agricultural research systems and government ministries. Over the years the Center has built a network of strong partnerships with national, regional and international institutions, universities, non-governmental organizations and ministries in the developing world and in industrialized countries with advanced research institutes.