A review of the existing and potential role of legumes in farming systems of the Near East and North African region. Report for ICARDA

Abstract

In the Region comprising of the Near East and North Africa, there has been increasing concern at the deficit in food production which has occurred despite the national agricultural development programs and the aid from bilateral and multilateral agencies. Not only has there been a deficit in the production of human food but also a rapidly-increasing deficit in livestock feed in most countries of the Region. These deficits are the consequence of a rapid increase in both human population and livestock numbers in the past 30 years. Most Governments of the Region have recognized these agricultural problems and taken steps to achieve national self-sufficiency in cereal production. This has involved inter alia the improvement of cereal research programs. These research and development aspirations in the Region have been greatly assisted by the various projects of UNOP/FAO (especially the Regional Project on the Improvement and Production of Field Food Crops), CIMMYT, The Rockefeller Foundation, 'the Ford Foundation, USAIO, DANIDA, NORAD, SIOA, the French CCCE, and others. Though there have been some spectacular improvements in cereal production in the Region some of these advances have been at the expense of the pasture-livestock sector which in most countries has been grossly neglected. This report represents a broad appraisal of the existing crop and livestock situation in the region and the opportunities for increasing both cereal and livestock production.