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Signing of Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture of China
MASHAV-USAID Dairy Cattle Demonstration Project, Akurgan, Uzbekistan
GIARA-funded research on Cultural Methods for Alleviating Orbanche Damage, Nepal
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MASHAV places great emphasis on forging international partnerships with other donor
bodies, both national and international, in order to enhance the efficacy of activities. In
our experience, such partnerships enable each donor to bring its own areas of development
expertise to the service of the developing world. In addition, MASHAV recognizes the
importance of coordination with other donor partners responsible for sectoral-based
programs, and supports contributing MASHAV's unique capacities, where relevant, to
these broader programs.
To this end, MASHAV has signed, over the years, dozens of agreements with international
bodies and national partners, leading to numerous fruitful cooperative initiatives. Such
partnerships have included, among others, activities with UNCTAD, OAS, FAO, WMO,
UNDP, UNESCO, WHO and countries such as the USA, Japan, Canada and Spain. On
these pages, we present some examples of successful cooperative projects from the year
2001.
New Agreements
In the year 2001, MASHAV signed several bilateral and multilateral agreements, including:
Memorandum of Understanding (February 2001) with the Ministry of Agriculture of China
for developing a MASHAV demonstration dairy farm in China.
Grant Agreement (March 2001) with USAID - Central Asian Region for co-financing of
cooperative projects in Central Asia.
Memorandum of Understanding (December 2001) with the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development on continuing cooperation with the World Bank Institute
(WBI). The agreement provides the basis for MASHAV involvement in two existing WBI
programs: Knowledge for Development and the Global Development Learning Network.
USAID-MASHAV Partnership in Central Asia
In 2001, a Grant Agreement was signed with USAID - Central Asian Region for co-financing of
cooperative projects in Central Asia. Covering a five-year period, the agreement provides for the
co-financing of a wide variety of joint programs in the Central Asian region, with particular focus
on Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The goal of the new MASHAV-USAID assistance strategy for Central Asia is to expand opportunities
for the citizens of the five new nations to participate in improving their governance, livelihood and
quality of life through four primary objectives:
Fostering small-scale enterprise and trade, including through establishment of agricultural consulting
centers and demonstration farms
Building a more democratic culture
Better management of water and energy resources, including via environmental demonstrations
in wetland management in the Aral Sea disaster zone and in biological techniques to drain
waterlogged soil in the Ferghana Valley
Improved primary healthcare, especially for infectious diseases.
African Market Garden
MASHAV sponsors the African Market Garden program of Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev's International Program for Arid Land Crops, (IPALAC).
IPALAC is primarily an initiative that suggests sustainable methods for improving agricultural
productivity in semiarid and arid lands, with its primary focus in the western Sahel. In order
for its ideas to be field tested and disseminated, partners are required. Thus, by nature,
IPALAC's approach is based on building coalitions and partnerships.
Some of these partnerships are primarily in the scientific/technical aspects of projects, with
partners including E.R.A in Burkina Faso, ISRA in Senegal, IER in Mali, and INRAN in Niger.
Partnerships with NGOs are sometimes limited to experimentation in model farmer fields,
but there are instances when NGOs invest resources in the development of IPALAC
projects. Among them are Africare, World Vision, and more recently, the Pope John Paul
II Foundation.
Other agencies which have been part and parcel of the development of IPALAC projects
include UNESCO, FAO, and the International Development Research Center of Canada.
The Desert Margins Program (DMP) of the World Bank's Consultative Group International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and ICRISAT, the CGIAR Center which hosts the DMP,
have made substantial investments in IPALAC infrastructure at its research center in Sadore,
Niger. The Development Marketplace program of the World Bank recently made a major
grant to disseminate the IPALAC "African Market Garden" concept in Niger. Private
foundations and/or philanthropic funds which support IPALAC include the International
Foundation (USA) and the Brach Foundation.
Special mention needs to made of the on-going core support for IPALAC provided by
the Government of Finland. Its funding has played a decisive role in allowing many IPALAC
ideas move from the concept stage to the field in the desertification prone regions of
Africa.
Netherlands-Israel Development Research Program
In 1992, the Netherlands-Israel Development Research Program (NIRP) was established
by the governments of Israel and the Netherlands. Its main objective is to contribute to
the generation of new knowledge and new ways of applying existing knowledge in areas
where Israel can offer specific expertise and experience that have a clear relevance for
developing countries. NIRP enables researchers from Israel and the Netherlands to work
in cooperation with scientists of developing countries in order to develop creative responses
tailor-made to the needs of participating countries. The program also enables the international
networking of researchers. The program is directed by a joint steering committee of
scientists from both countries.
In 2001, 33 research programs were conducted, including 13 joint research programs in
the Middle East. In addition, Israel participated in a joint agricultural research project with
Nepal under a similar arrangement with the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation.
The project was in the framework of the German-Israel Agricultural Research Agreement
(GIARA).
Research funded by NIRP:
Has clear and actual relevance for developing countries in Africa and the Middle East;
Is policy-oriented;
Is focused on socio-economic and cultural change;
Is inquisitive and innovative;
Is carried out jointly by researchers from Israel and developing countries, preferably
also with Dutch researchers, under the aegis of universities or other independent
academic institutions; participation of female researchers is encouraged;
Is aimed at strengthening the research capacity and capability in developing countries
and includes training of scientists in the project.
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