Olive Oil CFC/IOOC/06: Programme for the Development and Dissemination of Sustainable Irrigation Management in Olive Growing
Submitting ICB International Olive Council (IOC) Project Executing Agency International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria Countries Directly Benefitting Morocco and Syria Project Cost USD 1,431 300.00 Common Fund for Commodities USD 799,460.00 (Grant) (of which USD 399,730 from the OPEC Fund for International Development – OFID) Counterpart Contribution USD 631,840.00 in kind
The main objective of this project is to enhance crop yields of the smallholder olive farmers in Morocco and Syria, through the optimisation of water management practices applied to olive cultivation. Improved and more stable olive yields will then turn in to improved earnings and livelihood for the small holder olive farmers targeted by the project. The project demonstrates sustainable irrigation technologies and water management practices adding value to the commodity in terms of the productivity of olives and the quality of olive oil. Four pilot demonstration fields have been set up in both countries in significant olivegrowing areas of differing soil and climatic conditions, where rainfed or traditional irrigation methods now prevail. The project aims at transfering best practices and know how to a minimum of 400 farmers in the four olive growing areas via systematic training sessions, field days and distribution of technical manuals. Project operations have started in May 2010. The project conducted a
final review meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, in October 2014: In both Countries project activities successfully compared rainfed or traditional (flood) irrigation practices to “regulated deficit - drip irrigation�, on both mature and young olive orchards, collecting meaningful statistical data from field analysis and transferring best practices and know how to olive farmers via training sessions, field days and distribution of technical manuals. On field results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the new irrigation technologies introduced by the project: in comparison to traditional food irrigation, the alternative water regimes tested at the pilot plots have successfully raised yields, improved the quality of olive oil and reduced production costs. Project results also emphasized the economic implications of optimal water management in terms of reduction of water consumption in dry areas and the potential income increase for the farmers in terms of higher and more stable crop yields. Overall, the project completed all the tasks
assigned to the teams: both national teams conducted farmer field days, trainings and field experiments and produced material for dissemination. 100 extension agents have been trained in rational irrigation management practices. Seven training courses for national team members were organized in which 106 scientists were trained. The target number of farmers to be engaged in farmer field days was almost doubled with 730 farmers being engaged by project completion date instead of the foreseen 400. Eighteen conference papers, several posters and brochures, a website, a promotional video (http://www.icarda.org/olive-lrrigationproject) and various newspaper and TV interviews were arranged to disseminate project findings. Project teams from both countries were able to capture the 2014 harvest data that will be part of the statistical analysis comparing water productivity, tree growth, crop yield, olive oil yield and oil chemical parameters under the different irrigation regimes to be included in the Project Completion Report, which will be released in 2015.
Tea CFC/FIGT/04: Development, Production and Trade of Organic Tea
Submitting ICB Project Executing Agency Countries Directly Benefiting Project Cost Common Fund for Commodities Common Fund Loan Counterpart Contribution
The three main objectives of the project are: (a) to develop pilot farms for organic tea production including the conversion of existing tea gardens into organic tea gardens; (b) develop appropriate certification mechanism that would be internationally accepted and; (c) undertake an assessment of the global market for organic tea and develop appropriate marketing strategies. The Project was implemented in China from May 2007 to May 2010 and in India from September 2008 to March 2014. The project was granted a two year extension because
FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) China and India USD 7,128,284 USD 1,778,387 (Grant) USD 1,739,714 USD 3,610,183 there were some long-term activities to be completed, and the establishment of capacity building centres faced some delay, particularly the one in South India. The extra costs were borne by the Tea Board India. The project outcomes for the three components are as follows:
2 Support to establish a certification system: In China an agreement was signed for a cooperation with a foreign certification body, and subsequently inspections were initiated. In India the certification component was dropped since India did not have a certification body specialized in organic tea.
1 Research and development: The outcomes of this component resulted in a better understanding of organic tea production by the tea research institutes and in development of recommendations of practices for the organic tea producers.
3 Market development: the main outcomes of the market development analysis showed that the domestic markets in both countries are more receptive and ready to pay a premium for organic tea as opposed to export markets. >>
80 | Common Fund for Commodities Annual Report 2014