Kuwait Fund Signs USD 2.56 Million Grant Agreement for Crop Breeding

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development signed a grant agreement worth USD 2.56 million with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) to support crop genetic improvement projects in arid and semi-arid regions of Arab countries. The project is planned to run for approximately 24 months, focusing on the development of stress-tolerant crop lines, scientific and technical capacity building, and field trials, to advance the development and promotion of improved varieties adapted to high-temperature, drought, and other environmental conditions.

Under the agreement, ICARDA will use smart breeding approaches to update its crop genetic improvement processes and organize researchers to carry out the development of improved lines. The breeding work will take into account the climatic and ecological conditions of the target regions, selecting materials suitable for arid and semi-arid agricultural production environments, with a focus on enhancing the adaptability of new varieties to high temperatures, water scarcity, and climate change.

Project activities include the development of improved lines, capacity building for technical personnel and research institutions, and applied field trials. New breeding materials will be tested to verify their agronomic performance in target environments before corresponding variety promotion efforts are carried out. The related tasks are scheduled within an implementation period of approximately two years, covering breeding research and development, field validation, and application of results.

The two parties began agricultural research cooperation in 2011. With the signing of this agreement, the cumulative grants provided by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to ICARDA have reached USD 6.16 million. The new funding will be used for the current round of crop improvement and promotion projects, with cooperation continuing to focus on variety development and research capacity building under arid agricultural production conditions in Arab countries.