CABI Blog

CABI has facilitated a study visit to Switzerland for two project partners from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) keen to learn more about good agricultural practices to improve the quality of potatoes and other crops grown by farmers in KRI.

Staff from CABI’s Swiss Centre in Delémont welcomed colleagues from the Directorate of Agriculture (DoA), Duhok, and the University of Duhok (UoD), as part of the ‘Strengthening the potato value chain in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’ project funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

This CABI-led five-year project is being implemented in the Duhok Province of KRI through a public-private partnership. The goal is to meet demand for locally produced and processed potato products through further development and completion of the potato value chain.

Sustainable, locally sourced value chain

The project aims to improve potato production and processing, provide access to markets, training, and employment opportunities for internally displaced people (IDP) and refugees, and capacity building for farmers and other stakeholders in good agricultural practices and integrated pest management.

The ultimate goal being to achieve an increased and more resilient income for farmers and a sustainable, locally sourced value chain that supplies the regional market and contributes to local economic development. The aim of the 10-day study trip was to raise awareness of agronomic practices and innovations in Swiss agriculture that may be suitable for adoption in KRI.

The study tour focused on advice relating to integrated crop management including pest management, but also included other aspects relating to extension services and agricultural policy. Colleagues from the UoD and DoA have been collaborating with CABI-led project for over three years and they will take back lessons learnt to share with colleagues, students, and farmers in the local region.

Opportunities for vital future cooperation

This will enhance the university curriculum and will serve as a practical step in improving the agriculture policy in Duhok governorate. The visit also provided opportunities for vital future cooperation between the UoD, the DoA and the Swiss organizations visited, including with CABI teams in Switzerland.

Part of the visit included a tour of CABI’s laboratories and field experiments in Delémont with a focus on activities related to integrated pest management. In particular, the sustainable and biological control of crop pests and diseases.

The party then went to Syngenta – a global agricultural technology company whose headquarters is in Basel – where they learnt about how Syngenta is conducting research to identify new pesticides, and manufacturing pesticides for use in agriculture.

Later, the delegation visited the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), based in Frick. FiBL is one of the world’s leading research and information centres for organic agriculture. The research institute and its advisory services being largely financed by the Swiss government.  

Developing organic agriculture along the entire value chain

FiBL has the goal of continuously developing organic agriculture along the entire value chain of the food system – through research, knowledge transfer and advisory services, practice-oriented projects and public relations work.

A trip to AGRIDEA in Lindau was the next step. AGRIDEA is the Swiss agricultural advisory and extension center supporting cantonal extension services.

As a competence center for the preparation, exchange and dissemination of practice and research knowledge, AGRIDEA builds collaboration and synergies between agriculture and other stakeholders in rural areas, supporting efficient and sustainable agriculture and viable rural economies in Switzerland.

Other organizations visited included INFORAMA in Seeland – a productive area called the vegetable garden of Switzerland – as well as a private family farm engaged in the commercial production of salad produce by hydro-cultivation.

A visit to an organic farm located near to the CABI Delémont Centre was also arranged, offering a chance to see the production of wheat, rapeseed, sunflowers, faba beans, sorghum, chickpeas, corn, and many other crops grown organically.

Good biological alternatives

The study visit ended with a trip to Andermatt biocontrol company which aims to replace chemical pesticides with biological alternatives, such as microbial products, natural substances, beneficial insects and traps.

The last visit was to the School of Agriculture Forestry and Food Sciences (HAFL) in the Bern University of Applied Sciences. The party was welcomed by the head of the plant protection department and his staff who presented three seminars about the research that they are working on currently.

At the end of the study tour, Professor Rafail Toma of the University of Duhok, concluded: “We came away with a greater knowledge of integrated crop management and other agricultural practices that can be applied in KRI, and ideas to incorporate into our own undergraduate teaching curriculum.

“As well as the sharing technical information, each of the organizations we visited highlighted different factors that support successful agricultural development, including the value of exchanging information and working in partnerships, the benefit of private-public collaboration, and the need to protect the environment and consumer health. These are already important aspects of the current project, and we will continue to expand these into our other work in KRI.” 

Additional information

Main image: Part of the visit included a tour of CABI’s laboratories and field experiments in Delémont(Credit: CABI).

Project page

Find out more about how CABI is working in partnership to help strengthen the potato value chain in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from the project page here.

Relevant stories

‘Potato value chain project featured on Duhok TV.’

‘Public-private partnership to unlock potato sector potential in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.’