• Conducting regular follow-up studies on training
• Improving training materials and creating and updating a computerized database of training participants

Using national, regional and global networks is an effective way to develop, transfer, adopt and use new technology. Research and training networks are effective for linking national scientists with each other and with regional and international organizations. These networks also insure a continuous flow of information among interested scientists; they provide opportunities for donor organizations to allocate financial support to networks that suit their priorities and interest. A number of donor organizations and cooperating countries support and coordinate these networks in CWANA.

Training at CGIAR centers and most regional institutions has been considered an integral component of the overall activities. It is recognized as an educational process that requires more than information giving or skill development; it also requires a thorough understanding of training and the value of continuous, vigorous evaluation. Success in reaching training objectives can only be judged when those who receive training apply what they have learned and when changes can be observed in practice.

Regional institutions include the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), an international organization dedicated to postgraduate and specialized education, applied research and the development of Mediterranean agriculture.

IARCs training programs are not based on a professor- student relationship but rather on a mature partnership and are regarded as a two-way learning process through which exchange of experience becomes a natural outcome. So the training participants, regardless of their positions or duties, become future collaborators. Participants are mostly the future leaders of their national projects or programs. They can certainly play an active role in technology transfer and therefore in improving food production in their own countries. Centers offer a wide variety of training activities to meet the evolving needs of client countries. These include long-term group courses, specialized short-term courses, individual non-degree and degree courses, regional and subregional courses and in-country training courses. The last three types are usually conducted in close collaboration with the concerned NARS. Each of these training programs is aimed toward improving the professional skills of the training participants and hence developing their national programs (Bunting and Araujo, 1987).

Workshops, traveling workshops, seminars, meetings and exchange of visits of national program representatives comprise important components for strengthening national programs and serve as a forum for exchanging ideas and deciding on future collaborative activities with NARS staff. The national programs in most countries in the region conduct these activities, some of which, at the request of national scientists, are organized either at ICARDA headquarters or outside.

Some crop-based expert systems have recently been established in the WANA region, like the Wheat Expert System (WANA Wheat). Its aims are to establish an expert system that all countries in the WANA region can use, to

disseminate information about the system on the Web and to train extension workers on how to use the developed system (www.claes.sci.org).

Information and communications technology (ICT) has played an important role in disseminating information and knowledge in the last decade. Many institutions have investigated using this technology to transfer information and knowledge in the agriculture domain. Both formal and informal sectors in most of the involved countries have established a Web-enabled system for transferring agricultural information to scientists, extension services and growers to inform and train them in how to adopt these new technologies. Regional and international agricultural research centers strengthen cooperation with their partners involved in technology transfer by providing improved services in the areas of publications, translation, library search and training. The centers also contribute to and participate in most of the regional and international agricultural information networks. Through its Communication, Documentation and Information Services (CODIS), ICARDA places high priority on increasing and further improving the quality of agricultural information and its subsequent dissemination and adoption by national programs in the WANA region and beyond.

IARCs in the region do not conduct specific research on agricultural extension or offer training in it. However, they recognize that unless farmers adopt an improved technology, it is almost useless. Therefore, IARCs play an important if indirect role in developing and transferring technology by various means, including on-farm testing, organizing field days and visits for farmers and policy makers and organizing traveling workshops, training courses and roundtable discussions for farmers, researchers, extension workers and government officials. They also assist in producing field guides and extension publications related to using the new technology. Such joint activities help bridge the gap between researchers and extension specialists and improve technology transfer and use.

2.5.3.1 Technology transfer and adoption activities in Central Asia and the Caucasus

Under the ICARDA coordinated program for Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC), NARS are being strengthened to become more efficient and responsive to the emerging challenges in the region. So far, over 2,500 scientists have either been trained or given the opportunity to participate in various meetings, workshops and conferences (see www.icarda.org).

Plant genetic resources and germplasm development. In cooperation with Bioversity International (formerly IPGRI), plant genetic resource units have been established in each of the eight CAC countries. Collection missions have been undertaken and different crops collected and added to their genebank collections. New varieties of winter wheat have been developed based on material from the joint CIMMYT/ ICARDA/Turkey Program on Winter Wheat Improvement.

2.5.3.2 Natural resource management

Encouraging progress has been made with the introduction and adoption of improved soil and water management technologies. This has been achieved under the project on Soil