The CWANA region (Central West Asia and North Africa Region) ) is characterized by an extensive diversity in terms of climatic, topographic and edaphic conditions, genetic diversity of numerous globally important crop species and their wild relatives such as cereals, food legumes, forages, fruit trees and vegetables as well as human cultural diversity. Arable land is very limited, due to the presence of large deserts and arid zones. Traditional agricultural systems are still a major feature of the region despite the fast growth of modern agricultural production systems. Dry farming systems are constrained by an erratic and low rainfall while scarce water resources limit the potential for irrigated agriculture.

Although the agricultural sector accounts for a substantial part of the economic production, most countries could not achieve self-sufficiency in agricultural production. The majority of plant breeding is done through official Governmental institutions, with the assistance of CGIAR Centers, such as ICARDA, CIMMYT and ICRISAT. The informal seed sector is dominant, farmers selecting their own land races and exchanging seed stocks for crop cultivation.

Major causes of genetic erosion include replacement of local varieties by commercial types, the destruction of habitats due to overgrazing and widespread plant population fragmentation.

There is a major challenge to increase the potential for enhancing agricultural production in the region, due to the increasing poverty, food and feed supply insufficiency, desertification and scarcity of water resources and overgrazing.

Insofar as scientific and technical progress in the region is concerned, a number of trends and opportunities have occurred, namely, the adoption of new technologies, particularly Biotechnology and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), privatization of state-owned enterprises and trade liberalization, a greater role of development agencies in agricultural and rural economies, and an increased international collaboration through the eco-regional approach and South-to-South programs.

Most countries do not yet have a systematic and coordinated national plant genetic resources program with an action plan and national strategy. Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are active mainly in biodiversity conservation and do not take a key role in plant genetic resources activities in most countries. Agricultural research and development institutions of The Arab League -namely ACSAD (The Arab Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Lands and Arid Zones) and AOAD (The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development), COMSTECH-OIC (The Scientific and Technical Committee of the Organization of Islamic Conference), the CIS (The Commonwealth of Independent States among Central Asia and Caucasus countries) and the African Union (NEPAD) initiative are the principal intergovernmental bodies for international and regional collaboration in the region. AARINENA and the Research Forum for Central Asia and the Caucasus co-sponsored by FAO, ISNAR and ICARDA are now the major regional agricultural research and development networks in CWANA. They play an important role for the region within the Global Forum for Agricultural Research.

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