ARI REVIEW FOR 2016-2017

THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE The Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) was established in 1962, shortly after Cyprus gained its independence, as a cooperative project between the Government of Cyprus and the United Nations Development Programme Fund, with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations acting as the executive agency. By the time it was entrusted to the Government of Cyprus in 1967, it had been firmly established as a research institution staffed predominantly by local scientists. ARI constitutes a Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment and is headquartered at Athalassa, on the outskirts of Lefkosia. The Institute undertakes research within the wider domain of plant and animal production. Its mission is to provide high quality scientific research with the objective of achieving a secure supply of safe, good quality food produced by methods financially, environmentally and socially sustainable. It develops or adapts and evaluates under local conditions scientific findings and technology available from international and regional research institutions. ARI’s contribution to the solution of actual problems and to the introduction of new technological methods and approaches in agricultural production is highly valued, both locally and abroad, as reflected preeminently in its selection by the European Commission in 2000 as a Centre of Excellence in Agriculture and Environment. The ARI is organised in two divisions and eight sections: a) the Production Division which comprises the Sections of Plant Improvement, Fruit Trees, Vegetable Crops and Animal Production and b) the Scientific Support Division, which comprises the Sections of Plant Protection, Natural Resources and Environment, Rural Development and Agrobiotechnology. The latter Division also includes the Variety Examination Centre. The Institute is further equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories, a gene bank, an herbarium and a library carrying leading international agricultural journals and over 5,000 volumes. Human resources at ARI consist of 32 scientists, specialised in various disciplines of plant and animal production, 40 technicians, 10 administrative and accounting personnel, as well as permanent and seasonal labour force. Most of the scientists are PhD or MSc holders and all technicians have been trained either locally or abroad in their respective fields of work. ARI’s work is outlined in the Institute’s Biennial Review. Research work of international interest is regularly published in international scientific journals. Transfer of research results and of new technology to the farming community is effected through radio and television programmes, popular articles in local agricultural magazines and the daily press and through the extension services of the Department of Agriculture. Innovative knowledge is also transferred through regular seminars, training sessions, demonstration trials and field days. The Institute is the national AGRIS Centre collecting, cataloguing and indexing the agricultural literature published in Cyprus and is also the national CARIS Centre collating information on ongoing research. All this information is supplied to FAO for inclusion in the global databases of the AGRIS and CARIS systems. 3