Partners - The Agricultural Research Institute (ARI)

The Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) was established in 1962 as a cooperative project between the Government of Cyprus and the United Nations Development Fund, with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations acting as the executive agency. It was entrusted to the Government of Cyprus in 1967 as one of the Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment.

ARI undertakes applied and basic research within the wider domain of plant and animal production. Its mission is to provide high quality scie ntific research using methods that are financially, environmentally and socially sustainable. Its contribution to the solution of actual problems and to the introduction of new technological methods and approaches in agricultural production is greatly valued, both locally and abroad.

The Institute is organized into two divisions. The production division includes the disciplines of crop breeding and genetics, fruit tree and vegetables production, viticulture, floriculture, animal production, biotechnology and tissue culture. The support division provides services and scientific support to the production division. Among its disciplines are plant protection (entomology, plant pathology, nematology and weed science), insect toxicology and pesticide residues, soil fertility, plant nutrition, irrigation, environmental impact, experimental statistics and agricultural economics.

The Agricultural Research Institute is well equipped with specialized laboratories (chemistry, toxicology, molecular biology, tissue culture and radioisotopes), an insectary, cold rooms, glasshouses, the national herbarium, the national gene bank and other research facilities.

ARI employs 40 scientists, most of them PhD and MSc holders, specialists in various disciplines of plant and animal production, 70 technicians, 14 administrative and financing personnel and a permanent labor force.

Its work is publicized through the Institute's Biennial Review and three local publication series (Technical Bulletin, Agricultural Economics Report and Miscellaneous Reports). Research work of international interest is published in international journals. Transfer of research results and of new technology to the farming community is possible through seminars, demonstration plots, field days, radio and television programs, popular articles in local magazines and the daily press.

Since its establishment, the Institute actively cooperates with regional and international organizations and research networks, including the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, the International Potato Center, the CIHEAM, etc. Its cooperation with the EU and the pre-accession countries is expanding rapidly.

For further information: www.ari.gov.cy