The first stage of the project involved holding a workshop to develop the National Strategic Plan for the management of jasmine whitefly in citrus in citrus/date systems in Iraq. The workshop was held at CSIRO Entomology, Long Pocket Laboratories in Brisbane from 22-25 Aug 2005.

Participants at the workshop comprised senior scientists from Iraq (6) and Australia (9), with a range of expertise relevant to IPM and biological control of insect pests. The objectives of the workshop were to:
Develop a strategic framework for pest management in Iraq.
Develop a National Strategic Plan for the management of jasmine whitefly in citrus in citrus/date systems in Iraq.
Develop a plan for the implementation of the National Strategy, including identification of 5 trainees for hands-on experience as part of CP/2004/010.
Prepare a proposal and recommendations for consideration by the Iraqi Jasmine Whitefly Committee.
In addition, the participants' expectations led to the identification of further objectives, which were to:
Focus on applied and practical aspects rather than theoretical.
Assess the possibility of using Australian parasites and predators.
Develop professional relationships to mutual benefit through the free exchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge and expertise.

Project outputs and outcomes

The outputs of the workshop, the development of the Strategic Plan and a decision on the selection process for the young Iraqi scientists who will undertake the 6 month training in IPM in Australia were both achieved and are detailed in the document The management of Jasmine Whitefly and Dubas Bug in the date palm citrus complex of central Iraq: National Strategic Plan. The outcome and achievement of the broader objectives in terms of the implementation of successful IPM in the citrus/date system will depend on how the well the plan is adopted by the Iraqi government. This will require considerable future discussion, planning and development.

Workshop structure
The workshop was structured to achieve the objectives as follows:
Welcome, briefing, including,
Participant expectations of pest management in Iraq to be noted for.
Participant expectations of the workshop.
Getting Australian participants to understand Iraqi agricultural systems,
Presentations by Iraqi participants on Iraqi agricultural system, the citrus/ date production system, and the current citrus/date pest management system in Iraq.
Feedback from Australian participants to verify their understanding.
Outlining the issues/questions that need to be addressed in developing a National Jasmine Whitefly plan,
Conducting SWOT analysis.
Identification of the major issues/questions that need to be addressed in the National Strategy.
Agreement on the major issues/components of the national plan for Iraq.
Developing the Jasmine whitefly plan, with the following components,
Vision - what we want Iraqi pest management to be noted for.
Mission - the prime purpose of the national jasmine whitefly committee.
Outcomes - what we want the jasmine whitefly committee to achieve.
Critical Success Factors - what we need to be doing really well or have in place for the outcomes to be achieved.
Indicators (how do we tell we are making progress in each of the critical success factors).
Strategies (what we need/want to do over the next five years).
Implementation - actions to implement the strategies.
Recommendations - short term needs.

Following the workshop, the project leader and Iraqi participants refined the plan for submission to the Iraqi National Jasmine Whitefly Committee.

Workshop process
The workshop participants worked in small groups and used a card-based visualisation process for reporting and discussion. The cards used for reporting were pasted onto flipchart paper and displayed on walls for the duration of the workshop to facilitate constant reference to the output of previous sessions. The notes on these cards were typed and used by the participants to produce the main components of the plan. This approach enabled the circulation, feedback, editing, emendations and finalization of ideas. All the participants contributed. The mix of formats - open forums and small groups enabled those delegates that were less comfortable in contributing in large groups to contribute to the small group discussion.

National Strategic Plan
The plan comprises a five year strategy with critical success factors, indicators, and strategies and an implementation plan, with actions for each strategy. Short-term recommendations have been made for each critical success factor and are actions that can be taken independent of the situation in Iraq. It has been formally accepted by the Iraqi Government.

Five young Iraq scientists will be brought to Australia and placed within IPM program for 5 months to gain hands-on experience in the principals and practice of IPM. Trainees will be given a 1-week orientation at CSIRO Brisbane before placement at their host institution. Two Iraqis will be based with CSIRO in Brisbane and three with Qld DPI&F (Gatton, Toowoomba and Mundubbera/Maroochydore. At each site the Iraqi scientists will have the opportunity to interact with other scientists, extension and technical staff and to learn the necessary components of the implementation and monitoring of IPM programs, including the interaction and involvement with farmers.

Five Iraqis arrived in Australia on 2 Oct 2006. The Iraqis have now been involved in a range of activities involving cotton, vegetables and citrus IPM. Progress has been less than expected as their English language skills are less than what was expected. Further, their overall science skill levels are less than what was expected given their qualifications; this has severely hampered the capacity of both organisations to undertake the range of IPM training activities planned. English lessons have been organised through local TAFEs and this has helped to some extent. If anything the project has highlighted the enormous gaps that need to be overcome if meaningful progress is to be made in the area of IPM.