The study was part of the Rehabilitation and Management of Salt-affected Soils to Improve Agricultural Productivity (RAMSAP) project. Funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the five-year project (2015-2019) is aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, food security and income for smallholder farmers, agro-pastoral/pastoral communities in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
In order to reclaim salt-affected areas, the project is introducing salt-tolerant varieties of sorghum, pearl millet, cowpea, barley and sesbania to small-scale farmers.
New study names salinity, water scarcity among top risks to agriculture in South Sudan
25 February 2019
A new study to establish farmers’ perceptions of the causes of low agricultural productivity and document their suggestions on how to improve the agricultural sector has found that loss of land due to salinization is among the major issues related to low agricultural productivity in South Sudan.
During the event, several farmers received awards for their previous pioneering work with ICBA to take the research results to the field.
Alongside H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, other guests of honour at the event included H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and the Chairperson of the ICBA Board of Directors; Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Agricultural Advisor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs of the UAE and a member of the ICBA Board of Directors and other dignitaries.
“Research and development is the essential underpinning of food security, as it leads to the creation of cutting-edge technology that is key to boosting food production and minimising the use of precious resources, in particular water. In fact, R&D has been identified as being one of the most effective of all public investments in driving down poverty, hunger and malnutrition," said H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri.
The open day was also held to recognise the contribution of local farmers to food security in the UAE and celebrate their innovative spirit and thinking.
The open day was aimed at presenting to local farmers, agri-businesses and other stakeholders a wide range of agri-technologies and crops that had been developed, tested and proven by ICBA and its partners to perform well in local conditions.
ICBA hosts big agri-tech showcase for UAE farmers, agri-businesses
20 February 2019
More than 100 leading farmers, agri-businesses, senior officials and representatives of different government entities from across the UAE today visited a major one-of-a-kind showcase of tailor-made agri-solutions at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Dubai.
The open day was aimed at presenting to local farmers, agri-businesses and other stakeholders a wide range of agri-technologies and crops that had been developed, tested and proven by ICBA and its partners to perform well in local conditions.
Dr. Ismahane Elouafi – ranked by Muslim Science as among the 20 Most Influential Women in Science in the Islamic World – has been welcomed as a non-executive director on the CABI Board.
