Dr. Dionysia Angeliki Lyra, a halophyte agronomist at ICBA, presents her project to the selection panel of the Expo 2020 Dubai’s Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme.
Salicornia experiments are under way at the Marine Environment Research Center in a coastal area of Umm Al Quwain, UAE.
Since 2013, ICBA has operated a modular farm irrigated from a reverse osmosis unit to develop a cost-effective production scheme that transforms reject brine into a source of profit for farmers.
ICBA wins Expo 2020 Dubai grant for innovative project
31 July 2017
The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) has been awarded a grant from the Expo 2020 Dubai’s Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme to conduct an innovative research project on inland and coastal modular farms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Azamat Kaseev is one of several pioneer farmers in Kyrgyzstan with whom ICBA works to introduce quinoa. On his farm in eastern Issyk Region, he grows for seed one of ICBA's high-yielding and stress-tolerant quinoa lines.
Farmers in southern Khatlon Region, Tajikistan, are also keen to cultivate the Andean wonder crop. Four local farmers have started quinoa seed multiplication.
Under its global research program, ICBA has been studying since 2007 quinoa performance in different locations and conditions. Scientists also carry out regular experiments with quinoa at ICBA's station in Dubai, UAE.
Mainstreaming quinoa beyond Andes
31 July 2017
Quinoa, once a staple food of only the indigenous people in the Andes, has become a darling of food aficionados around the world in recent years.
Unlike major crops like wheat, quinoa is a complete protein - containing all eight of the essential amino acids. It is packed with dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It is also gluten-free and easy to digest. Quinoa’s health benefits have made it a staple for hip restaurants and upscale shops around the world.
Salicornia is a halophyte that can grow with seawater. It can be used for forage, food and biofuel production.
Biochar is produced by heating biomass in an oxygen-free or low-oxygen environment so that it does not (or only partially does) undergo combustion. In this system, biochar can be produced from green waste, which helps to sequester carbon and improve soil quality. An advantage of this process is that it also produces gases that can be captured as bioenergy and fed back into the energy grid, making it a carbon negative process overall.
How to feed a growing world, sustainably
30 July 2017
This year Earth Overshoot Day, an annual indicator of humanity’s ecological footprint, will fall on 2 August.
