Corporate News

One way that has been proven to hold a lot of promise is cultivation of halophytic, or salt-loving, plants. Published recently in Crop & Pasture Science, a three-year study by a team of scientists at ICBA suggests that halophytic grasses, for example, can be a good option for forage production and rehabilitation of salt-affected lands in the UAE. What is more, they produce higher yields than some traditional grasses like Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana).

26 July 2018

How salt-loving grasses can help tackle salinity and boost forage production in UAE

With some 11m hectares of salt-affected lands, Ethiopia ranks first in Africa in terms of soil salinity caused by human activities and natural factors. This is a big problem for the second most populous country in the continent where agriculture accounts for 40 percent of the GDP, 80 percent of the total employment and 70 percent of the exports.

17 July 2018

Salt-tolerant plants best bet to fight salinity in Ethiopia - study

During the closing meeting of the CPET, which was initiated in 2013, it was confirmed that the program has significantly improved dialogue and trust between riparian countries of the Euphrates and Tigris region on water management.

28 June 2018

ICBA and partners share five years of water management success in Euphrates-Tigris river basin

The nine-member board comprises renowned leaders and experts from government and non-government organizations, donor agencies, as well as international research and development organizations from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia.

27 June 2018

UAE Minister of State for Future Food Security approves ICBA’s new board of directors

Ghaf (Prosopis cineraria), a flowering tree, holds great promise for combating desertification and improving soil fertility in arid environments thanks to its unique qualities, long-term research by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) suggests.

26 June 2018

Scientists see untapped potential in UAE’s national tree

Through an improved, cost-effective inland modular farming approach in desert environments, scientists at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) have achieved one of the highest fish biomass densities of Tilapia fish (30 kg per cubic meter) compared to previous growing seasons (10 kg per cubic meter), using reject brine (waste water) from desalination units.

07 June 2018

ICBA scientists manage to increase fish biomass by 300% using reject brine

The cooperation was recently formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Director General of ICBA, and Mr. Nazir Ahmad Awan, CEO/Secretary of KP-BOIT, in Dubai.

28 May 2018

ICBA, Pakistan’s regional investment body team up to boost agriculture in northwest

ICBA’s gene bank stores over 14,000 accessions of around 240 salt-, drought- and heat-tolerant plant species from more than 150 countries and territories of the world.

22 May 2018

Why crop biodiversity is key to food security

The vegetables are currently being tested using the reject brine from desalination that goes through the aquaculture system making use of the water enriched in nutrients.

17 May 2018

In a first, ICBA scientists start growing halophytic vegetables in UAE

Following the discussions, the delegation toured ICBA’s facilities, including the Emirates Soil Museum, gene bank, net-house and greenhouse facilities, the Integrated Aqua-Agriculture System, biochar production sites, and experimental fields on date palm, Salicornia and forages.

13 May 2018

Saudi deputy environment minister visits ICBA to mull cooperation

The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) today received a two-member delegation from Egypt to discuss potential areas for collaboration.

10 May 2018

ICBA to scale up production of salt-tolerant crops in Egypt

A team of scientists at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) has made a major breakthrough in increasing yield potential of Salicornia, a multi-purpose halophyte.

10 May 2018

ICBA achieves progress in breaking Salicornia yield ceiling