Salinity Management training course

Abstract

Water is the major limiting factor for agricultural production in the dry areas of Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA). Agriculture accounts for around 80% of water consumption in the region, however, the rapidly growing population, industrialization, and urbanization will lead to reallocation of water increasingly away from agriculture to other sectors. On the other hand, high population growth rates require a continuous increase in agricultural production. Salinity management in agriculture is interpreted differently by different entities. This often creates misunderstandings about approaches towards managing salinity (or effects of salinity) in agriculture. Most of the salinity affected areas in Iraq and Egypt are related to irrigation water management. Irrigation water management can either be the cause, and/or the solution to salinity management in agriculture. In countries like Jordan and Palestine, solutions to reduce salinity in saline areas are highly limited, or not economically feasible. Therefore we approach salinity management in terms of "fighting salinity" for areas where water management is a possible tool, and "living with salinity" where we are adjusting our agronomic practices to maximize agricultural production under saline conditions. Note that one approach does not exclude the other, and that in areas of the Mesopotamian plain, as well as in the Nile Delta, a mixture of solutions from the "fighting salinity" and "living with salinity" is needed. ICARDA's mission is to improve the welfare of people through agricultural research and training to increase the production, productivity, and quality of food, while preserving or improving the resource base. ICARDA's training courses are designed to improve the capabilities of scientists and technicians in national agricultural research systems (NARS) in developing countries to conduct research independently, and to foster transfer of technology and address issues related to farmers' decisions in adopting or rejecting new technologies. To this end, ICARDA has organized this course.