Development of technologies to harness the productivity of salt-affected areas of the Indo-Gangetic, Mekong, and Nile river basins

Project Leader: Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail, IRRI
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Executive Summary

High salt content in the soil is an exacerbating problem, resulting in low productivity and land degradation in vast areas, estimated at 21.5 million ha in Asia , of which 12 million ha are saline and 9.5 million ha are alkaline/sodic. Inland and coastal salt-affected areas vary temporally in water availability and salt accumulation. Coastal salinity, caused by seawater intrusion and shallow saline water tables, is severe during the dry season, while flooding in the monsoon season limits cropping mainly to rice. In inland areas, both saline and sodic soils are widespread and progressively expanding because of improper water management practices. Rice is suitable for rehabilitating these salt-affected soils because it can grow under flooded conditions and has high potential for genetic improvement for salinity tolerance. In both coastal and inland salt-affected areas, rice productivity is very low and could be raised by 1–2 t ha -1, providing food for more than 10 million of the poorest people living off these lands. The ability to produce more food by using land and water resources that are otherwise unusable would also release pressure on other more favorable areas, thereby improving overall water productivity.

The overall project objective is to enhance land and water productivity of rice-based cropping systems in salt-affected areas by integrating genetic improvement and management strategies that are environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable. Building on past research accomplishments, this project will use new science and impact-oriented approaches to develop interventions that are appropriate to farmers’ conditions. Conventional and biotechnological breeding methods will be used to accelerate the development of salt-tolerant varieties of rice and other crops by incorporating specific useful traits into popularly grown but sensitive varieties. These varieties will be evaluated with participation of men and women farmers and assistance of extension services and NGOs, together with matching crop and natural resource management (CNRM) practices within a farming systems context. Opportunities to extend the duration of freshwater availability will be explored to enable cropping intensification and diversification of income-generating activities for improving farmers’ livelihoods. Technologies developed for rice and other crops will be matched for planting schedules that fit available time windows. Both technology evaluation and dissemination of proven technologies will be facilitated through well-established and sustained in-country and regional networks. Acceptability and constraints to adoption of these interventions and policy implications for enabling wider impact will be identified. The accumulated knowledge on improved germplasm and management practices will be properly documented into easily accessible databases. Through active collaboration, NARES partners will enhance their capacity to sustain and expand such impact-oriented research for tackling the problems faced by farmers in these marginal areas.

Participating Institutions

Theme and Basin Coverages