T9: ICBA’s Experience and Partnership, By Shoaib Ismail, ICBA ,UAE, Land and Water Days in Near East & North Africa, 15-18 December 2013, Amman, Jordan

1. Building resilience in agricultural
systems under marginal environments:
ICBA’s Experience and Partnership
Shoaib Ismail, Ph.D.
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
www.biosaline.org
NENA-LWDS, Amman
17th December 2013

2. What I heard most during last 2 days….
Non-Conventional water
Saline Water
Brackish Water
Drainage Water
Treated Waste Water

3. What I heard most during last 2 days….
Non-Conventional water
Saline Water
Brackish Water
Drainage Water
Treated Waste Water

4. Salinity in Agricultural Production
More than 1.2 billion ha of lands are affected by salinity globally
Nearly 1.6 million ha/ year are lost globally due to salinization
At this rate all irrigated areas that now contribute to agricultural
foods will be out of production in 140 years.
Region
Area
(106ha)
Africa
81.0
Near and Middle
East
53.1
Asia and Far East
19.5
Latin America
59.4
Australia
84.7
North America
16.0
Europe
20.7

5. Availability of saline water……

6. 2050…… and Targets
By 2050 the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion,
34 percent higher than today.
Nearly all of this population increase will occur in
developing countries.
About 70 percent of the world’s population will be
urban (compared to 49 percent today).
Food production must increase by 70 percent.
Annual cereal production will need to rise to about 3
billion tons from 2.1 billion today
Annual meat production will need to rise by over 200
million tons to reach 470 million tons.

7. Agriculture by 2050
70 m.ha < 5%
120 m.ha ~ 12%
50 m.ha ~ - 8%

8. Biosaline
Agriculture
Brackish and
saline water
Strong R & D linkage
Marginal and
saline land
Salt-tolerant plant
production systems
Irrigated/
supplementary
irrigated agriculture
Strong partnerships with National Research &
Development programs, Private sector, NGOs and
donors
Capacity Building for National systems

9. The Potential…..
Increased
Permeability
Saline
Wasteland
Stops erosion
Fuel Wood
Timber
Improves
Environment
Forage
Improves Bulk
Density
Green
manure
Organic Matter
to Soil
Compost
biofertilizer
Biological N
Fixation
Increased Salt
Movement
Saline
Groundwater
Pulp, paper
board
Bioenergy

10. The Options…..
• Change the environment
– Reclaim lands
– Desalinate water
– Mix saline water with
freshwater
• Change the cropping
pattern & management
– Improve the crop to
deal with the
environment
– Choose a different crop
or develop new crops
Economically Viable
Environmentally safe

14. Mapping
Terrain
Climate
Land use/
Land management
Irrigation water

15. ST trees
+
Adaptations in
production
systems with
increasing
salinity &
aridity
Halophytic grasses
Salt tolerant Trees
+
Halophytic crops
Salt tolerant Trees
+
conventional crops
Conventional crops & Environments: ECe < 8 dS/m; ESP < 2
Halophytic crops & Environments: ECe 8-20 dS/m; ESP 2-15
Halophytic grasses & Environments: ECe 15-25 dS/m; ESP > 15

16. Sea-water Based Agriculture
Potential of Salicornia for biofuel
from seeds, vegetable and
residual biomass for forage

17. Quinoa – The new Crop

18. ICBA – Agriculture for Tomorrow
ICBA is an international
center undertaking
research and
development for
improving the
agricultural productivity,
social equity and
environmental
sustainability of water
use through an
integrated system
approach

19. Expanding Our Mandate
Our Mission
To work in partnership to deliver agricultural and water scarcity solutions
in marginal environments
Our Vision
To be the global Center of Excellence for innovative agriculture in saline and
marginal environments
• Working on a wider array of crops tolerant to salinity
and inclusion of bioenergy in our research program
• Working with partners to ensure that research is
relevant, useful and is accessible, available and
applicable

20. Capacity
building
and
knowledge
sharing

21. Strategic Outcomes and Objectives
Strategic Outcomes
ICBA
Vision
Increased Food and
Nutritional Security
•
ICBA
Mission
•
More Resilient
Environment and Income
•
Improved Water Security
Strategic Objectives
1. Improve generation and
dissemination of knowledge
(knowledge hub)
2. Expand food and bioenergy
solutions
3. Facilitate competitive agribusiness enterprises
4. Increase and enrich partnerships
Reflecting our
long-term
perspective
10 year time horizon.
The context within which our
own strategy must fit.
10 year time horizon.
The objectives against which
we align our efforts

22. Research Innovations & Partnerships
• Assessment of natural resources
• Climate change impacts and
management
• Crop productivity and
diversification
• Aquaculture and bioenergy
• Policies for resilience

23. Managing Salinity
Reclaiming abandoned farms in Abu
Dhabi
Seawater based agriculture:
Salicornia promising new
biofuel

24. Managing Water –Irrigation & Drainage
Sub-surface irrigation – can reduce
water use by 20% compared with
surface irrigation

25. Diversification/Intensification
Central Asia: dual purpose foodfeed crops and shrub-tree crops

26. Decision Support Systems
Comprehensive set of digital information to support policies
and decision–making on water and land use planning
Journal of Environment and Earth Science
ISSN 2224-3216 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0948 (Online). Vol 2, No.8, 2012

27. Safe use of TWW for agriculture
The Use of Treated Wastewater in the Agricultural Production
in the Arab World: Current Status and Future Prospective
14-16 January 2014, United Arab Emirates
 Explore policy support in the region for the use of TWW in agriculture
 Review the current status of the use of TWW in agriculture in the world
with an emphasis on the Arab World, including best management
practices, guidelines, regulations, policies and strategies
 Explore the future potential of TWW in agriculture in the Arab World






Best management practices (soil, water and crop) related to the use TWW.
Synthesis and dissemination of current knowledge related to the impact of the use of
TWW on plant and animal products.
Synthesis of environmental impact related to the use of TWW.
Cost-effectiveness of the use of TWW.
Exchange of knowledge, research outcome and identi cation of research gaps.
Compares standards, regulations and policies of the use of TWW regionally and
worldwide.

28. Training
Transfer technologies through field demonstrations and training courses
 Improved crop
management
 Water and irrigation
management
 Adaptation of
appropriate
productions systems
 Climate change
adaptation strategies
 Soil salinity analysis
and mapping

29. Regional Cooperation
GCC ~ MENA ~ Africa ~ Central Asia ~ South & Southast Asia ~ Latin America
29

30. Enabling Innovations
Strategic
Alliances,
Networking,
Partnerships
Capacity
Building
Technology
Incubation
Knowledge
Transfer

31. www.biosaline.org