Producing resilient crops in Egypt's El-Wadi El-Gadid

Millions of acres of land in Egypt are affected by the problems of desertification and degradation, even in the highly fertile areas such as the Nile Delta, with a knock-on effect on food security and on livelihoods.

The economic solution to cultivating Egyptian land where soil and water resources are highly salinized requires finding alternative crop production and management systems that are suitable for the available marginal resources.

Alternative, more climate-resilient and salt-tolerant crops have been successfully tested and introduced to many farming systems throughout the world, particularly in arid and coastal environments.

In the Arab world, the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, located in the United Arab Emirates, has since 2003 initiatived a number of international projects to find ways to enhance agricultural productivity and improve the livelihood of farmers in salt-affected environments.

These projects were implemented in several Arab countries including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Tunisia, Palestine, the UAE, Lebanon, and other non-MENA countries like Pakistan, Mauritania and Senegal.