Rabat – salt content is a major challenge for agriculture in several countries around the world. It occurs when too much salt builds up in the ground or water, which makes it difficult for plants to absorb enough water due to their inability. The salinity can of course occur, but human activities such as poor irrigation practices and overuse of groundwater can make the problem worse.
In Africa, the salinity is a growing problem that threatens the harvest yields and soil health. Many regions already suffer from Water shortageAnd when salty water is used for agriculture, it damages the soil.
The countries in north and south of the Sahara Africa are particularly affected due to dry climate and poor water management. The salinity reduces the harvest yields, forces farmers to give up land, and worsens the uncertainty of food. Are around 80 million hectares affected By salt content in Africa.
In view of these challenges, the biosaline agriculture for regions that suffer from salinity and water shortages could offer several advantages. The Biosaline Agriculture is an agricultural method with which plants can be grown in salty soil or water. Instead of fighting against the salinity, there are ways to use it and turn salty land into productive farms.
Some plants such as quinoa and certain types of barley can survive under salty conditions. Scientists also develop new harvests that can grow under these conditions.
Morocco World News (MWN) spoke to Abdelaziz Hirich, a professor of agriculture in Marginal environments at the University of Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), to learn more about this agricultural method.
For Hirich, the Biosaline Agriculture is more likely to develop as a necessity than an option, especially in regions with increasing salt content of the soil and water. The urgency for the agriculture of biosaline is reflected in global statistics, said the professor and found that a billion hectare land worldwide is affected by salinity, including 80 million hectares in Africa and Morocco alone. These numbers reflect a growing crisis that endangers nutritional security, agricultural productivity and livelihood in rural areas.
Biosalin research in Morocco
Hirich’s expertise in salt -tolerant plants began during his master and the PhD at Hassan II. His career path led him in Dubais International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), where he worked on large projects for six years before he came to UM6P in 2020.
During his work at ICBA, Hirich headed agricultural projects in the United Arab Emirates, in the African Valley regions south of the Sahara, including Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Togo, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambik. These projects focused on the introduction and transformation of salt -tolerant plants, including feed and quinoa, especially in salt -related countries, through biological salin agriculture.
After entering UM6P, he headed several initiatives for agriculture in Biosaline throughout Morocco. His work focused particularly on marginal environments in which traditional plants fight due to high salt content and drought.
These projects focus on salt -tolerant plants such as Quinoa, Blue Panicum, Sesbania, Cowpea and Halophytes (e.g. Salicornia) as well as sustainable irrigation using salt water instead of fresh water and participatory research with farmers to test and cause new agricultural models.
The research of UM6P in this area is anything but theoretical, since they involve farmers directly through 15 experimental platforms, each of which acts as a “living laboratory”, in which plants and irrigation techniques are tested under real conditions.
These platforms are located in the country of the country southern provinces by Laayoune, Smara, Tarfaya, Boujdour, Bir Anzarane and Dakhla, with others in Doukkala, Rahamna and Khouribga, including a 15 hectare farm on the exploited country.
An important initiative is the new UM6P farm in the Boujdours area of Jifia, where the desalmed groundwater is used for the large-scale agricultural development in cooperation with the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture.
“It is a demonstration platform to support farmers in the newly irrigated 9,000 hectare size. We offer technical know -how to help you go to more resilient agricultural practices, ”said the professor.
Through such initiatives, UM6P works with farmers, harvesting in their fields, observing the results and increasing successful techniques to ensure that their research has tangible advantages.
Hirich works especially on African African African Agricultural Research Institute (Asari) in Laayoune. He has dedicated years of research in this area and his goal is not only scientific progress, but to ensure that research has real effects for farmers.
“Our philosophy in the center is not only to research research on the publication of work, but also to have more influence on the local communities, especially the farmers,” he said.
Challenges in the introduction of the biosaline agriculture
Despite its great potential for changing agriculture, the Biosaline Agriculture looks like several obstacles, noted Hirich. Of these, the fact that salt -tolerant varieties are not widespread due to the focus of the large seed companies on conventional plants.
“Most large seed companies do not invest in saline -resistant plants because they concentrate on plants that are grown under freshwater conditions such as fruit and vegetables,” he said.
Hirich identified the resistance of farmers against changes as another challenge and explained that many farmers hesitate to replace traditional plants such as corn and Alfalfa, even if they have to struggle with low yields due to the soil of the soil. The assumption is slow due to these deeply rooted agricultural practices.
“Sometimes farmers do not know that they have a salinity problem or they are used to their traditional plants. Even if corn no longer works, you will try to expand it, ”said Hirich.
In addition, farmers prefer high-quality plants such as berries and tomatoes that are sensitive to salt content but achieve more income than biosaline alternatives. Some salt -tolerant plants such as Quinoa and Blue Panicum are becoming more economical, but the scaling remains a challenge.
“Biosaline plants are often less profitable than traditional monetary plants, but for farmers without other options they offer an alternative to give up their country,” he said.
The introduction of the biosaline agriculture is also political challenges, including in Morocco, since this alternative cultivation system in the most important agricultural development plans in Morocco was not clearly accepted (Green Morocco Plan and Generation Green Plan)
The country is experiencing the seventh year of the drought in a row, and the effects of this water crisis have achieved agriculture, industry, tourism and daily life. In order to save water, Morocco decided to invest strongly in several desalination plants throughout the area.
In view of this, the main priority of the government is understandably more water due to desalination. Hirich argues that the Biosaline agriculture, in particular the use of salt water, offers an alternative by reducing demand for fresh water.
Water crisis and the role of bio -aline agriculture
The government invested heavily in desalination plants in various regions, including Agadir, Safi, Casablanca and Dakhla. While these projects increase water availability, they have high financial and ecological costs.
According to Hirich, the biosaline agriculture can complement the desalination efforts Brack/Salt water and introduction of drought -resistant plants that require less irrigation.
According to Professor, this agricultural method would also provide alternative sources of income for farmers who have to deal with water shortages. He argued that the biosaline agriculture is a solution that fits both water shortages and the flash of soil, since farmers harvest with less water and at the same time restore land productivity.
Since Africa loses every minute 2 hectares of arable land due to salt content and desert formation (according to FAO), Hirich repeated that the Biosaline Agriculture is a critical instrument for future nutritional security.
He noticed that the Biosaline Agriculture is a reasonable option for countries without access to the coast because it cannot rely on the desalination. In view of the current situation, governments should integrate salt content management into national agricultural policy to prevent long -term loss of productivity, Hirich added.
“The salinity is irreversible. As soon as the soil becomes salt solution, it never returns to its original state, ”warned the professor and quoted data from the food and agricultural organization (FAO). Accordingly The organization, the world loses 2 hectares of arable land every minute due to drought and desert formation.
Hirich recalled that the biosaline agriculture in Morocco has made considerable progress. However, a lot more must be done to scale research and introduction beyond pilot projects and long-term funds from governments, not only international donors, to ensure, and to integrate biosaline solutions into agricultural mainstream agricultural policy.
“The Biosaline Agriculture is not just an alternative, but a necessity” for the future of African agriculture, the professor concluded.
