Soil and water salinity are a big problem in many parts of the UAE due to intensive desalination, including in agriculture, and seawater intrusion into aquifers. So much so that some farmers prefer to abandon their salt-degraded lands as traditional crops fail. The problem poses challenges to national efforts to enhance food security and self-sufficiency through local production.

Salt-tolerant and halophytic (salt-loving) plants are just the job for addressing soil and water salinity in Ethiopia, a new study led by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) has suggested.

Over 45 participants, representing various government, national and international organizations, came together in Jordan today to share key achievements of the five-year project titled Collaborative Programme Euphrates and Tigris (CPET).

In line with a resolution issued by Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of State for Future Food Security, a new Board of Directors has been appointed at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) with immediate effect.

Ghaf (Prosopis cineraria), a flowering tree, holds great promise for combating desertification and improving soil fertility in arid environments thanks to its unique qualities, long-term research by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) suggests.

Through an improved, cost-effective inland modular farming approach in desert environments, scientists at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) have achieved one of the highest fish biomass densities of Tilapia fish (30 kg per cubic meter) compared to previous growing seasons (10 kg per cubic meter), using reject brine (waste water) from desalination units.

The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BOIT), Pakistan, have joined forces to improve the agricultural sector in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and work together to strengthen cooperation in areas of common interest.

As 22 May marks the International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day) every year, the date serves as an important reminder of biodiversity’s role in food security and environmental sustainability. Today the world faces a plethora of challenges from climate change to overpopulation to food insecurity.

Scientists at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) have successfully started growing halophytic (salt-loving) vegetables in the UAE conditions, using reject brine from desalination units treated with fish effluents.

His Excellency Dr. Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia, and His Excellency Tareq Alabbasi, Director of General Department of Biodiversity and Combating Desertification, Saudi Arabia, paid a special visit to the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) today to explore areas for potential collaboration.