Baseline study of biosaline agriculture and roadmap to concerted cooperation in Maghreb countries

Book excerpt: Over 80 percent of the freshwater used in the Maghreb region is used by the agriculture sector. The region deals with rising soil and water salinization as well as agricultural land degradation. The sector is being impacted by climate change, particularly in light of the recent extended droughts. Making the most of all available water resources, especially saline waters, becomes essential in a situation where water scarcity is getting worse due to a combination of climate change's effects and rising demand. FAO conducted this study on the state and prospects of biosaline agriculture in the member nations of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) in collaboration with the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and the AMU, as part of a regional initiative on water scarcity. Biosaline agriculture is the cultivation of plants in water or on soils high in salt. It entails using tolerant plants that can produce a significant amount of biomass under saline circumstances to recover and maintain saline soils and to exploit saline waters for sustainable and financially advantageous production. The report provides a comparative analysis of the five nations in the Maghreb region, assesses the diverse farming practices and experiences already in use there, and offers a vision and framework for coordinated action and the promotion of biosaline farming. The report highlights the regions of the Maghreb countries that are most affected by salt, along with their features, existing practices, methods of adaptation, and prospects for future sustainable agricultural production.