Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research Presents Innovative Strategy for Managing Agricultural Soil Salinity in Muscat

A delegation from the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) reviewed its innovative strategic framework for managing soil salinity in agricultural lands, aimed at supporting food security, during its participation in the Arab Innovators and Creators Conference in the Omani capital, Muscat.

Dr. Amal Al-Kandari, a participating researcher at the Institute’s Center for Environmental and Life Sciences Research and head of the delegation, told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Wednesday that she and other members of the Center’s Food Security Program participated in the conference proceedings to highlight the challenge of soil salinity, which plagues most Gulf countries.

She added that she and the architects of the strategy, titled “Kuwait’s Innovative Strategy for Managing Soil Salinity in Agricultural Lands to Support Food Security,” are continuing their efforts to secure its official adoption before its dissemination across the region, emphasizing their commitment to finding permanent solutions to what she termed the “silent crisis.”

In this regard, she noted that healthy soil and good-quality water form the “cornerstone” of agricultural production and food security, pointing out the threat posed by “soil salinization” amid increasing climate variability, growing pressure on freshwater resources, and rising evaporation rates.

Al-Kandari stated that salinization is no longer just a local agricultural problem “but has become a national strategic challenge requiring a coordinated response.” She pointed out that a soil salinity assessment in the Northern Agricultural Area (Abdali) revealed that salt levels in more than 95 percent of the farms included in the study reached “alarming levels,” putting optimal crop production and food security “at risk,” thereby necessitating the formulation of a strategy for agricultural land management.

She affirmed that the evidence-based strategic framework represents a “pivotal shift” from limited immediate treatments to a “comprehensive and proactive” approach for assessing and managing agricultural land salinity, thereby improving farm productivity in Kuwait.

For his part, KISR researcher Dhafer Al-Shammari told KUNA that the prepared strategy offers a comprehensive “roadmap” for multiple stakeholders, including researchers, extension service providers, farmers, and policymakers, to build a collective consensus that enhances the productivity of irrigated farms under saline conditions across various agricultural systems in Kuwait for the sake of food security.

He added that the strategy would equip Kuwaiti farmers and national extension services with the appropriate knowledge and skills to help them use their farm resources sustainably by selecting salinity-adapted crops.

Regarding the soil salinity assessment process in the Abdali area, researcher Zamel explained that it was conducted after 100 soil samples were collected from a depth of 0 to 30 centimeters from 100 farms, before the samples were analyzed to measure the electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste extracts.

She noted that out of the 100 farms, 98 were affected by salinity at the specified depth in the Abdali agricultural area, with salinity levels ranging from moderate to very high.

Regarding the key observations made prior to drafting the strategic framework, KISR researcher Abdulrahman Al-Anazi told KUNA that soil salinization in the surface and sub-surface layers was observed in the Abdali agricultural area, where semi-saline water was used to irrigate crops.

He clarified that as a result, vegetation was absent, as “the surface salt crust was clearly visible, in addition to stunted plant growth and a lack of fruit production or abnormally small fruit sizes in date palms, while plants were found either dead or on the verge of death in salinized patches.”

According to the strategy’s proponents, its implementation ensures the continuity of local food production by adopting a policy of updating irrigation with slightly saline groundwater, mapping soil and water risks, shifting to salt-tolerant crops, adopting nature-derived soil amendments, and integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to monitor salinity in targeted farms.

They emphasized, in this regard, the need to encourage farmers to recycle agricultural waste into organic fertilizers through composting, mulching, and bioremediation, in order to preserve organic carbon in the soil, curb salt accumulation, and enhance beneficial microbial activity in highly arid environments.

The Arab Innovators and Creators Conference began yesterday, Monday, to discuss mechanisms for supporting the transition from idea to product, strengthening the innovation and patenting environment, and building sustainable Arab cooperation networks, with participation from a delegation of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and Kuwait University.

The Omani Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation organized the three-day conference in collaboration with the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, and the Arab Open University, in coordination with the League of Arab States Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), with the attendance of a select group of Arab innovators, experts, specialists, researchers, and entrepreneurs.