222893e

WATER COOPERATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND POVERTY ERADICATIONAlternative water resources in agriculture forimproving production and poverty reductionShoaib Ismail, Ian McCann, Shabbir Shahid , Fiona Chandler and Mohamed AmraniInternational Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesFor many countries, especially in the developing world,agriculture is the engine of growth, and food security andpoverty alleviation are largely dependent on the ruralagricultural economy. Water and land are the most fundamentalresources required for agricultural production and environmentalgoods and services. Management of land and water is criticalin overcoming the development challenges of poverty, food andnutrition insecurity, water scarcity and environmental degradation.So far, land and water management systems have beenable to meet the demands placed on them. However, recent Foodand Agriculture Organization estimates indicate that in order tomeet the projected demand for food in 2050, global agriculturalproduction must be 60 per cent above the level of 2005-2007.Food production accounts for 90 per cent of water use in most ofthe developing countries. Therefore water resources, in both quantityand quality, are a major factor limiting agriculturalsustainability, poverty reduction and economic developmentin many countries. Despite increasingly efficientwater use, the demand for fresh water has continued toclimb as the world’s population and economic activityhave expanded. According to some recent projections,in 2025 two thirds of the world’s population will besuffering moderate to high water stress and about halfof the population will face real constraints in their watersupply. This is especially true in the Middle East andNorth Africa (MENA) region, where almost all conventionalwater resources have already been exploited.At the same time energy, investments and humanresources are required to make the best use of thewater that is available, especially considering populationgrowth and the adverse impacts of projectedCase study: Rhodes grass reduction in Abu Dhabi emirateThe Abu Dhabi Government has set a target of reducingwater consumption in the agricultural sector by 40 per cent.One strategy to meet this target was to minimize the plantingof Rhodes grass which is an excessive water consumer.Nearly 10,500 Rhodes grass farms in the emirate wereirrigated with more than 59 per cent of the 1.5 billion m 3 ofwater that is used for irrigation each year. In most cases,the grass grown was reported to be irrigated with between40,000-50,000 m 3 ha -1 . However, the annual gross waterdemand for Rhodes grass (under modest efficiency) wasestimated to be about 30,000 m 3 ha -1 resulting in waterwastage. Furthermore, Rhodes grass is not very salt-tolerantand many of the farms in the Abu Dhabi emirate (especiallyin the Western region) had become salinized and could notsustain economic productivity.There are many other salt-tolerant forages that couldgrow under higher salinities (>20 dS m -1 , >14,000parts per million) and have better nutrient quality. TheICBA-Abu Dhabi Farmers Service Center project is aninitiative to re-vegetate abandoned saline lands withsalt-tolerant forages as an alternative to Rhodes grass.The project aims to develop demonstration farms wherethe farmers and policymakers will be able to witnesshow appropriate crops and crop management canturn productivity around. The project liaises betweenthe research, extension, end user and implementingagencies. The outcomes are linked to the capacitybuilding of research and extension staff and farmers,both on new and emerging crops and forages for saltaffectedfarms and on the local production of seeds(salt-tolerant forages) for the farmers.The ICBA-Abu Dhabi Farmers Service Center project is helping to re-vegetate abandonedsaline lands with salt-tolerant foragesImage: ICBA[ 215 ]