Goa: Experts call for urgent action on soil, water salinity

Panaji: Soil and water salinity pose a growing threat to agricultural productivity, ecosystem health, and food security, especially in arid and coastal regions, said deputy director general (NRM), ICAR, New Delhi, AK Nayak.

He was speaking at the recent International Salinity Conference in Goa. He emphasised the need for science and technology-based innovations to make agriculture more sustainable and resilient.“Salinity affects over a billion hectares globally, including 6.7 million hectares in India,” he said, adding that there is urgency needed in tackling this challenge amid climate change and water resource pressures.“It is important to maintain the equilibrium in the fragile saline ecosystems, and we hope that this conference would come up with concrete policy recommendations for the benefit of policymakers and stakeholders,” he added.Parveen Kumar, director, ICAR-CCARI, Goa, said, “The conference will focus on the adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties, integrated farming systems, and efficient resource management practices to mitigate the adverse effects of salinity, sea-level rise, and soil degradation in the coastal region.”Jointly organised by the ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, and the ICAR–Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI), Goa, the conference is being held in collaboration with the Indian Society of Soil Salinity and Water Quality (ISSSWQ), Karnal, and the Association for Coastal Agricultural Research (ACAR), Old Goa. About 150 delegates from India, as well as SAARC and AARDO member countries including Japan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Dubai, Oman, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Gambia, Eswatini, and Lebanon, are participating in the conference.The conference was on the theme ‘Worldwide Efforts on Cutting-Edge Approaches for Restoring Saline Ecosystems’ in Goa and focused on six major thematic areas.