Economic utilization of the salt-prone soils with innovative and viable practices, assessment tools and policy interventions are the need of the hour. This was highlighted at the one day National Policy Dialogue on Salt-affected Soils held in Islamabad.

Representatives from International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute, Agriculture Extension and Research, national fertilizer companies and USDA, NFDC,IPI, PARC, NARC, ILRI, CIMMYT, ICARDA attended the dialogue on March 7.

Salinity/Sodicity management experts and academicians also participated in the dialogue which focussed on important aspects such as extent of Salt-affected Soils and assessment methodologies, reclamation economics, fertilizer management and 4Rs financial mechanism for re-assessment.

The dialogue also highlighted that Over 7 million hectares is believed being affected by soil salinity/sodicity in Pakistan. Most of this area falls in canal command.

Further, due to the intensive use of poor quality ground water, the problem of secondary salinization is being accelerated on an area of around 2 million hectares and it warrants re-assessment.

It was also stressed that under the changing scenario of climate and dwindling water resources, the simultaneous focus should be on degraded and good agricultural soils to promote sustainable crop production intensification for the rapidly increasing population.

Mr. Francisco Gamarro, Deputy FAO Representative, Member Natural Resources Division, PARC Dr. Nadeem Amjad, Professor Dr. Riaz H. Qureshi (Former VC University of Agriculture Faisalabad) and Dr. Waqar Ahmad, Soil/NRM Expert FAO among others participated in the dialogue.
Video messages from ICBA, Dubai UAE were also screened.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Ministry of National Food Security & Research and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council is implementing a United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) funded project “Soil Fertility Management for Sustainable Intensification in Pakistan: Baseline Input Atlas and Promotion of Soil Fertility with Private Sector” in Punjab and Sindh provinces. The project is providing a baseline atlas of current soil fertility practices, disaggregated by farm size and cropping systems. The atlas will help to understand required soil fertility management changes for sustainable agricultural intensification. Consequently, appropriate balanced inputs and “4Rs” (Right fertilizer at the Right rate at the Right time in the Right place) would be promoted in partnership with the private sector, including national fertilizer companies, wholesalers/retailers and farmer associations.