Saline agriculture: A technology for economic utilization and improvement of saline environments (abstract)

The salinity problem is one of the severe constraints for agriculture in Pakistan. In a socio-economic and salinity and drainage survey over an area of about 25000 acres of salt-affected land recently, crop production is found to be very low. Livestock is underfed and malnourished. Pakistan has spent and allocated over one billion US dollars on Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARP), of course, with dubious results. Over the years, a Saline Agriculture Technology has been developed as a cheap alternative at NIAB for comfortably living with salinity and to profitably utilize saline land rather than its reclamation. The soil improvement is a fringe benefit in this approach. The Saline Agriculture Technology has been tested at laboratory level, at field stations and at farms of some progressive farmers. Now we are sharing this technology with farming communities through a 'Saline Agriculture Farmer Participatory Development Project in Pakistan', with assistance from the National Rural Support Programme. The new project has been launched simultaneously in all four provinces of Pakistan on 25000 acres of salt-affected land. Under this project seeds of salt tolerant crop varieties wheat, cotton, rice, castor, brassica and barley and saplings of trees/shrubs, e.g. Acacia ampliceps, A. nilotica, Casuarina glauca, ber, jaman, etc selected for development work in various institutions of Pakistan are being provided to farmers. Know-how on new irrigation techniques like bed-and-corrugation and bed-and-furrow, agronomic practices like laser land leveling, planting on beds and in auger holes and soil/water amendment practices (use of gypsum and mineral acids) are being shared with farmers. These interventions are quite efficient, save water up to 40% and enable farmers to utilize bad quality water. In general, farmers are being familiarized with prevalent animal diseases, nutritional problems and prophylactic techniques. They are being helped in developing Saline Aquaculture on their farms. In the cotton growing areas, farmers are also being trained on non-pesticidal control of cotton pests. For effective training of farmers on Saline Agriculture issues, they have been organized into 'Saline Agriculture Farmer Associations (SAFA)'. Regular 'Community Meetings', skill development training courses and Farmer Field Schools are being arranged for these groups. Printed material in Urdu and English on new technologies is also being published regularly for the benefit of project farmers, extension workers and other interested persons, elsewhere. Visible improvements in the project area with time clearly indicate that the Saline Agriculture Farmer Participatory Development Project in Pakistan is an elegant model to demonstrate how science can help in effecting change in life of millions of farmers in a few years, if their full participation is ensured. (author)