Varsities, govt team up to solve soil salinity

About 2.11 million hectares of land in Sindh has degraded due to salinity

KARACHI:

In a first, three educational institutions and the irrigation department will undertake a joint research on the issue of soil salinity and groundwater in Sindh,

Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology University (MUET), Agriculture Research Sindh (ARS), and Sindh Irrigation Development Authority (SIDA) signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect on Monday.

The research will be titled 'adapting to salinity in the southern Indus basin'. The Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) will also collaborate in the project by lending financial support.

The research project will focus on the 'bright spots' to deal with salinity. SAU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Fateh Marri said Sindh is the most affected province of Pakistan due to the presence of salts in soil and groundwater.

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The professor said researchers are also expected to come up with sustainable solutions for rehabilitation and for the growing green plantations in such areas.

Sindh Agriculture Research Director General Noor Mohammad Baloch said that 2.11 million hectares of land in Sindh has degraded due to salinity.

ASSIB National Coordinator Dr Bakhsh Lashari said the farmers of Sindh, academic experts and students will be involved in the research.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2022.