The Remote Sensing Authority is organizing a workshop on addressing the challenges of soil salinity in Egypt

The National Remote Sensing and Space Science Authority (NARSS) organized, in cooperation with the International Centre for the Improvement of maize and wheat (CIMMYT), an international consultative workshop on addressing the challenges of soil salinity in Egypt and its impact on agricultural productivity, with the participation of representatives of several international organizations, Egyptian universities and research centers.
The President of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Science, Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd, reviewed the efforts of the Egyptian State, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Agency for the Support of Scientific Research in Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, which were vital areas of the Egyptian State as it looked forward to a future based on space technology and data, noting that the organization of the workshop reflected the interest of various stakeholders in Egypt and their commitment to achieving sustainability and development in the agricultural sector, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation and the use of technology in addressing complex environmental and agricultural challenges.
During the workshop, soil salinity monitoring and mapping techniques, both soil and water, were presented, as well as solutions to the challenges of salinity in Egypt, and their impact on agricultural crop productivity and the environmental situation was studied.
The workshop included the identification of the main causes of salinity problems in Egypt, including seawater intrusion into agricultural areas adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, inadequate drainage systems in some areas, high evaporation rates and a review of the role of climate change in exacerbating salinity problems in Egypt, where high temperatures and changing rainfall patterns lead to soil degradation and water scarcity, thus increasing the challenges of salinity.
The workshop also highlighted the use of GIS and remote sensing as valuable tools for salt mapping in Egypt, through which salt hot spots could be identified and targeted interventions implemented to mitigate their impact, as well as highlighting the adverse effects of salinity on crop productivity in Egypt and stressing the importance of addressing these issues; to ensure food security and sustainable agricultural development in the country.
The workshop concluded that it was important to collaborate and cooperate with relevant institutions, such as international organizations, research centres and universities, to address the challenges of increasing soil salinity and its impact on agricultural productivity and its impact on climate change, as well as to emphasize the importance of adopting sustainable agricultural practices and improving water management to effectively address salinity issues.


It should be noted that the workshop was attended by many international organizations, research centres and Egyptian universities. Representatives of the International Centre for the Improvement of maize and wheat (CIMMYT), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-Egypt), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Arab Water Council (AWC), the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and the German Company for International Cooperation (GIZ). A number of representatives of the National Remote Sensing and Space Sciences Authority, the Water Management Research Institute of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the Land and Water Research Institute and the Desert Research Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Restoration also participated in the workshop.