Webinar: Enhancing Rice Production in Salt-affected Areas through Effective Salinity and Water Management Strategies

Overview

Rice is the primary crop and food staple of more than half the world’s population.However, its productivity is highly constrained by abiotic stresses such as salinity. In fact, salt-related stress is the second biggest limiting factor for rice productivity, affecting more than 1.2 billion hectares of arable land and is expected to increase due to climate change and inappropriate irrigation practices.

The capacity to tolerate salinity is a key factor in plant productivity. Understanding the mechanism of high salinity stress and subsequently developing salt-tolerant rice varieties can be a solution for increasing rice production. There is a need to develop new varieties with higher yield potential and stability across environments, climates, and geographic locations. In addition, it is necessary to implement sustainable irrigation practices to save water resources and prevent and control soil and water salinization.

Currently, scientific studies are being conducted in different countries to develop new salt-tolerant rice varieties using both conventional and non-conventional breeding techniques and promote sustainable water management practices for rice production.

Joint research initiatives are also being pursued and undertaken as it is important to combine resources and learn from best practices to achieve better results.

Organized in collaboration with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), this webinar will look at the current state of research and innovation, as well as future opportunities and challenges in salt-tolerant rice breeding and production. It will also serve as an opportunity to exchange the latest knowledge and experience in this field.

Objective

The webinar will feature presentations from ICBA and MARDI, focusing on research and technology in developing salt-tolerant rice varieties and sustainably managing water resources for rice production. In particular, the webinar will cover such topics as:

1. Breeding and evaluation of salt-tolerant rice varieties;

2. Sustainable water management for rice production and prevention of seawater intrusion and soil and water salinization.

The webinar will also present the results of some research studies from different countries, including Malaysia and the UAE.

Speakers

The speakers include senior managers, scientists, and experts from ICBA and MARDI as follows:

• Dr. Charbel Tarraf, Chief Operations and Development, ICBA, UAE
• Dr. Mohd Syaifuddin Abdul Rahman, Director of Rice and Paddy Research Center, MARDI, Malaysia
• Dr. R. K. Singh, Program Leader on Crop Diversification and Genetics, ICBA, UAE
• Dr. Khalil Ammar, Program Leader on Sustainable Natural Resources Management, ICBA, UAE
• Ms. Rahiniza binti Kamaruzaman, Research Officer, MARDI, Malaysia
• Mr. Muhammad Haniff Ahmad, Research Officer, MARDI, Malaysia