Salt- and Drought-Tolerant Fodders in Integrated Livestock Systems in the Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula region is characterized by a harsh climate, scarce and saline water, and limited arable land, which makes it very difficult to cultivate conventional fodder crops for livestock feeding. There is an increasing demand for livestock, driven by relatively high levels of consumption, and the region relies heavily on imported feed to meet the increasing needs for livestock feeding.

Several salt- and drought-tolerant species, halophytes, shrubs and fodder trees can be grown in the drylands of the Arabian Peninsula and there is potential for domestication of some promising species of native desert grasses.

In the light of prospects for development in this field, the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture will host a regional workshop in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Water of the United Arab Emirates, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA):

• To review the state-of-the-art knowledge on cultivation and feeding value of salt- and drought-tolerant fodders and similar feed resources and identify knowledge gaps;
• To take stock of success stories of integration of such feed resources in livestock systems in the Arabian Peninsula and in similar environments;
• To discuss the strategies for wider adoption of technological packages for improving livestock feeding by using salt- and drought-tolerant fodder crops and similar feed resources in the region;
• To review and agree on policy options for the valorization of salt- and drought-tolerant fodders and other locally available feed resources in the region.