Strengthening knowledge and action networks on Saline Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa

ESA Saline Agriculture Network

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Soil salinisation is one of the most significant drivers of land degradation worldwide. Especially in the context of agricultural land use, it is becoming an increasing constraint. It often results from the interaction of natural conditions (e.g. arid climate, high groundwater tables, seawater intrusion) and human mismanagement (e.g. improper irrigation and drainage). Increasingly, climate change is also a driving force; be it in the form of prolonged dry periods or sea level rise. The consequences are declining agricultural yields, up to complete crop failure and abandonment of agricultural land, as the majority of agricultural crops can only tolerate low soil salinity levels.

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This trend increasingly is being observed also in Mozambique and other countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), where smallholder agriculture is one of the most important contributors to food security and national economies. Soil salinisation is by no means a new phenomenon in the region. In predestined locations, such as near the coast or in the arid hinterland, farmers have been dealing with the problem for a long time and local knowledge systems on how to deal with the problem have evolved. Nevertheless, solutions that go beyond current farmers’ knowledge are becoming more and more urgent. Population growth and the resulting pressure on natural resources, combined with increasingly inhospitable climatic conditions, require timely and scientifically sound action to ensure sustainable resource management. At the international level, agricultural research has made far-reaching progress and identified a range of promising sustainable management options, commonly grouped under the buzzword Saline Agriculture. However, corresponding knowledge networks are hardly developed in Eastern and Southern Africa. The bulk of research and development initiatives here focuses on other aspects of agriculture and climate change adaptation. Soil salinisation as a specific challenge has received very little attention.

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Our initiative focuses on closing this gap. The aim is to (1) implement application-oriented research (local piloting of innovative agronomic management approaches), (2) promote knowledge transfer and networking among researchers and practitioners in the region, as well as internationally, (3) along with awareness-raising work targeting the wider society. Original starting point was the regionally and thematically limited project SaliHort, focussing on soil salinity management in vegetable production systems in southern Mozambique (2020 – 2023), which increasingly developed into a driving force for national and supraregional scientific networking on the topic of Saline Agriculture and thus laid the foundation for the initiative presented here. The ESA Saline Agriculture Network understands itself as a living network that provides room for project-based work, events, and continuous technical exchange. New network members and institutional partners who share our vision and want to contribute to the initiative are always welcome!

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In order to get involved in networking activities and to receive updates on events and opportunities, sign up to our Mailing List.

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Furthermore, we host a virtual Saline Agriculture Working Group on our Action Network Worldwide Platform. After registration via the link you’ll be able to access informative materials, as well as connect and collaborate with other like-minded professionals.

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Individual projects and activities:

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(1) SaliHort Project (2020 – 2023)

The project Piloting of Strategies to Mitigate Impacts of Salinity in Horticultural Systems of Mozambique (SaliHort) initiated Weltweit’s work on Saline Agriculture, building on prior exploratory research conducted by the project managers Matias Siueia Júnior and Jakob Herrmann. Drawing on a network of trial field locations in the peri-urban agricultural areas of Maputo city, the project aimed at identifying and promoting locally adapted salinity management strategies, through: (a) scientific field trials, (b) Farmer Field Schools, (c) introduction of portable soil sensor technology for improved agricultural advisory, and (d) technical networking with other Saline Agriculture actors. Project success was guaranteed by a strong interdisciplinary consortium, including Mozambican organisations from science (University Eduardo Mondlane, UEM), public agricultural extension (Maputo Municipal Council) and civil society (Association for Sustainable Development, ABIODES). Funding was provided by: The Conservation, Food & Health Foundation, The German Federal State of Hesse, and Stiftung Ursula Merz.

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(2) Support for a Climate Change Adaptation Project in Maputo-KaMubukwana (2024 – 2025)

The Project Climate Change Adaptation of Urban Agriculture with a Focus on Prevention and Management of Soil Salinisation in Maputo-KaMubukwana is being implemented as part of the long-standing town twinning partnership between Berlin-Lichtenberg and Maputo-KaMubukwana, facilitated by the alliance between the Lichtenberg District Office & their partners in KaMubukwana and SODI e.V.. Weltweit and ABIODES provide technical support, replicating the SaliHort capacity building approach centred around Saline Agriculture Farmer Field Schools, directly reaching about 100 farmers and 10 extension workers in the peri-urban agricultural production areas of KaMubukwana. Next to on-the-spot capacity building, the elaboration of a technical manual on salinity management tailored to the local context, is another major achievement (available for download in the column on the right of this page). The handbook will provide a valuable reference for extension personnel and farmers beyond the project’s duration. Funding was provided by: Engagement Global (EG) through its Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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(3) MoSARP Project (2024 – 2025)

The Mozambican Saline Agriculture Research and Practice: Agroforestry Solutions and Training Development (MoSARP) project is financed by the Saline Water and Food Systems Partnership (Netherlands Food Partnership/Netherlands Water Partnership). The initiative centred around a collaborative action workshop held in Maputo in February 2025, which brought together experts and stakeholders from Mozambique, Eastern Africa and Europe for best possible knowledge transfer. The key objective was to assess the opportunities for ‘Saline Agroforestry’ to counteract land degradation and improve food security, including pilot field trials in rural Maputo province (Moamba, Marracuene). Additionally, the project explored options for integrating Saline Agriculture into educational curricula, thus improving the topical capacities of agricultural professionals in Mozambique. MoSARP is implemented by a consortium of 7 institutions: Bamboo Friends Association (ASSAMBA), Association for Sustainable Development (ABIODES), University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), Mozambique Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAM), The Salt Doctors, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU-IVM), Weltweit, with further support from the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF).

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(4) Exploring Salinity Impact and Saline Agriculture Potential across Eastern and Southern Africa (2024 – ongoing)

Principally supported by funding from the Cost Action SUSTAIN, project manager Jakob Herrmann had the opportunity to conduct repeated exploratory visits to various salt-affected agricultural environments in Kenya and Mozambique. This included diverse dryland (Makueni and Turkana Counties, Kenya) and coastal systems (Kwale, Kilfi and Tana River Counties, Kenya; Zambezia Province, Mozambique). Field examinations, along with interaction with local agricultural practitioners and Saline Agriculture initiatives (e.g. NARA/Seawater Solutions, Bamboo-living Project, Koromi Farm, Mozambique Institute of Agricultural Research) helped to build the ESA Saline Agriculture Network and enhance the topical knowledge base. Research collaboration under SUSTAIN further allowed for systematically compiling scientific evidence for actual and possible Halophyte and Saline Agriculture approaches based on indigenous and naturalized plant resources from ESA.

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(5) Fundamental Research on Salinity Impacts on East African Rice Production Systems (2025 – ongoing)

Benefiting from our network’s infrastructure, this new fundamental research initiative aims at contributing to a better understanding of the impacts of salinity on various element cycles in Eastern African rice growing soils, ultimately informing improved management strategies for these systems. The research is principally conducted in the Zambezi River Delta in Mozambique, led by the Chair of Soil Science and Soil Protection at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU; with Jakob Herrman as principal research associate), in collaboration with the Mozambique Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAM), the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation. Preliminary data collection was made possible by financial support from Cost Action SUSTAIN and UPM through its Fund for International Cooperation Actions for Sustainable Human Development.

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Achievements to date in figures:

• 6 years of practical piloting of Saline Agriculture techniques in in different Mozambican agricultural systems, following a Farmer Field School approach, having directly reached approximately 300 farmers
• 1 technical manual on salinity management in agriculture
• 6 multi-institutional technical workshops and webinars on Saline Agriculture implemented
• 6 field excursions for knowledge sharing on soil salinity and its management in Mozambique and Kenya
• 10 international scientific conferences in which we participated and shared technical experiences
• 1 strategy paper on soil salinity and Saline Agriculture in Mozambique
• 9 university students successfully completed their theses research or internships on the topic of soil salinity management
• 2 international networks on soil salinity in which we are active
• more than 25 institutions from 10 countries with which we established technical exchange on Saline Agriculture (find a list of key network partners in the column on the right)

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