There needs to be improved management of irrigation in order to reduce soil salinity

From the Stabroek News (where the heck is that, you ask? Right here, in Guyana), this commentary by Bissasar Chintamanie, Research Scientist, NARI (what is heck is that, you ask? The Papau-New Guinea National Agricultural Research Institute) :

“All irrigation water contains dissolved salts derived as it passes over and through the land, and rainwater also contains some salts. These salts are generally in a very low concentration in the water itself. However, the evaporation of water from the dry surface of the soil leaves the salts behind. Salinization is especially likely to become a problem on poorly drained soils when the groundwater is within 3 m or less of the surface (depending on the soil type). In such cases, water rises to the surface by capillary action, rather than percolating down through the entire soil profile, and then evaporates from the soil surface.

Salinization is a worldwide problem, particularly acute in semi-arid areas, which use large amounts of irrigation water and are poorly drained. These conditions are found in parts of the Middle East, in China’s north plain, in Soviet Central Asia, in the San Joaquin Valley of California, and in the Colorado River Basin. Salinization reduces crop productivity. In the US, salinization may be lowering crop yields on as much as 25-30% of the nation’s irrigated lands. In Mexico, salinization is estimated to be reducing grain yields by about 1 million tons per year, or enough to feed nearly a million people. In extreme cases, land is actually being abandoned because it is too salty to farm profitably. … “

Read more from the Stabroek News by clicking here.

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