The international farmers' café on saline agriculture
De Waegemaeker, J.; Asselin de Williencourt, A.M.; Debruyne, L. (2020). The international farmers' café on saline agriculture. ILVO/NMBU: Oostende. 33 pp. |
| Authors | | Top | - De Waegemaeker, J., more
- Asselin de Williencourt, A.M.
- Debruyne, L., more
| | |
| Abstract | The International Farmers’ Café on Saline Agriculture is part of the Interreg North Sea Region project Saline Farming (SalFar). The project researches and promotes the cultivation of salt-tolerant crops, known as (bio)saline agriculture, in order to (re)use degraded farmland and to reduce fresh water consumption. The project develops 10 open field labs in the North Sea Region, providing space for experimentation with salt-tolerant crops.Saline agriculture, however, is not a purely bio-technical challenge. There is to some extent a taboo on saline agriculture; either salinization is not seen as a genuine urgent challenge or the concept of saline agriculture is dismissed as undesirable. Thus, there is much work (at regional level and at North Sea level) to be done on awareness raising, capacity building and governance and agriculture along the vulnerable coastal districts of the North Sea Region. SalFar aims to develop support for the concept of saline agriculture through the interactive engagement of stakeholders at local level, including farmers, crop developers, retailers, water and agricultural policy workers.As part of this interactive process, the SalFar project organized the International Farmers’ Café on Saline Agriculture. The event facilitated international discussions on salinization and saline agriculture by farmers and other practitioners from various parts of the North Sea Region. Moreover, they provided the opportunity for a visit to one of the SalFar test sites on saline agriculture. |
|
