Report on the Saline Agriculture and Halophyte Agro-ecologies Conference

The activities of the workshop focused on knowledge transfer, cooperative project design and future collaboration. As part of the practical activities, various water sources were sampled and analyzed. Although the observed salinity levels provide several options (salinity levels are in the range of 0.4 to 5.8 dS/m) the pH is clearly a concern as well (with values of 8.2 to 9.6 for several water sources). Saline agriculture is seen as a potential solution for food security at county level as well as at national level by the (local) government. A first outline for a strategy to move forward (short term and long term) was composed and a working group of 30 stakeholders was initiated by the Minister of Agriculture to explore the establishment of saline agriculture projects in Turkana and facilitate the development of public-private sector working relationships. New initiatives should focus on identifying the most suitable locations for implementation, developing tailor-made, cost-effective approaches for cultivation, and supporting policy formulation.