Desert Research Center received a delegation from the Climate Resilient Africa Fund (CRAF), to discuss ways of joint cooperation through implementing agricultural projects that are compatible with climate change to achieve food security
Dr Hosam Shawky, President of Desert Research Center said that one of the most prominent projects of common interest is the cultivation of Salicornia, due to its great benefits and its ability to grow and produce under extremely harsh saline conditions
The delegation made an inspection visit to the DRC’s central laboratory and Egypt Desalination Research Center of excellence- EDRC, to learn about the DRC’s capabilities and the latest devices used to analyze water, soil and plant samples
Dr. Hassan Al-Shaer, Director of Egyptian Center of Excellence for Saline Agriculture (ECESA) at DRC, stated that halophytes have high commercial advantages in the food market for humans and animals, human and veterinary medicines and cosmetics
He also reviewed Desert Research Center’s project on developing fodder cultivation systems in environments affected by salinity in the Mediterranean Basin, as the project aims to develop environmentally friendly and sustainable agricultural practices
Shawky explained that it was agreed to develop a work plan to conduct experiments and research on the production of different types of Salicornia, to study their suitability for Egyptian conditions, and to evaluate the quality of the seeds and oils produced by the plant
