Inside ICARDA’s Integrated Desert Farming Systems

To most eyes, deserts look like the end of the line for agriculture – too dry to grow, too hot to handle, and too degraded to offer much promise. But that assumption is being overturned by a science-driven rethink of agriculture in places long considered beyond saving.  

Across the drylands of the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Central and South Asia, temperatures are soaring, water is becoming more scarce, and saline soils are making growing food a constant battle. But researchers, farmers, and innovators are rewriting that story through ICARDA’s Integrated Desert Farming Systems (IDFS).

What Makes IDFS Different? 

IDFS isn’t a single technology or crop; it’s a holistic systems-level approach to sustainable agriculture in arid and degraded environments. It combines protected farming techniques like net houses and hydroponics with cultivation of resilient annual and perennial crops including, food, vegetables, forage, and fruit , fish and livestock which tolerates heat, salinity, and water stress. It restores degraded lands through strategic use of crop, land, and water resources, including tree, pasture and managed grazing, while strengthening value chains for date palms and other perennial crops. Water is treated as a precious asset to be captured, reused, and desalinated using rainwater harvesting, solar power and agrivoltaics. Soil health is rebuilt through regenerative practices that return dust back into living earth. Nothing goes to waste: farm by-products are recycled through composting, aquaponics, and nutrient recovery. With the support of drones, sensors, and AI, decisions are more informed and efficient than ever before. At the center of it all are people, especially women and youth, who gain new skills, start businesses, and lead the shift to sustainable livelihoods in drylands.

READ FULL BLOG ON ICARDA WEBSITE