Managing salinity in Central Asia: licorice a tool in rehabilitating

abandoned irrigated lands

Dr Akmal Karimov, Dr Habibjon KushievIWMI Central Asia.

Uniting Agriculture and Nature for Poverty Reduction

The Issue

34 million hectares (11%) of globally equipped irrigated area is abandoned or underperforming due to salinity

Represents an annual loss of $11 billion annual

In Central Asia 50% of irrigated area affected by degrees of salinization

Elevated water tables that mobilize salt in the profile

Drainage systems do not work effectively – lack of maintenance and investments

The Research Approach

Need an effective and inexpensive approach to address the problem

Dewatering the profile with deep rooted species endemic to Central Asia – Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

Tolerates salinity; market for root extracts: industrial uses; pharmaceuticals; food and beverages (Coca Cola)

Forage can be fed to livestock – protein content of 12%

Licorice is a perennial shrub; tolerates harsh winters -20C

The Research Results

Year

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Dry

mat

ter

yiel

d (

t h

a-1

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

Forage Roots

Year

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

De

pth

to s

urf

ace

(cm

)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Saline abandonedLicorice rehabilitated

Critical depth

Crop

Cotton Wheat

Yie

ld (

t h

a-1

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Saline abandonedLicorice rehabilitated

Forage/root production – income in the remediation process

Dewatered profile

Revert back to a wheat cotton

rotation after 3-4 years

Outcomes of the Research

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) for amelioration of salt-affected soils and income generation, Uzbekistan

2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

50010001500200025003000350040004500

Net profit from Licorice production

Natural conditions

Cultivated crop

Net i

ncom

e, U

SD/h

a

Salt-affected soils in Syr Darya, Uzbekistan, 2005

Growing licorice on abandoned salt-affected: Increases the price for cultivated licorice Area of cultivated licorice increased from 4ha to 500ha Factory establish to process 9 000 ton to extract roots Assisting World Bank and the Uzbek government in an investment associated with

rehabilitating 10,000 ha of salinized land PIM undertaking assessment of markets and value chains for licorice