SUSTAIN Highlights Innovations in Salt-Affected Land Management at LAFOBA Conference

May 20 to 23, 2025, saw the Third International Laayoune Forum on Biosaline and Arid Land Agriculture (LAFOBA Conference) at UM6P – African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (Laayoune), bringing together over 300 experts and researchers from around the globe to discuss the pressing needs of drought, climate change, and soil and water salinization in arid and semi-arid regions.

We are thrilled to have participated with SUSTAIN representation!

Our COST Chair Dr. Katarzyna Negacz (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands) gave the Keynote speech “Upscaling Saline Nature-based Solutions in Times of Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss” featuring the COST Action SUSTAIN as a platform to create an international community for science and practice on the salt-affected lands.

Our WG6 “Network communication and dissemination of results” leader Dr Luísa Custodio (Centre of Marine Sciences University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal) gave a talk on “Optimizing the germination and cultivation of edible salt-tolerant plants for sustainable saline agriculture”

Our Grant Awarding Coordinator Dr Giulia Atzori (National Research Council of Italy – Institute of Sustainable Plant Protection, Florence, Italy) gave a talk on “Salt-induced nutritional modifications in salt tolerant crops and halophyte”. This presentation is based upon work for Task 2.2 and Deliverable 2.2 in the framework COST Action SUSTAIN, CA 21144, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). Dr Atzori attended the Conference supported by one Dissemination Conference Grant.

The online session feature two of our MC members: Dr Jose Antonio Hernandez from Spain gave a Keynote Speech in Session 3.2: Crop Responses to Salinity and Water Stress on “Effect of halophyte-based crop managements in physiological, biochemical and metabolomic responses of tomato plants under moderately saline conditions” and  Dr  Bas Bruning from the Netherlands gave a Talk on “Salinity legacy effects on soil microbial physiology and community composition”