Tackling Salinity: A Dutch-Senegalese Opportunity for Food Security and Trade

Over the past couple of years, Senegal and the Netherlands have expressed their willingness for bilateral cooperation in these areas. In particular on the topic of salinization, many of such challenges come together: soils affected by salinity, or (ground)water of insufficient quality, coupled with concerns about (salt-tolerant) seed development and market access play a role in how to best tackle salinization.

Soil salinization is one of Senegal’s most serious land-degradation challenges, with major consequences for agricultural productivity, water resources, and rural livelihoods across multipme agroecological zones.  More than 34% of agricultural land are affected, and salinity continues to expand in several regions, increasingly constraining national food security and the sustainability of high-value production systems.  Salinization of groundwater happens alongs the country’s coastal areas.

Saline Country Partnerships initiative: focus on Senegal

The Saline Country Partnerships Initiative represent a new phase of a salinity partnership, consisting of Netherlands-based organizations, institutions and companies, convened by the Netherlands Food Partnership and the Netherlands Water Partnership. Partners in this initiative decided towards the end of 2025 to start developing implementation programmes to address the challenge of salinization in four countries: Senegal, Egypt, Bangladesh and Vietnam. For each of these countries, scoping studies were conducted to assess the extent of salinization, current programmes and policies, and an actor network inventory.

Saline Country Partnerships Initiative: focus on Senegal

The Saline Country Partnerships Initiative represent a new phase of a salinity partnership, consisting of Netherlands-based organizations, institutions and companies, convened by the Netherlands Food Partnership and the Netherlands Water Partnership. Partners in this initiative decided towards the end of 2025 to start developing implementation programmes to address the challenge of salinization in four countries: Senegal, Egypt, Bangladesh and Vietnam. For each of these countries, scoping studies were conducted to assess the extent of salinization, current programmes and policies, and an actor network inventory.

Scoping study on salinization challenges in Senegal

In Senegal, AfricaRice was mandated to lead a rapid, evidence-based scoping study to inform a multi-annual action plan and roadmap to address salinization challenges. The scoping study’s report is structured along four core objectives: (i) characterize the spatial distribution, drivers, and typologies of salinity; (ii) assess impacts on production systems and water quality; (iii) review existing interventions, institutional arrangements, and gaps; and (iv) identify priority geographies and practical entry points for coordinated action.

A draft of the study was presented by AfricaRice and discussed with 25 participants, including representative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Senegal, during a validation workshop held early 2026.

Following finalization, the study recommends priority actions that focus on implementation and long-term sustainability: restoring salt removal capacity through functional drainage and improved Operation & Maintenance; converting monitoring and diagnostics into operational decisions; deploying integrated agroecological salinity management packages tailored to Senegal’s salinity systems; and strengthening multi-actor coordination mechanisms that persist beyond projects. The study also highlights a policy opportunity integrate salinity within more strongly into broader environmental and resilience agendas, including biodiversity frameworks that recognize salinization as a driver of ecosystem loss, creating pathways for cross-sector alignment and co-financing.

The report, which can be read online or downloaded here, provides the foundation for a multi-annual salinity implementation programme.

Nature of salinity

A few important observations should be made about the nature of salinity, in order to understand its cause(s) and potential response options. A first distinction is between soil that can be saline due to (historic) geological processes, versus soil that has become more saline due to human-induced practices. The first type is often difficult to alter, as it can be regarded as an environmental condition. Human-induced practices, however, include the use of irrigation systems. This might come as a surprise to some. But even fresh irrigation water contains some percentage of salts that will reside in the soil when applied, or when water evaporates. When irrigation is not coupled with appropriate drainage, there is a high risk of salt accumulation in the long run.

A second distinction can be made between salts in the (sub)soil, and salt concentrations in water. Salts dissolved in water limit how much water plants or crops can physically absorb, and therefore reduce crop growth. Certain salts in subsoil can have another type of impact: high levels of sodium damages soil structure, forming clayish particles, blocking soil pores and reducing the flow of groundwater in the essential root zone. This phenomenon is referred to as land degradation.

Senegal: 7% of national agricultural land affected by salinity

Salinity in Senegal is spatially heterogeneous and multi-causal. It reflects (i) long-term coastal–deltaic geomorphological inheritance (saline parent materials and shallow saline groundwater), (ii) contemporary hydro-climatic forcing (rainfall deficits, high evaporative demand, estuarine salt intrusion), and (iii) management-induced processes (irrigation expansion without effective drainage, hydraulic discontinuities, and infrastructure maintenance challenges). Salinity is widely recognized as one of Senegal’s most pervasive forms of soil degradation. According to the 2012 world bank report, around 645 000 ha of agricultural lands in Senegal are affected by salinity, which correspond to about 6.8% of 9.5 million ha of the national agricultural land (World Bank, 2012). In assessing the severity of salinity stress in the Senegal River Valley, Dumas et al. (2010), estimated the saline soils to approximately 179,765 ha representing more than 74% of the potential of irrigated land (240,000 ha).

Dealing with salinity – different strategies

Human-induced practices can increase but also successfully prevent or mitigate salinity issues. This section outlines a few response pathways to address salinity. We loosely use the spectrum of prevention – mitigation – adaptation to characterize these  responses.

Prevention involves measures aimed at reducing the concentration or arrival of salts in water and soil in the first place. By keeping saline groundwater or tidal water at bay agriculture can be protected from their impact. Various technologies, such as tidal barriers and soil screens, can be employed for this purpose.

Interventions that reduce the impact of salinity are characterized as mitigation measures. Improved irrigation and drainage practices, infiltration and recharge of freshwater resources, soil improvement techniques are only a few examples.

Adaptation includes measures that adapt (food) systems to more saline conditions. Growing salt-tolerant crops instead of conventional crops requires broad food system transformations. Also, aquaculture can be positioned in this part of the ‘spectrum’, especially when it’s an intentional measure in response to increasing salinity levels in a coastal zone.

As a cross-cutting response, it is important to develop long-term policies and organize inclusive stakeholder engagement processes for all different response strategies. Although salinity can vary greatly from location to location, a regional and integrated approach is often needed to develop cost-effective interventions on the water, land and food systems level.

From Senegal to Egypt

Salinization is not only a challenge in Senegal. In Egypt, for example, Dutch and Egyptian partners are developing a national approach to salinity. Similar to Senegal, a scoping study was conducted, funded by the Netherlands Food Partnership and the Dutch Embassy in Egypt. Led by Delphy and with inputs from The Salt Doctors and other partners, the scoping study came to similar conclusions. One conclusion is that most efforts are still fragmented. Tycho Vermeulen, Agricultural Counselor for Egypt and Jordan at the Dutch Embassy in Cairo: ‘At the moment you see a large cloud of strategies in Egypt. There is no coherent, food-system-oriented, agricultural policy for dealing with salinity. From the water perspective, that policy direction is much clearer. From the agricultural side, we still lack a solid fundamental basis.’

The Salinity Country Partnerships Initiative therefore aims to coordinate and align efforts to address salinization. In the case of Senegal this means following up on the recommendations provided in the scoping study.

Recommendations for action and investment

AfricaRice recommended the following interventions, as they provide a coherent, systems-based roadmap for addressing salinity constraints in Senegal’s priority production environments:

1. Develop a minimum viable national monitoring and decision-support system regarding salinity;
2. interventions aligned with distinct salinity “systems” (irrigated schemes, estuarine lowlands, coastal aquifers, and inland mixed-driver zones) and no isolated actions;
3. Deploy integrated agroecological salinity management packages tailored to Senegal’s salinity systems;
4. Strengthen multi-level governance to clarify O&M responsibilities, improve intersectoral coordination, reduce duplication, and enhance accountability;
5. Strategically engage the private sector.

As part of the Saline Country Partnerships Initiative, the outline of this programme will be developed in close collaboration with stakeholders in Senegal and the Netherlands.

Article written by: Martijn van Staveren (m.vanstaveren@nwp.nl)

For more information:  abi-lvvn@minbuza.nl