Despite the global community's efforts to combat hunger, the challenge of providing quality food to all segments of the population remains unresolved.
Food security is an especially acute issue in countries with arid climates. Due to insufficient moisture, low land productivity, and soil salinity, agricultural output becomes unstable. Years of unsustainable land use lead to the degradation of arable land, making further crop cultivation impossible. Meanwhile, to ensure sustainable agriculture, it is essential to expand arable areas, including in regions with dry climates. This session focuses on modern agricultural biotechnologies aimed at increasing the profitability of agricultural production in arid zones.
Facts and Figures
According to UN FAO forecasts, around 318 million people could face acute food shortages in 2026 due to extreme weather events, economic instability, high prices for fertilisers and seeds, and a lack of irrigation water.
More than 2 billion people live in vulnerable arid territories. Arid regions account for up to 43 per cent of the world’s cultivated land. Land degradation results in agricultural production losses amounting to approximately USD 42 billion per year. Around one-third of all the cultivated land globally has been abandoned over the last 40 years due to a loss of productivity resulting from soil erosion. By 2045, around 135 million people could become ‘environmental refugees’ as a result of land degradation.
Discussion Issues
Innovative technologies in crop production and land reclamation
Resource conservation and restoration of disturbed lands
Bioproducts increasing plant resilience to extreme weather events
Prospects for developing plant varieties suitable for cultivation under water-scarce conditions
Programme
Session Moderators' Welcoming Remarks
Elena Chudinova (Russia)
Associate Professor, Agrarian and Technological Institute, RUDN University
Nodira Azimova (Uzbekistan)
Senior Researcher, Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Honorary Member of the Microbiological Society of Uzbekistan
Topic of the report
Agriculture in arid regions:: Strengthening food security and optimizing resource use under climate change
Saddam Hussain (Pakistan)
Associate Professor specializing in Plant Stress Physiology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
Topic of the report
Food security in Iran
Mohammad Reza Naghavi (Iran)
Professor, Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, University of Tehran
Topic of the report
Biological control of phytopathogenic fungi as an element of ensuring food security in the arid regions of Central Asia
Nodira Azimova (Uzbekistan)
Senior Researcher, Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Honorary Member of the Microbiological Society of Uzbekistan
Topic of the report
Innovative technologies for the restoration of degraded agricultural land in the arid belt of the European part of Russia
Elvira Dedova (Russia)
Professor of the RAS, Chief Researcher, Deputy Director for Science
Galina Konieva (Russia)
Leading Researcher, Federal Scientific Center of Hydraulic Engineering and Land Reclamation named after A.N. Kostyakov
Topic of the report
Breeding for enhanced plant drought tolerance under the conditions of Tajikistan
Kurbonali Partoev (Tajikistan)
Corresponding Member of Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Honored Worker of Science and Engineering of Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Breeding, Institute of Botany, Plant Physiology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan
Topic of the report
Where soil protection begins: The role of social factors
Alexander Neaman (Chile
Professor, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Tarapacá
