Ethiopia’s irrigated agriculture productivity has been threatened by severe salinity and sodicity problems which have resulted in significantly lower yields, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. The destructive effects of poor irrigation water management with the absence of drainage and anticipated future climate changes can accelerate the formation of salt-affected soil, potentially expanding the problem to currently unaffected regions. This paper synthesizes the available information on the causes, extent, and effects of salt-affected soils on soil and crop production and suggest chemical, biological, and physical reclamation and management approaches for tackling salinity and sodicity problems. The mitigation approaches (e.g., the addition of amendments, plantation of salt-tolerant crops, appropriate irrigation and drainage management, phytoremediation, and bioremediation) have successfully tackled soil salinity and sodicity problems in many parts of the world. These approaches have further improved the socioeconomic conditions of farming communities in salt-affected areas. The paper also discusses the effectiveness of these mitigation strategies under Ethiopian conditions. The policy interventions for reclamation of soil salinity and sodicity that indicates future research attention to restoring agricultural sustainability are also foci of this paper.

Salt affected soils significantly constrain crop production and soil productivity. Although salt accumulation in soil occurs naturally, human-induced factors such as poor agricultural practices, insufficient drainage systems, as well as inaccurate irrigation water management have accelerated the formation of salt affected soils. The increase in salinity and/or sodicity, coupled with population growth, threatens crop production and soil productivity. According to the FAO/UNESCO soil map, approximately 1030 million hectares of land worldwide are degraded due to excessive salt exposure. Reclaiming these salt-affected soils while improving plant resistances to soil salinity and/or sodicity is critical. Various reclamation and management approaches, including applying different amendments, tolerant genotype cultivation, appropriate agricultural water management, and bioremediation, have effectively addressed salt-affected soils. These strategies, incorporating best practices from many agroecologies, contribute to farmers' socioeconomic well-being in affected areas. This review paper evaluates strategies for enhancing salt-affected soil productivity and the challenges of their adoption.

The livestock productivity in Ethiopia is seriously constrained by the shortage of fodder due to increasing soil salinization. Therefore, restoration of salt-affected lands into productive soils through salt-tolerant forages and improved irrigation and crop management practices is crucial for enhancing the productivity of the livestock sector in Ethiopia. In this three-year study, pot trials were conducted to evaluate the impact of five different soil salinity levels (i.e., 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 dS m⁻¹) on plant growth, biomass production, and nutrient quality attributes of three Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) genotypes (ILRI-6633, ILRI-7384, CV-massaba). Increasing soil salinity negatively affected germination percentage (GP) and mean germination time (MGT) of all genotypes. For all salinity levels, the highest GP was observed for ILRI-6633 and the lowest for CV-massaba. Plant height and chlorophyll content for ILRI-6633 was higher than the other two genotypes. The crude protein (CP) content was higher in low dry matter-producing genotype (ILRI-7384). The performance of ILRI-6633 at all salinity levels was superior to the other two genotypes. CV-massaba genotype performed better under low to medium soil salinity conditions. Therefore, ILRI-6633 and CV-massaba genotypes have excellent potential to increase forage production in salt-affected areas of Ethiopia.

A long-term cotton exhaustion trial was conducted on lowland Vertisols and Fluvisols at Werer Agricultural Research Center during the 1968–2002 in Ethiopia to investigate nutrient depletion rate and changes in selected soil chemical properties. Treatments used include cultivated fallow, control, 80kgN ha_-1, 80-80 kgNP ha_-1, 80-80kgNKha_-1 and 80-80-80kgNPKha_-1 arranged in RCBD with four and six replications in Vertisols and Fluvisols, respectively. The cotton was grown as a test crop and the status of soil N, P, K, OC, pHe and ECe were periodically monitored every seasons. Seed cotton yield had shown significant response to treatments imposed after 10 and 3 years of continuous cotton mono-cropping, respectively, on Vertisols and Fluvisols, and consistently continued for further 3 consecutive periodical checking years. Then onwards, until the end of the experiment, seed cotton yield didn't showed consistent yield response. Combined analysis revealed highly significant (p < 0.01) yield response to N applications. Despite the long-term continuous mining of soil nutrients through seed cotton harvest and crop residue removal, soil analytical result revealed no indication of depletion in total nitrogen, available K and P. Soil pHe (in both soil types) and ECe only in Fluvisols tend show gradual increase.