Global food production at increased risk from excess salt in soil, UN report warns

Women plant seeds on the outskirts of Gedaref in Sudan, one of the countries suffering most from salt-affected soil. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The extent of the world’s land affected by excess salt is set to increase rapidly with potentially devastating impacts on food production, research has found.

About 1.4bn hectares (3.4bn acres), amounting to 10% of global land, is affected by salinity, with a further 1bn hectares classed as “at risk”, a report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has found.