International Center for Biosaline Agriculture

What International Center for Biosaline Agriculture does

The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) is a not-for-profit international research institution established in 1999 and headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is dedicated to addressing agricultural challenges in saline, arid, and marginal environments, with a mission centered on preventing, managing, and recovering from salinity in agroecosystems under its 2024-2034 Strategic Plan ("Agriculture for Tomorrow"). ICBA operates research facilities including a Genebank preserving plant genetic resources suited to saline and arid conditions, a Central Analytical Lab for soil/water/plant analysis, a Desert Life Science Lab, and the Emirates Soil Museum. Its service portfolio spans technology testing platforms, capacity development programs (Arab Women Leaders in Agriculture fellowship, Farmer Field Schools, e-learning, technical training, knowledge hubs), and applied research into drought-resistant crops, desalination-for-agriculture, and climate-smart cultivation techniques.

ICBA has implemented programs in more than 30 countries spanning West Africa to Central Asia, and serves resource-constrained farming communities, government ministries, national research agencies, and development organizations. The organization does not sell products commercially; rather, it operates through donor-funded research partnerships, collaborative projects, and capacity development. Reported technical outcomes include desalination-integration techniques that can raise crop yields by up to 30% and drought-resistant millet/sorghum varieties requiring up to 50% less water than conventional grains. Key disclosed funding partners include the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Islamic Development Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat. ICBA is a founding member of AIRCA (Alliance of International Research Centers for Agricultural Research).

ICBA's go-to-market is relationship-led rather than transactional: it secures program funding from sovereign development funds, multilateral lenders, and philanthropic foundations, then executes through bilateral agreements with national agencies (e.g., Uzbekistan's Agency for Innovative Development, UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment). Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, consistent with not-for-profit research-center norms. The organization employs between 51-100 staff and is led by Director General Dr. Tarifa Alzaabi. In 2023 it received the UAE National CSR Fund's Gold Impact Seal Award, and it maintains active presence at COP27, COP28, and COP29 climate conferences.

Name

International Center for Biosaline Agriculture

Legal name

International Center for Biosaline Agriculture

Website

https://biosaline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ICBA is a Dubai-based not-for-profit international research center, founded in 1999, that develops science-based agricultural solutions for saline, arid, and marginal environments and delivers donor-funded research, capacity-building, and technology testing across more than 30 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Research and Development Services: ICBA generates revenue through research partnerships, project collaboration requests, and technology testing services offered to organizations seeking to evaluate products in saline and arid environments.
2. Donor Funding and Grants: As a not-for-profit research institution, ICBA relies on funding from core donors, development funds, foundations, and international organizations to support its research and capacity development programs.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ICBA is an international not-for-profit applied research center that develops and disseminates science-based agricultural solutions for saline, marginal, and arid environments. Its core work spans biosaline and saline-irrigation agronomy, climate-smart crop variety development, soil and water diagnostics, conservation of plant genetic resources, and capacity development through fellowships, farmer field schools, and technical training programs delivered to national partners and farming communities.

Product overview

ICBA is a not-for-profit international research institution dedicated to enhancing food security and sustainable livelihoods in resource-constrained regions globally. The organization operates as a unified portfolio of research facilities and capacity development programs unified by its mission to 'Prevent, Manage and Recover from salinity in agroecosystems' under its Strategic Plan 2024-2034. The core offerings include specialized research facilities (Genebank, Central Analytical Lab, Desert Life Science Lab, Emirates Soil Museum), capacity development programs (AWLA Fellowship, Farmer Field Schools, E-Learning, Technical Training, Knowledge Hubs), and technology testing services. Since 1999, ICBA has implemented programs in more than 30 countries spanning from West Africa to Central Asia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Arab Women Leaders in Agriculture (AWLA): A fellowship program designed to strengthen women's leadership in agricultural science across the MENA region.
• ICBA Youth Engagement Society (YES)
• Farmer Field Schools

Products and services

• AWLA Fellowship Program A fellowship program that builds the research capacity of women scientists working in agricultural and biosaline research, delivered by ICBA to early- and mid-career researchers from partner countries.
• ICBA Youth Engagement Society (YES) A youth engagement program run by ICBA to involve young professionals and students in biosaline agriculture research, outreach, and capacity-building activities.
• Farmer Field Schools Field-based training programs that teach smallholder farmers improved agronomic practices for saline, arid, and water-scarce conditions, delivered through national partner networks.
• Technical Training Program Structured technical training delivered to researchers, extension agents, and partner institution staff on biosaline agriculture methods, soil and water analysis, and stress-tolerant crop management.
• E-Learning Platform Online learning platform providing distance-based courses and resources on biosaline agriculture and related topics to researchers, students, and practitioners.
• Knowledge Hubs Curated knowledge hubs that aggregate ICBA's research outputs, publications, and resources for use by partners, researchers, and policy audiences.
• Genebank Conservation facility that holds a multi-thousand-accession collection of plant genetic resources with tolerance to salinity, heat, and drought, used for research and germplasm exchange with national partners.
• Central Analytical Lab Centralized laboratory providing soil, water, and plant analytical diagnostics in support of ICBA's research projects and partner institutions working on saline and arid agriculture.
• Desert Life Science Lab Controlled-environment laboratory used to conduct plant-stress and crop-performance experiments under simulated saline and arid conditions, supporting variety screening and physiological research.
• Emirates Soil Museum Soil museum used for soil classification, reference, and educational purposes, supporting researchers, students, and partners working on soils in arid and saline environments.
• Technology Testing Platform Field-validation platform that tests stress-tolerant crop varieties and agronomic technologies under real saline and arid farming conditions in partner countries, generating evidence for scaling.

Quantifiable outcome

• Desalination technology enables farmers to increase crop yields by up to 30%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Uzbekistan's Agency for Innovative DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2026Collaboration agreement signed to launch a farmers' accelerator program in Nukus, Karakalpakstan. The three-month program aims to reach 200 beneficiaries including farmers and agro-entrepreneurs, with focus on women and youth, providing training in technical skills, post-harvest management, agro-processing, branding, business planning, and market access.
• Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) - UAEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Partnership to launch a national initiative for climate-smart crops aimed at strengthening UAE food security. The initiative focuses on drought-resistant crops including millet and sorghum, developing an Emirati Recipe Book, and cultivating Blue Panicum Grass for livestock fodder.
• TamkeencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2026Partner in organizing the UAE FoodTech Challenge, a competition supporting global food security innovation with a US$2 million cash prize package.
• ne'maminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 January 2026Partner in UAE FoodTech Challenge supporting food security innovation initiatives.
• SilalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2026Partner in UAE FoodTech Challenge focused on scaling promising agri-tech solutions from Abu Dhabi to serve the Global South.
• International Affairs Office at UAE Presidential CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2026Organizer of UAE FoodTech Challenge at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, with ventures ranging from protein-producing insect farms to AI-powered food waste minimization tools.
• CGIAR Research Program on WheatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner supporting the AWLA fellowship program with expertise in wheat research and agricultural science development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• World Resources Institute (WRI): WRI is a global research organization working on sustainability, food, water, and climate issues. It is thematically comparable to ICBA in addressing food security and water scarcity, though operating primarily as a policy and data think-tank rather than an agricultural R&D institution.

Broad incumbents

• International Water Management Institute (IWMI): IWMI is a CGIAR water-focused research organization working on sustainable water use for agriculture, including in saline and water-scarce regions. It is highly comparable to ICBA on the water-scarcity and irrigation side of the agenda, with overlapping institutional partners and donor base.
• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT: The Alliance is a CGIAR entity combining Bioversity International and CIAT, focused on agricultural biodiversity and tropical crop research. It is comparable to ICBA in operating through international research partnerships and addressing climate resilience in crop systems.
• WorldFish: WorldFish is a CGIAR center focused on aquatic food systems in developing countries, including saline and arid-region aquaculture. It is comparable to ICBA as a CGIAR-aligned research institution addressing food security in marginal environments.
• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI): IRRI is a major CGIAR center focused on rice research, with growing programs on salinity-tolerant rice varieties. Its scale and institutional footprint make it a broad incumbent peer addressing overlapping salinity and water-scarcity challenges in developing-country agriculture.
• International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT): CIMMYT is a large CGIAR center focused on maize and wheat improvement for developing countries. While broader in scope than ICBA, it increasingly addresses heat and drought stress in arid environments, making it a key competitor for climate-adaptation donor funding.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): FAO is a UN agency leading global efforts to defeat hunger, with significant programs on saline agriculture, climate adaptation, and capacity building. ICBA partners with FAO (e.g., FAO E-Learning Academy), and FAO is a broad incumbent shaping the policy and funding environment for ICBA's work.

Direct peers

• International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA): ICARDA is a CGIAR research center focused on agricultural development in dry and marginal environments across the non-tropical drylands. It is ICBA's closest peer in mission and beneficiary profile, with overlapping mandates in salinity, drought, and climate-resilient crop development.
• International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT): ICRISAT is a CGIAR center working on dryland crops including sorghum, millet, and chickpea — crops that overlap directly with ICBA's climate-smart crop portfolio. It serves similar smallholder farmer segments in semi-arid geographies and competes for overlapping donor funding.

Emerging players

• International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC): IFDC is an international center focused on soil fertility, fertilizer technology, and agricultural market development. While it focuses more on input systems than salinity per se, it works with similar smallholder and developing-country government partners on soil health and productivity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icbaagriculture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Center for Biosaline Agriculture