In Pakistan, about 5.8 million hectares of land are salt affected. In the highly productive canal-irrigated area, 2 million hectares have been abandoned due to severe waterlogging and salinity. The major livestock industries in Pakistan are buffalo (13.1 million), sheep and goats (54.8 million), and cattle (17.1 million) which are all reared for milk, meat and wool. There is also a large population of horses, donkeys and camels which are used for transport. The estimated fodder requirements for these livestock populations is 63 x 106 tonnes per year. However, Pakistan only produces about 38 x 106 tonnes animal feed per year leading to a fodder deficit of about 40%.

Fodder shortages are particularly serious in winter (November-February) and summer (May-July) when weight losses in livestock are common. Salt-tolerant plants have obvious potential for helping to solve the fodder shortage problem as they can be grown on otherwise unproductive land.