###### Abstract  
In arid regions, starchy agricultural products such as wheat and rice provide essential carbohydrates, minerals, fibers and vitamins. However, drought, desiccation, high salinity, potentially toxic metals and hydrocarbon accumulation are among the most notable stresses affecting soil quality and cereal production in arid environments. Certain soil bacteria, referred to as Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), colonize the plant root environment, providing beneficial advantages for both soil and plants. Beyond their ability to improve plant growth under non-stressed conditions, PGPR can establish symbiotic and non-symbiotic interactions with plants growing under stress conditions, participating in soil bioremediation, stress alleviation and plant growth restoration. Moreover, the PGPR ability to fix nitrogen, to solubilize insoluble forms of nutrients and to produce other metabolites such as siderophores, phytohormones, antibiotics and hydrolytic enzymes makes them coorfriendly alternatives to the excessive use of unsuitable and cost-effective chemicals in agriculture. The most remarkable PGPR belong to the genera _Arthobacter_, _Azospirillum_, _Azolobacter_, _Bacillus_, _Enterobacter_, _Klebsiella_, _Pseudomonas_, etc. Therefore, high cereal production in arid environments can be ensured using PGPR. Herein, the potential role of such bacteria in promoting wheat and rice production under both normal and derelict soils is reviewed and highlighted. c 202  
atmosphere lead to global warming [5; 6; 7]. Consequently, an increase in aridity is predicted in some model scenarios where drought would persist in some areas of the globe [8; 9; 10]. According to [PERSON] [11], there has been an increase of 0.5 \({}^{\circ}\)C in global temperature over the past 100 years, which is partially due to excessive urbanization and industrialization. Otherwise, abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, chemical toxicity and oxidative stress are serious threats to agriculture and the natural status of arid environments [12]. In addition, several human activities related to industry, such as the excessive use of petroleum, but also to other agricultural practices such as the hysterical application of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, have improved human life quality. However, such activities have also led to the accumulation of alarming amounts of salts and other toxic chemicals, leading to environmental degradation and soil deprivation [13]. These phenomena do not only affect plant growth, but also the soil's microbial community, including beneficial soil bacteria. In this context, the results obtained by [PERSON] et al. [14] suggest that changes in aridity, following the climate-change models, may reduce microbial abundance and diversity, a response that will likely impact soil fertility and climate regulation. Therefore, several practices have been adopted over time to remediate soils and to enhance plant growth under stress conditions. Among these solutions, certain soil bacteria, referred to as Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), can colonize the surfaces or inner tissues of plant roots, providing beneficial advantages for both soils and plants [15]. Beyond their ability to improve plant growth under non-stressed conditions, some PGPR are able to establish symbiotic and non-symbiotic interactions with plants growing under stress conditions, participating in soil bioremediation, stress alleviation and plant growth restoration [16]. The ability of PGPR to fix nitrogen, to solubilize nutrients and to produce metabolites such as siderophores, phytohormones, antibiotics and hydrolytic enzymes makes them one of the most ecofriendly alternatives to avoid the excessive use of unsuitable and cost-effective chemicals in agriculture [17]. In the last few years, PGPR have retained both scientists' and farmers' attention as interesting substitutes for chemicals for their sustainable and healthy effect on the environment, but also their promising roles in bioremediation [18; 19].