As world leaders and billionaires descend on Riyadh for this year’s Future Investment Initiative — better known as “Davos in the Desert” — we wonder where the planet fairs in all this political business talk. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan has turned the kingdom into an unlikely global stage for innovation and investment, drawing over 20 heads of state, 50 ministers, and hundreds of financiers, tech executives, and policy shapers.

Some of the “diplomats” include Syria’s newest leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, a Syrian politician, revolutionary, and former leader of Al Qaeda, that once had a bounty of $10 million USD on his head. We can see where this is going.

I am always hopeful, if not naive. Can this gathering of powerbrokers truly help save the planet, or is it another round of green-tinted self-congratulation? The event’s stated goal is to explore “new pathways for global prosperity.” In practice, that has meant spotlighting artificial intelligence, clean energy, healthtech, and new financial models.

The 2025 program dedicates half its panels to technology — a smart move given AI’s potential to optimize energy grids, improve climate modeling, and make sustainable materials scalable. Yet the conference’s foundation remains an oil-wealth economy seeking reinvention.

That contradiction — a fossil-fuel kingdom hosting a climate-focused summit — is what makes Davos in the Desert both fascinating and ridiculous.

Those attending read like a cross-section of global capital: sovereign wealth fund managers, CEOs of major banks, and tech visionaries courting Middle Eastern investment. Delegations from Africa, Asia, and Europe are also there, positioning their nations for partnership in a rapidly diversifying Gulf. Deals worth billions will likely be announced — infrastructure, AI, renewables, even biotech.

Yet the “green” voice remains muted. Few grassroots environmentalists or Indigenous leaders will sit beside the financiers. And while Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in solar, hydrogen, and reforestation, the absence of climate justice advocates, biodiversity scientists, and youth voices limits what the event can achieve beyond rhetoric.

Who Should Be Invited Next Year?

If Davos in the Desert wants to pivot from an elite networking forum to a genuine force for ecological regeneration, the guest list must evolve. Imagine Indigenous guardians of the Amazon, coral reef scientists, African solar entrepreneurs, and women leading rewilding projects in the Sahel sharing the stage with Wall Street executives. These are the people who embody solutions already working on the ground — the missing link between boardroom strategy and planetary repair. Or real, proven climate tech leaders who don’t mince words? Where do the voices of reason get lost when big money is on the table?

Saudi Arabia’s desert may seem an unlikely place to host a green renaissance, but it could become one as we showed with the investment in the company iyris, a greenhouse tech developed by foreigners from the UK and Turkey. Water scarcity, heat, and rapid urbanization make the region a living laboratory for resilience. If the FII community directs even a fraction of its capital toward desert greening, regenerative agriculture, and circular infrastructure, it could turn the Gulf into a model for climate adaptation. Oil is not going to last forever. Wells may keep getting “released” but the moment we fix fusion and have limitless energy, the Gulf Countries will become obsolete. Their fancy cities will look like a mirage.

To save the planet, investment summits like this must go beyond pledges. They must measure success in restored ecosystems, revived species, and resilient communities — not just in GDP growth. Until then, Davos in the Desert remains but a mirage: shimmering with possibility, but still waiting for its true oasis moment.

Read more on Green Prophet about Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, AI in climate innovation, and how deserts could lead the next green revolution.

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iyris delivers more resilient and reliable produce.

Iyris, a company from Saudi Arabia founded by foreign nationals, makes it easier to grow the likes of tomatoes – one of the world’s biggest fresh produce and processing crops – in environments increasingly impacted by climate change. The patented process, which tackles the challenges of hot climates, has the potential to revolutionize where crops are grown to address global food security issues. We interviewed one of the founders Mark Tester earlier this year on the innovation he championed. The company used to be marketed under RedSea Farms.

Their newly patented polyploid hybridization grafting process – mimics and significantly accelerates the natural evolutionary process of breeding genetic resilience into plant rootstocks. With this groundbreaking innovation, farmers can address, without having to change the way that they farm their land, their most urgent need: reliable, resistant crops that can mitigate and combat climate change.

The technology makes crops more resilient to stressful abiotic environments (e.g., salt, drought, heat and pests) delivering higher yields for farmers and reducing crop failure risk. The timescale and predictability of genetic resilience trait integration is significantly accelerated compared to previous methods. 

Related: How Daniel Hillel pioneered drip irrigation

Commercial trials of iyris’ current hybrid grafted diploid rootstocks, delivered an average 20-25% tomato plant yield increase over the best performing commercial alternatives. Expectations are that using this patented polyploid breeding process, yield increases will be even more significant. Results to date have demonstrated that polyploids can double yields when compared to diploids. 

Uniquely, iyris’ plant science innovation allows multiple plant traits to be integrated simultaneously. Previously, scientists and breeders targeted single traits and experienced low predictability rates for even a single integration.

“These achievements in plant science are unprecedented and a significant moment in our mission to feed the world sustainably. iyris can now offer farmers a commercially validated and reliable solution addressing the environmental and economic challenges of today – in tomatoes alone, that’s worth billions of dollars annually,” says John Keppler, Executive Chairperson of iyris.

iyris’ published rootstock patent – ‘Polyploidization of interspecific tomato hybrids to create stable and fertile rootstocks’ follows decades of work and research, most recently at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), led by iyris co-founder, Professor Mark Tester – the world’s pre-eminent plant scientist. Professor Tester’s thesis developed from research (with his then – PhD student, Yveline Pailles) into resilient relatives of the tomato growing on sea-facing rock faces in the Galapagos Islands.   

With increasing global temperature, and dwindling freshwater resources, ground-breaking innovative agriculture solutions are vital to break the food-water-energy nexus. The impact of climate change on global farming is becoming starker every year, and global food production is estimated to need to increase by 50%, by 2050, to feed soaring population rates. iyris’ innovation is perfectly timed given its potential to change the way that crops are grown, allow sustainable agriculture in previously unviable territories for farming and protect farmers from crop failure risk. 

Related: Lycored makes kosher and halal, non-animal tomato-based dyes

With its resilient hybrid tomato rootstocks already available in the market, iyris has proven the commercial viability of their technology in open-field trials. iyris has partnerships with two of the world’s largest tomato producers, with more commercial agreements to come. iyris hybrid rootstocks outperformed the best available alternatives across multiple crop seasons, hybrid tomato rootstocks sales have already exceeded 1 million units.  

The market context is extremely positive. The processed tomato market (2023 data) is estimated at US$51.8 billion with 182 million tons produced annually. iyris and Professor Tester have already started research into other plant groups such as eggplants, melons and pumpkins, with the potential to increase commercial results and improve resilience exponentially.

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The United Arab Emirates is serious about supporting renewable energy, clean water and smart agriculture. Part of the way they support impact companies is through the Zayed Sustainability Prize. Named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, the Zayed Prize this year was selected for companies and research that harness AI and other technologies to reduce carbon emissions and ensure access to clean energy, water, food and health care.

The jury selected the 33 finalists from 5,980 entries, representing a 15 per cent increase in submissions over last year.

Each winner of the six categories, health, food, energy, water and climate action categories will receive $1 million in prize money, while the six winning Global High Schools will all take home $150,000. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on January 14 as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Green Prophet has been invited to the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the past and it offers a taste of future-thinking sustainability issues. At least in the dream world.

“The Zayed Sustainability Prize continues to honour the enduring legacy of Sheikh Zayed, whose visionary leadership in sustainability and humanitarianism guides the UAE’s mission to uplift livelihoods worldwide by fostering development in some of the most vulnerable regions,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Cop28 President and director general of the Zayed Sustainability Prize.

“By leveraging emerging technologies, such as AI, carbon capture and removal, tidal energy, precision agriculture, biomimicry and climate analytics, they are addressing the needs of the moment while inspiring the next generation to innovate and drive sustainability in impactful ways,” said Dr Al Jaber.

“This year’s prize finalists showcase the remarkable steps being taken around the world to address urgent needs with creativity and determination – offering a vision of a more sustainable future,” said Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, chairman of the prize jury.

“From enhancing biodiversity and food security through innovative technology, to providing critical energy and healthcare solutions for underserved populations, these pioneers are reshaping our world.”

Offering a better tomorrow

This year’s health category finalists focus on delivering quality healthcare services to underserved and remote communities. Those shortlisted include Periwinkle Technologies, an SME from India that deploys Smart Scope, an AI-enabled cervical cancer screening device that provides results in 30 seconds. The Israeli Femtech company MobileODT already offers such a solution and is already on the market.

In the area of Food and Agtech prizes were given for empowering small-scale producers, promoting sustainable food preservation, and transforming arid land into productive farms. One featured company is Nafarm Foods from Nigeria that has developed hybrid solar dryers that make tomato paste.

Energy category finalists include Palki Motors Limited, an electric car company from Bangladesh that manufactures local, low-cost electric cars with solar-powered battery swap stations.

The water finalists include the High Atlas Foundation, from Morocco, which provides a solar-powered pumping system to increase groundwater extraction.

Climate action finalists were chosen for focusing on advancing carbon capture, ecosystem restoration, and building climate resilience and include Distant Imagery from the UAE: which specialises in the development of AI-powered drones for environmental monitoring, seed planting and habitat restoration.

The high school finalists are divided into six regions, with candidates selected for offering project-based, student-led sustainability solutions.

Sustainability finalists

Health

• Periwinkle Technologies – India
• Rology – Egypt
• Telemedan – Chile

Food

• ABALOBI – South Africa
• Nafarm Foods – Nigeria
• Xinjiang Shawan Oasis Sustainable Development Institute – China

Energy

• D-Olivette Global Enterprise – Nigeria
• Palki Motors Limited – Bangladesh
• Turbulent – Belgium

Water

• Elman Teknoloji Ltd – Turkey
• High Atlas Foundation – Morocco
• SkyJuice Foundation Inc – Australia

Climate action

• Distant Imagery – UAE
• Hyera Inc – US
• OpenMap Development Tanzania

Global High Schools

The Americas

• Centro de Estudios Tecnológicos del Mar 07, Mexico;
• Institución Educativa San Nicolás de Tolentino, Colombia
• Mulgrave School, Canada

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Mpesa Foundation Academy, Kenya
• Sakafia Islamic Senior High School, Ghana
• St Kizito High School Namugongo, Uganda

Middle East & North Africa

• Benlahrech Said High School, Algeria
• Merryland International School Abu Dhabi
• Obour STEM School, Egypt

Europe & Central Asia

• Baku Modern Educational Complex, Azerbaijan
• Gebze Bahçeehr Science & Technology High School, Turkey
• Presidential School in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

South Asia

• Faafu Atoll Education Centre, Maldives
• Girls Higher Secondary School Khaplu, Pakistan
• Janamaitri Multiple Campus, Nepal

East Asia & the Pacific

• Beijing World Youth Academy, China
• Te Pā o Rākaihautū, New Zealand
• Votualevu College, Fiji

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Environment, social, and economic problems have plagued most economies. The governments need a lot of money to address these problems, and even then, it won’t be simple to solve them in months or years. Profound issues such as poverty, hunger, and climate change require a great deal of effort, money, and time on the part of the public and government.

This explains why ideas like impact investing, SRI, and ESG have become popular in recent years. These three are included in sustainable investment, which aims to persuade investors to focus more on promoting environmentally sustainable development globally rather than only financial gains. The goal of sustainable investment is to raise money to address these socioeconomic issues gradually. This post will cover the idea of impact investing as well as several other topics you should be aware of. 

Learn more about impact investing 

It’s a common misconception among investors that the only way to address environmental and socioeconomic problems is through charitable giving, with no thought of profit. This is when concerns about impact investment arise. The attraction of impact investing is its capacity to generate profits while enabling investors to impact positively society.

Investment in developing sectors that aim to address specific social, economic, and environmental challenges, such as sustainable agriculture, affordable housing, renewable energy, education, health care, and other related areas, is made possible by impact investment. By making investments in these fields, businesses may concentrate more of their resources on finding solutions for different ESG issues. 

Things to examine before making an impact investment 

Investment in businesses or organisations that aim to improve the world is not the focus of impact investment. Impact investing offers investors financial gains in addition to a sustainability concern. As a result, it’s critical to consider some aspects when choosing an investment. 

• Watch Out for Risks: Investing in every organisation has some risk, which is why a sane investor should always evaluate the risk before making a purchase. Analyse the possible harm that each of those hazards represents by comparing them. 
• Spread your money across many sectors: Investing is a popular strategy among investors. It lowers risks and offers a fall back to recover lost money if a corporate component fails. Since impact investments have the same risks as ordinary investments, you may apply this theory to them.
• Make a strategy in advance: When making investments, you must constantly consider the future. You must continually consider the possible dangers associated with your investments as well as the fields’ potential future advancements, given that you are making investments in ever-evolving sectors. It will facilitate additional reinvestment possibilities and assist you in strategically allocating your assets.
• Invest through an investment manager: Investing in an investment advisor is considerably safer than investing on your own. It is strongly advised that you seek the help of a manager if you are new to impact investing. Investment managers may make wise choices on your behalf and guarantee that your money is in capable hands.

An increasing number of businesses are looking for possible investors to study and discover fresh approaches to address diverse social, environmental, and economic problems as sustainable investing gains traction. In addition, a lot of businesses advise clients on sustainable investment and walk them through its nuances. Governments everywhere now have fresh faith that in a few decades, they can resolve most issues and improve the world.

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The Conference is organised by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) with the support of Host Expo 2023 Doha Qatar and Headline Sponsor Biblo. Prominent speakers from around the world will present on the Conference theme of ‘city greening solutions for arid environments’.

In the opening session, AIPH is pleased to welcome Prof David Simon, Professor of Development Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. Prof Simon’s research focuses on cities, climate change and sustainability, and the relationships between development theory, policy and practice. His recent book ‘Sustainable Human Settlements within the Global Urban Agenda’ explores the dynamics of the UN’s SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities – and how it is understood in different regional and national contexts. This opening presentation will showcase Prof Simon’s work with Earthna on arid cities.

The second speaker in the opening session is Kishor Rajhansa, Chief Operating Officer of the Global Carbon Council (GCC). Based in Qatar, Mr Rajhansa is a climate change, energy, and sustainability leader with 28 years of experience. He is responsible for operating GCC, a carbon-offsetting programme that assists organisations in reducing their carbon footprint. This is achieved by developing stringent but simplified standards and establishing transparent certification processes.

During the second session, the Conference will focus on local and regional initiatives that combat challenges that arise in desert cities. Founder and Chair of the Society of Sustainability & Green Materials (SSGM), Dr Ali Al Jassim will present the non-profit’s work to raise awareness and improve knowledge sharing in sustainability, green materials, and circular economy in the UAE. The Society’s work involves supporting the development of policies and regulations that advance these goals.

Joining Dr Al Jassim in this session is Jala Makhzoumi, Vice President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) and Acting President of IFLA Middle East. In her presentation, Ms Makhzoumi will motivate the focus of greening to go beyond the physical space to embrace intangible processes and consider perceptual and emotional perspectives of urban nature. Through this, an enduring stewardship of natural resources in cities and globally can be achieved. Dr Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji continues the theme of caring for natural resources to describe innovative research for solving water issues using nature. Technologies developed at Manhat produce water by mimicking the natural water cycle.

The issues faced by arid cities are not unique. In the afternoon session of the Conference, speakers from other regions will present the living green solutions being employed to combat shared issues. Speakers will showcase the initiatives being employed to mitigate urban heat in Asia, re-naturing cities through nature-based solutions, and how AI can offer easy access to nature data.

Conference speakers include:

• Prof. David Simon, Professor of Development Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of ‘Sustainable Human Settlements within the Global Urban Agenda’
• Kishor Rajhansa, Chief Operating Officer, Global Carbon Council
• Dr Ali Al Jassim, Chair of the Society of Sustainability & Green Materials (SSGM)
• Jala Makhzoumi, Vice President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) and Acting President of IFLA Middle East
• Huda Shaka, Director of Urban Strategy and Planning, Gehl
• Dr Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji, Founder, Manhat
• Dr Mario V Balzan, Senior Lecturer at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), and Managing Director at Ecostack Innovations
• Diane Lee, Media Relations Manager – Asia Region, AIPH
• Thomas Gooch – Founder/CEO of Office of Planetary Observations (OPO)

On the second day of the Conference, on 6th March 2024, delegates will visit key green city sites in the Doha municipality. For more information about the speakers and the program, and to book your place at this inspiring meeting, visit the AIPH Website.

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Who was Daniel Hillel and how has he forever changed water’s relationship to food? He was an American who moved to Palestine in the 1940s. He then pioneered desert agriculture in Israel’s Negev Desert.

Daniel Hillel was born the youngest of five children in Los Angeles, California, at the beginning of the Great Depression. His father died in 1931 when Daniel was one year old, and shortly thereafter his mother moved the family to live with her parents in Palestine, a part of which eventually became the State of Israel in 1948.

At the age of nine, Daniel was sent to live in the countryside on a kibbutz. His experience in this dry, agrarian setting inspired his lifelong appreciation of the land and the need to protect its resources, leading him to pursue an academic and professional career in agriculture.

In 1946, the teenaged Hillel returned to the United States to attend high school in Charleston, South Carolina, the former hometown of his maternal grandparents. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy from the University of Georgia in 1950, and a Master of Science degree in earth sciences from Rutgers University in 1951.

Hillel’s first posting upon returning to the nascent state of Israel in 1951 was with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, where he took part in the first mapping of the country’s soil and irrigation resources.

He soon left the Ministry to join a group of idealistic settlers dedicated to creating a viable agricultural community in the Negev Desert highlands by nurturing the region’s meager but vital resources.

In 1952, he took part in establishing the Negev settlement of Sde Boker. When the country’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, toured the area with his wife a year later, he was so impressed by that venture that he resigned from the government and became a member of Sde Boker.

Ben Gurion and Hillel became close friends as they worked together on the kibbutz. Recognizing the young scientist’s exceptional capabilities, Ben Gurion sent him on goodwill missions to promote sustainable agricultural techniques in developing countries. In 1956, Hillel was sent to Burma on his first assignment to help develop the country’s frontier.

Later, in 1957, he earned a Ph.D. in soil physics and ecology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, then did post-doctoral work at the University of California in soil physics and hydrology from 1959 to 1961.

He pioneered drip irrigation

Throughout his work, Hillel pioneered a new approach to irrigation that led to a dramatic shift away from the prevailing method used in the first half of the 20th century, which applied water in brief periodic episodes of flooding to saturate the soil, followed by longer, drying out periods. The new, innovative method developed and disseminated by Hillel and others in Israel applied water continuously, in small amounts, directly to the plant roots, with dramatic results in plant production and water conservation.

Hillel is featured in the film Symphony of Soil

Hillel’s development and promotion of better land and water management clearly demonstrated that farmers no longer needed to depend on the soil’s ability to store water, as was the case when using the age-old method of high volume, low frequency irrigation.

The technology he advanced, including drip, trickle and continuous-feed irrigation, has improved the quality of life and livelihoods throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Hillel proved that plants grown in continuously moist soil, achieved through micro-irrigation, produce higher yields than plants grown under the old flooding or sprinkler irrigation methods. Using less water in agriculture per unit of land not only conserves a scarce resource in arid and semi-arid regions, but also results in significantly “more crop per drop,” with the successful cultivation of field crops and fruit trees – even in coarse sands and gravel.

By integrating complex scientific principles, designing practical applications, and achieving wide outreach to farmers, communities, researchers, and agricultural policymakers in more than 30 countries, Hillel has impacted the lives of millions.

His water management concepts—promoted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as HELPFUL (High-frequency, Efficient, Low-volume, Partial-area, Farm-unit, Low-cost)—have spread from Israel to Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. HELPFUL irrigation technology is now used to produce high-yielding, nutritious food on more than six million hectares worldwide.

Harvesting rainwater

Hillel also helped devise a range of other adaptable, sustainable water management techniques for arid regions, specifically, harvesting rainwater by inducing and collecting runoff from sloping ground, which could allow farmers to grow crops on previously barren lands.

His innovative approaches to enhancing infiltration and reducing evaporation through soil surface treatments have enhanced agricultural productivity. He has defined ways to control the leaching of solutes, the water-logging of root zones, and the erosion of topsoil by precisely determining the supply of water required with only small increments of percolation and drainage needed to prevent salt accumulation.

Hillel participated in many missions around the world, working for and with international agencies and organizations such as the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the U.S. Agency for International Development to promote water-use efficiency in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. He also worked with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington D.C. and the International Development Research Center of Canada.

He held positions as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research, part of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, and with NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Along with his international field and development work, Hillel embarked on a career in academia as a researcher and professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the University of Massachusetts, Columbia University, and other major research centers worldwide.

He wrote or edited more than 20 books on soil and water science; his seminal textbooks have been translated into 12 languages. He has published more than 300 scientific papers, research reports, and practical manuals, and authored books for the general public on the vital role of soil and water in healthy agro-ecosystems.

Hillel demonstrated the synergistic linkages across food production, water management, and soil science. His achievements have been and will continue to be essential to extending the Green Revolution and confronting the many global challenges in fighting hunger and poverty into the next century.

For his critical work in developing new micro-irrigation systems and disseminating this revolutionary approach to more than 30 countries, he was awarded The World Food Prize in 2012. Significantly, his nomination included letters of support from individuals from three Arab countries.

At the ceremony at which he received The World Food Prize, the Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E. Ban Ki-moon joined in presenting the sculpture to him, and Princess Haya bint Al Hussein and Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Bin Jassim Al-Thani of Qatar were also in the audience.

“Water has been a very big topic of concern here in the State Department,” said then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. “We have tried to focus our government’s attention and the world’s attention on the importance of getting ahead of what will be a devastating water crisis if we are not smarter and more purposeful in addressing the problems now. It’s especially fitting that we honor today someone who has made such contributions because he understood the critical role that water plays in agriculture and the importance of getting every last drop used efficiently.”

Hillel said in a statement on winning the award: “My joy and gratitude at being granted the World Food Prize this year is tempered by the realization that the work this award recognizes is far from complete. The task of improving the sustainable management of the Earth’s finite and vulnerable soil, water, and energy resources for the benefit of humanity while sustaining the natural biotic community and its overall environmental integrity is an ongoing and increasingly urgent challenge for our generation and for future generations.

“Meeting this challenge will require enhanced global cooperation and integrated scientific research. It is a task, indeed a collective responsibility, that we cannot shirk and must indeed broaden and intensify.”

Daniel, sadly, passed away in 2021 and was given a tribute by World Scientific Publishing, where he published a number of books. Using less water in agriculture per unit of land not only conserves a scarce resource in arid and semi-arid regions, but also results in significantly “more crop per drop”.

Hillel was also a dedicated teacher who, through his signature textbooks, literally taught thousands of students the fundamentals (or as he would say, “Da Mental Fun”) of soil and water processes.

We wish we could have met this incredible man.

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Rivulis will showcase how farmers can benefit from using advanced micro irrigation and new climate farming models such as hydroponics, growing food in a water-nutrient medium, to address climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss and food security while bolstering sustainable livelihoods for growers.

This initiative introduces farmers on micro irrigation systems – producing more and better-quality crop yields even in harsh climates, while using less water, fertilizer, energy, and labor. Israel’s Netafim started the business of modern drip irrigation back in 1965 in the Negev desert, trying to grow crops in desert soil. Rivulis, was founded around that time too, and was known as Plastro until it was acquired by John Deere.

https://www.greenprophet.com/2023/09/history-promise-challenges-drip-irrigation/

The method is proven and Rivulis, a smart farm builder and consultant, aims to help growers transition to more sustainable farming.

Dana signed an MoU with Masdar City, the zero-waste city of Abu Dhabi, to build its first beta site
there. The beta site tests and showcases leading desert tech solutions for arid environments, water scarcity, greenhouse cooling, soil cultivation and regeneration, carbon sequestration, and resilient seed varieties.

Saudi Arabia-based RedSea farms is doing something similar in the Middle East using brackish water and seawater for growing food.

UAE is hosting the UN’s climate event COP28 this year so the Emirates are eager to show solutions they are implementing to address the threat of climate change to food production – particularly ones cultivated in the Middle East and Africa – and how these solutions can help feed a growing world population, vulnerable to hotter and more arid growing conditions.

While we aren’t a fan of the UAE buying 1/5 of Zimbabwe for carbon credits we are a fan of local initiatives they are taking food production.

Food security is inextricably linked to water security. Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of the drain on freshwater resources – increasing up to 90% in harsh environments. Dana aims to encourage as many farmers and agricultural corporations as possible to use Rivulis systems as infrastructure for future water solutions. Just this month – we see how a simple addition of water meters can save farms in Morocco.

Nadine Benchaffa from Dana said: “We are proud of our choice to make the UAE a home for our activities in the MENA region. Our anchor in Masdar City will allow us to unlock unprecedented prospects for Agri-Tech innovation within the UAE’s rising and growing ecosystem.”

Richard Klapholz, CEO of Rivulis, said:  “Rivulis, one of the world’s largest irrigation companies and a global irrigation and climate leader, has been spearheading the use of micro-irrigation for over 80 years and the systems that Rivulis has created are crucial for the uninterrupted supply of many of the foods we enjoy today.”

Established in 1966, Rivulis is headquartered in Israel and has 15 manufacturing and distribution facilities, 2,000 employees, 3 R&D Centers (Israel, California, and Greece) and multiple Design Centers around the globe.

::Rivulis

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As spring turns into summer, the Khalifa fund’s investment in Abu Dhabi hydroponic agriculture is beginning to pay off.

The Khalifa fund for enterprise development was Launched in 2007 to help local enterprise in Abu Dhabi. At the beginning of 2015, Ahmad Kalfan Al Romaithi revealed that Dh 130 million (approximately 35 million US dollars) had been approved for the funding of up to 130 hydroponic farms.

(Related: flux technology makes it easy for anyone to grow using hydroponics).

Ten farms were initially funded by this project and this number quickly grew to 40.

By mid-June, three of these farms had already begun supplying locally grown fruit and vegetables to union co-op markets in Dubai and Ajman. The co-op’s production of about 60 tonnes of tomatoes per month is expected to double when the remaining farms begin producing by the end of this year.

Hydroponics is an agriculture technology which doesn’t require soil. This technology can allow locally grown crops near cities and in other regions which are unsuitable for traditional farming. It’s space age science that promises to feed a hungry world, especially in dry climates.

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Most Gulf countries import up to 90 percent of their food, which neither bodes well for food security no climate change – since the food that is brought in from Europe and elsewhere has a lot of what are called “food miles.” True to their name, Forward Thinking Architecture proposes a solar-powered hydroponic food belt as a solution.

Acknowledging that they are not designing anything new – because there are already several projects throughout the Arabian peninsula that utilize the sun and hydroponics to deliver food in the desert. One project that comes to mind is the Sahara Forest Project which has received a great deal of international press.

The OAXIS system aims to fuse existing technology in a modular, linear arrangement. The growing medium will consist of prefabricated and recycled steel structures equipped with super efficient irrigation technology that uses roughly 80 percent less water than most farms require. Rooftop solar panels provide energy not only for the architecture itself, but also to power artificial LED lighting that will help promote greater crop growth.

Related: Qatar’s Sahara Forest Project Produces Cucumbers with Saltwater

In order to transport these crops directly to cities throughout the peninsula, the design team proposes an underground transportation network that would also be powered by solar energy. In this way, the system is completely self-sufficient, and hardly contributes at all to harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

“…our objective is not to compete with nature and its amazing processes or with an existing oasis such as Al-Hasa, the design team says in their brief. “What we propose is a safe and controlled hydroponic facility based on a modular linear pattern, a city new ‘green axis.’

“It will produce solar energy to become self-sufficient and capable of running an underground transportation system that deliver the crops directly to the cities, shortening long distance food transportation (imports) and therefore reducing CO2 emissions.”

We particularly love the use of recycled steel, which has a very high embodied energy footprint, as well as the ubiquitous use of renewable energy. And the crops will grow year-round and could include strawberries, tomatoes, rocket, potatoes, thyme, lettuce, bell peppers, basil and more.

It’s an impressive design, and it could work!

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Since the pilot project broke ground in Qatar last December, three cucumber crops have been harvested, and now the group has harvested their first barley crop.

Speaking at a Sustainable Qatar Meeting at the Friends of Environment Center, cultivation coordinator Patrick Brading stressed that their seawater greenhouses, scaled up, could go a long way to ease food insecurity and provide employment opportunities.

A 4,000 hectare project could create up to 6,000 direct jobs and 13,000 indirect jobs, Brading said at the meeting.

“This is an investment opportunity of $1.5 to 2bn with an annual production of 173,000 tons of tomatoes, 7.5mn liters of bio fuel, and permanent CO2 storage of 495,000 tons per year,” he said.

“It will also have scope for 280 Gwh clean energy for export yearly.”

Jordan has also signed up to work on greening its desert using the seawater greenhouses, and a Danish group is working on a documentary to track SFP’s progress.

While raising money for the documentary through a recent Kickstarter campaign, the Copenhagen Film Company raised a few questions that are relevant to Brading’s suggestion that Qatar should invest in the SFP project to secure a more sustainable future.

“Will the people behind the Sahara Forest Project succeed in bringing this technology to market and sharing it with the societies of people who need it most: local desert communities in water scarce regions?” they asked.

“Will they benefit from this revolutionary technology economically, environmentally and socially?”

The pilot project is Qatar in its very early stages, and barley and cucumbers are the only crops that have been grown so far, so it’s still too soon to get too excited.

But such soaring success so early in the game offers a glimmer of hope for those living throughout the Arabian Peninsula and indeed other desert countries as well.

:: Gulf Times

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