The climate in the Middle East can be far from ideal for growing crops.
There are high temperatures, water scarcity and salty soils, and conditions are becoming ever harder with the region warming twice as a fast as the world as a whole.
According to figures published by the International Energy Agency, there was an average temperature increase of 0.46ºC per decade between 1980 and 2022 in the region.
In some areas rainfall is becoming scarcer or less predictable, even though climate change is also leading to an increase in extreme flooding events.
This is at a time when world populations are increasing, with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank reporting forecasts that the GCC’s population will increase from around 59 million in 2022 to 84 million in 2100.
“A country like the UAE, which imports between 80 to 90 per cent of its calories, has very specific challenges, both from a food supply perspective as well as from a local food production perspective,” said Sami Joost, head of public affairs, communication and open innovation for the Middle East at Bayer, the German pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.
“We’re looking at a country with approximately one per cent available land with a high level of humidity, depending on the season, and a hot and dry climate in conjunction with a rapid population growth rate.”
What are the options?
The UAE and other Gulf nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have secured farmland abroad to safeguard their food security.
At home, they have invested in technologies such as hydroponics and vertical farming – in which plants are grown in optimal artificial conditions so water use can be minimised and yields maximised.
Other technologies, some of which have emerged from the region, are helping to insulate farmers from some of the ever-growing challenges to agriculture posed by climate change.
SecondSky technology, which has roots in Saudi Arabia, offers farmers the chance to have greenhouses that let through the light needed for photosynthesis, but block some of the heat.
This is achieved by applying a specially-made film to the roofs of greenhouses and similar facilities. It has been patented by AgTech start-up Iyris, which is based in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the US.
“If you can reduce the heat load, you can make plants healthier and more productive across a range of environmental conditions,” said Iyris executive chairman John Keppler.
Iyris, which began sales about a year ago, recently announced that it had raised $16 million from investors.
With four out of five farms being “low technology”, Mr Keppler said farmers could earn their money back within a year with the technology because, for example, the growing season could start earlier and finish later.
At a project in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, a farmer was still growing fresh cucumbers in mid-July, while nearby producers, without Iyris’s film, had stopped in June, Mr Keppler said.
“You’re able to grow the crop cycle window to a longer period of time,” he said. “That generally translates into higher yields because you’re growing for longer, but more important and more immediate is the reduction in water usage and energy to the extent that folks are using mechanical cooling.”
Water usage can fall by 30 to 40 per cent, Mr Keppler said, something that might be particularly useful in the Middle East.
“When you document the water savings, the energy savings, this can transform what had been a fairly challenged farming environment,” he said.
Seed trials
Companies such as Bayer are improving the genetics of crops so that they are better able to cope with extreme weather of the kind found in the Gulf region.
In partnership with Silal, a UAE agritech firm, Bayer is running seed trials of more than 40 varieties of tomato, cucumber, melon, eggplant and red pepper in greenhouses and open fields.
“What we really want to understand is how these crops are performing in terms of fruit size, fruit weight, shelf life, fruit quality, as well as potentially assessing if there’s an opportunity to extend breeding cycles for these crops, which is important if you consider stepping up or increasing efficiency when it comes to local food production,” Mr Joost said.
Improved crop varieties may result from traditional breeding techniques or genetic engineering.
Dr Sarah Garland, founder and executive director of the Triple Helix Institute for Agriculture, Climate and Society, a non-profit organisation, described genetic engineering as “an important tool” for developing crops able to cope with extreme heat and drought.
“For example, scientists in Argentina developed drought-tolerant wheat by inserting a gene from sunflower into the wheat genome that helps the plant’s response to a lack of water,” she said. “This wheat was first approved for cultivation in Argentina in 2020 and has since been given the green light for commercialisation in multiple countries.”
Artificial intelligence
Another approach comes from using digital technology to optimise farming operations.
FarmERP, an Indian-based company, offers such technology in more than 30 countries including the UAE and, like Bayer, works with Silal.
“With new AI and machine-learning tools … it helps improve the predictability of the farms,” said Sanjay Borkar, the company’s co-founder and chief executive.
Technology such as a mobile app, available in Arabic, can help farmers to improve the efficiency of farming, and Mr Borkar said his firm’s technology operated across all steps in the farming supply chain.
“We help the farms to optimise their resources like manpower, machines, labour, inputs – fertilisers, chemicals, water. This will definitely improve the margins, the profits,” he said.
Customised advisory information, devised using artificial intelligence, can indicate, for example, the optimum water and nutrition requirements for crops, based on factors such as the weather.
“It helps in providing the pest and disease detection or pest and disease prediction based on satellite imagery as well as future weather data,” Mr Borkar said.
As well as potentially increasing yields, and making it possible to cope with harsher climatic conditions, the technology can reduce a farmer's contribution to climate change.
It can calculate how much carbon is isolated through practices such as agroforestry – by mixing crops with trees – compared to the amount emitted by chemicals, fertilisers and fuels.
“Agriculture today is a significant contributor to climate change, yet there are ways to make farming part of the solution,” Mr Joost said.
“[This] is why we need to drive a shift to regenerative agriculture practices that ‘produce more with less, while restoring more’, a concept that is highly relevant and applicable to the Middle East in light of regional food security concerns.”
The impact of climate change on the Middle East – in pictures
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
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How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
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Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
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Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
The specs
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Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
More on animal trafficking
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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