Salty greens grown from reject brine may not sound appetising, but it could offer an unlikely resolution to some of the world’s food security issues.
For the past few years, agronomists at the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture in Dubai have been working to cultivate crops that leave a minimal carbon footprint.
Using recycled water, or reject brine, from its on-site desalination plant, the centre has been able to grow a variety of produce including salicornia, also known as sea asparagus, and quinoa.
In six months, it was able to grow more than 12 tonnes of produce from brine that would have otherwise been dumped.
The reject brine is usually dumped into the sea and it can disrupt the balance of microorganisms in the marine ecosystem
Dr Dionysia Angeliki Lyra,
halophyte agronomist
“Reject brine is the by-product of removing salts from groundwater,” said Dr Dionysia Angeliki Lyra, an agronomist at the centre.
“Seventy per cent of the global production of reject brine is produced in the Middle East and North Africa. That translates to millions of cubic metres per day.
“The brine is usually dumped into the sea and it can disrupt the balance of microorganisms in the marine ecosystem.
“It is considered environmental waste but researchers and scientists like myself are working on ways to manage it and utilise it as a water source for agriculture.”
Are halophytes the crop of the future?
In a hot and arid desert such as the UAE, farmers are often limited with the amount of crop they can produce using traditional farming methods.
Since there is little rainfall, the groundwater is often saline, and the levels of salinity increase over time because of seawater intruding into mainland areas.
Food producers are forced to bring in additional freshwater to grow crops such as potatoes, rice and tomatoes, but that puts a strain on the already dwindling global freshwater resources because of climate change.
That is where halophytes come in. These salt-loving plants show promise for unconventional agriculture in marginal environments.
Dr Lyra said they could be irrigated with "saline water resources and grown on poor soils", which could “complement and contribute substantially towards today’s food security issues".
Examples of halophytes include quinoa, samphire, sea spinach and salicornia, and they can be eaten or used as raw materials for cosmetics, biofuels and sea-plant animal fodder.
“Even though we are in a desert, we still have to produce food, so we have to think of other land and water practices to produce crops,” said Dr Lyra.
“In a climate where there is limited fresh water and high concern to produce local food, reject brine can constitute one of the available resources for agriculture.
“In a pilot project from December 2019 to June last year, our centre utilised 38,000 cubic metres of reject brine to grow salicornia, and small amounts of quinoa, across eight of our farms.
“From that we harvested half a tonne of salicornia fresh tips and 12 tonnes of dry salicornia biomass, which is the part of the crop that grows above ground.”
During the desalination process, she said if you had 100 litres of water going in, about 40 per cent would come out as fresh water and the remaining 60 per cent as reject, high-salinity brine.
But simply dumping it is no longer an option.
Because of the climate change impact and decrease of freshwater reserves around the world, Dr Lyra said there was an “increasing trend towards saline farming” but education on its benefits was vital.
“Water and soil are becoming saltier because of worsening drought, so we need to find solutions for using high salinity water to grow food,” she said.
“The challenge right now though is that there is no market segment established for it.
“For instance, if you say samphire to a British or French person, they may know what it is, but overall halophytes are not that well known.
“Since we have this rising urgency about local food, apart from looking at this new farming approach, we have to also look at value chains and raise awareness about halophytes and their benefits."
UAE takes firm stance to reduce food insecurity
It is no secret that our food systems are facing substantial challenges because of several factors.
The world’s population is growing, projected to rise by two billion in the next 30 years to reach nearly 10 billion. In the UAE, less than five per cent of land is fertile and water is scarce.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced policymakers around the world to rethink their food resilience, underlining the importance of investment in local food production and a robust integrated value chain to meet growing food demand.
The UAE is taking critical actions needed to address these issues and increasing local production and its regional interconnectivity are critical for the next phase of the nation’s food ecosystem.
This latest project was funded by Expo Live and ICBA also partnered with the Environmental Agency in Abu Dhabi and the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority to run the project.
Scientists grow rice crops in a remote Sharjah desert - in pictures
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
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The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
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Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
