ABU DHABI // An irrigation system being demonstrated at Yas Island aims to cut down on the use of water, fertiliser and labour.
Fertigation is the name given to the application of fertilisers through an irrigation system. It works by using pumps to push liquid fertiliser from a storage tank through a pressurised irrigation system in a "one-off hit" once every month or so.
The tanks need to be filled every four to six weeks, with the size of the tank dependent on the area to be irrigated. A five-litre tank is suitable for an area of 1,000 square metres.
"We're trying to do more with less," says James Waters, whose company, Ez-Flo Middle East, distributes the system.
"Now there's a lot of strain on water supplies because we've got a shortage of water, so the UAE is looking at how to use less in a sustainable manner for landscaping and farming.
"Conventional irrigation systems would use 70 per cent more fertiliser and about 30 per cent more water," said Mr Waters.
On a large scale, fertigation can feed an area of up to 46,500 square metres - golf courses, for example, or large farms.
"Farmers and landscapers are now seeing that [fertigation] is increasing yield by about 30 per cent on farms because we're now feeding plants more efficiently," he said. "We're not reinventing the wheel, we're just making things a bit more streamlined."
A demonstration plot was set up on Yas Island last month and work was also carried out on 1,000 square metres of land at the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai a few months ago.
"Instead of having 30 guys fertilise by hand in two days, you have one guy do the set-up in 15 minutes, once a month," said Mr Waters. "That trial cut back on water by 20 per cent."
Because UAE soil is so sandy, traditional irrigation methods can be wasteful, with much of the fertiliser draining out.
"Only 10 per cent of fertiliser is absorbed by the plant because of leaching," said Mr Waters. "It's going straight past the root zone, into the waterways and gets drained."
Nicholas Lodge, the managing partner of Clarity, an Abu Dhabi-based agriculture consultancy, agreed that the system would help, but said there were "other limiting factors" to farming in the region.
"The overall production from any agricultural system in this part of the world needs to take into account a range of factors," he said, "the availability and the efficiency of the fertiliser is one".
Poor quality soil meant farmers needed to focus on how water was applied, for how long it was available, and its ambient temperature.
"High temperatures can stop production for a great number of years here," he said, "because the temperature gets beyond the range in which plants can grow".
"Fertigation is an efficient way of delivering fertiliser but in some ways, the issues that face any agricultural system in the UAE are broader than just the method of giving fertiliser."
cmalek@thenational.ae
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The National's picks
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
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
