Where is it possible to grow crops in the sahara

The facility, imagined here in an artist's impression, is expected to start operating by Hide Caption. Humidity around greenhouses will be used to spur the regeneration of plant life. In a pilot project in Qatar, re-introduced plant species multiplied rapidly.

The SFP - a Norwegian social enterprise - will use core technologies that convert abundant resources into scarce ones, such as through the use of seawater to cool greenhouses and allow year-round cultivation of crops, as has been successfully demonstrated with similar techniques in Qatar.

The harsh desert sunlight will be harnessed for concentrated solar power to heat and electrify the facility. The facility also desalinate seawater to produce fresh water for drinking and agriculture - a scarce and precious resource where water scarcity is a growing problem.

Desalination will produce large quantities of salt, for commercial sale. The project could generate hundreds of jobs for the local community, ranging from basic farming roles to highly-skilled technical positions.

Tunisia is the only country that saw an uprising during the "Arab Spring" that has now transitioned to democracy. This is partly in response to the country suffering severe effects from climate change, including droughts and floods. A hectare facility in Jordan will be inaugurated this year, with embryonic plans for a hectare facility that could generate , tons of produce each year.

Now an ambitious, high-tech agriculture project could make the desert bloom again, and establish a new green economy in the process. Solutions inspired by nature. Read More. The SFP has developed a model based on using resources that are abundant to deliver scarcities.

Geologists estimate that within 50 years, the pump system will be economically sustainable. Aquaponics in Bustan, Egypt Aquaponics is an agricultural and growing method that combines aquaculture and hydroponic cultivation, in order to obtain a symbiotic environment.

Water from tanks for aquaculture is pumped into those hydroponic, so that the plants that grow there can filter it to draw nourishment, while extracting the waste substances produced by fish. The bio-filtered water can then be pumped back into the tanks for aquaculture and the cycle is resumed. At Bustan, the first commercial aquaponic plant in Egypt, young olive trees grow separated from the desert only by thin layers of glass: their cultivation uses 90 percent less water as compared to the conventional crop.

Edward Linacre presented a device able to extract water from the air called AirDrop. That was inspired by the technique that beetles adopted in the desert. Even the driest air contains water humidity. A machine draws air from the surface to underground, through pipes forming condensation, resulting in water directed towards the roots of the surrounding crops.

The invention is now a working prototype. The asparagus in China There is no desert in this location, but in areas nearby, there is cultivation of crops specifically to control it.

The researchers from Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences conducted a successful three-year experiment with asparagus. The vegetable, also widely used in Chinese cuisine, was found to be a suitable windbreak in a project to combat desertification in Youyu, Shanxi Province.

We were trying to plant vegetation capable of curbing the sand in the north and west of China; areas that are particularly threatened by the advance of deserts, facilitated by dry winds. Asparagus has shown its ability to withstand drought and cold, and has also been grown on barren land.

They were able to yield 20 tons. Reading list. Thierry Benoit. Courtesy of IFAD. Nevertheless, the Intensification System still divides the experts. These are the arguments of those in favor. Its name is SRI — System of Rice Intensification — and it could represent a huge step towards the agriculture of the future. But like all potential miracles, it stirs up contrasting passions and causes divisions.

By using younger plants, planted one by one at a distance of 25 centimeters, only intermittently watered, but frequently and precociously weeded. The gardens will also help children see where food comes from and help make them aware that not everything is sugar.

They drink a lot of tea, soda, cookies, candy The CEFA was launched in and, in addition to having a research laboratory to create its own seeds, so that it doesn't have to depend on the outside, it offers a day training in ecological and sustainable agriculture to the Saharawis. The refugees begin growing the food on a 10x10 meter surface, next to their haimas bedouin tents , in a small greenhouse and an area to plant the food outdoors.

This land, whose dimensions can increase depending on the access to water that the family has, serves to supply food for them and grass for their cattle, mainly goats or camels. Additionally, if they have a surplus, they can sell it and earn some extra money. Agricultural engineer, Baba Efdeid, said these micro-cultures don't use fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides.