Revolutionary farm: In the middle of a desert, a farm thrives
When people generally think of where farms grow, it would unlikely be in part of a desert. However, this farm located in Aqaba, Jordan is proving that crops are growing and the water is gushing, in a place where water quality and supply is one of the lowest worldwide.
Located on Jordan’s Red Sea Coast, this farm, named the Sahara Forest Project shows how farming can adapt to its environment to combat the modern challenges that climate change provides. It’s a starting point for innovative farms that too, can survive in unanticipated circumstances.
The Sahara Desert Project began in 2009 when the team was given an opportunity to present their idea at the UN climate conference. This perked the interest of the King of Jordan, who presented them with an invitation to construct their farm, and finally, in 2016, the farm was built.
The Sahara Forest Project (SFP) runs entirely on solar panels using sunlight and seawater from the ocean. The solar panels produce power from the hot, Jordan sun to the system that evaporates the seawater to remove salt and helps maintain fresh air inside the greenhouses. Additionally, this futuristic farm has plants that can tolerate the saltwater to grow outdoors, and provide cooler temperatures.
With these solar panels, it creates a shelter in which crops can safely grow without the risk of harsh sunlight, such as key herbs and salad ingredients, with the help of a few employees. These desert workers go through a manual process of pollinating the plants by hand and using insects like wasps to act as a pest control. Not only are these farms creating revolutionary concepts that prove farming can be available anywhere, but it also utilises sustainable processes to turn their surrounding wasteland into a fertiliser that enriches the soil.
Since the team has now proven that their idea is successful, this project is expanding; additions like a pipeline to simplify the process of extracting the seawater make it possible to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Farms like these yield 200 workers in Aqaba, whereas plots of land in Tunisia and potentially Northern Africa are where the system will flourish in other desert locations.
These photos depict and demonstrate the daily tasks that the desert workers may go through in order to keep the farm running. Kjetil Stake, who is the managing director of the SFP, says that land is destroyed too often to make food. The prototype of this farm is an example of how nothing is impossible - that there is always a possibility to produce crops and food in a way that benefits the planet instead of harming Earth by mass farming.
The farm that grows vegetables in the middle of the desert. (2023, July 19). Positive News. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://www.positive.news/environment/growing-food-in-the-desert/
Sunlight and seawater: Growing food in the desert. (n.d.). Imagine5. Retrieved January 17, 2024, from https://imagine5.com/gallery/sunlight-and-seawater-growing-food-in-the-desert/
Water, sanitation and hygiene. (n.d.). UNICEF. Retrieved January 17, 2024, from https://www.unicef.org/jordan/water-sanitation-and-hygiene
