Ingenuity helped turn the desert into a food basket

We may never be self sustainable, but it’s amazing what can be grown in the desert, writes Khalaf Al Habtoor

Organic farms are expanding in sync with burgeoning consumer demand for organic produce. Sammy Dallal / The National
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The UAE has built a worldwide reputation for effecting seemingly miraculous transformations in just about every field imaginable. Former fishing villages have become stunning avant-garde cities that reach for the sky; the sea gives us the water that flows from our taps and irrigates our gardens – and thanks to desalination technology, great swaths of desert have been converted into arable land.

It took determination and foresight on the part of our rulers to combat summer’s unforgiving temperatures, the scarcity of rainfall and a sandy soil to grow the kind of produce my generation had never before seen, let alone tasted, and is taken for granted in other parts of the world. I still remember when families would hoard rare imported tinned peaches to be opened on special occasions like weddings. Young boys would swim far out to sea to ask cruise ship passengers to throw down juicy oranges.

Credit for the phenomenal advances we have witnessed in the agricultural sector must go to one of our Founding Fathers, Sheikh Zayed, whose upbringing in the oasis town of Al Ain inspired his lifelong love of nature’s gifts. Sheikh Zayed laid the groundwork by constructing dams, planting mangrove trees, levelling sand dunes, revitalising traditional systems of irrigation and embracing desalination when it was still considered revolutionary. He was the driving force behind a massive experimental fruit farm on Sir Bani Yas Island.

Incredibly, the UAE today exports fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, guavas, bananas, grapes, citrus and mangoes, not to mention our famous sweet strawberries produced in Sharjah, Al Ain and the mountainous emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, which has the country’s best soil and microclimate for fruit and vegetables.

One of the most exciting developments is the commercial use of hydroponics, where plants can be grown solely in water infused with minerals and nutrients, without soil. Not only does this conserve precious water, which can be reused, the plants grow at a faster rate and can be stacked, thus saving space.

Crops are also extensively grown in climate-controlled greenhouses and in fibre-matted tunnels. Until recently, wheat was seen as a step too far, but a research station in Al Ain is studying 100 types of the grain, mostly grown from seeds imported from Mexico, to discover which varieties are the most adaptable to our climate.

Foreign consultants generally take a negative view of the feasibility of growing wheat in commercial quantities, but never say never to an Emirati. The UAE’s agriculturists are not about to give up.

Energy giving dates, which are packed with vitamins, have long been a mainstay of the region's diet. Date palms have been cultivated for thousands of years, and without these life-givers it is doubtful whether our ancestors would have survived.

The date palm's leaves and fronds were used to make barasti or arish homes, small fishing boats, baskets and mats. The tree’s outer layer was turned into rope and sacks, while the wood itself was crafted to produce furniture, storage chests and tent supports. Whether fresh, dried or conserved in the form of jam, the fruit provided sustenance throughout the year.

About 95 per cent of the world’s dates are grown in the Middle East and the UAE is high on the list of date exporters, along with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with over 44 million palms producing almost 200 different varieties of the fruit.

The largest date processing company in the country, Al Foah, has announced plans to launch a “chain of date concept stores worldwide to promote the consumption of branded dates and increase awareness of UAE dates” as well as such derivatives as juices, date bars, jams, cakes and ice-cream. A highlight on the date farmers’ calendar is the annual Liwa Dates Festival where they can win awards for the healthiest and tastiest fruit.

Fish also loom large in the UAE in terms of domestic consumption as well as exports. Besides indigenous species, the country now boasts salmon farms and grows caviar-producing sturgeons. To increase dwindling populations of some of our favourites due to overfishing, about 50,000 fish are being nurtured by the Dubai Fishermen Co-op Association. Abu Dhabi is encouraging the introduction of aquaculture farms to ensure availability of the five species – hammour, cobia, qabit, yellowfin tuna and abalone – in greatest demand.

In my youth, if someone had suggested that the day would come that the UAE would be an exporter of flowers – to Holland, no less – I might have advised him to see a doctor. In the early 2000s, horticultural farms were indeed exporting roses and chrysanthemums to the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, although exports have now slowed due to increased domestic demand. The Dubai Flower Centre is capable of handling 150,000 tonnes at any given time.

Organic farms are expanding in sync with burgeoning consumer demand for organic produce. This is an area calling out for greater investment.

Sheikh Zayed famously said: “Give me agriculture and I will give you civilisation.” If he were with us today, I think he would be proud of the great strides his country has made in that direction. Food self-sufficiency may always be unreachable – but this is the UAE, so you never know.

Khalaf Al Habtoor is chairman of Al Habtoor Group