Geothermal Energy for Greenhouse Agriculture: Lessons from the Netherlands for MENA

The Middle East and North Africa region faces a paradox at the heart of its food future. With more than 70% of the region’s food needs met by imports, climate change accelerating water stress, and over half the population living in countries classified as water-scarce, the case for local food production has never been stronger. Yet conventional open-field agriculture in MENA is brutally water-intensive and increasingly unviable as temperatures rise. Controlled-environment agriculture, and high-tech greenhouses in particular, is widely seen as part of the answer. Greenhouses can cut water consumption by up to 90% compared to open-field farming, enable year-round … Continue reading

Modern Greenhouse Design Ideas For Your Future Home

Greenhouses have definitely evolved through time. It has come a long way from its plain and simple designs to the now high-tech structured architectures. The location, weather, and the availability of materials have a lot to do with the never ending innovations. Consider these modern greenhouse design ideas that will complement your home, lifestyle, and passions in life if you plan to build your own greenhouse in your backyard.   1. Strong and Sturdy Foundation Having concrete and dug-deep foundation will keep the structure in place and could last longer as compared to bamboos or soft wood which are susceptible … Continue reading

Sustainable Agriculture in the Jordan Valley: Perspectives

Sustainable agriculture development is one of the most important pillars of the EcoPeace Middle East’s Jordan Valley Master Plan as it provides livelihood and prosperity for all the people in the valley. The strategic agricultural objective for the study area is improving water use and irrigation efficiencies and economic outputs per unit of water used, and meanwhile stabilize, or even reduce the total water demands for the agricultural sector in the Jordan Valley. This will require adequate tariff policies on water used for irrigation, including enforcement, to stimulate more efficient use of water through for instance greenhouse drip irrigation. These … Continue reading

Can The UAE Implement a More Localised Food System? Why That Matters Amid COP28.

If you’ve ever been to or lived in the United Arab Emirates, you might be as surprised as those who haven’t to know that the UAE does produce its own crops. Local produce is a rare sight in UAE’s supermarket, as more than 90% of its food products are imported from across the globe. Such a phenomenon is present in numerous other countries- where imports are unreasonably high or even worse, at an equal rate as exports. This begs the question: can a small desert land such as the UAE reduce its reliance on importing if it really tried? And … Continue reading