AGRICULTURE IN DESERTS

Agriculture in deserts involves overcoming extreme conditions such as high temperature, poor soil quality etc…and utilizing advanced methods and techniques to cultivate crops. Countries like Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are main examples of successful agriculture projects. The high risk of cultivation is avoided by some methods such as drip irrigation, desalination, hydroponics, aeroponics, drought resistant crops, soil management, water harvesting, agroforestry and vertical farming.

DRIP IRRIGRATION:

By this method, water flows directly into the plant’s root and minimizes the water evaporation.

DROUGHT-RESISTANT CROPS:

Genetically modified crops are more resistant to drought that helps in cultivation with minimal amount of water.

AGROFORESTRY:

It combines the cultivation of crops and the management of trees and shrubs in same land. Soil improvement, water conservation, carbon sequestration are the benefits of agroforestry.

METHODS USED IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES:

ISRAEL:

Israel is known for its agricultural techniques. Drip irrigation plays vital role in cultivating crops. Infact, this method is invented in Israel. They are using desalination and hydroponics widely.

UAE:

They invested heavily in transforming its arid area into agricultural area.  They use vertical farming and hydroponics.

MOROCCO AND SAHEL REGION:

Farmers cultivate olive and argan trees with cereal crops and vegetables. Those long trees provide shade to those crops. Those fruits are providing extra economic benefits in Morocco.

Agroforestry restores degraded lands and improves soil quality and increases crop yields.

Countries like Israel, UAE successfully implemented many methods for enhancing food security and environmental resilience.