THOMAS MALTHUS would be shocked, ESTHER BOSERUP gleaning, “I told you so.” If you ever wondered what you could do with your degree in physics, agriculture, architecture, engineering, or environmental sciences, how about solving a food crisis in an area of the World that does not easily grow food. For countries with growing populations and an environment that is not AGRICULTURE friendly, importing food is costly. So some scientists took on the challenge to build a test facility in Qatar. Why Qatar? One scientist says,
“We started with a thought, and that was, let’s take what we have enough of, like seawater, like sunlight, like sand, like CO2, to produce what we need more of—food, water, energy—in an environmentally friendly way.”
Another scientist answers how the project plans on providing SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE for the region.
The pilot facility is the first experiment in integrating technologies to produce food, fresh water and clean energy in deserts using seawater. “And if you look at the crises the world is facing, we need all of those things really badly,” Corless says.
An artist’s rendering shows a full-scale commercial facility. The project’s designers say the concept should work in any low-altitude desert area near a large source of salt water. Graphic provided by Sahara Forest Project.
With a team of engineers, scientists, and agriculturalists, the team is creating an alternative HORTICULTURE system, one that adapts to the region. While massive greenhouse projects such as this one are expensive, Qatar’s oil wealth give it the financial backing that it needs. Hopefully, this form of COMMERCIAL GARDENING can become a sustainable solution to the World’s food crisis.
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