Growing Cucumbers in Harsh Desert Highlights Saudi Food-Security Push
A man walks past smart greenhouses used for growing food at Pure Harvest Smart Farms in Nahil, United Arab Emirates, another Gulf country that's pushing to grow more of its food..
Photographer: Christopher Pike/BloombergA farm in one of Saudi Arabia’s harshest terrains is growing produce from cucumbers to tomatoes on land that was once unusable.
Agritech startup iyris, along with firms including real estate developer Red Sea Global and chemicals giant Sabic, has created a facility with a greenhouse and a system that purifies local well water. A key part of the initiative is using roofing made from Sabic’s recycled plastics with iyris’ SecondSky technology to block near-infrared rays in order to provide more suitable growing conditions.