Agreement Reached to Develop Sustainable Food Supply Using Sunlight in W. Saudi Arabia

The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Agreement Reached to Develop Sustainable Food Supply Using Sunlight in W. Saudi Arabia

The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Red Sea Development Company partners with Red Sea Farms to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project, has partnered with Red Sea Farms, a Saudi Arabian AgTech business, to develop a sustainable food supply for The Red Sea’s flagship destination using sunlight and saltwater.

Red Sea Farms will build and operate the indoor farm, growing crops to sustainably feed guests and residents at The Red Sea Project. It will become the main supplier to the luxury destination’s resorts and restaurants.

CEO of TRSDC John Pagano said: “At TRSDC we believe in embracing innovations to solve the challenges we face as we attempt to improve our relationship with the environment. Red Sea Farms’ technology is novel, exciting and has the possibility of helping to tackle food scarcity globally.”

“This partnership means we’re meeting our own sustainable and regenerative ambitions,” he added.

The innovative technology uses sunlight and saltwater to cool greenhouses and grow crops, instead of relying on rainfall, fresh groundwater, or desalinated water.

This saves up to 300 liters of freshwater per kilogram of produce – a 95 percent saving compared with other AgTech systems.

The technology has been designed and developed in Saudi Arabia for use in often challenging environmental conditions.

This means a reduced impact on the environment and a significant cost saving for growers. It also results in more nutritious crops, while also providing a richer taste, flavor, and texture.

By 2023, The Red Sea Project will welcome 300,000 guests annually and upwards of 14,000 employees, and once fully operational in 2030, up to one million guests per year and home to around 35,000 employees.

Feeding this many people in a remote, largely desert environment presents huge logistical challenges.

TRSDC has set aside a 50 square hectare food development area and is inviting leading companies from around the world to set up production facilities, as well as pilots of cutting-edge food technologies that can someday be used on a commercial scale.

The Red Sea Farms indoor farm will produce a diverse range of fresh leafy greens, herbs, vine crops, fruit including berries, and vegetables. Following the pilot, Red Sea Farms will have the option of expanding the farm to up to 100 hectares in the future, which would make it the largest sustainable farm of its kind in the world.

TRSDC also partnered with Blue Planet Ecosystems in a regional first to deliver sustainably produced seafood.

The first phase of the project will be implemented as a 3,500m2 pilot, to assess whether conditions at The Red Sea Project are suitable for the solution to work effectively and efficiently.

This will be the first Land-based Automated Recirculating Aquaculture (LARA) system pilot in the Middle East to undergo a commercial trial.



How Tiny Lesotho Ended up with the Highest US Tariffs in the World

 Workers perfom their duties at Quantum Apparel factory on the outskirts of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, the tiny Southern African kingdom that US President Donald Trump ridiculed last month, April 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Workers perfom their duties at Quantum Apparel factory on the outskirts of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, the tiny Southern African kingdom that US President Donald Trump ridiculed last month, April 4, 2025. (Reuters)
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How Tiny Lesotho Ended up with the Highest US Tariffs in the World

 Workers perfom their duties at Quantum Apparel factory on the outskirts of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, the tiny Southern African kingdom that US President Donald Trump ridiculed last month, April 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Workers perfom their duties at Quantum Apparel factory on the outskirts of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, the tiny Southern African kingdom that US President Donald Trump ridiculed last month, April 4, 2025. (Reuters)

If you have ever bought a pair of jeans from an American brand like Levi’s or Wrangler, chances are they were manufactured at a factory in the small southern African nation of Lesotho.

Textile manufacturing is one of Lesotho's key industries, exporting some 75% of its output to the United States.

This is expected to change after US President Donald Trump slapped a 50% tariff on imports from Lesotho, the highest among all countries. According to Trump, Lesotho charges a 99% tariff on US goods, but the government said it doesn't know how the US administration calculated that figure. Government officials did not say Thursday what Lesotho's tariffs on US goods are.

Here is what the high tariffs mean for Lesotho:

A country ‘nobody has ever heard of’

Trump made fun of Lesotho in a speech in March, calling it a nation that “nobody has ever heard of.” Lesotho's foreign minister reminded him that the US has a diplomatic mission there.

Last year, the landlocked kingdom bordered on all sides by South Africa with a population of 2.3 million people, celebrated 200 years of the founding of the Basotho nation and 58 years of independence from British rule.

Its picturesque scenery and mountainous views draw visitors from Africa and across the world, and during winter, Lesotho becomes one of the most sought-after skiing destinations.

What are Lesotho's exports and the economy?

Lesotho does not pay tariffs on exports to Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland since it is a member of regional economic blocs such as the Southern African Customs Union. Main exports include clothing, diamonds, water, power, wool and mohair.

The new tariffs announced by Trump mean that American consumers will pay more for goods made in Lesotho, making them less competitive in the US market.

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, in 2024, US-Lesotho bilateral trade stood at $240.1 million. Apart from clothing, Lesotho's exports also include diamonds and other goods.

Classified as a lower-middle income country by the World Bank, nearly half of Lesotho's 2.3 million population live below the poverty line, while a quarter are unemployed.

How has Lesotho reacted to tariffs?

Lesotho’s Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile said his country will be on the prowl for new markets and use the Africa Continental Free Trade Area to increase exports to favorable destinations in Africa.

The government would also urgently send a delegation to the US to negotiate a workable arrangement. Shelile said he's concerned about the possible closure of textile factories, which employ about 12,000 people in Lesotho.