Whether it is the arrival of the Covid pandemic, or the droughts across the UK, there is nothing like an immediate crisis to jolt us into focusing on what has been known, and said, for a long time - but not given enough thought. Ironically, an answer to some of our climatic problems could lie in new food technology being developed in Saudi Arabia – a region not known for an abundance of fruit and vegetables.
There has been a great deal of talk for several decades about the threats arising from our climate changing, and in particular, mean temperatures rising. Yet for all the international summits and conferences – or the regulations, subsidies and taxes that have come out of them – are we anywhere near ready?
Looking at the worldwide threat from climate change, food production is perhaps the least sustainable sector of human activity on the planet with only 50% habitable land use, which is no longer increasing; 70% freshwater use, but with aquifers depleting; and 30% CO2 equivalent emissions. We know we will need a large increase in global food production, currently estimated at 50% more food produced globally by 2050.
Furthermore, we have unsustainable supply chains – 30% of the food produced globally is lost or wasted, equivalent to c. 1.3 billion tons annually. 65% of the world’s population also lives in countries where obesity is a bigger killer than undernourishment, with estimated annual costs of $760 billion for obesity and $670 billion for diabetes.
In developing countries, seven million children under the age of five die of malnutrition-related causes every year, whilst two billion women and children suffer micronutrient deficiencies with estimated costs of $3.5 trillion.
Such is the regional climate in Saudi Arabia – one of the harshest in the world – all crops must be grown with irrigation, using 85% of total water consumption of about 30km3 per year. Only 7% is provided by desalination, meaning that maximum value is required from every drop used. Just as the Kingdom is planning for when oil consumption declines, it is also planning for when water runs out.
So much attention has been given to changing the West’s energy supplies from carbon-emitting coal, or gas, that little focus appears to have been given to maintaining reliable sources of potable water. The UK has not built a new reservoir since Carsington, Derbyshire, over thirty years ago in 1991. Yet in that time, our population has increased by 10 million, before even considering how the climatic changes might affect our agriculture.
Yes, we can see new trends in agriculture developing, such as the rise in English and Welsh vineyards, where grapevine plantings have more than doubled in the last eight years, but what about food production?
Europe’s climatic changes are only a levelling-up towards climates we can see in the Arabian Gulf, and when it comes to growing fruit or vegetables like tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers you cannot get a more inhospitable climate than Saudi Arabia. And yet Red Sea Farms - a new business born of private entrepreneurial spirit, academic technical innovation, plus investor encouragement and support has overcome the seemingly impossible obstacles - to grow premium quality produce now supplying retail stores across the country.
Red Sea Farms’ mission is to use technology to help feed the world sustainably by reducing food insecurity and the food sector’s carbon and water footprint. Rather than use scarce and costly desalinated water for agriculture. Red Sea Farms has developed salt and heat tolerant rootstock varieties for popular vegetables that have a high tolerance to saltwater - and combined these with pioneering climate control to deliver the world’s most advanced platform for hot environment agriculture.
This approach reduces fresh water use by up to 95% and allows crops to be grown in harsh environments, such as sustainable desert farming.
Developments are moving rapidly too. The intention is not just to perfect the husbandry of fruit and vegetables in the Arabian Gulf, but to take the technology and use it wherever harsh climates make the growing of foods difficult, if not previously impossible.
Two successful fundraising rounds have already been held, attracting significant support from institutions and funding bodies keen to see Red Sea Farms grow into a multinational agriculture technology supplier that turns agricultural convention on its head. Currently, Red Sea Farms has already teamed up with academics in Arizona, United States, and is seeking partners in other regions where food production is usually difficult.
A new commercial-scale six-hectare technology retrofit site near Riyadh has opened along with an R&D facility at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal – where technologies are delivering results ahead of expectations.
As bottled water is now being rationed by supermarkets, what other problems will arise - possibly food production? Maybe we should be encouraging Red Sea Farms to team up with a UK partner in the South of England?
Producing more of our own fruits and vegetables to enhance food security and reduce food miles makes a great deal of sense - but having the right technology in our changing climate could be a pre-requisite if we are to pull that off.
