High-tech farmers sow seeds of revolution in Dubai desert

High-tech farmers sow seeds of revolution in Dubai desert

Heavy monsoon rains speed up crop planting in India

"It's a green revolution in the middle of the desert," the farm's director Basel Jammal said.

"Each plant is given the amount of light, humidity, heat and water it needs. It's as if it were a guest in a five-star hotel," he says.

A cool fruit and vegetable warehouse in Dubai. AFP

The COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted global supply chains, has refocused attention on food security in the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE is rich in oil and ingenuity, but has little arable land and endures dry, baking summers.

That was not an issue decades ago when the area was sparsely inhabited by Bedouins.

But the wealth generated by oil discoveries since the 1970s sent expatriates flocking to the UAE.

Omar Bouchehab, chair of Dubai's food Security Committee. AFP

Dubai