Abdulrahman Al Shamsi's farm in Al Wagan, Al Ain. Courtesy Showkat Nabi Rather, ICBA
Abdulrahman Al Shamsi's farm in Al Wagan, Al Ain. Courtesy Showkat Nabi Rather, ICBA
Abdulrahman Al Shamsi's farm in Al Wagan, Al Ain. Courtesy Showkat Nabi Rather, ICBA
Abdulrahman Al Shamsi's farm in Al Wagan, Al Ain. Courtesy Showkat Nabi Rather, ICBA

Special report: Al Ain farm tackles food and water security by pairing fish with watermelons


  • English
  • Arabic

The red sands of Al Ain’s sun-scorched desert have become the environment for a bizarre, symbiotic relationship between fish and watermelons.

Using integrated farming techniques, Abdulrahman Al Shamsi is growing both while using a tenth of the water and producing up to three times the yield of conventional farms.

The method has gained momentum over the past decade in the horticultural world. At its core, integrated farms try to identify and align the nutritional demands and by-products of farmable organisms.

In the case of watermelons, the fruit grows best when fertilised with nitrogen and nitrates that are the waste from, and often the environmental argument against, fish ­farming.

The technique has allowed the Emirati to improve his yield of goods by up to 300 per cent and reduce his water use by 90 per cent.

While leaving a small carbon footprint, Mr Al Shamsi also provides nutritious food that few traditional desert farms produce – fish.

Integrated farming is a delicate chemical balance. In some cases, it allows farmers to make use of what would otherwise be an environmental hazard, but in others the fit is extremely fruitful.

“Three times as much from date palms, just by using the wastewater from the fish farm,” Mr Al Shamsi says. “With dates, we can have three seasons of fruit.”

His technological innovation, which has prompted his peers to change their farming methods, is not limited to odd connections. Simple innovations have also yielded great results.

On his farm in Al Wagan there are no greenhouses, which have become an energy-­intensive but common method of desert farming.

Mr Al Shamsi's reasoning is simple. More than half of the water used in greenhouses is for cooling. The temperatures inside can be 10°C to 20°C warmer than outside.

Abdulrahman Al Shamsi is using integrated farming techniques to cut water use and increase yields. Courtesy Showkat Nabi Rather
Abdulrahman Al Shamsi is using integrated farming techniques to cut water use and increase yields. Courtesy Showkat Nabi Rather

In a country with 50°C summers, the greenhouse is beginning to lose its prevalence. Farmers are now looking to replace them with overhead covering that can protect sensitive plants from the scorching sun.

Mr Al Shamsi’s search for new technology has taken him to farms around the world, including trips to parts of Australia that resemble the arid environments of the UAE.

He is constantly tinkering and experimenting with new concepts, calling his land “a farm and a lab”.

“I am teaching farmers,” Mr Al Shamsi said. “I want as much as I can to share my knowledge and more than 40 farms are using some of my techniques. With the support from the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture, we will hopefully teach more.”

But with water so heavily subsidised here, it is difficult to convince some to abandoning their wasteful use of greenhouses year-round.

The International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture, based in the UAE, has been working with farmers in arid environments to help provide them with technological know-how.

Dr Ismahane Elouafi, the centre's director general, said it was farms such as Mr Al Shamsi's that provided a model for success that the centre could use to convince others to adopt more energy and water-saving methods.

“It’s a lot of information for farmers but we are here to address their needs because we need to take that data, study it and pass on what we find works,” Dr Elouafi said.

Climate change has recalibrated the challenges.

But in the Arabian Gulf it is much more urgent, with ­research indicating the average summer heat in the region will rise by more than the predicted 2°C global increase by 2050.

_____________

Read more:

UAE making major efforts to overcome water conservation's 'many challenges' 

Amazon wins regulatory and shareholder approval for Whole Foods deal

_______________

Combined with a lack of freshwater sources and a population boom, growing food in the GCC will require methods that waste little or no resources. That will take technological advances and willingness by all to adapt.

"Some of it is technology, some of it is awareness, and we need to keep in mind water and food security," Dr Elouafi said. "In the UAE we must be more sensitive to water consumption – maybe even shift to crops that are more ­adaptable."

The Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, said food security must be a national goal.

“Clearly, more needs to be done to ensure that the UAE is food secure into the future,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said. “We need to monitor and improve food consumption patterns and rely on innovation to develop agriculture, fisheries and ­livestock

He said techniques such as Mr Al Shamsi’s were crucial to the development of ­agriculture.

“Developing alternative sources of feed for the livestock and aquaculture industries requires establishing a programme to develop technologies to use waste streams from food supply,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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TOP%2010%20MOST%20POLLUTED%20CITIES
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

The%20specs
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LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80

Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km

GROUP RESULTS

Group A
Results

Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs

Group B
Results

Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets

Result

Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')

West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')

EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The%C2%A0specs%20
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The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

TALE OF THE TAPE

Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm

Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm

Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh317,671

On sale: now

Company%20profile
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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Company%20profile%20
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Profile

Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari

Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.

Number of employees: Over 50

Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised

Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital 

Sector of operation: Transport

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
While you're here