It has been well-established in scientific circles that climate change causes desertification, a severe environmental issue impacting 250 million people worldwide due to the degradation of once-fertile lands. Approximately one-third of the Earth’s surface is affected by this phenomenon, plaguing regions in Africa, South America, southern Europe, China, and a third of the U.S. These changes are threatening agriculture and food security.
A CNN article entitled “This Moroccan Startup is Growing Crops in the Desert” has shed light on a unique, emerging Franco-Moroccan enterprise named Sand to Green—which, according to its co-founder, Wissal Ben Moussa–is specialized in turning arid deserts into sustainable, profitable plantations within 5 years.
The company employs agroforestry, a method of sustainable agriculture resistant to climate change.
The process starts by desalinating brackish water using solar-powered technology, and then utilizing this intermediate substance for drip irrigation, thus minimizing water loss due to evaporation.
“Green manure,” a mixture of compost, biochar, and microorganisms, is used to regenerate soil. Biochar facilitates water retention in arid soils, allowing some plants to be ready for harvest within two years, according to Ben Moussa.
The startup has been conducting a five-hectare trial in southern Morocco since 2017, where the company has tested a variety of plants for optimal performance.
Trees such as carob, fig, and pomegranate–endemic to the regions in which they grow–have shown promising results. Additionally, intercropping with herbs such as rosemary, geranium, vetiver, and citronella has proven to be low-maintenance and high-yield, with an optimal return on investment.
“My top three favorite trees are carob, fig and pomegranate,” Ben Moussa said. She further backed her choice in adding, “They are endemic to the regions where we want to deploy and have high added value when it comes to the produce, but they are also very resilient.”
As for the herbs of choice, the co-founder of the firm picked rosemary, geranium, vetiver and citronella as the lowest-maintenance items which yield the highest profit margins.
According to the writer, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification predicts that global economic losses from land degradation could reach $23 trillion by 2050, with urgent action necessary to mitigate the disaster costing around $4.6 trillion. Almost 170 nations–particularly those on the African and Asian continents—are most profoundly affected.
The article stated that attempts to cultivate crops in arid regions are becoming more common. Other examples include the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture in Dubai, which promotes salt-tolerant superfoods, and several Tanzanian nonprofits which utilize bunds to store water, thereby enhancing desert agriculture by enabling grasses to return to parched soils.
Sand to Green plans to manage green investments from inception to fruition, with revenues shared between investors and the company. They have already managed to secure $1 million in seed funding and have ambitious plans for a 500-hectare project in Morocco.
Techniques similar to those of Sand to Green can be implemented anywhere in the world, including Mauritania, Senegal, Namibia, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, certain regions of the United States, and along the coast of Mexico, stated Ben Moussa, while emphasizing the feasibility of these processes around the globe so long as brackish water (found along coastal areas) is present.