Research, data and insights behind our work, grouped by topic. Content coming soon.
Desert agriculture, climate-resilient crops and the soil science behind them.
Dubai's International Center for Biosaline Agriculture is growing quinoa and Salicornia on saltwater and brine — crops bred to thrive exactly where conventional farming gives up. It reads as a working blueprint for feeding arid regions without freshwater they don't have.
With little arable land or freshwater, Gulf investors are pouring capital into vertical farms, climate-controlled greenhouses and alternative proteins. The argument here is that these bets aren't just regional fixes — they're scalable answers to a global problem.
Controlled-environment farming can cut water use by up to 95% while producing food year-round in the desert. Fanack maps how the approach is moving from pilot to a MENA market worth nearly $1bn by 2030.
Food security, supply-chain resilience and the technologies reshaping how the region eats.
A Saudi joint venture is building the kingdom's largest indoor vertical farm, part of a Gulf-wide push to grow more at home. AGBI weighs whether the unit economics finally justify the hype.
A Deep Knowledge Analytics report puts the Gulf's exposure bluntly: import dependence plus water scarcity equals real risk. Its prescription is agri-food technology and waste recycling, not just bigger reserves.
Scarce water, scarce land and heavy import reliance make food security a standing challenge across MENA. SRMG Think weighs how far agritech can close the gap — and the data, infrastructure and financing gaps still holding it back.
Scarcity, desalination, reuse and the efficiency gains that make desert agriculture possible.
Al Khafji is the world's first large-scale solar-powered seawater desalination plant, turning 90 hectares of panels into up to 90,000 m³ of fresh water a day. Fanack details how it cuts cost and emissions by as much as 91% versus thermal desalination.
Saudi Arabia has no rivers and is now the world's largest producer of desalinated water. This overview tracks how desalination, wastewater reuse and privatization fit together under Vision 2030 — and where the investment is heading.
Robert Brears' monthly brief rounds up the region's water moves: Saudi's Qassim pipeline expansion, Bahrain's grid upgrades and the UAE's AI-driven utility platform. A fast read on where Gulf water-infrastructure money is actually flowing.