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Sun and sea water powers vegetable farms in Jordan:
Context:
Jordan , has launched a project to turn its sand dunes into farming land to produce food using sun and sea water.
Introduction:
- King Abdullah II and Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon recently mark the official opening of the “Sahara Forest Project” near the southern port city of Aqaba.
- The director of the project is Joakim Hauge.
Facts about Jordon:
- Jordan has a lot of sunlight, it has a lot of desert, it has sea water, it has carbon dioxide.
- It is a water poor country with 90 per cent desert
Objectives of the project:
- In the first stage, the project aims to produce up to 130 tonnes of organic vegetables per year from an area the size of four football pitches.
- It will use solar panels to provide power and include outdoor planting space, two saltwater-cooled greenhouses, a water desalination unit and salt ponds for salt production.
- It will help in using technology that can be used in a sustainable way to produce agricultural goods in a quite tough climate.
Project funders:
- The project, whose funders include Norway and the European Union, is to be expanded from three hectares to around 200 hectares of desert.