Mohamed Alnwairan stands in front of a verdant citrus tree which four months hence will bear his first harvest of limes.
Mohamed Alnwairan (centre) explains how his farm has benefited from smart irrigation techniques.
Land lost
As the climate continues to change across the desert lands of Saudi Arabia and drought conditions increase in frequency, farmers are also fighting desertification and the loss of productive land.
Jaffar Almubarak, who works for the Saudi Irrigation Organization, an FAO partner, said, “smart irrigation is part of an integrated response to climate change, which includes soil management and the choice of crops,” adding that “such an approach can maximise the use of water, but also help to rehabilitate land and work against desertification.”
In December 2024, global leaders from governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society came together in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, under the auspices of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to discuss solutions to drought, land loss and land restoration.
Globally, up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, which has dire consequences for the climate, biodiversity and people’s livelihoods.
Like farmers across the world, Mr. Alnwairan exercises his long experience and expertise to increase his crop yields, driven by necessity and opportunity.
“I’m considering adopting smart irrigation across my farm to focus on mainly the cultivation of lime, for which I have a ready market,” he said.
If other farmers follow his lead, water supplies will go further in these arid lands while cultivation will help to slow down desertification.