The main reason: Non-compliance with imported standards
Why Hydroponic Projects Fail in Saudi Arabia and Our Region
Hydroponics is a promising technology that aims to achieve sustainability and food security, especially in areas suffering from water scarcity and harsh climatic conditions. Despite the strenuous efforts to adopt this technology in Saudi Arabia and the region's countries, many projects face significant challenges that ultimately lead to their failure.
The main reason: Non-compliance with imported standards
Considering the reasons for the failure of hydroponic projects in our region, the most prominent reason is the inappropriateness of the standards according to which these projects were designed. Most technologies and systems used were developed in European and American countries, with climatic conditions utterly different from those in our extremely hot climate.
Greenhouse Design Challenges
For example, many greenhouse designs are based on standards designed to withstand temperatures and solar radiation much lower than those found in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, when these technologies are imported and installed without significant modifications, problems quickly arise, such as temperatures inside the greenhouses rising to levels that plants cannot tolerate, negatively affecting their growth and productivity.
Cooling and humidity control systems problem
Similarly, cooling and humidity control systems are often designed to meet the standards of countries with temperate climates. When used in our hot climate, they consume vast amounts of energy to provide a suitable environment, which significantly increases operating costs and threatens the project's economic viability.
The importance of choosing suitable seedlings and varieties
Even the selection of seedlings and plant varieties must consider our climate's specificity. Many high-yielding varieties have been developed for cultivation in specific climatic conditions and may not be suitable for our region's high temperatures and intense solar radiation.
The need to adapt technologies to suit the local climate
Therefore, the literal copying of hydroponic farming techniques without considering the fundamental differences in climate is one of the main reasons for the failure of these projects in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. To ensure the successful adoption of this technology, it must be adapted and improved to suit our local conditions.
This requires scientific and engineering efforts to redesign systems and components to withstand extreme heat and use less energy for cooling. Extensive experimentation is also required to identify the most suitable plant varieties that thrive in our climate and to develop new heat-resistant strains if necessary.
Finally...
In conclusion, for hydroponic projects to succeed in our region, we must stop importing ready-made solutions and work on developing innovative local solutions that consider the specificity of our climate and its challenges. Only in this way can we benefit from the advantages of this revolutionary technology to achieve food security and agricultural sustainability in the region.
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