Employing breakthrough technologies to create a water and food-secure UAE

Abu dhabi —  In September 2020, Abu Dhabi state-owned holding company ADQ launched a firm under the name Silal to increase and diversify local food production. A month later, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development announced an FDI licence, which will allow foreign investors 100 per cent ownership of their businesses.

Could these measures drive a surge in agri-entrepreneurship in the UAE? Are such ventures even possible, in a water-stressed nation, which is largely a desert region? Chandra Dake, executive chairman and group CEO of Dake Group, believes that breathable sand technology, introduced by his company Dake Rechsand, can make these goals achievable. In fact, he has an ambitious vision of making the UAE the organic food bowl for the world, cost-effectively and sustainably.

“On average, the UAE gets 12 days of annual rain, and less than one per cent of its land is arable”, says Chandra. “Overcoming these limitations will require transformative innovation, and we believe Dake Rechsand’s proprietary technology represents that breakthrough.

We are able to transform the properties of fine desert sand by means of a coating, which facilitates air permeability, while retaining water,” Chandra elaborates. “The combination of these properties produces the ideal medium for plant growth, as well as to efficiently harvest rainwater and keep it fresh in storage for up to seven years, without the use of chemicals or electricity.”

In conjunction with the UAE’s successful cloud-seeding initiative, Dake Rechsand’s IDER range of pavers and kerbstones can optimally harvest rainwater, while the decentralised Honeycomb storage enabled by the range can retain fresh water close to where it will be consumed.

Along with the UAE’s progressive government initiatives, Dake Rechsand’s products can enable a sustainable and self-sufficient UAE of the future.