AN EXPERIMENT IN DESERT FARMING : CASSAVA AND VEGITABLE CULTIVATION IN THE U.A.E. -

FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY MILLIONS

DR.RAJU M. MATHEW

HUNGER -THE GREATEST TRUTH• The number of the hungry millions has been growing fast than the growth

of the global economy. In stead of the familiar crops and lands, we have to explore new lands and crops to feed the hungry millions. The vast potentialities of the vast desert in producing food and ago-based industrial raw materials have to be explored.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has predicted substantial decline in the production of rice, wheat, potato, apple, milk and meat for the effect of the global warming. FAO advocates the vast cultivation of cassava or tapioca to feed the hungry millions in the coming days. It has vast industrial use too.

• In these background, I have started my own little experiment in the cultivation of cassava and some verities of vegetable, brought mainly from Kerala, in the UAE. I am sharing my limited knowledge and experiences in desert farming especially in cassava and vegetable for the benefit of those who love agriculture or farming in the desert. It is submitted for the consideration of governments and international community to expand desert farming, especially in cassava and vegetable on a massive scale.

CASSAVA- THE WONDER CROP

DESERT FARMING MY EXPERIMENTS• I am basically a farmer with Agriculture Economics as one of my

major papers for my Master’s Degree, though I have formulated two theories of knowledge, propounded Knowmatics- Cybernetics and Mathematics of Knowledge and supervised a dozen doctoral works.

• Since I settled in the UAE in 2008, I have been exploring the possibility of turning the vast desert lands into food producing farms to feed the hungry millions. In stead of formulating theories or writing papers, I have been making my own experiments in desert farming, especially in cassava or tapioca or kappa and some vegetables.

• FAO has already identified Cassava as the future food of the hungry millions of the world. Cassava needs a lot of sunlight to turn its roots into the precious food and industrial raw material.

• I am sharing my knowledge on desert farming that may not be very familiar to the outside world or even to the desert farmers and agricultural scientists.

NO FRUIT, FLOWER OR GARDEN

THE DESERT AND DATE PALMS • It was the time of the flowering of the date palms when I

settled in the UAE in 2008 from Kerala. Every where we can see the well planted date palms with not so ripened date fruits with red or golden colors that become brown or black when ripened.

• But I was sad, for I couldn’t see fruit or flower gardens filled with sweet honey and fragrance and also the dances of the honeybees, butterflies and dragon flies and the lovely songs of the parrots and the other birds near my home in Al Ain. For me, these beautiful things make the Paradise.

• I am to say that the Al Ain Municipality is very eager to keep its streets beautiful with flowers and green grass . But I missed the beauty of Kerala. I started my own experiments or explorations in building up my own paradise near our residence. The previous pictures show the place before I started my work.

THE FIRST ATTEMPT

OUR FIRST ATTEMPT IN GARDENING

• We planted a beguine villa, a muringa (drum stick) tree, plantains and some cassava or tapioca plants near our home and watered in the morning and evening and put manure regularly. It took two years to come out the red flowers of the beguine villa and white flowers of the muringa tree. There after some honeybees came and little birds made their nests there. It became lively and lovely.

FAST GROWING MURINGA (DRUM STICK TREE)

CASSAVA AND TUVARA

• Under the shade of the muringa tree, we planted ‘thuvara’ , a bush bean plant lasting several years, and some cassava plants. We watered them in the morning and the evening and put cow dung every month. It took nearly one year to flower the thuvara and to give good yield. The yield from cassava or tapioca was not very high, but some what good.

FLOWERING THUVARA

CASSAVA (TAPIOCA)

RED AND GREEN

DURING THE HOT SUMMER

SOYA, LONG BEANS, BITTER AND ASH GUARDS

• We brought the seeds of soya, long beans, bitter guard, ash guard, snake guard, red cheera and tapioca sticks for cultivation from Kerala.

• After putting green fiber net at the top, we planted the seeds during the summer when heat was above 50 degree and watered them three times every day. Their growth was slow and most of them survived the summer heat, though we put compost and cow dung twice in a month. Most of the flowers of the long beans dried away without giving any fruit.

• When the summer was over, we removed the green fiber net . For climbing or grow over the soya, long beans, bitter and ash guards, we tied iron wire over the poles and put several dry palm leaves over it. They start to flower and bear good and healthy fruits just like as they are in Kerala. Under their shades, the ladies finger that we planted grow and yield fruits. The vegetables that we produce are hundred per cent organic without any pesticide.

• The tapioca plants have started to grow in a healthy way. We expect very good crop from the because are a high yielding new variety very popular in Kerala.

BEANS, ASH GUARD AND LADIES FINGER

DRY & HARD LAND

MAY 2013

DESERT THRONE

BENEATH THE DATA PALM

JULY 2013-BETWEEN THE THRONE PLANT AND DATE PALMS

BITTER GUARD& HERBALS

ROSE & TURMERIC

CASSAVA OR TAPIOCA OR KAPPA

SCHOOL BOYS & CASSAVA

FRUITS & FLOWERS

VERY LONG BEANS

RED CHEERA & POTHINA (MINT)

THE LOVER & THE BELOVED

BEANS, THUVARA& MURINGA

RED CHEERA

ASH GUARD

HIGH YIELDING CASSAVA (QUINTAL KAPPA)

LONG BEANS FLOWERS

BUTTERFLY & LADIES’ FINGER

THE HUMMING BUTTERFLY

LADIES’ FINGERS (OKRA)

YAM ALSO

THE LITTLE BIRDIE

BITTER GUARDS

SOYA BEANS, LONG BEANS & ASH GUARD

BRINJAL & TOMATO

PADAVALAM (SNAKE GUARD)

EXPLOITING THE DESERT FOR FOOD

• Though my experiment is of a very limited personal attempt, it can be carried out on a large commercial basis. Deserts can produce not only the familiar date palms but also high yielding cassava and some types of fruits and vegetables.

• Cassava needs a lot of sun light, though some protection is required from extreme hot of the summer. If water is made available for cultivation, we can produce large quantities of cassava roots that can be used for feeding the hungry millions besides using them as vital industrial raw materials. Different verities of food products can also be produced from it.