Seawater & Sunlight: A New Dawn for Somalia's Food Security?

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Following my previous post on institutional freshwater management in one of Africa's wealthiest nations, this entry will do a 180° turn to explore a form of small-scale innovation in the continent's second-poorest nation, Somalia. 


Situating Somalia 

Somalia is located in the Horn of Africa, one of the world’s most food-insecure regions. In past decades, it has been subject to recurrent droughts, water shortages and famine, the effects of which are exacerbated by long-standing civil conflict. Given harsh climatic conditions and incredibly low proportions of arable land, innovative approaches are being piloted as a means of achieving food security in the autonomous region of Somaliland. Here, we turn to Seawater Greenhouse’s desalination pilot project in Berbera. 

 

A Bit About Berbera

Berbera is characterised by its hot desert climate and low average precipitation (50mm per annum). Summer months are intense: temperatures exceed 45˚C, and winds regularly top speeds of 20 metres/second. Freshwater is also scarce and extreme drought have caused surges in food prices and widespread famine. In this light, it is perhaps unsurprising that agriculture is challenging here. Challenging does not have to mean impossible, though. This is where the potential of desalinisation comes into play...

Figure 1 Berbera, Somaliland on the Horn of Africa (Represented by the red marker and circle).


Low-cost, Rugged and Modular

Seawater Greenhouse’s aim is simple, but not easy: to address issues “within the food-water-energy nexus with one integrated solution". In doing so, it hopes to enable high-yielding, restorative agriculture in world’s driest and hottest coastal environments where agriculture would be otherwise impossible. Anything that can be grown within a conventional greenhouse can be harvested in seawater greenhouses.

So, how does this work?

Berbera’s greenhouse is actually more of a shade net system that “retain[s] core evaporating cooling elements” employed in prior Seawater Greenhouse projects. Core design elements remained the same: seawater is used for evaporative cooling and freshwater is produced through desalination. Moreover, the desalination by-product, brine, is used for salt production. 

However, to ensure its technology would be appropriate for Berbera’s harsh climate, tweaks were made to ensure both cooling and output levels were maintained. In partnership with Aston University, Seawater Greenhouse were able to use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to predict attainable greenhouse conditions in the context of local meteorological conditions. Furthermore, partnership with the Pastoral & Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) provided vital insight into local agricultural needs. This approach meant Seawater Greenhouse's existing technology could be adapted and provide effective solutions for pastoralists in a drought-prone, food-insecure region at just one tenth of the cost of previous projects in Australia. The short video below provides interesting information on the logistics. 

 
Video The logistics of Seawater Greenhouse.

By employing the abundant, readily-available natural resources of seawater and sunlight, Seawater Greenhouse has reduced pressures on already-stretched groundwater resources and helped farmers adapt to water stress using low-cost water-smart technology. Since its completion in 2018, the greenhouse has produced year-round harvests in arguably the world’s harshest environment. Crops grown include tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers (Figure 2).


Figure 2 Crops from the first harvest at Seawater Greenhouse, Berbera (2018). 

A Promising Future for the Horn of Africa?

The significance of this achievement must not be understated. As aforementioned, Somaliland has been subject to food-insecurity for decades and its limited freshwater resources are under increasing pressure from population pressures and contamination. Seawater Greenhouse’s Berbera project shows that in the future, drought no longer has to mean famine or food-shortage. Furthermore, modelling and the identification of optimal climatic conditions means that similar greenhouses could be established in other coastal regions of the Horn of Africa owing to their similar climate. However, a poignant question remains: can this technology be implemented at scale to match the dietary demands of Somaliland’s increasing population? Time will tell.
 

                                                                         

 

Comments

  1. SummerNovember 2, 2021 at 4:43 AM

    Woah, the Seawater Greenhouse’s desalination pilot project in Berbera is really fascinating!! Do you know if there are any plans to implement a similar project elsewhere in Africa? Do you think other nations have the resources to follow in Somalilands footsteps?

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    Replies
    1. EmmaNovember 2, 2021 at 6:41 AM

      Thank you! I found it really interesting to read about.

      One of the strengths of Seawater Greenhouse is that they used modelling to identify optimal climatic conditions for the greenhouse in Berbera. Due to the similar climate along the coastlines of the Horn of Africa, they are hoping this project can be implemented in other locations in the region. This will reduce pressure on freshwater resources and make use of the readily-available, abundant seawater and sunlight.

      It remains unknown whether this type of technology can be implemented at a large-scale but its adapted design, and low cost, are promising. Seawater Greenhouse have projects all across the world - I would recommend checking out Sundrop Farms in Australia. This inspired Berberba's design and was adapted to significantly reduce the cost.

      Delete
  2. ClementNovember 14, 2021 at 6:33 AM

    Again building on previous post, i see a consistent use of case studies that explore different challenge and possible solutions in relaiton to water and food, which is good and i'll suggest youb keep at it. Also, i like the regional focus while exploring different elements of water scarcity and management. Referencing is good but I was wondering if local perspective can be added to the discussion, like who are the winners and looser with this innovation, and how is it being intergtrated into existing sociocultural and econmic arrnagement.

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    Replies
    1. EmmaNovember 24, 2021 at 8:15 AM

      Thank you, Clement. At the moment, I believe this project is still in its pilot stage and has not been implemented at scale so it is not yet clear who the real winners and losers with this innovation.

      However, from what I have read, I think one of they key challenges will be ensuring the costs remain low to ensure accessibility for smallholder farmers who account for the majority of Somalia's agricultural production. Whilst I do think the premise of this project is promising, I believe their will be accessibility challenges for some farmers in the form of higher-than-usual costs, despite efforts by Seawater Greenhouse to keep them to a minimum. There is also the concern that smallholders may be outpriced in the future by the higher, and more cost-effective, yields in these greenhouses. This suggests that smallholders may be most likely to lose out as a result of adopting this technology in comparison to larger farms.

      If deemed a suitable way to improve agricultural productivity, it will also be important to find a means to fund the upscaling of Seawater Greenhouse's technology/greenhouses. This may be difficult due to Somalia's challenging economic situation and high reliance on foreign aid - official development assistance accounts for 21.3% of national GDP according to the UN's Development Programme.

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  3. ClaudiaJanuary 7, 2022 at 4:56 AM

    This is a very interesting blog post and I do believe the Seawater Greenhouse Berbera project in Somaliland has great potential to reduce food security, starting with the fact that is produces year round crop yields. What is more that it is located to Somali which as we know is an African nation facing some of the most extreme cases of climate change. Also the fact that the project uses readily available resources - seawater and sunlight - demonstrates how practical it is and sheds light on the fact that more plants like the Seawater Greenhouse Berbera plant should be put in place in other water stress African countries.

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    Replies
    1. EmmaJanuary 8, 2022 at 2:48 AM

      Thank you, Claudia! As you say, Seawater Greenhouse does seem promising for water- and food insecure coastal nations as it allows crops to be harvested year-round and uses readily-available, abundant resources. Although it has been adapted to suit the needs of Somalia, and more specifically Berbera, I think the main concern with this technology is ensuring equitable access and ensuring smallholder farmers are not adversely affected.

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