Sun powers vegetable farms in desert
In yet another move to make the capital city more clean and healthy, the Muscat Municipality has come out with a host of measures including hefty fines on offenders. Although littering of the public places attracts more penalty than other violations, smokers will also attract new fine apart from the one introduced in 2010. Reacting to the new curbs, citizens and residents said the municipality should ban smoking at all public places including streets. “The health benefits to the new decision will be so tremendous that the public support for going smoke-free will be massive,” said Bader al Abri, a teacher in Ruwi.
If the civic body wants to really stub out the killer menace, a total ban is required, he said.
A law was issued on Sunday by the civic body on penalties for violations of its orders.
Under the new law, throwing litter on the streets, wadis or near fenced walls can fetch penalties that include a fine up to RO 1,000. The law states that the penalties will be double if the offence is repeated.
The new curbs in the law stipulate that if an employee is found smoking at the workplace, he/she will be fined RO 50, followed by stricter penalties for repeated violations.
According to the existing law, which was introduced in 2010, smoking is already banned on all public transport and in all enclosed areas, including government premises, health centres and hospitals.
Anyone flouting the ban is liable to pay up to RO 100 and repeat violations attract RO 200 on the second offence, while third-time offenders face up to RO 300.
Also a ‘ No Smoking Zone’ board in both Arabic and English should be displayed where smoking is not allowed. The licences of persistently offending establishments can be permanently cancelled, according to the law.
According to Dr Javed, a physician, along with penal actions, effective tobacco control policies should be chalked out in cooperation between government and non-government organisations.
“We need to increase awareness among adolescents in order to reduce rates of smoking initiation, increase quit attempts through improved access to cessation therapies, and protect non-smokers by re-examining smoke-free policies in recreation venues”, he said.
An official at the Health Affairs Directorate at the municipality said that regular inspections are carried out in places, which are legally bound to be smoke-free.
“Some private establishments were seen lagging behind in enforcing the rules. They have been fined. The municipality will not tolerate any action that affect the health of the citizens”, he said. ROME: With scorching summer temperatures and little rainfall, the barren scrublands around the port of Aqaba in Jordan, one of the world’s most arid countries, might seem ill suited to cultivating cucumbers.
Yet a Norwegian company is planning to set up a solarpowered, 20 hectare (50 acre) facility that promises to grow a variety of vegetables without wasting a drop of fresh water.
“We take what we have enough of — sunlight, carbon dioxide, seawater and desert — to produce what we need more of — food, water and energy,” said Joakim Hauge, chief executive of the Sahara Forest Project (SFP). Harnessing abundant resources to generate scarce ones will be key to feeding a growing global population, set to reach 9 billion by 2050, without damaging the environment or accelerating climate change, he said.
Food production must rise by about 60 per cent by 2050 to generate enough for everyone to eat, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The Aqaba complex, set to open in the summer, evaporates salt water piped from the nearby Red Sea to cool greenhouses, creating conditions for crops to grow all year round.
Sea water is also desalinated to generate salt and fresh water for irrigation, while vapour from greenhouses is used to humidify surrounding patches of parched land so plants can grow. SFP said a pilot project in Qatar generated cucumber yields comparable to those of European farms.
But FAO experts said high costs involved limited the potential of such projects to ramp up food production on a global scale.
Several other companies are employing similar technologies in other arid corners of the world. In 2016, UK-based agribusiness Sundrop Farms Holding Ltd opened a vast greenhouse for tomato farming in the Australian outback near Port Augusta, 300 km north of Adelaide.
“Traditional agriculture is wasteful in terms of water and fossil fuels. In addition, unprotected crops are at the mercy of the elements, causing gaps in supply, quality issues and price spikes,” Sundrop’s CEO Philipp Saumweber said.