Deserts are the going to be next source of food and industrial raw materials. Cassava or Tapioca cultivation can be made in desert in a massive scale by making water available. Cassava is a wonder crop that turn sun light into food and industrial raw material. This presentation is based on an experiment conducted in the UAE on the desert farming - cassava and vegetable. This can be conducted on a large commercial level. For the global warming, production of wheat, rice, potato, apple and etc. is on a declining path. Cassava , according to FAO, is the wonder crop that can feed the hungry millions. Cassava cultivation can be extended even in the West.

1. AN EXPERIMENT IN DESERT FARMING : CASSAVA
AND VEGITABLE CULTIVATION IN THE U.A.E. FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY MILLIONS
DR.RAJU M. MATHEW

2. 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.

3. CASSAVA- THE WONDER CROP

4. 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.

5. NO FRUIT, FLOWER OR GARDEN

6. 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.

7. THE FIRST ATTEMPT

8. 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.

9. FAST GROWING MURINGA
(DRUM STICK TREE)

10. 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.

11. FLOWERING THUVARA

12. CASSAVA (TAPIOCA)

13. RED AND GREEN

14. DURING THE HOT SUMMER

15. 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.

16. BEANS, ASH GUARD AND LADIES FINGER

17. DRY & HARD LAND

18. MAY 2013

19. DESERT THRONE

20. BENEATH THE DATA PALM

21. JULY 2013-BETWEEN THE THRONE
PLANT AND DATE PALMS

22. BITTER GUARD& HERBALS

23. ROSE & TURMERIC

24. CASSAVA OR TAPIOCA OR KAPPA

25. SCHOOL BOYS & CASSAVA

26. FRUITS & FLOWERS

27. VERY LONG BEANS

28. RED CHEERA & POTHINA (MINT)

29. THE LOVER & THE BELOVED

30. BEANS, THUVARA& MURINGA

31. RED CHEERA

32. ASH GUARD

33. HIGH YIELDING CASSAVA (QUINTAL KAPPA)

34. LONG BEANS FLOWERS

35. BUTTERFLY & LADIES’ FINGER

36. THE HUMMING BUTTERFLY

37. LADIES’ FINGERS (OKRA)

38. YAM ALSO

39. THE LITTLE BIRDIE

40. BITTER GUARDS

41. SOYA BEANS, LONG BEANS & ASH GUARD

42. BRINJAL & TOMATO

43. PADAVALAM (SNAKE GUARD)

44. 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.