Email Address:

mfarhadi@vols.utk.edu

Country: Iran

Faculty Advisor:

Institution: University of Tennessee

Program of Study: Biosystems and Soil Engineering

Bio:

Mabood Farhadi is a Ph.D. candidate in Biosystems engineering and soil science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research interest is mainly concerned with improving water use efficiency at the field level. He has worked on irrigation water management for different crops, e.g., forage corn, sunflower, and rice in Iran. He also worked on a soil amendment research project at the University of Alicante in Spain.

Abstract

Limited cultivable land and water crises in the UAE result in food import dependency, which could greatly increase the risk of food insecurity due to physical unavailability during a crisis. A possible solution to improve food security in the UAE could be an increase in national food production by providing fresh water for the agricultural sector. The required freshwaters to expand local food production could be provided by optimizing the current agricultural system, reducing the residential water use, and desalinating seawater. In addition, the adoption of controlled environment agriculture could result in higher food production and higher water use efficiency.

Email: mfarhadi@vols.utk.edu