The UAE is rich in agricultural pioneers but has limited arable land and endures dry, scorching summers. An Emirati farmer who sees the desert climate as an opportunity has turned his love for prickly plants into the country’s largest cactus farm.
Nestled in Ras Al Khaimah’s Asimah Valley, the sprawling farm has more than 5,000 cacti and other succulents.
Obaid Al Mazroui, 54, a retired government official, grew up in the mountainous emirate amid farms, where he learnt about agriculture from his grandfather and father.
He started collecting drought-resistant plants in 1998 as a hobby. Over the years, it developed into a passion that gave way to a thriving garden at the base of the Hajar Mountains.
In March, most of the plants begin to flower, draping the farm in violet, pink, blue, orange and yellow hues.
“Some grow date palms, some grow fruits, some grow vegetables. I grow cactus,” Mr Al Mazroui says at his farm, where he spends a couple of hours every day.
The cacti and other succulent plants belong to the saguaro, stenocereus, pilosocereus, sansevieria, agave and euphorbia families.
While most of them are kept in one of three greenhouses, about 500 grow outside in direct sunlight. One of the greenhouses is dedicated to aloe cactus plants.
Mr Al Mazroui says he has more than 50 types of the aloe plant.
The farm is full of cactus plants in various shapes and sizes. Some are taller than eight metres while others are about the size of a fist and can add a touch of green to one’s desk or bedside table.
Some have long, white and soft hairlike spines, such as the monkey's tail cactus that is grown in hanging baskets. Others have hard and spiky branching stems.
“This is agave,” he points at a plant with large leaves ending in sharp tips. “[People] produce rope from its leaves.”
Many of the farm’s plants have health and medicinal benefits. The leaves of euphorbia can help diabetes patients, he says. Aloe vera is widely used to relieve sunburn and heal wounds.
Mr Al Mazroui imports the succulent plants from countries around the world, including the US, Mexico, Egypt, India, Italy, South Africa, Mozambique, the Philippines, Indonesia and Tanzania.
The plants do not require a lot of fertiliser. They are watered by hand once in 10 days in summer and once a month during winter. Water from a reservoir, which contains fish waste, is used for irrigation.
“This is the saguaro species,” Mr Al Mazroui says as he lifts a small pot. The cactus was grown from the seed of a plant imported from Italy.
“This size is what we imported, the small size. And see there, after 10, 20 years, they become like this. They grow more than six metres,” he says, pointing at tall plants that have torn open the roof of the greenhouse.
All of the plants have been grown from the farm’s own seeds, which Mr Al Mazroui and his two helpers have carefully selected from previous harvests.
“When we put the seed [in a pot], we give water one time and we cover it for one year.”
The pots are kept covered to maintain the same temperature and humidity.
Some of the plants are offered for sale to visitors, with prices ranging from Dh10 to Dh60. Mr Al Mazroui says about 90 per cent of the farm’s plants are not available on the market.
The most popular plant with visitors is sansevieria, he says. This type is characterised by its stiff, upright, sword-like leaves.
“These plants can be placed inside, as well as outside the house. They need little sunlight and have beautiful leaves.”
Al Mazroui has his eyes set on establishing the world’s largest cactus farm. He was inspired after he visited a cactus farm in Egypt, which he believes is the biggest in the Middle East.
“The UAE always strives to be number one in everything. Then why can’t it be number one in [growing] cactus? I want to increase the number of plants,” he says.
“I want more species but I don’t have space. I hope to find some big land to make a big garden for cactus.”
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Results:
2.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh60,000 1,200m.
Winner: AZ Dhabyan, Adam McLean (jockey), Saleha Al Ghurair (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 1,200m.
Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
3.15pm: Conditions (PA) Dh60,000 2,000m.
Winner: Hareer Al Reef, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
3.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 1,700m.
Winner: Kenz Al Reef, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
4.15pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh 200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Mystique Moon, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
4.45pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 1,200m.
Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
