Innovation requires the freedom to do research and try ideas. There's also a material cost of actual money. Successful fish farming progresses when there's money to buy the censors and pumps they need to try things (yesterday's post), of course, and farther-out ideas can be tried when there's a lot more money available.
Saudi Arabia's prince has billions upon billions to spend on projects like his experimental city, Neom. They've hired a Dutch greenhouse company to design and build a "synthetic climate" area just outside that city where crops can be grown.
We're talking about an area the size of fifteen football fields in extremely hot, arid conditions. Most of their food is imported because ordinary farms won't work here. Two test facilities will be built and operated by the Dutch firm.
"Food security is a priority for the planners of Neom, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s $500 billion showpiece project to turn an expanse of desert the size of Belgium into a high-tech region that may eventually host millions of people."
(Maybe this story belongs in the category of "dreams of billionaires" rather than "good news.")
from Bloomberg
No comments:
Post a Comment