Short of a sure bite to eat

For some countries in the region drought, high population growth and social tension will be an explosive combination over the long term. Add to that serious short-term concerns about nutrition and other crises that arise regarding problems of unsustainable development. An example of this was the food price jump of 2007 to 2008, which sent an urgent message to states in the Arabian Peninsula: when nutrition once again becomes expensive — maybe in the next two to five years — economies must be better prepared. Viewed in this context, water is a major issue that now seems to be taken more seriously. For example, Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest economy and also the biggest geographically, will phase out water-intensive cereal production by 2016 since non-renewable fossil water reserves are being depleted. Instead, Saudi agriculture will re-orient to crops such as fruits and vegetables using water-saving technologies, including greenhouses and drip