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Blue Harvest

TKI-Delta project: Blue Harvest

Blue Harvest is a demonstrator project aiming for sustainable food security and climate resilience, aligning with the Future Vision and policy objectives in Oman (Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit (oman2040.com)) and other states in the Arabian Peninsula, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The project involves Miscanthus cultivation for multiple purposes, including sustainable construction materials production. Dutch Miscanthus plants have already been successfully tested at the Sultan Qaboos University Fieldlab. The collaboration includes local partners such as the Port of Sohar, Sohar University, GUtech, Royal Eijkelkamp for (AI) monitoring and soil improvement and Dutch growers.

  • Wageningen Environmental Research
  • Vybrant
  • Dealin Green
  • Royal Eijkelkamp
  • Port of Sohar and Freezone
  • Sultan Qaboos University
  • Sohar University
  • GU Tech

Joint Knowledge Development

The narrative of Blue Harvest involves exploring more sustainable agricultural practices and circular construction with a focus on smart and optimal water usage, reducing heat stress, cultivating renewable raw materials, and investigating optimal crop combinations. Circular construction practices include using wastewater by-products (sludge), Miscanthus fibers for 3D-printable concrete, and bioplastics for indoor building materials.

The collaboration aims at joint knowledge development on cultivating a new crop as a natural solution for addressing the effects of climate change (drought, heat stress, heavy rainfall, and salinization) within a practical demonstration; creating a Nature Based Garden with a practical testing environment focused on optimizing innovation (production system), as well as finding partners interested in application and scaling, partners from the circular bio-based chain, as well as investors and interest from similar situations and potential initiatives in the broader region.

This makes the project not only relevant to the specific situation in the Gulf region but also valuable as a scalable and adaptable model for other areas facing similar ecological and agricultural challenges.