Feasibility of Crop Production Using Greenhouse Fed by Desalination: A Review (MENA Regions)

Egypt, as one of the countries in the MENA region, is facing water scarcity, which is one of the challenges affecting the productivity of agricultural crops. The integration of solar water desalination systems in greenhouses to overcome water shortages in some areas like Egypt is, therefore, one of the favored technologies in crop-growing areas. Crop growth control is done by adequately manipulating climatic variables of the environment as well as the quantity of water and fertilizers applied through irrigation. Numerous crops can be grown under greenhouse circumstances with water produced from desalinated units. Cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, strawberries, flowers, herbs anything that can be grown in traditional greenhouses, can also be grown in a greenhouse. This paper presents the state-of-the-art in the use of solar energy in water desalination to irrigate crops, the feasibility of greenhouse systems in agriculture, the feasibility of water desalination for agriculture in Arab countries and Egypt and the future outlook.