沙漠变良田

Faisal Mohammed Al Shimmari farms in some of the most extreme conditions in the world, at Al Ain, an oasis in the United Arab Emirates desert, where temperatures can reach 50C.

费索.穆罕默德.埃尔.西姆里在世界上条件最极端的种地，那里是埃尔安，一片位于阿拉伯联合酋长国的绿洲，气温可以高达50摄氏度。

"It's expensive as we have to buy water regularly to irrigate these plants," he says.

“花销很大，因为我们经常需要买水来灌溉植物，”他说。

Farmers have to use tankers to bring in water, and in the desert farms use almost three times as much water as those in temperate climates. 

这里的农民都得用水箱运水进来，在沙漠农场上的用水量是那些温带气候农场的三倍多。

This makes farming in the desert impractical so the UAE imports about 80% of its food.

这使得在沙漠中种地不太实际，因此阿联酋的80%的食物都是进口的。

Yet for many, this might be the future of farming.

不过，对很多人来说，这可能会是农业的未来。

 Increased drought, deforestation and intensive farming methods are turning an area half the size of Britain into desert each year.

增加的旱灾，沙漠化和集约农业的方式正以每年半个英国面积的土地变成沙漠。

According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Climate Change, by 2045, 135 million people could lose their homes and livelihoods to desertification.

根据联合国对抗气候变化公约，到了2045年，将会有一亿三千五百万人的家园和周边变成沙漠。

That raises the challenge of how to grow food in increasingly hostile conditions, but one scientist has come up with an innovation that could turn those deserts green again.

这就提出了一种挑战，即如何在越来越严酷的环境里种出食物，不过，有一个科学家已经想出了一种创新的方法可以让沙漠重新变绿。

Liquid clay黏土溶液

Norwegian scientist Kristian Morten Olesen has patented a process to mix nano-particles of clay with water and bind them to sand particles to condition desert soil - he has been working on Liquid Nanoclay (LNC) since 2005.

挪威科学家克里斯蒂安.莫顿.奥里森发明了一种方法，将黏土纳米颗粒跟谁混合，然后将题目假如砂砾中来改善沙漠土壤—他自从2005年开始就一直在研究这种纳米黏土溶液（LNC）了。

"The treatment gives sand particles a clay coating which completely changes their physical properties and allows them to bind with water," he says.

“这样的处理会让砂砾覆盖上一层黏土外壳，这样会彻底改变它们的物理特性，并让它们可溶于水，”他说。

"This process doesn't involve any chemical agents. We can change any poor-quality sandy soils into high-yield agricultural land in just seven hours."

“该过程不涉及到任何化学反应。仅仅几个小时，我们可以吧任何品质低劣的沙土变成高产的农业土壤。”

Kristian's son Ole Morten Olesen, who is also the chief operating officer of the company they founded, Desert Control, says: "We just mix natural clay in water that is inserted into the sand which creates half a metre layer into the soil that turns the sand into good fertile soil."

克里斯蒂安的儿子奥利.莫顿.奥里森，也是他们一起成立的公司“沙漠控制”的首席执行官，说道：“我们只是把自然的黏土溶于水，然后注入砂砾中，这样就可以建立起在土壤中建立起半米高的一层，从而把沙子转变成肥沃的土壤。”

Normal sand particles are very loose, which means that they have a very low water retention capacity.

普通的砂砾非常松散，也就意味着它们的保水能力很差。

But when you add Liquid Nanoclay to the sand it binds those sand particles together, says Kristian, which means it can hold water for longer, "increasing the possibility of agricultural yield".

不过当你把纳米黏土液体加入沙子中后，它们会把砂砾粘合在一起，克里斯蒂安说，也就是说它的保水时间延长了，“增加了获得农业丰收的可能性”。

UAE trial阿联酋试验

Back in the UAE, Faisal agreed to host a trial of Liquid Nanoclay last December, and two areas were planted with a selection of crops: tomatoes, aubergines and okra.

回到阿联酋，费索去年十二月同意了种植两块纳米黏土溶液试验田，有两块区域种上了指定的庄稼：西红柿，茄子和秋葵。

One was treated with LNC while a second control area was left untreated.

其中一块使用了纳米黏土溶液处理，而了另一块则不用。

"I am amazed to see the success of LNC," says Faisal.

“我很惊讶地看到纳米黏土液体成功了，”费索说。

 "It just saved consumption of water by more than 50%, it means now I can double the green cover with the same water."

“它省了一半多的水，也就是说现在我可以用同样的水种多一倍的面积。”

He says that the untreated area used almost 137 cubic metres of water for irrigation and the one treated with LNC used just 81 cubic metres.

他说没有处理的土里灌溉用了137立方米的水，而用LNC处理过的则只用了81立方米。

The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $1,800-$9,500 (£1,300-£6,900) depending upon the size of the project - which currently makes it too expensive for most farmers.

一英亩（2.4亩）沙漠土地进行处理的价格从1800美元（1300英镑）到9500美元（6900英镑）不等，取决于项目的规模——目前对大部分农民来说还是太贵了。

The soil requires a 15%-20% retreatment after four or five years if the land is tilled and if untilled then the treatment lasts for longer.

如果土地犁过的话，在四五年之后需要15%到20%的再次处理，而如果没有犁过则可以持续更长的时间。

Desert Control says initially it will target municipal governments and commercial growers, but eventually would like to make the cost accessible to all growers.

沙漠控制公司说它们的最初目标是市政府和商业种植者，不过最终还是希望让价格能够为所有的农民们所接受。

"This is a great game changer" for farmers in arid areas, says Kristian.

“这是个很棒的改革”，对于那些干旱地区的农民们来说，克里斯蒂安说。

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