Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai

Dubai, Nov 20: A Dubai tech start-up has, in a pilot project in December 2019, planted 4,000 Ghaf seeds in Sharjah by Cafu using drones, in collaboration with the Sharjah Municipality and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Using specialised drones supported with sophisticated back-end-technology, the start-up is now set to use another innovative way to aid it in the one-of-its-kind project looking to plant more than one million Ghaf trees in the UAE.

Nabra Al Busaidi, Sustainability and Community Manager at Cafu, said, “In 2019, we did surface seeding but with research and development over the past year, we learnt a smarter way of germination process using seed balls that will protect the seed from getting spoilt by any mould or insect and will have better moisture-holding capacity and nutrition. We will use a special dispatch mechanism of multipurpose drones that will drop these seed balls in the soil at a certain pace so it penetrates to a certain depth below the ground. This will ensure the seed gets optimal conditions to germinate.”

Partnering with Merlin Eco-Green Technologies, Cafu undertook an extensive R&D phase that analysed the soil in the Mleiha Desert, where planting will take place.

“We have already collected two million Ghaf seeds and will be beginning the planting for the ‘one million Ghaf tree project’ in mid-December. The preparation of the seeds includes priming of the seeds, optimal seed nutrients for rapid germination by way of embedding them in seed balls, and the testing of various depths for the seed to be planted through drones,” Al Busaidi.

The Ghaf tree project is pioneered by Rashid Al Ghurair, founder and CEO of Cafu.