Irrigating a 38-hectare ecological plantation in the Moroccan desert. This is the aim of the regenerative agriculture project implemented by the Franco-Moroccan company Sand To Green in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, in southern Morocco. The company, which has developed an agroforestry model inspired by oases that reverses the process of soil degradation to make desert land fertile, will irrigate these hectares of plantations with desalinated water.
Sand To Green will be based on a new containerised seawater and brackish water desalination system, powered by solar mini-grids and backed up by emergency generators. The 6 BW unit, supplied and installed by the French start-up Osmosun® on 10 July 2024 through the Osmosun Maroc joint venture, produces 140 m3 of fresh water per day.
A low-carbon system
“The water is collected from brackish groundwater and, after treatment, irrigates 31 hectares of fig, pomegranate and carob plantations, as well as plants such as geranium and rosemary. The plant will be maintained by Osmosun Maroc teams. In addition, brine management is also being tested by planting 7 hectares of halophyte plants, fodder plants and trees,” says the start-up.
Using a robust, low-carbon (reduced greenhouse gas emissions) water treatment technology like Osmosun® was a no-brainer for us“, stresses Rombaut, CEO of Sand To Green, “especially as this technology will help reverse the process of soil degradation, bringing back to life land that has died as a result of drought, so that it can become fertile again.
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The system installed by Osmosun® in Morocco is the first to be installed by the start-up in the Cherifian kingdom, which is stepping up initiatives to meet the challenge of water stress. The French start-up, formerly Mascara NT, is investing in the Moroccan market, following in the footsteps of those in East and Southern Africa, where it has already supplied and installed several containerised seawater desalination systems to improve access to drinking and irrigation water.
Inès Magoum