Date Palms for food security in arid regions are a nutritionally important staple food. You can eat them fresh, cooked or dried and they are naturally portable when you go long distances. These trees may be overlooked in other areas of the world, but as climate change occurs, should we consider cultivating date palms in countries where date palms have been underutilized? Agricultural practices such as silvopasture that are practiced in Saudi and other areas, where goats and sheep can graze beneath palm tree stands, provides a beneficial environment for both animals and trees. This practice enables a farmer or rancher to have two income producing features from the same land.
“Date palm is one of the most important desert’s fruit crop, which remained photosynthetically active and productive for at least 70 years with minimum requirement of inputs.” What other trees do you know of that have a productive lifecycle of 70 years?
(Al-Khateeb, Suliman A., 2019)
Here is a great website I just found, sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. It is all about date palm trees and has been made in a engaging way with illustrations, photos and charts. It is kid friendly and full of information, such as carbon sequestration, pest photos, a map of the world showing where dates are cultivated, etc. If you need information for a school project or report, this is an excellent resource! “Action Plan for Promoting Date Palm Cultivation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, written by Prof. Dr. Suliman Ali Al-Khateeb Here is the link:
https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/env/attach/pdf/climate_smart_ws_2019-14.pdf
Date Palms & Camels 