Today's Edition
SADEQ ALKHOORI (ABU DHABI)
A UAE climate-tech company is focusing its work on a part of the environmental picture that often sits beneath the surface: the soil.
For Abdulaziz Redha, CEO of HyveGeo, making desert and degraded land more productive is not only an agricultural goal. He sees it as part of a wider effort linked to food and water security and climate resilience.
“In essence, we’re using advanced technology, engineering, science, microbiology and artificial intelligence to take our greatest challenge and turn it into our greatest asset,” he told Aletihad.
Redha said the company’s work combines engineered biochar, microbiology and artificial intelligence to help improve soil performance, retain water more effectively, and support higher yields in difficult land conditions. HyveGeo’s formulation is designed to turn arid desert sand into arable soil.
“[It addresses] food security, water security, climate security. All three. These three are interconnected,” Redha said.
This broader view sits close to the UAE’s own long-term direction. The National Food Security Strategy 2051 is aimed at strengthening sustainable food production, while the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 seeks to ensure sustainable access to water and reduce total demand for water resources by 21%.
Trials Show Promising Results
HyveGeo’s latest results show yield gains of 25 to 35% and water-use reductions of 30 to 40%. Redha said those figures were based on field trials at Silal Innovation Oasis in Al Ain on lettuce, sweet corn and green beans, compared against control plots using standard farmer practice.
He explained that the work began with controlled growth-chamber trials at Innovation Oasis, using lettuce to refine the formulation under simulated conditions. It then moved into outdoor field trials, with lettuce grown from late September or early October until mid-December.
The same plots were then reused for a second crop cycle of corn and green beans, running from January or February until mid-April. Redha said the repeated use of the same land was meant to show retained soil nutrition, improved soil microbiome, and the potential for regenerative farming rather than one-off yield gains.
Still, he said, the bigger hurdle is no longer only technical. “The hard part is not proving the science,” he said. “It’s proving a model that people will adopt and use.”
Redha stressed that the next step is to move the model into wider use by farmers, land managers and institutions.
HyveGeo is also developing DawnOS, an artificial intelligence and machine-learning platform designed to support formula discovery and practical field guidance. The long-term aim, Redha said, is to provide recommendations based on soil type, crop, season and available waste.
The company’s ambition extends beyond the UAE. Redha said he wants HyveGeo to help show that Emirati innovation can also produce science- and engineering-led companies with global reach. “I want to showcase that the UAE can produce a science company, an engineering company, not just another fintech or app,” he said.
That long view runs through how Redha speaks about the business. He imagines the next 50 to 100 years, when HyveGeo would have helped make land greener and cities cooler. “You’ll plant a tree you might never sit under,” he explained. “This tree is not for you. This tree is for future generations.”
