Arizona copper miners tried to sell “American desert farming expertise” to the King of Saudi Arabia in the 1940s. he succeeded. We are now facing the effects of water.
La Paz, Arizona — The desert, filled with dust, rocks and arid vegetation, is now teeming with rows of bright green crops and roaming livestock powered by groundwater.
This situation is familiar to residents of both Arizona and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Ah alfalfa farm in saudi arabia set up shop in La Paz County It serves as a living example of the 2015 parallels. But the story about the farm, at first glance, seems to focus on differences.
Water experts criticize the farm for growing one of them. The world’s most water-intensive crop During mega droughts that use the state’s limited groundwater.
These “grab the water” tales lack a full story. Arizona helped grow Saudi Arabia’s agricultural industry into today’s giant alfalfa fields and more. The close partnership between the Grand Canyon State and Middle Eastern monarchies has lasted nearly a century, and today Arizona people are reaping the water-driven results their ancestors sowed.
RELATED: Here’s what Valley cities are doing as part of their drought management plans
How an Arizona copper miner became a Saudi royal adviser
The seeds of Saudi Arabia’s agricultural empire sprang in the mind of an Arizona copper miner named Carl Twitchell in the 1910s. Natalie Koch, political geographer and native of Tucson.
“[Twitchell] Brought to a country on the Arabian Peninsula to work for a plumbing company, he quickly began building relationships with the elite,” Koch said. He is interested in talking to Americans. ”
Koch’s next book, “Arid Empire: The Intertwined Destinies of Arizona and Arabiaexplores the dual relationship between the colonization of the Southwestern United States and diplomatic relations in the Middle East.
Twitchell essentially fell into the role of royal advisor to Saudi Arabia’s first king, Ibn Saud. Twitchell’s focus was to become the country’s water and agriculture custodian. Carl S. Twitchell Paper Collection Archived at Princeton University.
He eventually persuaded Saud to send him on a tour across the southwestern United States to investigate agricultural practices. Twitchell then used the tour as a pitch to the U.S. government to fund his farming projects in the Middle East.
Seeing this as a potential source of goodwill between the United States and Saudi Arabia, the State Department agreed to the funding proposal, creating the United States Agricultural Mission of 1942.
>> Live, local, breaking news. Download 12 News App
Arizona Farmers Introduce Saudis to Alfalfa
The focus of the mission was to build international relations by “modernizing” the Saudi king’s local agriculture, Twitchell’s letter indicates. was to send an expert in the Arizona desert.
“Some of the first American agricultural professionals to visit Saudi Arabia were from Arizona,” Koch said. “The idea here was that they would help set up this grand vision of a grand agricultural production area in the heart of Saudi Arabia.”
Alfalfa was one of the first crops introduced by Arizona farmers and spread to the Saudi Arabian desert. The world’s water-intensive crops, according to USDA.
Alfalfa grows in areas with high sunshine hours, and in the eyes of Arizona’s, the available water-filled sinkholes in the Saudi Arabian desert have enabled the cultivation of crops.
Alfalfa crops were first used as feed for the Saudi king’s collection of some 200 exotic horses. The royal family later moved from horses to cattle feeding. Another influence from Arizona was the inspiration for Saudi Arabia-based dairy company Almarai, the largest dairy company in the Middle East and owner of a farm in La Paz County.
“Ibn Saud came back to Saudi Arabia after visiting Arizona, wanting to start his own dairy industry,” Koch said. “Saud went to the American and Arab oil companies who manage the farm and he said he wanted to set this up.
Arizona’s ‘expertise’ leads to Saudi water shortage
The inspiration for bringing cattle to the Middle East came in 1947 when Saudi Crown Prince Saud al-Saud visited Arizona.
This tour was one of two Prince visits that served as the second focus of a US agricultural mission. It was to fascinate the Saudi royal family with how Arizona farmers had “tamed” the Sonoran Desert and “mastered” desert agriculture.
The first visit in 1943 included Prince Faizer and Khalid of Saudi Arabia, but despite the royal presence in Arizona, the visit received little coverage in the local news. .
“Twitchell was very upset about how this first visit went,” Koch said. I wrote that I had not received
After the first visit flop, the 1947 Tour pulled out all the stops.many local newspapers including Arizona Republic, Tucson Daily CitizenWhen dessert magazinewhich covered every step when the crown prince saw state icons, crop fields, and livestock farms.
The magic this tour offered has stayed in the hearts of the Saudi royal family for decades to come, especially during one of the most difficult times in the kingdom as the desert began to dry up.
In the decades following the U.S. agricultural mission, the trails blazed by Arizona farmers, coupled with Saudi Arabia’s numerous agricultural initiatives, have had a profound impact on the country’s history. The region’s elite and large agribusinesses benefited the most, with small farmers largely displaced. Large dairy farms prospered, and with it alfalfa production soared.
It didn’t take long for us to start worrying about water shortages. Increased reliance on alfalfa meant that Saudi aquifers were depleting faster than ever before. Experts today estimate that four-fifths of his “fossil” water in Saudi Arabia has been lost. According to National Geographic.
The country’s agricultural business has recognized this and has begun to focus on international expansion efforts to continue production.
Arabia moves to Arizona
Four years before the water problem reached its peak in 2018, The government banned the domestic cultivation of green foddera Saudi farm in La Paz county was established.
Established diplomatic ties and similar climatic conditions weren’t the only reasons Saudi Arabia saw Arizona as one of its top contenders for expansion. Arizona’s notorious groundwater rights also played a big part in this decision.
A native of Tucson, Koch knows how fierce Arizona’s water politics can be. Many people told her that the state’s water policy was unlikely to improve.
That traffic jam is very convenient for large agribusinesses like Almaray.
“There are a lot of problems with Arizona being a victim,” Koch said. “Arizona’s involvement in these histories and what they helped establish based on this story of ‘expertise in desert farming’ is doing itself. ”
big agribusiness, Both international and domestic flights, has Arizona in its mouth. the well is dry, Smallholder farmers in the state bear the brunt lacking.
The story of a Saudi farm in La Paz county is usually used as a “lightning rod” in nationalist discourse, Koch said. But the real story is he’s not one of the international businesses that “steal” water. This farm is another example of how Arizona’s lax groundwater laws hurt locals and benefit those who can afford it.
With more logging on the Colorado River looming and a massive drought expected to worsen, state legislators should sow the seeds of sustainability now, or will future generations reap the consequences of their inaction. must be determined.
RELATED: Climate change report is ‘another alarm bell’ for Arizona, expert says
scorched earth
12 News, along with its sister stations in the West, set out to make sense of the dire situation facing Arizona and other states as drought and wildfires rage.
