Agriculture and water usage in agriculture in Abu Dhabi city Agriculture refers to a scientific discipline that entails cultivation of plants, animal rearing as well as cultivation of fungi (Sabin & Veno, 2008). In Abu Dhabi, the existing soil types have been subjected to arid and semi-arid conditions. This implies that the prevailing climatic condition is hyper arid in Abu Dhabi city. The City receives minimal rainfall of less than 100mm per annum (Mohamed et al., 2008). The climatic conditions dictate that the agronomic practices carried out in Abu Dhabi must employ high technology and adequate water. These factors are applied to sustain the environment while maximizing the yields. In Abu Dhabi, the use of water to sustain crops and operate animal husbandry is evident. The crops produced by the farms include date palms, vegetable crops, and fodder crops ( Food and Agricultural Organization Report 34, 2009). Therefore, the crops and animals should be produced using water from sources to supplement the little rainfall. The sources of water used in agriculture include:   * The conventional resources such as rainfall, ponds, springs and even groundwater.   * The non-conventional water resources such as water obtained from the treated waste water and desalinization (Mohamed et al., 2008). Since water to boost irrigation is available, it is clear that various methods of agriculture can be supported in Abu Dhabi. These ecologically sound methods of farming include irrigation, and hydroponics among others (Manson, 2003). The water used in agricultural farms is spent in the drip, furrow, sprinkler, and bubbler irrigation (Mohamed, 2011). In as much as water is also used in agricultural farms, a high population of people residing in Abu Dhabi depends on it. Consequently, the government has formulated strategies to guide the water usage ( Abu Dhabi Water Resources Master Plan, 2009). The challenges in the implementation of these strategies by the government are aimed at regulating the water usage. Statistics of water and land usage in Abu Dhabi for agriculture In Abu Dhabi, the available water is consumed in a cost-effective manner. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization Report 34 (FAO), all the crops grown in Abu Dhabi are irrigated ( Food and Agricultural Organization Report 34, 2009). The water used in the agricultural farms is consumed mainly in the three major methods of irrigation: surface irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and localized irrigation ( Food and Agricultural Organization Report 34, 2009). The figure below shows the irrigation methods that consume water in Abu Dhabi City: Figure 1.1 The irrigation farming in Abu Dhabi is used to produce crops like the palm trees, vegetables and the green fodder. However, there are other crops that are also produced include the short season vegetables, Rhodes grass as well as the dates ( Food and Agricultural Organization Report 34, 2009). A report by the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (2014) indicates that the agricultural sector used 70% of the total annual water that was budgeted for by the UAE in the year 2013. The large figure (70%) was attributed to the production of crops like the R