The Saudi Arabian desert. Only right here, the desert sand has been literally driven away. Under a scorching sun and with temperatures reaching up to +50 degrees C in the summer, vast fields of wheat grow rapidly. And all this thanks to irrigation – or “making rain” as the Saudis express it.
Ali is one of 23 farm hands working on this project farm in the centre of Saudi Arabia. He patiently drives his jeep through the terrain on his inspection tour, knowing that it will take him almost a full day to reach the farthest fields and irrigation units on the farm.
Reaching his first stop, he notes that the 12-litre Volvo Penta engine is still working perfectly, pumping water from the 350-metre deep hole – as it has done for the last three years.
The water is very hot and is therefore pumped up to an artificial pond to cool off before it is used for irrigation. Another Volvo Penta engine feeds the water to a gigantic irrigation unit that slowly moves over the fields on big, electrically driven rubber wheels. The 500-metre long arm of the irrigation unit covers a field that is a full kilometre across. Everything is computer controlled to ensure that no water goes to waste.
Since the start in 1968 – more than 35 years ago – Volvo Penta has equipped irrigation plants in Saudi Arabia with some 45,000 diesel engines. Despite the extremely demanding working conditions, about half of these engines are still working.