A strip of farmland is surrounded by desert near Kayyam, United Arab Emirates, roughly 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Abu Dhabi. This area is part of the Liwa Oasis, a date-palm cultivating region at the edge of the Rub’ al Khali desert. Since the UAE averages 12 days of rain a year and contains less than 1% arable land, there is widespread use of drip irrigation and greenhouses in this area.