Agriculture, Saudi Arabia, 1987-2012. Landsat satellite photographs of the Wadi As-Sirhan Basin in Saudi Arabia. The image on the left was taken in 1987 and shows largely desert. By 2012 (right) most of the region has been developed into farmland. Water reserves up to a kilometre deep underground have been tapped to allow farmers to grow grain, fruits and vegetables in the desert. The crops are grown using pivot irrigation, each crop circle measures roughly one kilometre across.