20Agriculture accounts for ~70% of freshwater usage worldwide. Seawater desalination alone cannot meet 21 the growing needs for irrigation and food production, particularly in hot, desert environments. 22Greenhouse cultivation of high-value crops uses just a fraction of fresh water per unit of food produced 23when compared with open field cultivation. However, desert greenhouse producers face three main 24 challenges: fresh water supply, plant nutrient supply and cooling of the greenhouse. The common 25 practice of evaporative cooling for greenhouses consumes large amounts of fresh water. In Saudi 26Arabia, the most common greenhouse cooling schemes are fresh water-based evaporative cooling, 27 often using fossil groundwater or energy-intensive desalinated water, and traditional refrigeration-28 based direct expansion cooling, largely powered by the burning of fossil fuels. The coastal deserts have 29 ambient conditions that are seasonally too humid to support adequate evaporative cooling, 30 necessitating additional energy consumption in the dehumidification process of refrigeration-based 31cooling. This project evaluates the use of a combined-system liquid desiccant dehumidifier and 32 membrane distillation unit that can meet the dual needs of cooling and fresh water supply for a 33 greenhouse in a hot and humid environment. 34