Eventually, the desert sands will be able to sustain a variety of plants at a cost of only 2000 yuan ($281) to 3,000 yuan per mu, Yi said. There are 15 mu in one hectare.

The team invented the fibrous adhesives in 2013. They form an elastic bond between the grains of sand, turning them into a sort of net that can grow plants.

Armed with this technology in 2017, Yi's team turned about 133 hectares of desert into decent soil. In 2018, the team has grown more than 40 kinds of crops on the 200 hectares of amended desert soil.