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Agriculture Is Blooming In The Desert
Mainly produce and fruit, the UAE must import food because the arid environment is not conducive to growing a variety of leafy plants. While importing food ensures the population does not go hungry, it often results in more expensive, less fresh food, with a lower nutrient density.
August 9, 2021
Mainly produce and fruit, the UAE must import food because the arid environment is not conducive to growing a variety of leafy plants. While importing food ensures the population does not go hungry, it often results in more expensive, less fresh food, with a lower nutrient density. And, as we saw with covid-19 last year, food supply chains are fragile. Relying on other countries to grow your food is no longer always reliable.
Controlled environment agriculture, like greenhouses and vertical farming, offers a hyper-local alternative to importing food by making agriculture accessible in harsh environments. With the use of new technologies, companies can capitalize on the sprawling desert and sunshine. The UAE's three deserts offer a massive amount of real estate for building warehouses for vertical farms and an almost unlimited solar power supply. Although water is scarce, vertical farming uses over 90% less water than traditional farming.
Photo: an indoor vertical farm growing greens
Both the government and the private sector are funding an agricultural revolution
In 2018, the UAE government announced plans to be the top country in food security (measured by the Global Security Index) globally by 2051 and in the top ten by 2021--as of last year; it ranked 42. Like Singapore’s “30 by 30” plan, the government has since aggressively funded food startups and partnered with larger companies, including those from other agtech centers of excellence like the Netherlands and Korea.
In 2020, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office invested $100 million in agtech firms, including local vertical farm Madar Farms, US-based vertical farm AeroFarms, an irrigation company RDI, and a local fertilizer company called RNZ. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) teamed up with Shalimar Biotech Industries to build twelve vertical farms. The MOCCAE and partnered with the Majid Al Futtaim group to build vertical farms in their malls. And it’s not all controlled environment agriculture. The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) approved five investment projects, worth $142 million, to establish fish, vegetable, fruit, cattle, and poultry farms on a total land and sea area of approximately 43 million square feet.
Just this month, His Royal Highness Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, aka the “Green Sheikh,” flew to the US to visit Gotham Greens and the Green Bronx Machine--a Bronx-based organization that brings urban agriculture into school. In the past, he partnered with Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine, to bring agricultural education and plant science initiatives to Dubai. Longtime friends with shared values on education and wellness, the two will partner on building farms in the UAE and developing culturally specific educational materials for children.
The 'Green Sheikh' collaborates with the founder of the Green Bronx Machine to educate kids in Dubai about farming in the desert.
In the private sector, Dubai is home to many different agtech companies. Badia farms produces lettuce, herbs, and microgreens for chefs, caterers, and restaurants. Madar farms is experimenting with other agtech solutions like container farms and indoor “kitchen gardens” for chefs. Crop one is planning to build the largest vertical farm in the world and partner with Emirates airlines. Green Factory Emirates partnered with veteran indoor growing experts from the Netherlands, GrowGroup IFS, to develop the world’s largest indoor farm (including vertical farming and traditional farming techniques) that will yield 10,000 tons of food annually. & Ever is not building a farm in Dubai yet, but their headquarters is based there. In Abu Dhabi, Pure Harvest opened a ‘smart’ hydroponic tomato farm that utilizes bees in its greenhouses. Another excellent use of indoor growing, Al Aliyo Hydrofarms is a hydroponic farm growing organic fodder for livestock.
Aquaculture is also present. Fish Farm boasts the largest fish farm in the UAE, with three fish hatcheries providing a local, sustainable source of shrimp, hammour, sea bass, and sea bream.
The future is bright and green
Given its large swaths of desert and government commitment to food security, it is no surprise that agtech is becoming a booming sector in the United Arab Emirates. Vertical farming and other local food initiatives have the potential to bring fresher, more nutrient-rich food to the region, provide jobs, educate the youth and continue to show the world that the UAE is always on the cutting edge of new technologies.
How UAE Produce Is Taking Over The Dining Table: 'We Are Growing All This On Our Doorstep'
Local farms are reporting a rise in demand, while Atlantis, The Palm resort has introduced an initiative to put UAE produce on its restaurants' tables
Local farms are reporting a rise in demand, while Atlantis, The Palm resort has introduced an initiative to put UAE produce on its restaurants' tables
Oasis Greens is a hydroponic farm located in the Jebel Ali free Zone. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National unless otherwise mentioned
The concept of a “farm tour” is not what it once was.
Instead of the smell of open mud and fertilizer that I used to equate with a farm, I’m standing inside a pristine, temperature-controlled room that contains rows of herbs and leafy greens stretching out to the ceiling.
I am at Oasis Greens, one of many hydroponic, vertical farms to have cropped up in Dubai over the past few years. In this high-tech environment, seeds are planted into foam, which is placed in a solution that provides plants with all the nutrients they need, while LED lights overhead mimic the rays of the run.
The process involves no messy soil or pests and, by default, no need for pesticides either, while 90 percent less water is used than required by traditional farms. The result is sustainably grown, organic and local produce – from varieties of lettuce (be it butterheads and icebergs) to kale, rocket, and bok choy.
Why buy UAE-grown fruits and veggies?
Oasis Green hydroponic farm, located in Jebel Ali Free Zone. Antonie Robertson / The National
Whether it’s a hydroponic or traditional farm, there are indisputable benefits of opting for local over imported produce, which is being noticed by both consumers and big brands.
Among the latter is Atlantis, The Palm, which has launched a sustainability initiative titled the Atlantis Atlas Project.
One of the cornerstones of this campaign is a pledge to give diners access to dishes that are made with locally sourced and organic ingredients, grown and harvested in the UAE. Kelly Timmins, director of conservation, education and corporate social responsibility at the hotel, says the reason for this is two-fold.
“One of the key focuses for Atlantis is to look at increasing our use of local suppliers and vendors as part of our commitment to drive the whole local economy."
She says using local produce is better for the environment as it reduces freight and the carbon footprint involved with bringing in goods from across the world.
Plants are grown in foam rather than soil in hydroponic farms like Oasis Greens. Antonie Robertson / The National
“We are trying to see how we can source perishable products responsibly. Sustainability is a journey and to get there we need the involvement of our community,” she explains.
To procure fresh ingredients on a daily basis, Atlantis, The Palm has teamed up with Fresh on Table, which works as a facilitator between UAE farms and consumers. The company, which launched in Dubai in 2019, takes orders from hotels, stores and customers online, and co-ordinates with farms to ensure that the product is harvested, packaged and delivered the next day.
According to commercial manager Garima Gambhir, the company has grown month-on-month, and currently works with more than 1,000 farms, as well as big hotel groups.
Home-grown company Fresh on Table supplies products from farms to consumers. Supplied
“Chefs realise that local produce is just fresher and going to last longer on the shelf, as opposed to something that has, say, been imported from [the Netherlands] and passed through three days of transit before reaching the kitchen,” she says.
The pandemic has also had an invariable role to play in the rising demand for local produce.
“When borders and hotels started closing last year, the supply food chain was disrupted. With distributors unable to fulfil contracts from international suppliers, we were able to pitch in because everything was local, reliable, and could be picked up from a farm and delivered in a few hours,” says Gambhir.
Oasis Greens currently grows varieties of lettuce, leafy greens and microgreens. Antonie Robertson / The National
Local farms have also witnessed a spike in demand over the past year. Nikita Patel, founder of Oasis Greens, says despite the pandemic, business has been good, with a notable rise in online orders.
“Everyone has been at home, cooking. And even though we didn’t have a lot of tourists come in, residents weren’t leaving, either,” she says.
“I think the pandemic made people realise that food security isn’t a theoretical thing. In a lot of countries, people were having issues with grocery items running out, but the UAE did a very good job ensuring that didn’t happen. Over the past year, more companies are looking inwards and seeing how they can source local. We are just riding the wave.”
Hydroponic farms in the UAE
At UNS Hydroponic, custom LED lights mimic the rays of the sun, helping plants grow. Antonie Robertson / The National
Oasis Greens grows approximately 12 to 15 types of herbs and leafy greens, and has started cultivating microgreens. “The aim is to get into fruits and vegetables, too,” says Patel. “We want to grow cherry tomatoes, chillies and more.”
Within the industrial area of Al Quoz, meanwhile, grows one of the largest, most lush indoor vertical farms in the region. UNS Farms is home to 16 varieties of leafy greens and 16 varieties of micro greens across a space of 5,600 square metres.
During a tour, executive director Mehlam Murtaza asks us to dip our feet in a solution to ensure we don’t track any crop-destroying bacteria or germs inside, before explaining how different elements can affect the growth of plants.
“Our LED lights are a custom design with a special spectrum. Each colour actually has a different effect on the crop – they can widen the leaf size, make them longer or have another indirect effect,” he says.
The nutritional value of the plant remains unchanged, though, with a lot depending on the quality of the seeds used. The seed also plays a role in the taste – at USN Farms, I’m given two types of basil leaves, Thai and Italian. Despite the fact that both varieties are grown in the UAE, the Italian version is subtle in taste and smell, while the Thai is sharper.
UNS Farms in Al Quoz is spread over 5,600 square metres. Antonie Robertson / The National
“We have just scratched the surface about what we can do,” says Murtaza. In the future, research and development may be able to further tweak the taste of plants, he adds. "Who knows what's next? Maybe cotton-candy-flavoured herbs."
With a number of perks of buying local, it does beg the question: why haven’t hotels been doing this all along?
Murtaza says it’s only in the past couple of years that vertical farms have developed to deal with the volume they need. Even then, the maintenance and power required to run hydroponic farms means only certain crops can be grown at financially feasible rates.
Locally 'farmed' seafood in the UAE
Fish Farm in Jebel Ali grows organic and regular salmon, sea bass, sea bream, yellow tail kingfish and hammour. Antonie Robertson / The National
Supporting local goes beyond leafy greens. While the UAE is blessed with an abundance of seafood, there is still a reliance on imports.
That's something home-grown company Fish Farm is aiming to change. Launched in 2013, the company identified the most in-demand fish species being imported and sought to change this by growing them within the country. It currently produces organic and regular salmon, sea bass, sea bream, yellowtail kingfish, and hammour.
“It’s all part of building our food security,” says chief executive Bader bin Mubarak. “At the moment, less than 10 percent of the fish is locally acquired. We want to be able to cover the entire UAE market.”
The company plans on doing this with the help of three facilities: a caged farming facility in Dibba, a hatchery in Umm Al Quwain, and a land farming facility in Jebel Ali.
At the facility in Jebel Ali, Mubarak explains how juveniles and eggs were first sourced from different parts of the globe to ensure the right genetics.
“But since then, we have been hatching our own fish eggs,” he says. The Fish Farm was the first establishment in the world to grow Atlantic salmon on land, from eggs, Mubarak says.
Fish Farm has recreated ideal marine conditions for various species of fish. Antonie Robertson / The National
Business development manager Edmund Broad agrees that it is all about growing and harvesting seafood in the most sustainable manner possible.
“One of the biggest problems with the seafood industry is the pressure it puts on wild fish stocks, through commercial hunting using huge nets. We are a substitute for this. By growing fish on land in a controlled and secure environment, we are not taking anything from the sea. We’re leaving the oceans alone.”
The farm has recreated the ideal environments required by fish, many of which stem from cold-water countries, such as Scotland and Iceland. The fish swim in an area with appropriate salinity, currents, temperature, pH level, and even lighting.
“We’ve recreated the ideal marine conditions suitable to each species: the Atlantic for the salmon, the Pacific for the yellowtail kingfish, the Gulf for the hammour and the Mediterranean for the sea bass,” explains Broad.
The farm currently produces 3,000 metric tonnes of fish per year. “By 2030, we want 50 per cent of seafood consumed to be produced within the country,” says Broad.
From farm to table
UAE residents can get a taste of these sustainable and local ingredients in some of the best restaurants in the country. Thanks to its sustainability pledge, nine of Atlantis, The Palm's signature restaurants are serving dishes with ingredients grown and harvested in Dubai.
Locally hand picked mushrooms, pecorino and truffle at Bread Street Kitchen. Courtesy Atlantis, The Palm
Guests can tuck into locally produced burrata from Bread Street Kitchen or an organic salmon carpaccio from Seafire Steakhouse. Hakkasan is offering dim sum with locally handpicked chestnut mushrooms while Nobu has a crispy hand-picked shiitake mushroom truffle salad.
Ronda Locatelli, The Shore, Wavehouse, and White Restaurant are some other restaurants offering dishes with sustainable ingredients.
Seven-day dry-aged organic Atlantic salmon, grown in the UAE, is available at Seafire Steakhouse. Courtesy Atlantis, The Palm
Raymond Wong, chef de cuisine at Seafire Steakhouse, says the difference between imported and local ingredients is staggering.
“As a chef, an import order is always challenging as you need to place it three to four days in advance for your produce to come in time. But with this initiative, we can order just a day in advance from sustainable farms in Dubai and the produce is as fresh as it can be.”
He hopes this will encourage other restaurants and hotels to follow suit. “I think it will bring a lot of awareness. A lot of people don’t even know we are growing all this on our doorstep.”
June 13, 2021 07:48 AM
GreenFactory Emirates: The Largest Indoor Farm In The World To Be Developed In Abu Dhabi
GreenFactory Emirates will develop an innovative indoor farming with the world's most advanced indoor growing system from The Netherlands
Barendrecht (The Netherlands) and Abu Dhabi (UAE)
September 22, 2020
A joint venture between GrowGroup IFS from Barendrecht (The Netherlands) and RainMakers Capital Investment LLC from Abu Dhabi (UAE) will build the largest indoor farm in the world in the desert of Abu Dhabi. The GreenFactory Emirates will produce 10,000 tons of fresh produce per year on a plot of 17.5 hectares and a cultivation area of 160,000 square meters.
GreenFactory Emirates will develop an innovative indoor farming with the world's most advanced indoor growing system from The Netherlands. It is a combination of vertical and flat farming and solves the normal cultivation restrictions due to extreme climates in regions as the UAE. The facility will involve numerous leading agro-technological companies in its construction as best of breed for each component will be sourced through top-tier Dutch companies. It is now possible to cultivate high-quality vegetables 100% pesticide-free, all year round and anywhere on the planet: “Quality of Holland – Local Grown.” From seeding, harvesting, processing to "ready to eat" products will take place under one roof.
The joint venture also plans to build other indoor farms in other regions of the world where extreme climates are a challenge to normal cultivation.
Water, Co2, and waste
The GreenFactory will be saving 95% of water consumption as opposed to standard methods of cultivation as well as reducing its Co2 footprint up to 40%. By growing fresh produce locally, GreenFactory Emirates will also contribute to reducing waste in various other areas. Its contribution to slowly reducing reliance on fresh foods imports will in turn reduce waste of produce occurring during the transport process while reducing logistical traffic.
Research and development
GreenFactory Emirates will include a built-in research and development component that will help ramp up the production beyond the 56 current varieties of lettuces, leafy greens, herbs, and kale. It will also optimize its production by collecting real-time data to inform future global expansion of indoor farming. With confirmed partnerships with GAAS Wageningen and Delphy in The Netherlands, GreenFactory will benefit from live feedback provided by some of the best students and Academia in the field.
Food security
Food security is high on the UAE’s agenda. The country aims to be number 1 on the Global Food Security Index by 2051. In 2019, the UAE ranked on the 21st place on the Index, jumping an impressive 10 places from number 31 in 2018. Boosting local production and creating an enabling environment for agri-tech is a top priority for the government. The UAE strives to become a knowledge hub with regards to food production in heat, high humidity, and high salinity soil. The private sector (supermarket chains and the hospitality industry) has also set ambitious targets for itself in order to sell more local produce.
Partnership
The partnership between GrowGroup and rainMKRS is initiated and a result of an introduction made by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in the United Arab Emirates and the Monarch Group which has played an instrumental role in seeking opportunities and nurturing relationships.
Expo 2020 Dubai
The total project amounting to 650M AED (150M EURO) is planned in different phases in 3 years. Phase 1 will be operational before Expo 2020 Dubai in October 2021, so GreenFactory Emirates can show the world its innovations. A kick-off for more similar projects and innovations worldwide.
GrowGroup IFS
GrowGroup IFS (Innovative Farming Solutions), founded by CEO John Breedveld in Barendrecht in The Netherlands, is specialized in developing indoor farming based on the most advanced Dutch innovative farming solutions, especially in regions where normal cultivation is restricted by extreme climate and or limited space.
rainMKRS Capital Investment LLC
With offices in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Montreal (Canada), rainMKRS is an entrepreneurial catalyst co-founded by a group of Emirati and Canadian entrepreneurs. Led by Mohamed Jouan Al-Dhaheri, Sultan Al-Nassour, Sebastien Leblond, and Jonathan Mérineau Gosselin, rainMKRS brings together the world’s most impactful companies and projects in the food and agriculture sector and UAE’s economic, educational, and investment stakeholders. rainMKRS’ objective is to help bridge the gap between these stakeholders in order to accelerate the progress on critical and strategic components in support of the UAE desire to achieve food security.
GreenFactory Emirates is its first of many initiatives in the field.
Emirates Flight Catering Signs MOU To Form Kosher Arabia
In September 2019, the UAE announced the construction of an interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi, which will house a Jewish synagogue, Christian church, and Islamic mosque
Written by: Kim Tormey
September 17, 2020
Dubai, UAE, 17 September 2020 – Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC), one of the world’s largest catering operations serving more than 100 airlines, has signed an MOU with CCL Holdings founded by Ross Kriel, entering a partnership to set up a dedicated production facility for kosher food at EKFC’s premises in the UAE. The new partnership will be called Kosher Arabia, and production is expected to begin by January 2021.
Kosher Arabia is certified by the Kashrut Division of the Orthodox Union (OU) which will work in partnership with the South African Union of Orthodox Synagogues (UOS) to provide the highest level of excellence in kosher certification to Kosher Arabia.
The experienced culinary team at EKFC will handle all food production, while CCL Holdings will provide certification and production supervision including support for menu development and foodstuff procurement.
Saeed Mohammed, CEO of Emirates Flight Catering said: “We are delighted to enter into an agreement with CCL to provide Kosher food. For many years, EKFC has been offering kosher meals primarily to our airline customers, via an outsourced supplier overseas. We’ve been watching the global trends for kosher food, and with recent developments, we expect that demand for kosher food in the UAE and region will grow quickly. Our partnership will cover all food channels and we will also explore opening restaurants across Dubai and the GCC.
“By setting up our own capability at EKFC to produce kosher food, we are confident that we can better serve our customers not only in the aviation sector, but also in the hospitality, F&B, and events sector including the upcoming Expo 2020. Making freshly prepared meals here in the UAE gives us better control over meal design and quality assurance.”
Ross Kriel, founder of CCL Holdings, and President of the Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE) said: “Kosher Arabia was set up to supply kosher food to meet the growing demand in the UAE, not only from the Jewish community here but also from other consumers looking for healthy and halal-compliant options.
“We’re honoured to have received so much support from the UAE and broader global community, including from Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of the OU’s Kosher Division, Rabbi Yissachar Krawowski, Rabbinic Coordinator for OU Kosher in Israel, South Africa’s Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein and Rabbi Dovi Goldstein, Head of Kashrut in South Africa, and Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, Chief Rabbi of the UAE. With their guidance and endorsement, Kosher Arabia was launched and today is signing an MOU with Emirates Flight Catering to set up the UAE’s first kosher food production facility.”
The UAE is home to people from nearly 200 nations and all walks of life, including a thriving Jewish community. In September 2019, the UAE announced the construction of an interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi, which will house a Jewish synagogue, Christian church, and Islamic mosque.
Emirates Flight Catering is one of the world’s largest catering operations. Offering airline, events, and VIP catering as well as ancillary services including laundry, food production, and airport lounge food & beverage, Emirates Flight Catering is a trusted partner of over 100 airline customers, hospitality groups, and UAE government entities. In 2019, the company’s 6,000 dedicated employees prepared over 80 million meals and handled 77,000 tonnes of laundry.
Pure Harvest Invests In Kuwait
The facility will supply locally grown, premium quality fresh fruit and vegetables all year round to the Sultan Centre (TSC), one of Kuwait's largest independent retailers, which also has stores in Oman, Jordan, and Bahrain
BY TOM JOYCE
8th September 2020
The Abu Dhabi-based agri-tech company has entered into an agreement to supply fresh fruit and vegetables to Kuwaiti retailer the Sultan Centre
Pure Harvest co-founder and chief executive Sky Kurtz
Abu Dhabi-based agri-tech firm Pure Harvest Smart Farms has announced plans to invest over €30m (Dh130m) in the construction of a hi-tech, climate-controlled farm in Kuwait.
The facility will supply locally grown, premium quality fresh fruit and vegetables all year round to the Sultan Centre (TSC), one of Kuwait's largest independent retailers, which also has stores in Oman, Jordan, and Bahrain.
A shared visitor's center will demonstrate Smart Harvest's technology to customers, showing how produce can be cultivated in harsh environments, utilizing up to 90 percent less water than conventional agriculture.
“There has never been a more pressing time to invest in food innovation in the region," said Khadija Oubala, chief executive at TSC. "The region’s longstanding dependence on imports paired with a growing demand for fresh produce highlight the importance of local farming. Pure Harvest is developing a state-of-the-art local farm that can provide organic fruits and vegetables fresh from the farm to TSC stores. We are committed to providing quality, variety, value, and services that customers demand, and investing in homegrown fresh produce is the way forward.”
Even prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, food security had become a major priority for Gulf nations. According to Chatham House, GCC states presently import up to 90 percent of the food they consume.
“We are investing heavily to reinvent our offering to better serve our customers," explained Nicolas Allan, chief operating officer at TSC. "TSC’s commitment to this off-take partnership with Pure Harvest is designed to meet the demands of our customers to deliver premium quality, locally-grown, and pesticide residue-free fresh produce at affordable prices. We are investing before the growing system is built, which enables our partner to scale but also helps to eliminate waste in the value chain, including freight costs, which ultimately benefits our customers in the form of value-for-money."
In 2018, Pure Harvest produced its first greenhouse tomatoes and has since been experimenting with greens and berries.
Sky Kurtz, co-founder and chief executive of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, commented: “Through this partnership, together TSC and Pure Harvest further food security, water conservation, economic diversification and sustainability within Kuwait and the region.”
Pure Harvest recently secured a multi-stage investment commitment worth more than US$100m from Wafra International Investment Company to drive the research, development, and deployment of advanced controlled environment agriculture solutions in Kuwait and across the region. The company is also currently expanding its capacity in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Special Report: How Farming Is Gaining Ground in UAE
The UAE has implemented a range of policies, measures and strategies to ensure constant food supplies from abroad and scaled up agricultural production at home - and this is evident as businesses come forward and share their roles in aligning their strategies to boost food and water security.
Photo Supplied by VeggiTech
8/24/2020 11:00:45 PM
(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) The UAE has implemented a range of policies, measures and strategies to ensure constant food supplies from abroad and scaled up agricultural production at home - and this is evident as businesses come forward and share their roles in aligning their strategies to boost food and water security.
On Sunday, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: "Food and water security are among the priorities of the UAE government for the post-coronavirus period, and the objective is to launch specialist initiatives that will ensure our readiness to confront all types of crises."
The farming sector is aggressively working towards boosting local production of agro produce. Agrotech company VeggiTech, for instance, is addressing the key challenges of traditional farming through its design of protected hydroponics and grow lights-assisted hydroponics.
"We have chosen the challenging conditions of UAE to demonstrate the positive use of agro technology to create sustainable farms aligned to the UAE's vision of food security," said Hemant Julka, co-founder and COO of VeggiTech.
In the last 18 months, the company has built and is operating over 30 hectares of farms with protected hydroponics and is also in the process of going live with 4,500 sqm of indoor vertical farms that employ grow light-assisted hydroponics.
"We produced over 1.6 million kg of produce last year and this year [including the summer months] and we will produce more than 1.9 million kg with over 500 tonnes of organic produce from our farms between August 2020 and July 2021," added Julka.
Similarly, Dake Rechsand's primary focus is enabling desert regions to expand their agriculture and long-term water storage capacities and create food and water security.
"Our strength is being able to achieve this using simple, ordinary and abundantly available sand as a raw material. We are ramping up production and expect our technologies to enable farming and greenery for at least 10,000 acres across the UAE or for half-a-million trees by the first half of 2021," said Chandra Dake, executive chairman and group CEO of Dake Group.
"Within the same period we also expect to be ready with a comprehensive strategy for harvesting and usage of rainwater, which will allow us to enable 10 cubic metres [two million gallons] of water storage from harvested rainwater. In fact, we are ready to take on pilot projects during the upcoming monsoons next month and work with the government bodies to showcase how our products and technology can help harness rainfall and deliver immediate and tangible results for the UAE."
Tech disruption
VeggiTech produce utilises less than 10 percent of the water used in traditional farms and is pesticide-free. In addition, they have deployed technology for complete food transparency through QR codes that give complete visibility of the growing process of the vegetable produce from farms. The firm is in the business of offering "farming as a service", where the firm builds and operates digital smart farms that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.
In the first half of 2020, despite the Covid-19 circumstances, VeggiTech signed contracts for 13,000 sqft of grow area for indoor vertical farms and building protected hydroponic farms of 80,000 sqft.
"We are upbeat on the current pipeline of projects [over 10 million sqft of farms - protected hydroponics; more than 200,000 sqft of indoor vertical farms] to be signed in the third and fourth quarters of 2020 and these would start producing over 25 million kg of produce every year from 2021-22. The optimal use of land assets combined with the reduction in water resources and pesticide free crops are an ideal example of using technology to align with the UAE's food security goals," added Julka.
Desert farming
The Middle East, including the UAE and GCC, is enriched with desert sand. However, most of these desert regions import a bulk of their food commodities. Dake Rechsand has what it calls 'magic sand', a technology enables the sustainable production of organic food in the desert using up to 70 percent less water than conventional methods. At 65 percent of total use, the agriculture sector is the largest consumer of water in the UAE.
"On average, about 11 to 12 litres of water is being used to irrigate one sqm of land per day in the UAE. If we reduce that requirement by 70 percent, we could conserve about 45 percent of the total water consumed in the UAE. More importantly, this can be achieved while increasing the UAE's agricultural production significantly," said Dake.
Dake Rechsand creates breathable surfaces for roads, kerbstones and pavements, etc, which can absorb water, and harvest it.
"Coupled with our decentralised mini-reservoirs made from the same material, we can help harvest rainwater and keep it fresh for up to seven years, without any energy inputs. This can not only result in creating a new, reliable and cost effective water source, adding to the UAE's water reserves, but also one that is much cleaner since rainwater is a better source than desalination," added Dake.
"Our approach towards maximising water retention in sand is what propels desert farming and is both economically as well as organically efficient. That means one can get organic products grown from these regions very easily. Our products are designed scientifically, and they contribute to environmental sustainability."
ICBA committed to boost food and water security
The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) completely supports every effort towards the food and water security of the UAE's vision.
Dr Ismahane Elouafi, director-general of the ICBA, said: "Like national security, food and water security must be a priority for all countries. Thanks to the UAE's wise and visionary leadership, the country has always been at the forefront of ensuring food and water security in the country. During the recent disruption to global food systems, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UAE set an excellent example of its efforts towards food security. It was one of the few countries where the food supply remained uninterrupted. Even though the UAE is short of arable land and freshwater resources, and has harsh climatic conditions, the country harness the benefits of innovation to make agriculture possible and profitable in the country."
The UAE's National Food Security Strategy 2051, which was launched in 2018 with a vision to become a world-leading hub for innovation-driven food security, also prioritizes agricultural research and development. The country rose from 33rd place in 2017 to 21st in 2019 in the Global Food Security Index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The ICBA has been working on several technologies and innovations to boost agricultural productivity and improve farmers' livelihood, in non-arable lands and harsh ecosystems.
All of the ICBA's research and development programmes are directly beneficial to the region, particularly to the UAE.
"We have introduced what we call climate-smart and resource-efficient crops such as quinoa, pearl millet, sorghum, and Salicornia, among others, in countries in Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. These crops are nutritious and resilient to heat, drought, and salinity, therefore fit for ecosystems such as UAE. Furthermore, our crop development and research trials have been mostly conducted in our experimental farm in Dubai. Hence, all data and results are very relevant to the UAE," added Dr Elouafi.
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Smart Acres CEO on The launch of The UAE’s Latest Vertical Smart Farm
The launch of Smart Acres, the UAE’s latest addition to the hydroponic vertical farming industry, this week means that a line of the freshest, most nutrient-dense greens for UAE residents and businesses alike is now being produced in containers on the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, with the aim to expand across the UAE
Smart Acres Is Here With Lettuce At The Helm. In An Exclusive Interview With Abu Dhabi World, Smart Acres CEO Abdulla al Kaabi Reveals What This Means To Abu Dhabi And The Farming Community On The Whole.
words Derek Issacs
If you love healthy produce, and who doesn’t, then this news is going to please you and your tastebuds no end. The only draw back at the moment is they’re not for sale in supermarkets just yet, but it won’t be long before they are.
The launch of Smart Acres, the UAE’s latest addition to the hydroponic vertical farming industry, this week means that a line of the freshest, most nutrient-dense greens for UAE residents and businesses alike is now being produced in containers on the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, with the aim to expand across the UAE.
So we headed over to the St. Regis Abu Dhabi to meet Smart Acres CEO Abdulla al Kaabi to find out more.
Tell us about your background?
I am from tech and farm background. My father has a passion for farming and gardening; he’s very strict about anybody who messes around with his garden or farm. My father has a few farms across the UAE, where he grows crops and dates. When he heard that I was pursuing a project in the agriculture sector he got excited and actually gifted me a farm, which I am grateful for and will keep. However, Smart Acres, rather than the farm my father gifted me, is an urban farm.
How was Smart Acres first developed?
CEO Abdulla al Kaabi (centre)
Smart Acres was founded in 2017 and local testing began in July 2019. Smart Acres was developed by a team of experts, including myself, Director Sean Lee and Lead Project Manager, Aphisith Phongsavanh with the aim of improving food security within the United Arab Emirates and developing the country’s farming capabilities, providing a solution to potential socioeconomic threats such as pandemics and climate limitations the Middle East currently endures.
Tell us more
We planted lettuce and after a few harvests, we decided to expand from two containers to eight containers. From the two insulated containers the yield was 3.5 tons annually, which was our proof of concept. For the proof of concept, our target weight for each lettuce head was 140g. However, we have reached an average of 200g per head. I don’t think any other vertical farm here reached that quality or weight in terms of vegetables at this size.
How would you describe Smart Acres?
It is a one-of-a-kind agriculture system that is designed to produce some of the highest yields of crops within the UAE’s vertical farming industry, while introducing a new future for clean foods and allowing both business to business (B2B) and business to consymer (B2C ) sectors to locally source produce.
Tell us about the containers
We invested heavily in the containers, not just financially, and it took us a while to partner up with n.thing, a South Korean vertical farming technology company, to bring the best vertical farm here in the UAE. We had talks with other companies before and we decided to go with this one, in terms of risk, in terms of technology they are using. And the system we are using in the containers is hydroponics (growing plants without soil) which has been used by growers for hundreds of years. Techno advancements means we were able to implement the Internet of Things for operations, which helps us to monitor the entire farm in terms of humidity, temperature, and even the nutrients that goes inside the plants. Now we have our expansion plan from eight to 78 containers, which eventually will produce more than 140 tons of produce annually. We are currently in talks with private and public entities in terms of the expansion. We are also planning to have a research and development centre in order to start growing our own potato seeds in a controlled environment.
Will Smart Acres just be growing lettuce?
In our current eight containers, we grow four types of lettuce; Lolo rosso , green glace, oakleaf Batavia, but we are able to grow 30 types of lettuce. Currently we are testing new methods to improve quality and weight of the existing lettuce. The results of last month’s test resulted in lettuce whose individual heads weighed more than 200 grams on average. However, we aim to grow more than just lettuce. We have plans to eventually grow baby spinach, mature spinach, and baby arugula. Smart Acres’ vision is to expand to meet the demand of popular produce in the region such as strawberries, and, as I previously mentioned, a shift and emphasis on cultivating potato seeds.
Where can we buy your smart lettuces?
We are now supplying restaurants and hotels for free to get ourselves known, and we have had great feedback from them. We have also partnered with several restaurants and cafes around the country including Inked and Fae Cafe, and have plans to have our produce in the kitchen of dozens of other F&B outlets. The recent initiative by HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), stating that all major grocery stores in the capital must allocate space for local produce means we are perfectly poised to enter local supermarkets. We have had lots of offers from Abu Dhabi Holding and other government entities that are members in the food security committee to buy our whole produce. Currently we are focused on our actual produce itself, in terms of quality, weight.
Posted in Features, Food, Life, News
Tagged agriculture system Abu Dhabi, CEO Abdulla al Kaabi, Clean foods UAE, food security UAE, SMART ACRES Abu Dhabi, st regis abu dhabi, UAE Climate Change Risks and Resilience, UAE farms, UAE’s vertical farming industry, vertical farming Abu Dhabi
UAE, Israel Both Expect To Benefit From Agricultural Ties
The regional government in the capital, Abu Dhabi, announced in April that it was investing approximately $100 million in vertical farming
TARA KAVALER
08/23/2020
Emiratis will have access to Jewish state’s agritech while Israelis will gain financially
The United Arab Emirates, where less than 1% of the earth is arable, is set to reap major growth from its agricultural sector with the help of Israeli technology after the two countries normalize relations.
Israel, a world leader in agriculture under conditions with little water and high heat, will sell its expertise to farmers in the desert nation where the average temperature in August is 43°C (109°F) and the average annual temperature is 30°C (86°F). Israeli growers also plan to export food to the UAE, from where it may be re-exported to currently unreachable markets.
The UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries have been trying to become more self-reliant in food, most of which they import. The UAE has already seen an explosion in agricultural growth, particularly in vertical farming and other next-generation planting techniques. It plans to start using hydroponics, soil-less crop cultivation, before the end of this year. The regional government in the capital, Abu Dhabi, announced in April that it was investing approximately $100 million in vertical farming.
“Any food production here requires a technological solution,” Nicholas Lodge, a UAE-based agricultural expert, told The Media Line.
“It doesn’t make sense to grow almost anything in terms of arable crops, except for higher-value crops like tomatoes that are grown in greenhouses, with the latest technology, like hydroponics, where minimal water is needed,” Lodge said.
Dr. Yaron Drori, an Israeli agronomist and co-owner of Etza Agriculture consultants, told The Media Line: “There are very sophisticated greenhouses all over the world, especially in northern Europe, but what is special about Israeli equipment is that we know how to deal with the excess of heat in the structures.”
“Most of the year in our greenhouses, we are trying to avoid overheating. This is the opposite of what you are trying to do in Europe, where you are trying to gain heat,” added Drori, whose company specializes in desert farming in southern Israel.
The greenhouses in Israel use shade nets that can be turned on automatically with a “smart” control system that monitors temperature, radiation, and humidity.
The system also activates cooling sprinklers, or a “curtain” of water, which brings outside air into the greenhouse to change the high temperatures and low humidity that make desert agriculture difficult.
The device also irrigates plants without wasting scarce resources. Saving water is one of the centerpieces of Israel’s “advanced innovation” in agritech, Drori said.
Associate Prof. Zvi Peleg of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem spoke to The Media Line about his work at the university’s Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture to reduce the amount of water plants need.
“We are working now on how to improve water-use efficiency, meaning the plants will produce more biomass by using less water.”
“We are trying to change the plant … so it will be more suitable for the climate,” Peleg said. “We are changing the root system to become deeper … to get to the water more easily and reduce the size of the root architecture so it will not take so much water from the soil because it’s a very limited resource.”
He also explained some of Israel’s latest agricultural technology.
“By using sensors to check the water status in the soil and the plant, you improve productivity because you irrigate whenever the plants need water, not whenever you feel they need water,” Peleg said.
“We are also using thermal imaging to see if a plant needs water or nutrients. There are a lot of techniques now related to drones and different kinds of cameras to detect the plant’s growth, as well as diseases and other problems the plant has,” Peleg said. There is “a lot of technology that can benefit many regions, including the UAE.”
Meanwhile, the UAE is doing high tech agricultural research of its own. Dr. Mohammed Abdul Mushen Salem Alyafei, an associate professor at The College of Food and Agriculture at United Arab Emirates University, said studies are being done in the Emirates on an “open-top chamber,” which encircles a plant to examine the impact of carbon dioxide levels and an “aeroponic control unit.” Aeroponic devices grow plants in the air in a moist environment.
Israel’s successful efforts to make its own desert bloom have resulted in exports of its desert produce.
Some “60% of Israel’s [agricultural] exports, which include tomatoes and watermelon, come from the Arava [in the southeast], which is very similar to the UAE, with bad soil and poor [quality] and limited amounts of water,” Shafrir Godel, an agricultural business expert, told The Media Line.
“Everything is against the farmer, and yet it is the major export region for Israeli produce [sent] to Europe and America,” said Godel, founder and managing director of Israel-based AgriQuality, an international consulting company.
Long-distance exporting is very expensive, but Israel has figured how to do it profitably; this know-how could help the UAE.
“The chain from the seed to the supermarket shelf abroad is something that Israelis do well and cost-effectively: starting with the variety [of crop] to plant, the methods and technical solutions for growing, sorting, picking, the plastic you are using to extend shelf-life, and getting them to the right companies that have a hold on the main markets.”
Israeli growers are also looking for new markets.
“Over the years, Israeli farmers have grown with a capacity that is way beyond Israelis’ ability to eat. We need other markets. It is a new market, and it could be a transit station to places that we normally would not sell to,” Godel said.
The UAE is one of the world’s top three re-export hubs.
Agricultural expert Lodge noted that “the UAE has built a reputation as a transport hub serving many countries.” “It’s quite interesting what you might be able to do with that mix of location, technology, and capital for certain crops.”
Both countries’ agricultural businesspeople are excited about the potential for the new alliance.
“The UAE has a history of looking at where it can forge partnerships, where it can make investments where there’s a mutual benefit,” Lodge said. “Israel is an acknowledged leader in arid farming and the application of technology to make farming possible. I’m sure it’s one of the areas that could and should benefit both parties.”
Etza Agriculture’s Drori said: “If you bring the practical and academic knowledge and all the technology that we have to the UAE, we can all benefit from it, both the Emirati and the Israeli companies.”
“Israel gets business, so it benefits financially. But beyond that, it would be fascinating to work there. It’s a new place, you learn and see new things,” he said. “It’s a new world for us.”
Lead photo: Dr. Effi Tripler, a soil and water scientist, stands next to a solar-powered sensor that helps a drip-irrigation system know when and how much to water a crop of sorghum at the Central and Northern Arava R&D facility on May 21, 2015, in Hatzeva, Israel. The soil and water R&D facility tests and produces various crops in the dry, harsh climate of the Arava, near the Jordanian border. (Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images)
Dubai's Green Revolution Starts At Its Vertical Farms in The Middle of The Desert
Dubai is determined to start its green revolution through its ultra-modern vertical farm in the middle of the desert
Erika P. August 18, 2020
Dubai is determined to start its green revolution through its ultra-modern vertical farm in the middle of the desert. The country decided on this project, hoping to end its dependency on food imports. One of the vertical farms in Dubai, Al-Badia market garden farm, grows a range of vegetable crops in a multi-story set-up. Inside the facility, they make sure that the plants get proper lighting and irrigation while recycling 90% of the water the facility uses.
Basel Jammal, the farm's director, said that their project is a green revolution located in the middle of the desert. It is as if the crops were a guest in a five-star hotel complete with amenities essential for its survival: the right amount of light, humidity, heat, and water.
Inside the futuristic indoor farm that could revolutionize agriculture in the UAE Screenshot from YouTube ( Photo: YouTube)
Dubai's Vertical Farm
The United Arab Emirates relies heavily on food imports, and Dubai is no exception to that. However, food security is of concern, especially in a region where geopolitical tensions may arise unexpectedly.
The UAE started buying and leasing agricultural lands in east Africa and in other countries to prevent food shortages even in times of crisis more than ten years ago, . But they aim to eradicate dependence on food imports, giving birth to different agricultural strategies, such as stockpiling and ultra-modern agriculture.
Jammal said that his farm is the "choice for the future" as high-tech computers control the facility. They aim to produce their own crops all year round without relying on imports, or worrying about climate change, drought, or rainfall.
Several vertical farms have also started in Dubai in the past years, such as in less-developed areas in Al-Ain and the mountainous Ras al-Khaimah.
Abdellatif al-Banna uses the hydroponics technology in growing his pineapples that he sells online. He experimented with growing fruits, vegetables, and wheat on his farm. Even in colder months, he was able to produce enough grain for his family in what he hopes as a prototype.
Meanwhile, in an area not far from the skyscrapers of Dubai is a farm that cares for cows in air-conditioned sheds, helping the local market to produce dairy products. They were also rearing salmon in large tanks overseen by a control room despite the scorching heat outside the farm.
Dubai Has More Than Enough Food for the Entire Country
Although these vertical and high-tech farms are privately owned, the government is even encouraging such innovations, said Dubai's Food Security Committee chair Omar Bouchehab.
The Emirati government has launched a plan to raise agricultural production in Dubai by 15% in 2021 and boost using agricultural technologies, Bouchehab said.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, Dubai did not experience shortages in food supplies, unlike other countries that saw shelves stripped of tinned goods, pasta, and toilet papers. It's all thanks to the airborne cargo services of the giant carrier Emirates. The country even promised to re-export various goods to its neighboring countries."
Dubai has an adequate infrastructure and a stock capable of meeting the needs of the United Arab Emirates, and even the needs of neighboring countries," said Fresh Market Executive director Redha al-Mansouri.
Farming In The Desert: Are Vertical Farms The Solution To Saving Water?
When I told people I was going to grow tomatoes in the desert, they thought I was crazy," Sky Kurtz, founder of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, told DW
Jul. 23, 2020
By Isabelle Gerretsen"
When I told people I was going to grow tomatoes in the desert, they thought I was crazy," Sky Kurtz, founder of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, told DW.
With just an average 12 days of rain a year, less than 1% arable land, a desert location, and an 80% import rate for food, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seems an unfavorable place to set up a farm.
Kurtz is one of several entrepreneurs using high-tech farming techniques to boost crop production in the Emirates. Pure Harvest built the first climate-controlled greenhouse in Abu Dhabi in 2017.
Prompted by arid conditions and a desire for greater food security, the country is investing millions in technologies — such as vertical farming — that could make it an unlikely agricultural pioneer.
Vertical farms can grow a rich variety of different crops by stacking them in layers under LED lighting in climate-controlled greenhouses and watering them with mist or drip systems. The process is tailored to each crop's specific needs, resulting in high-yield, year-round harvests."
It takes 30 to 40 days to grow leafy greens out in the field. We can grow that same crop in 10 to 12 days," says Marc Oshima, co-founder of Aerofarms. The company received funding from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to build the capital's largest indoor vertical farm, with 800 different crops, by 2021.
Water Scarcity and Fossil-Fuel Reliance
The technology uses minimal land and up to 95% less water than conventional agriculture.
The hydroponics system places the plants' roots directly into a water-based and nutrient-rich solution instead of soil. This "closed-loop" system captures and recirculates all the water, rather than allowing it to drain away — useful for a country like the UAE suffering from extremely high water stress.
Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals, and UAE is extracting groundwater faster than it can be replenished, according to the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA)."
Water is very expensive over in the UAE, but energy is cheap as it is subsidized," says Jan Westra, a strategic business developer at Priva, a company providing technology to vertical farms.
The artificially controlled environment is energy-intensive because the air conditioning and LED lights need a constant source of electricity.
This bringing forth of life in the desert could come at a high environmental cost. Most of that energy comes from carbon-emitting fossil fuels, even as the Middle Eastern country feel the effects of climate change.
By 2050 Abu Dhabi's average temperature is predicted to increase by around 2.5°C (36.5 F) in a business-as-usual scenario. Over the next 70 years, patterns of rainfall are also expected to change.
Integrating Renewable Energy
Although Pure Harvest is building a solar-powered farm in neighboring Saudi Arabia, its UAE operations get electricity from the carbon-intensive national grid.
Investing more in renewables "is a goal of ours," Kurtz told DW. He said the company has not set a clean energy target but is working on various green power projects, including a plan to integrate solar power generated in UAE into its operations.
However, Willem van der Schans, a researcher specializing in short supply chains at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, says sustainability and clean energy should be "inherent in the technology and included in plans when starting a vertical farm."
He argues that many vertical farming companies are not sustainable in terms of energy as they still view clean power as an optional "add-on."
Ismahane Elouafi, director-general of the government-funded ICBA in Abu Dhabi, acknowledges that vertical farming has some way to go before achieving "real sustainability," but she believes the innovations are "promising."
Improved battery storage, increasingly efficient LED lights, and cheaper solar panels will help, she adds.
Local Solutions
By 2050, the UAE government wants to generate almost half its energy from renewable sources.
Fred Ruijgt, a vertical farming specialist at Priva, argues that it's important to factor transport and refrigeration into the energy equation. Vertical farming uses more energy to grow crops than traditional agriculture, but because crops are grown locally, they do not have to be transported by air, sea, or truck over long distances."
The energy-saving is difficult to calculate exactly, but the advantages of locally grown crops are huge," he says, adding that those grown in vertical farms not only use less water and pesticides but that they also have a longer shelf life due to minimal transportation time.
Food Security and Coronavirus
In 2018, the UAE set out its vision to become a hub for high-tech local food production.
Companies and investors have flocked to the region, attracted by the 0% corporate tax rate, low labor costs, and cheap energy. With their help, the UAE aims to reduce its reliance on imports and make its food system more resilient to shocks like climate change and pandemics.
Oshima from Aerofarms says the coronavirus pandemic has brought "greater appreciation of how fragile the supply chain is and raised questions about food safety and security."
When the UAE went into lockdown in April, imported supplies of perishable goods like vegetables fell and business boomed for local suppliers.
ICBA's Elouafi said they have helped keep the UAE well-stocked during the pandemic."With the help of local food production and adequate imports, there has been absolutely no shortage of food in the UAE," Elouafi told DW.
Climate change, however, poses an altogether more complex threat to the country in the long-term. Given climate change's likely impact on food production, she says vertical farming has shown it is "an economically viable proposition even with harsh climatic conditions."
Reposted with permission from Deutsche Welle.
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UAE Agricultural Firm Uses Technology To Help With Food Security
Smart Acres aims to support the UAE’s food security program by using high-tech vertical farming to produce approximately 8,000 kilograms of lettuce per cycle
KATERYNA KADABASHY
July 13, 2020 | DUBAI
Smart Acres aims to support the UAE’s food security program by using high-tech vertical farming to produce approximately 8,000 kilograms of lettuce per cycle.“
In the expansion phase, we will have 78 modules, which comes to a total of 88,320 pots. Each lettuce, for example, will weigh 100 grams. So, that is approximately 8,000 kilograms of crops per cycle,” the company’s CEO Abdulla Al-Kaabi told Arab News.
The vertical farm — currently in the proof-of-concept stage — is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2020, producing 12 cycles of crops annually and expanding from Abu Dhabi to the rest of the country. In this type of farming, plants are stocked vertically, providing more produce per area and resembling something similar to the green walls sometimes seen in malls.
Smart Acres collaborated with South Korean vertical farming technology n.thing in their farming processes. (Supplied)
The company collaborated with South Korean vertical farming technology n.thing to employ the Internet of Things in their farming so as to efficiently use water and monitor humidity, temperature, and nutrients.“
Vertical farms, in general, save over 90 percent of water compared to traditional farming methods. There is constant water flow across all the little pots, and the water is filled with all the nutrients necessary for the plant to grow,” Lead Project Manager Aphisith Joe Phongsavanh said.
The high-tech design of the farm allows Smart Acres to produce clean crops without any pesticides and with minimal intervention.“
Since we are growing our crops in a 100 percent closed environment, we don’t have to use pesticides at all. That’s exactly what we mean by clean food: non-adulterated food products that go through minimal processing,” Phongsavanh said.
However, this closed environment in which the plants grow requires staff and visitors to wear protective gear before entering the premises in order to preserve the sterility of the area.“
It is almost like going into a very high-tech factory. You have to wear lab coats and go through an air shower, where one door is closed and the other door only opens after 10 seconds of disinfection,” Director of Smart Acres Sean Lea said.
Currently, the company does not have any investors, but Al-Kaabi said that the expansion phase “of course will require an investment,” expected to cost around AED16.7 million ($4.5 million).
It will not just include a larger number of crops, but also a research and development center with a vision to start cultivating baby spinach, mature spinach, baby arugula, strawberries, and potato seeds.
Earlier in July, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited some local farms and met with agricultural entrepreneurs.“
I was pleased to meet some of the UAE’s aspiring agricultural entrepreneurs who are pioneering sustainable and resilient farming practices using modern technology,” Al-Nahyan tweeted.
The UAE is pushing for local production of crops and livestock.
According to Khaleej Times, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority provided over $174 million to “138,000 families, 30,632 breeders and farmers, and 259 small-scale producers and commercial animal farms in Abu Dhabi” to support the industry in June.
Lead Photo: Smart Acres’ vertical farming technology enables it to produce approximately 8 tons of lettuce per cropping cycle. (Supplied)
An Aussie Vertical Farm Company Has Gained International Interest Amid Concerns About Food Supply Chain During The Coronavirus Pandemic
Aussie company Stacked Farm, a fully automated vertical indoor farm, has been gaining international interest amid the coronavirus pandemic
By Sharon Masige | Business Insider | 5 June 2020
Stacked Farm, an Australian automated vertical indoor farm, has received international interest during the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns about the continuity of food supplies.
The farm produces salad greens and has the capacity for tomatoes and strawberries.
CEO Conrad Smith told Business Insider Australia Stack Farm received significant interest from the Middle East.
Aussie company Stacked Farm, a fully automated vertical indoor farm, has been gaining international interest amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Stacked Farm, founded in 2017, produces salad greens and herbs like lettuce and rocket and has the capacity to produce tomatoes and strawberries. It's even looking at testing out a type of blueberry next year.
The company has been receiving a lot of interest during the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns about virus clusters breaking out in the food supply chain. Back in May, a coronavirus cluster broke out at Melbourne's Cedar Meats abattoir, which was linked to 62 cases, according to the ABC.
"People are more concerned than ever about who is handling their food, where it’s coming from and how many stops it made before arriving on supermarket shelves," Stacked Farm CEO Conrad Smith said in a statement.
The company is headquartered in Burleigh Heads, Queensland and has plans to open up farms across Australia as well. "A scaled-up farm in Victoria will be our first major commercial farm," Smith told Business Insider Australia. Its farm is fully automated, with the produce packed and sealed once its harvested by robotic farming.
"It doesn’t pass through the usual supply chains either – greens and herbs can go directly to wholesalers, retails, hotels and restaurants, unlike traditional produce which passes through a number of hands before reaching our shelves," Smith said in a statement.
Stacked Farm has a partnership with fresh produce supplier Morco Fresh and counts Dnata as one of its clients as well, which provides aircraft services like flight catering.
"We are not too dissimilar to a normal farm where we go through markets and we go through wholesalers and food service distributors," Smith said.
And while it mainly supplies to the food service industry, Stacked Farm is looking at a move into retail so people can grab its produce from supermarket shelves as well. "We haven't got the capacity to do that at the moment," Smith said. "But when we scale up to our Victorian farm, we will certainly have the capacity to do that and we'll be looking for retail partners to jump on the journey that we're on."
The farms are temperature controlled and automated
Stacked Farm grows its produce 12 months a year, without relying on different seasons. Its products are grown in a temperature-controlled environment that is fully automated from seeding to harvesting. The company is looking at post-harvest automation as part of its next business phase.
Stacked Farm also makes barley-based livestock feed. "In a drought-vulnerable country like Australia, there's a lot of opportunity there because while we all think about human consumption, animals are a massive part of the food chain that needs to be considered," Smith said.
The company's employees are mainly in the science and tech field rather than traditional farm labourers.
"We're not like traditional farms where we require pickers, packers and harvesters," Smith said. "We employ more labour leaning towards engineering, software engineering, mechanical engineering, CAD designers [and] horticultural scientists."
The company has been receiving interest from the Middle East
Stacked Farm has received international interest in its farm during the coronavirus pandemic, mainly thanks to concerns over food safety, quality and security.
"There's a lot of food chains that have been broken throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, and we've had interest from the Middle East to set up farms there," Smith said.
"We have been very enthused by the interest from particularly a couple of states in the Middle East that have governments that really support local industry and local farming." Smith gave the example of Dubai which relies predominantly on imports. According to Bloomberg, the United Arab Emirates imports up to 90% of its food.
Smith explained that in Dubai, "a lot of produce can't travel by sea".
"They've immediately recognised that there's a problem in their food chain and they need to bring tech businesses to their country to support feeding their people." And, in the case of Stacked Farm, can help feed livestock too.
Smith added that Stacked Farm can support the future of food production, particularly in extremely hot and dry or extremely cold climates. He explained that one in nine people go hungry around the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, by 2050 world food demand is expected to rise by 70%.
"Having urban indoor vertical farms is definitely [an] exciting prospect for the future," Smith said. "We can literally shave days off out of the logistics process, we can extend the shelf life of products so there's less wastage and that in turn will benefit the community."
Cooked Up For Climate, UAE's High-Tech Food Plan Pays Off in Pandemic
“Thanks to the work being done to harness the benefits of innovation, agriculture is becoming possible and profitable in a country with harsh climatic conditions,” Elouafi said.
MAY 27, 2020
ABU DHABI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In the past four years, the United Arab Emirates has grown a small but rising share of its own organic tomatoes, aiming to shore up food security in an import-dependent desert country.
The effort - part of a broader push to produce more home-grown food amid fears climate change could trigger instability in the global food trade - started after the country was hit by food export bans during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
Today, the move to build up food resilience is paying off early in the face of another crisis: the coronavirus pandemic.
When the United Arab Emirates (UAE) went into lockdown in April to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, residents had the same reaction as millions of others around the world - they started panic-buying.
The instinct to stock up made sense in a country where more than 80% of food is imported, said Ismahane Elouafi, director-general of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA).
Nonetheless supermarket shelves have remained fully stocked, partly because the UAE has long had policies in place to ensure an uninterrupted supply of food from abroad, she noted.
But in the face of the pandemic, the UAE’s confidence that it will continue to have enough food is bolstered by its success in growing its own, using innovations like vertical farming and climate-resilient crops, she added.
“Thanks to the work being done to harness the benefits of innovation, agriculture is becoming possible and profitable in a country with harsh climatic conditions,” Elouafi said.
According to data from the World Bank, the contribution of agriculture to the country’s gross domestic product rose from $2.39 billion in 2012 to $3.06 billion in 2018.
The UAE’s Ministry of Food Security declined to respond to a request for comment.
FARMING WITH FEWER RESOURCES
Currently ranked 21 out of 113 countries on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Food Security Index, the UAE aims to be in the top 10 by 2021 and number one by mid-century.
By then, the federal government hopes half the food Emiratis consume will be produced locally, compared to 20% today.
Under the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy - which was officially launched in 2018, but had already been woven into government policy for several years before - the country has worked to boost domestic food production.
It has built infrastructure, including complexes for cattle-breeding - and introduced financial measures, from exempting value-added tax on food produced on local farms to paying subsidies on fodder.
But traditional farming methods can only go so far in a country with limited supplies of freshwater and arable land.
Last year, the World Resources Institute classified the UAE as under “extremely high water stress”, meaning more than 80% of the available surface and groundwater supply is withdrawn on average every year.
The bulk of that water is used by the agricultural sector. Combined with a warming climate and a growing population, this is causing available groundwater levels to drop by 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) per year.
To meet the country’s freshwater needs, the government is increasingly turning to energy-intensive desalination methods.
Another challenge is that less than 1% of the UAE’s land is arable, according to the World Bank.
The focus is on finding ways to farm with fewer resources - which is where technology and experimenting with new crops can help, said Sajid Maqsood, associate professor in the College of Food and Agriculture at United Arab Emirates University.
“Urban and vertical farming has to be an important part of the strategy,” he said by phone.
YEAR-ROUND FRUIT & VEG
Farming in the UAE has been moving in a high-tech direction over the past decade.
In 2009, for example, the Middle Eastern country had 50 hydroponic farms, where plants are grown without soil using nutrient-infused water. Today, it has more than 1,000, according to the ICBA.
UAE Based Company ‘Smart Acres’ to Launch Hydroponic Vertical Farming in 2020
In the efforts to push the country’s agriculture to new heights, a company named ‘Smart Acres’ will be launching a new Hydroponic Vertical Farm, which is anticipated to come in the third quarter of 2020
Nikita Arya 7 June 2020
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been putting countless efforts in boosting agriculture in the country. The country is creating its presence in the global market with its outstanding marketing of fresh local produce. In the efforts to push the country’s agriculture to new heights, a company named ‘Smart Acres’ will be launching a new Hydroponic Vertical Farm, which is anticipated to come in the third quarter of 2020. This new hydroponic plant will be set up in Abu Dhabi and the company aims to expand it all over the country in the following years.
Smart Acres has designed the system using IoT-based technology, which will help the growers in monitoring and growing produce with the consumption of fewer resources. The hydroponics usually generate high quality of crops, and with IoT based technology, the growers could easily grow their produce.
Another unique differentiating thing about the farm is that all the plants are going to be stacked vertically. In vertical farms, the crops are stacked into one another, which creates room for more saplings. The environment needs to be controlled with no natural sunlight or soil. The nutrients are dissolved in the water-based solvent and reach the plants through roots. Roots are generally kept in the water-based system but can also be kept in other solids, which again will contain the necessary nutrients to help the plants grow.
UAE To Launch Hydroponic Vertical Farming in 2020
Set to launch in Q3 of 2020, the vertical farming company Smart Acres will be set up in Abu Dhabi, with an aim to expand across the UAE
With a mission to improve food security and support UAE local farms
Darragh Murphy
June 03, 2020
With the UAE making strides in agriculture, and now competing globally by marketing fresh local produce, it’s now adding to this by launching a new hydroponic vertical farm.
Set to launch in Q3 of 2020, the vertical farming company Smart Acres will be set up in Abu Dhabi, with an aim to expand across the UAE.
The new systems aim to develop the UAE’s farming capabilities, along with improving food security to potential socioeconomic threats, such as pandemics, and to help businesses locally source food produce from UAE farms.
The company has designed farm modules using an IoT-based technology system to grow and monitor their produce, a system that consumes less resources and generates ultra-high quality crops.
Smart Acres’ vertical farming method completely reduces water waste, depletion of nutrients in soil, and infestation of insects, along with the elimination of any pesticides.
Currently, the company is producing a variety of lettuce and herbs, such as green glace, oakleaf, lollo rosso, and shiso, with plans to eventually grow baby spinach, mature spinach, and baby arugula.
Looking for locally sourced greens and can’t get enough fresh fruit, vegetable, and more? Check out these organic markets to shop at.
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ABU DHABI: US Educator Outlines Urban Farming Vision in ADIBF Virtual Session
American educator, urban farmer, and innovator Stephen Ritz revealed how his tower garden-growing technology is flourishing in the UAE during the latest Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF, Virtual Session
ABU DHABI, 2nd June 2020 (WAM)
American educator, urban farmer, and innovator Stephen Ritz revealed how his tower garden-growing technology is flourishing in the UAE during the latest Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF, Virtual Session.
The talk, titled ‘Changing the World with the Power of a Plant’, on Thursday covered Ritz’s rise to fame through his innovative teaching methods in some of the USA’s poorest communities, his ongoing projects in the UAE, and the numerous books he has published.
As the 30th edition of ADIBF has been postponed until next year, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, has instead organized the virtual sessions for scheduled guests to present their talks online, so viewers can watch safely in their homes.
Ritz, who has become known as ‘America’s Favourite Teacher’, has spawned a green movement through the changes he brought to the school where he taught in the South Bronx, New York. Utilizing hydroponics and aquaponics, he began to grow plants in the classroom, which in turn encouraged his students to follow sustainable and healthy lifestyles.
He first came to the UAE in 2015 as one of the ten finalists in the Global Teacher Prize. While he didn’t win, he used his runner-up prize money to create the Green Bronx Machine, a curriculum for a green classroom, which is now being taught around the world.
His work caught the attention of Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, KHDA, in Dubai, who invited Ritz back to the UAE. Soon Ritz was visiting schools, universities, and businesses here to explain his methods. He also began working alongside Sheikh Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, the Environmental Advisor to the Government of Ajman, who is also known as the ‘Green Sheikh’ for his environmental work. The pair are currently authoring a book called Bringing the Farm to the Desert to be released in 2021.
Ritz also works with Esol Education, the international network of private schools that operates many schools across the UAE, and has been appointed as its Director of Health, Wellness and Innovation. He is now based at Fairgreen International School in The Sustainable City, Dubai, hence he says he now thinks of the UAE as his "second home".
Ritz said he enjoys nothing more than meeting children, inspiring teachers, inspiring healthy living, and inspiring healthy learning for everyone across the UAE through his passion, purpose, and hope.
With the 30th edition of the ADIBF postponed until next year, the DCT Abu Dhabi has launched a series of live virtual broadcasts to showcase artists and authors and open up new creative conversations with readers.
The virtual sessions will run until Monday, 15th June 2020, and feature ten speakers from around the world, to discuss a wide variety of themes – from history and education to entertainment and science – designed to appeal a wide audience of different age groups and tastes.
Other ADIBF Virtual Sessions have featured the Swedish behavioral expert Thomas Erikson, military survival specialist John Hudson; Lemn Sissay, the award-winning British-Ethiopian poet; and Annabel Karmel, the children’s cookbook author.
WAM/Tariq alfaham/Nour Salman
VeggiTech Builds and Operates Digital Smart Farms For Customers
In conversation with Hemant Julka, Chief Operating Officer, VeggiTech
By GN Focus | May 28, 2020 | Gulf News
In conversation with Hemant Julka, Chief Operating Officer, VeggiTech
Could you tell us about VeggiTech and its operations in the UAE?
VeggiTech is an agro-tech organisation focused on disrupting the agriculture industry to create sustainable and eco-friendly farms. We focus on LED-assisted hydroponics for indoor vertical farms and protected hydroponics to farm sustainably even in the UAE’s challenging conditions, where soil, temperature and water are not conducive to traditional farming. Our farming landscape has grown to over 60 acres of protected hydroponic farms and more than 45,000 sq ft of indoor vertical farms, with a team of over 150 qualified agronomists, engineers and farmers.
How could you help traditional farms in the country incorporate hydroponic farming practices?
VeggiTech’s business model is to build and operate digital smart farms for our customers. We drive the transformation of farms with these innovative technologies in a cost-effective manner. The year 2019 saw more than 35 acres of traditional farms converted into protected hydroponics and the introduction of 45,000 sq ft of indoor vertical farms in Sharjah alone.
Given our expertise, we ensure the latest innovation in farming technology is delivered with optimal return on investment for our customers.
Could you talk about a couple of key projects that you have handled recently?
Some of our recent successes were the conversion of a traditional farms (640,000 sq ft) into modern protected hydroponic farms and the commissioning of the indoor vertical farm of 25,000 sq ft grow area. Our protected hydroponics technologies provide a harvest of 40-45kg per sq m per annum, while our indoor vertical farms provide a harvest of 85-90kg per sq m per annum using less than 5 percent of the water used in traditional farming.
What initiatives have you taken to create more awareness on hydroponics and other innovative farming technologies for a sustainable agricultural ecosystem in the UAE?
Education is key for long term sustainable impact. We work closely with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE). Our Chief Agronomy Officer, Bhaskar Rao, leads our Learning Hub platform that hosts the Urban Grower’s programme for students, parents and teachers. We have had more than 50 graduate participants from the programme.
VIDEO: VeggiTech - Vegetation Technology Redefined
VeggiTech is an Agro technology start up with the sole aim of disrupting the agriculture industry
VeggiTech is an Agro technology start up with the sole aim of disrupting the agriculture industry. VeggiTech obsesses on addressing the key challenges of traditional farming – soil, temperature and water through its design of protected Hydroponics and Grow Lights assisted Hydroponics.
VeggiTech stands for Vegetation technology redefined and has currently chosen the harsh conditions of UAE to demonstrate these technologies in farms that are open for Investors, Students and Consumers to experience. The Leadership team firmly believes in moving beyond presentations and demonstrating technology that provides the Return on Investment in a live functional environment.
Lead Image Credit: Supplied
UAE Farm Tech To The Fore
New technologies are helping the country make more of its own produce
New technologies are helping the country make more of its own produce
Over a span of just six months, Covid-19 has not only changed the way we work, celebrate occasions and stay healthy but also forced countries to take a hard look at how they feed their residents. “I believe the current pandemic has provided us the opportunity to completely reimagine the global food system,” says Tony Hunter, a global food futurist.
Going urban
One of the factors pushing the global agri-tech agenda is the growth and increasing density of cities. “By 2050, more than two thirds of the world’s population is forecasted to live in cities,” explains Smitha Paresh, Executive Director of Greenoponics, a UAE-based retailer of commercial and consumer hydroponics systems, adding that urban agriculture will be crucial for feeding burgeoning urban populations.
“On a macro level, we will see a rise in urban farming, mostly using high-tech farming methods such as hydroponics, aeroponics or aquaponics.” Paresh cites Singapore’s conversion of car parks into urban farm centres as an example. “In the UAE, as per the national food security strategy for 2017-2021, we have already witnessed a huge increase in climate-controlled greenhouses all over the country.”
Arable environments
For Hunter, who spoke about potential silver linings of Covid-19 at a recent Gulfood webinar, new technologies present the best means of achieving domestic self-sufficiency. “They can release countries from the tyrannies of arable land and water stress.” He singles out algal products that rely on low rainfall and can use seawater; cultivated meat and biomass products; cell-based products such as milk proteins; and synthetic biology that can manufacture a range of food products.
Over the long term, Ravindra Shirotriya, CEO, VeggiTech, believes there are three critical areas for sustainable farming in the UAE. The first is precision agriculture, which focuses on growing conditions for plants using hyperbaric chambers and nanotechnology-based organic nutrition. Photo bio-reactors, meanwhile, can cultivate food-grade algae such as spirulina. Finally, Shirotriya cites smart farms, which work with smart cities to create harvest plans based on real-time data on food demand and consumption within communities. “This will address our current broken food ecosystem, where we waste 35 percent of food while 15 percent of the world population goes to sleep hungry.”
VeggiTech’s primary focus is on setting up LED-assisted hydroponics for indoor vertical farms and protected hydroponics for sustainable farming in the UAE.
In terms of crop production, Avinash Vora, Co-founder of Aranya Farms, says new technologies aim to boost yields, reduce waste and grow produce entirely. “Technology is being applied at every stage, whether for plant seeding, monitoring growth, managing water, energy conservation, harvesting and packaging. “We are making huge strides adapting all of them here in the UAE; the interest and investments in agriculture prove that.”
For Philippe Peguilhan, Country Manager of Carrefour UAE at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, the UAE had already been seeking self-reliance in food production, but coronavirus amped up its importance. “The disruption that Covid-19 caused to the supply chain highlighted the importance of local produce and presented an excellent opportunity for local farmers to grab a greater share of the market.” Majid Al Futtaim recently made headlines for opening the UAE’s third, and Dubai’s first, in-store hydroponics farm.
Hydroponic hope
Hydroponics is one agri-tech that’s attracting keen investor interest. “As an indicator, Madar Farms’ 7,000-sq-m factory will produce 365 tons of tomatoes a year, and about 14,000 tons of cherry vine tomatoes were consumed in the UAE in 2019,” says Hunter. “There’s therefore the market opportunity for 38 Madar farms in the UAE for tomatoes alone. Add in other nutrient-dense crops such as cucumbers, peppers and leafy greens. Depending upon their size, we could be looking at several hundred businesses.”
On an individual level, more people are leaning towards home farming, especially towards soil-less cultivation since it is simple and easy, according to Paresh. “It guarantees a certain amount of yield. Home farming will be on the rise, considering the disruption we may face in trying times like this.”
As with most technologies, Hunter says the biggest challenge of hydroponics is profitability. “Fortunately, the costs of technology inputs required to optimise hydroponic production efficiencies are falling rapidly. This drop, together with simultaneous increases in performance, is driving down the costs of hydroponics, making acceptable ROIs much easier to achieve.” He adds that economies of scale can help achieve good ROIs. “Currently most farms are in the 1-2 ton per day range but farms of 50 tons per day are being projected by as early as 2025.”
Sustainability challenges
“Challenges in building our own farm were access to sufficient and cost-effective electricity; renewable sources of water; and the availability of locally made raw materials, specifically growing media, nutrients and seeds. With seeds we are adapting — we have been growing our own seeds but having a library of seeds to choose from that are suitable for our climate and environment would be a huge boon to all farmers.”
— Avinash Vora, Co-founder of Aranya Farms
By Riaz Naqvi, Staff Writer | Gulf News | May 28, 2020
