PIF & AeroFarms sign deal to develop vertical farms across MENA
The first farm in Saudi Arabia will have an annual production capacity of up to 1.1m kgs of agricultural crops
An agreement between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and AeroFarms has been inked. As per the terms of the deal, a new company will be set-up in Riyadh, and will focus on building and operating indoor vertical farms in the MENA region.
According to PIF, the partnership aligns with its strategy, which focuses on developing and enabling the capabilities of key sectors, including food and agriculture. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund said the move will contribute to improving trade balance, localise technologies, develop industries and the overall growth and diversification of the Saudi economy.
It also said that it is investing to localise new agricultural technologies that can benefit the local private sector, expanding its market reach and positioning Saudi Arabia as a leader in vertical farming.
The first farm in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to be the largest indoor vertical farm of its kind in the region, will have an annual production capacity of up to 1.1m kgs of agricultural crops.
In early May 2021, Dubai launched the Food Tech Valley business park.
“The agreement with AeroFarms will lead to the establishment of indoor vertical farms in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region, increasing regional reliance on locally produced, high-quality crops grown in a sustainable way using the latest technologies. PIF is enabling the growth of the food and agriculture sector and localizing technology that can benefit private sector industry participants,” said Majed AlAssaf, the Head of Consumer Goods and Retail, MENA Investments Division at PIF.
According to PIF, the agreement will optimise the utilisation of natural resources, including water and agricultural lands, through the implementation of indoor vertical farming, with no need for arable land, resulting in significantly higher yields and using up to 95% less water versus traditional field farming.
The partnership is expected to enable sustainable, local sourcing of high-quality crops all year round, grown using AeroFarms’ proprietary smart agriculture technology (AgTech) platform, which helps solve broader supply chain needs in the industry. The joint venture plans to build and operate several farms across the region in the next few years, PIF explained.
David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms remarked, “Our mission is to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, and we created AeroFarms to help solve the greatest agriculture challenges and increase food resiliency around the world. We are excited to partner with PIF to build our first large-scale commercial farm in Saudi Arabia, where the growing conditions are challenging with limited access to fresh water and arable land, and we envision building together smart indoor vertical farms throughout the broader MENA region.”
In late May 2022, ADAFSA awarded a $84.3mn contract to develop two farms in the UAE.
AeroFarms has a strong track record of creating large-scale commercial farms with a reputation for high quality and consistency of production, along with experienced management, and an advanced technology and R&D team, he concluded.
In late August 2022, Group AMANA delivered the world’s largest vertical farm in Dubai South.
