Company Insights AeroFarms Agriculture AeroFarms Overview Aerofarms is a US-based sustainable indoor agriculture company using patented aeroponic technology. It focuses on growing fresh produce with innovative, sustainable methods and owns the largest vertical indoor farm by annual capacity, producing up to two million pounds of leafy greens per year. Aerofarms uses aeroponics, which entails misting plant roots with nutrients, water, and oxygen in a closed-loop system. The farms feature custom LED lighting, advanced nutrient delivery and optimised plant biology to enhance quality and efficiency. Aerofarms claims it can achieve up to 390 times greater productivity per square metre annually compared to traditional farming. It says it uses 95 percent less water and aim to localise food production in regions heavily reliant on imports. In 2023 it launched in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. AeroFarms News Opinion Agriculture Vertical farms have failed to live up to the hype If its success relies on heavily subsidised fossil fuels, can it really claim to be sustainable? October 8, 2024 Agriculture Agricultural robotics centre planned for the UAE Khalifa University of Science and Technology and agri-food giant Silal plan to create a centre of excellence for farming robotics in the UAE. The proposed research centre, to be located at Silal’s Innovation Oasis site in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, will feature a dedicated autonomous greenhouse equipped with various robotic platforms, sensors and Internet of […] April 23, 2024 Agriculture Red Sea Global farm co-op builds on Saudi food plans Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global has set up a farm cooperative to supply its resorts, amid wider plans to boost farming and food security. The Red Sea Farm Cooperative, also known as Tamala, aims to build on Saudi Arabia’s record agricultural production levels that were achieved last year. Farmers will be able to sell their […] September 1, 2023 Agriculture Saudis invest $70m in Danish bioprotein firm Saudi Industrial Investment Group is investing $70 million in Unibio International, a bioprotein production technology firm in Denmark, to help increase food security in the kingdom. SIIG told shareholders that it has signed an agreement to buy 24 percent of the company. The investment will be in two phases: a 9.9 percent stake is to […] March 30, 2023 Tech AeroFarms: the US business growing up (and up) in the Gulf Agtech giant AeroFarms is seeding its indoor vertical farms all over the Gulf, launching significant ventures in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The US company is set to play a pivotal role in tackling problems of farming in the desert-climate region, which has historically imported around 90 percent of its food requirements. AeroFarms claims […] March 1, 2023 Tech Top 10 agtech innovators shaping the Mena market Lush plains criss-crossed by fresh water lakes and grasslands where hippos and elephants roamed. This was the Arabian peninsula in prehistoric times, according to archaeologists who have uncovered traces of fertile landscapes beneath the desert sands. Today the terrain looks very different, as the region’s governments race to confront food scarcity on a warming planet. […] March 1, 2023 Manufacturing Saudi opening food clusters to boost homegrown supplies Saudi Arabia is planning to launch a number of food clusters in an effort to boost its homegrown food manufacturing sector. Abdulrahman Alromaizan, investment development director at the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), told delegates during a panel at the Gulfood event in Dubai this week that the semi-government entity was addressing the need to […] February 24, 2023 Agriculture Ukraine poultry giant signs deal to boost Saudi food security A Ukrainian poultry business and a Saudi food group have signed an agreement that aims to improve the kingdom’s food security. MHP, one of Europe’s largest exporters of chicken, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Tanmiah Food Company. The agreement is the first step in establishing a joint venture between Tanmiah’s subsidiary, Desert […] February 21, 2023 Tech PIF and AeroFarms to build indoor vertical farms across Mena The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed a joint venture agreement with AeroFarms, a US-based sustainable indoor agriculture company, to build and operate indoor vertical farms across the wider Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region through a newly-established company in Riyadh. The agreement will optimise the utilisation of natural resources, including water and agricultural […] February 2, 2023 Analysis Tech Abu Dhabi backs women-led food security startups in Mena Dana Global, an Abu Dhabi-based venture builder and investment platform that supports women-led startups in agricultural technology (agtech) and water solutions, has announced a new partnership to tackle the food security situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Its agreement with Silal, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s $110 billion state holding company ADQ, focused […] December 14, 2022 Posts navigation 1 2 Next
Opinion Agriculture Vertical farms have failed to live up to the hype If its success relies on heavily subsidised fossil fuels, can it really claim to be sustainable? October 8, 2024
Agriculture Agricultural robotics centre planned for the UAE Khalifa University of Science and Technology and agri-food giant Silal plan to create a centre of excellence for farming robotics in the UAE. The proposed research centre, to be located at Silal’s Innovation Oasis site in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, will feature a dedicated autonomous greenhouse equipped with various robotic platforms, sensors and Internet of […] April 23, 2024
Agriculture Red Sea Global farm co-op builds on Saudi food plans Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global has set up a farm cooperative to supply its resorts, amid wider plans to boost farming and food security. The Red Sea Farm Cooperative, also known as Tamala, aims to build on Saudi Arabia’s record agricultural production levels that were achieved last year. Farmers will be able to sell their […] September 1, 2023
Agriculture Saudis invest $70m in Danish bioprotein firm Saudi Industrial Investment Group is investing $70 million in Unibio International, a bioprotein production technology firm in Denmark, to help increase food security in the kingdom. SIIG told shareholders that it has signed an agreement to buy 24 percent of the company. The investment will be in two phases: a 9.9 percent stake is to […] March 30, 2023
Tech AeroFarms: the US business growing up (and up) in the Gulf Agtech giant AeroFarms is seeding its indoor vertical farms all over the Gulf, launching significant ventures in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The US company is set to play a pivotal role in tackling problems of farming in the desert-climate region, which has historically imported around 90 percent of its food requirements. AeroFarms claims […] March 1, 2023
Tech Top 10 agtech innovators shaping the Mena market Lush plains criss-crossed by fresh water lakes and grasslands where hippos and elephants roamed. This was the Arabian peninsula in prehistoric times, according to archaeologists who have uncovered traces of fertile landscapes beneath the desert sands. Today the terrain looks very different, as the region’s governments race to confront food scarcity on a warming planet. […] March 1, 2023
Manufacturing Saudi opening food clusters to boost homegrown supplies Saudi Arabia is planning to launch a number of food clusters in an effort to boost its homegrown food manufacturing sector. Abdulrahman Alromaizan, investment development director at the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), told delegates during a panel at the Gulfood event in Dubai this week that the semi-government entity was addressing the need to […] February 24, 2023
Agriculture Ukraine poultry giant signs deal to boost Saudi food security A Ukrainian poultry business and a Saudi food group have signed an agreement that aims to improve the kingdom’s food security. MHP, one of Europe’s largest exporters of chicken, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Tanmiah Food Company. The agreement is the first step in establishing a joint venture between Tanmiah’s subsidiary, Desert […] February 21, 2023
Tech PIF and AeroFarms to build indoor vertical farms across Mena The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed a joint venture agreement with AeroFarms, a US-based sustainable indoor agriculture company, to build and operate indoor vertical farms across the wider Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region through a newly-established company in Riyadh. The agreement will optimise the utilisation of natural resources, including water and agricultural […] February 2, 2023
Analysis Tech Abu Dhabi backs women-led food security startups in Mena Dana Global, an Abu Dhabi-based venture builder and investment platform that supports women-led startups in agricultural technology (agtech) and water solutions, has announced a new partnership to tackle the food security situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Its agreement with Silal, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s $110 billion state holding company ADQ, focused […] December 14, 2022
