What Happened In The Indoor Vertical Farming World This Week?

Discover Exciting new projects, new appointments and much more!

Photo by Brands&People on Unsplash

Good morning readers, a new larger vertical farming facility is opening, MENA region report outlines trends and future growth in the region, new CEO is being appointed, acquisitions, and much more!

Discover 10 things that happened in the indoor vertical farming world this week!

1- Dubai Has a New Vertical Farm Facility

In 2018, Crop One and Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) announced that they will co-invest USD 40 million to build the world’s largest vertical farming facility near the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central. Upon completion, the vertical farm facility was estimated to cover 130,000 square feet and produce the equivalent of 900 acres of an outdoor farm. The facility was estimated to harvest three US tons (2,700 kg) of high-quality leafy greens per day. To further the localization of the production, its proximity to the airport enables substantially reduce carbon emissions associated with transportation while ensuring quicker deliveries of fresh produce to the end-user.

The farm, named ECO 1, is considered to be the largest vertical farm in the world as reported in a recent article by Fast Company, leveraging its size to grow a variety of lettuce, spinach, arugula, and mixed greens. The farm runs on conventional energy, though the company plans to use solar power in the future. The company plans also to supply a fraction of the greens produced to the country’s inhabitants.

2- Mary Agrotech Partners with Bright Food’s CEA Arm

Mary Agrotechnologies Inc. (CSE: MARY) (OTCQB: MRRYF) announced in a press release their partnership with Bright Seedbase Technology Co., Ltd, the vertical farming and cultivar R&D arm of China’s Bright Food Co., Ltd.

Bright Food (officially Bright Food (Group) Co., Ltd.) is a multinational food and beverages manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai, China. One of the largest China-based food manufacturing companies in the world, it grossed approximately USD $23.2 billion (RMB ¥155.7 billion) in revenue in 2020. Bright Food is also a majority shareholder of Israel’s largest food manufacturer Tnuva and Australia’s Manassen Foods.

The partnership covers a range of subjects including:

1. R&D in the cultivation of various kinds of crops in a controlled environment and vertical farms, such as vegetables, fruits, high-value crops (e.g. wasabi, vanilla, tea, tobacco), medicinal herbs, green fodder (e.g. alfalfa);

2. Bright will consider Mary Agrotech as a preferred candidate in Bright’s future vertical farming projects, partially or fully, in design, construction, renovation, and operation processes.

3- Forward Fooding Issues New AgriFoodTech MENA Region Report

The Forward Fooding AgriFoodTech MENA region report, developed in partnership with NEOM, a mega-project in northwest Saudi Arabia considered an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what Humanity’s future may look like, outlines the progress of the AgriFoodTech ecosystem in the Middle East & Wider region as well as the leading companies driving this sector in this area of the world.