April 13, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced it has invested $100 million in four agtech companies – AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ, and Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI) – to bring next generation agricultural research and production to the desert. 

“Four global AgTech innovators are joining our mission to turn sand into farmland,” said H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, director general, ADIO. “In line with Abu Dhabi’s long-term vision to grow the sector, ADIO partners with companies that have innovation at the core to help ensure long-term success. Each of these companies will add to our already established agriculture ecosystem, and benefit from our plentiful land, natural heat, competitive energy prices and access to research universities and skilled talent.”

ADIO launched an incentive program in 2019 designed to support growth for the UAE’s nascent agtech ecosystem, to promote innovation that is “locally relevant and globally exportable” by solving complex challenges, turning sand into farmland, and strengthening the presence of local food producers, according to a recent announcement. Through this initiative, ADIO will invest AED 367 million (US$100 million) in total in the aforementioned companies to build facilities in Abu Dhabi to solve regional and global pressures.

“It is amazing to see the ‘desert-turn-green’ before our eyes,” said H.E. Mohammad Ali Al Shorafa, chairman, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. “Our long-term goal as the Abu Dhabi Government is to not only support the development of Abu Dhabi’s knowledge-economy, but also to support the development of innovation that will contribute to solving challenges of regional and global importance.”

As part of the ADIO’s US$272 million AgTech Incentive Program, created last year as part of the government’s Ghadan 21 Accelerator Program, each of the four companies will be awarded with both cash, and non-cash incentives that include up to 75 percent rebates on R&D costs upon commercialization of new innovations developed in-country.

“Our Ghadan 21 accelerator programme was launched just over a year ago and already, we are seeing tremendous progress,” said Al Shorafa. “Targeted initiatives, like ADIO’s AgTech Incentive Program, foster innovation in the emirate to solve regional challenges and create highly skilled jobs.”

AeroFarms

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, as a Certified B Corporation, AeroFarms uses advanced technologies to take agricultural production to the next level without the use of soil, herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides. Employing proprietary technologies and software-controlled LED grow lights, AeroFarms’ vertical indoor farms grow crops suspended above a nutrient rich solution with water, oxygen, and nutrients misted onto the plants’ roots. This system allows AeroFarms to produce crops twice as fast as traditional farming, reflecting productivity 390 times greater per square foot, using 95 percent less water.

Growing more than 800 different crops year-round, nutrient uptake is closely monitored, and the company’s horticulturalists and engineers employ sensors and algorithms to collect plant data which is then analyzed to understand what inputs and factors cause certain crops to include particular traits and attributes, such as flavor or leaf texture – meaning AeroFarms can create bespoke crops  grown for customers’ particular needs.

In Abu Dhabi, AeroFarms’ R&D center will play a key role in Abu Dhabi’s agtech ecosystem by working with local universities on research, and by engaging with local subcontractors to address agricultural challenges associated with arid climates and desert geographies. Toward this goal, the company will build an 8,200 square-meter R&D center, the largest of its kind in the world, with high-tech laboratories conducting organoleptic research and precision phenotyping, advanced accelerated breeding, as well as machine vision, machine learning, robotics, automation, and drone technology. In exchange, ADIO will give AeroFarms rebates on its R&D and land costs.

“We are truly honored and excited to partner with ADIO and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to build the world’s largest indoor vertical farm of its kind, dedicated exclusively for R&D, to help solve some of the most pressing farming problems in the region and agriculture overall,” said David Rosenberg, co-founder and CEO, AeroFarms.

“AeroFarms® has been the global leader for controlled environment agriculture since 2004, and we will utilise this state-of-the art R&D centre to conduct cutting-edge research in plant science, vertical farming and automation, accelerating innovation cycles and commercialising products. Our vision has always been to leverage our expertise in plant biology and build on our successful history of collaborating with government, universities, industry and major international companies. We are proud to be a catalyst to help establish the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as a global hub for AgTech innovation.”

Madar Farms

UAE-based vertical farming company Madar Farms was founded in 2017 to grow fresh produce using sustainable production methods, with the goal of providing equal access to food for all people.

Through an enclosed and controlled system, Madar Farms uses a dual-approach, combining hydroponics with vertical farming to achieve synergistic results.

“Since the launch of Madar Farms, we have been providing a holistic approach to sustainability and every day we are working towards achieving this mission in the UAE and across the region,” said Abdulaziz, AlMulla, CEO and co-founder, Madar Farms.

With an established R&D facility in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainable urban community designed to demonstrate the commercial and technical viability of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in the arid conditions of the UAE, the company is poised to build the first commercial-scale indoor tomato farm using only LED lights in KIZAD – the industrial free zone in Abu Dhabi. Once operational, this containerized farming system will quantify crop output measured against water and energy inputs.

“With the use of advanced technology and implementing cutting-edge farming techniques, we are already leading a new agriculture revolution by growing a wide range of high-quality fresh produce every day here in the UAE that people can enjoy,” added AlMulla. “We want to create a lasting change and this significant contribution will not only go a long way in helping Madar Farms, but also establishing Abu Dhabi as a global AgTech leader.”

RDI

Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI) is the developer of the first irrigation system that allows plants to self-regulate their water and nutrient delivery, allowing for crop production in the harshest conditions in the world.

RDI’s Abu Dhabi-based research and production facility will conduct trials that will establish best practices for water conservation and food production in desert localities. With the backing of this investment from ADIO, RDI’s Abu-Dhabi facility will become the company’s global hub for production and distribution for the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia, and the commercialization of its irrigation technology will be greatly accelerated.

“RDI’s disruptive technology will forever change the way the world irrigates, not only in the Middle East, but also globally,” said Jan Gould, co-founder and CEO, RDI. “As a result of Abu Dhabi’s forward thinking and commitment to supporting advanced technologies for the sustainability of the planet, RDI will be able to provide a solution that will impact and benefit countries around the world.”

RNZ

In business for more than 35 years, and headquartered in Dubai, RNZ has been producing customized agri solutions for farming since 2004. The company makes bespoke crop-specific blends that improve the quality and value of crops and exports to South Asia, East, Asia, Africa, and the MENA region.

For its role, RNZ will establish an R&D facility in Abu Dhabi with the goal of developing a full range of efficient organic, and inorganic agricultural input solutions suitable for vertical farming and hydroponic farming systems, as well as conventional farms. 

“We feel deeply honored to partner with ADIO and the Abu Dhabi Government,” said Raza Soomar, CEO, RNZ. “We are looking forward to exploring new cutting-edge agri-input solutions, and passing on the benefits to UAE and regional farms at large.”

– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.