Business Extra: Why Abu Dhabi is becoming a destination for modern farming – The National

Business Extra: Why Abu Dhabi is becoming a destination for modern farming – The National

Eighteen months after breaking ground in Abu Dhabi, US vertical farming company AeroFarms has opened its 6,000-square-metre research and development centre, the largest in the world, with the aim of advancing sustainable agriculture in arid climates.

Advancing indoor vertical farming — which relies on precise environmental control systems, less water and none of the pesticides used in traditional farming — could transform the region's potential as an agricultural producer.

Host Kelsey Warner talks to David Rosenberg, the company's co-founder and chief executive, about where farming technology is at and the challenges that remain for the sector to tackle existential issues related to food security and energy consumption.