Vertical farming of rare agricultural produce takes root in UAE

Vertical farming of rare agricultural produce takes root in UAE

Who says you cannot grow food crops in the desert? Thanks to vertical farming methodology and light-assisted hydroponics systems, farmers in the UAE are not just effortlessly growing mass-consumed food crops but also rare and exotic plants and foods of high value. Recently, Sharjah-based agricultural technology company Veggitech unveiled that it has cultivated and harvested the world’s most expensive spice, saffron, also known as red gold. After a few years of experiments with smaller quantities of saffron bulbs, the teams at Veggitech cultivated roughly 150,000 crocus Sativa bulbs from the Netherlands by growing them in vertical farms in Al Zubair. The company’s farm in Sharjah also has a vast fig plantation and grows mass-consumption produce such as tomatoes, chillies, and green leafy veggies. Apart from saffron and fig, at least 75 farms in Abu Dhabi have been encouraged to shift towards organic agriculture and are successfully growing tomatoes, cabbages, and cucumbers, for example. And it doesn’t stop there. Seafood farmers in the emirates have adopted new aquaculture methods to successfully grow and breed Atlantic salmon, oysters, sea bass, and sea breams for domestic consumption. Fish Farm in Dubai produces 10,000-15,000 kg of salmon every month. More recently, Bustanica, the world’s