PIF and AeroFarms Sign Joint Venture Agreement to Build Indoor Vertical Farms in Saudi Arabia and the Wider MENA Region
Posted on 02/01/2023
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed a joint venture agreement with AeroFarms, a U.S.-based a vertical farming company, to establish a company in Riyadh to build and operate indoor vertical farms in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The agreement will optimize the utilization of natural resources, including water and agricultural lands, through the implementation of indoor vertical farming, with no need for arable land, resulting in significantly higher yields and using up to 95% less water versus traditional field farming. The partnership is expected to enable sustainable, local sourcing of high-quality crops all year round, grown using AeroFarms’ proprietaryagriculture technology (AgTech) platform, which helps solve broader supply chain needs in the industry. The joint venture plans to build and operate several farms across the region in the next few years. The first farm in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to be the largest indoor vertical farm of its kind in the MENA region, will have an annual production capacity of up to 1.1 million kgs of agricultural crops. AeroFarms uses aeroponic technology in their farms.
AeroFarms AgX LTD, AeroFarms’ wholly owned subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, has started construction in Abu Dhabi in 2021 on the company’s state-of-the art Research Center focused on the latest developments for indoor vertical farming, innovation, and AgTech. In partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), which is focused on enabling investment opportunities in Abu Dhabi, AeroFarms AgX seeks to make a play for the region. As part of its initial funding round in 2020, ADIO discussed to invest a total of US$ 100 million (AED 367 million) in four companies, including AeroFarms, to build facilities in Abu Dhabi.
