Dubai: Sokovo has agreed to create a vertical farm with Dubai Industrial City, one of the region’s main manufacturing and logistics hubs, that would produce thousands of tonnes of leafy greens, fruits, and vegetables each year.
The indoor farm is more than 100,000 square feet in size, with a total built-up surface of more than 25,000 square feet. Sokovo will provide hundreds of hypermarkets, hotels, and top chefs across the country with fresh kale, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, and melons. As vertical farming takes off across the UAE, the industry is recruiting and developing talent that is boosting the UAE’s innovation-driven food security agenda.
A retractable sunroof will be placed inside the ecologically friendly hydroponic facility to maximize natural light and reduce electricity consumption. Water will be used properly to provide the crops with the nutrients they require while also maintaining quality and freshness.
State- of- the- art processing and sorting equipment will sanitize and pack the produce, resulting in a quick and efficient farm-to-fork delivery system. Rotating seven-metre-tall towers will also be used to ensure that all crops receive equal exposure to natural sunlight, allowing us to maximize the freshness of all produce while maintaining efficiency over a large area. The factory will be built with a high degree of flexibility and agility in order to meet market demand while maintaining the highest levels of product quality and safety.
Saud Abu Al-Shawareb, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial City, said: “Growing melons, tomatoes, strawberries and kale in an arid climate with limited water and arable land should be impossible, but the UAE’s commitment to innovation-driven food security shows anything is possible. Our agreement with Sokovo to build a world-class vertical farm marks an exciting chapter in the future of food production, and we are delighted to welcome them to our business district.”
He added: “Food security is a national priority, and the expansion of technology-driven sustainable farming is vital to build and scale resilient production systems that can grow fresh and healthy produce. It also catalyses investment and employment opportunities that contribute to our knowledge-based economy. And today’s important agreement moves the UAE closer to achieving the goals enshrined in the National Food Security Strategy 2051.”
Harsh Gurbani, Manager, Sokovo, emphasized the importance of innovation-driven food security and the opportunities in the region. He said “We look forward to producing pesticide free fruits and vegetables which would be grown and sold only in the UAE. This would also contribute towards the economy of the country and enable us to grow fresh products 365 days of the year and 24 hours of the day.”
Dubai Industrial City, which spans more than 550 million square feet, is built around a world-class masterplan that divides the massive business district into strategic sector-focused zones. More than 60 food and beverage manufacturers, including Barakat, Patchi, Almarai Group, Barakah Dates Factory, and Lifco, are housed on a total land area of 23.5 million sq. ft. at the food and beverage site. In addition, 11 food production factories are currently under construction.
The manufacturing and logistics hub in Dubai Industrial City, which has over 750 business partners, is a strategic driver and enabler of several government initiatives, including the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, the National Food Security Strategy 2051, and the UAE Clean Energy Strategy 2050.
