Dubai: A delivery service for locally farmed organic produce from Abu Dhabi was launched recently to bring fresh foods to Dubai.

The pick up point is Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) and has proved so popular over the last month that a shop may open its doors in the development by the end of the year.

Abu Dhabi Organic Farms has been certified organic since 2007. An array of colourful vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, herbs, aubergines, capsicum, fennel and pumpkin, among others, are cultivated in greenhouses and cooling houses spread over 24,000 square metres, and delivered by the retail arm, Mazaraa.

Organic free range eggs and chickens are also available, but not as readily as chickens in supermarkets, said Nada Bsaiso, a horticulturist from Jordan working at Abu Dhabi Organic Farm and managing deliveries.

"Next week we will not have any chickens because they don't grow as quickly as commercial chickens. On the farm it takes longer, they are smaller at 600 grams, but very tasty," said Bsaiso.

"Locally produced food is so much tastier than food shipped from other countries. I think you really get value for money when you buy locally," she said.

The main reason crops grown under greenhouses in Abu Dhabi taste so much better, according to Bsaiso, is the fast field-to-the-table turnover. "In maximum one day the vegetables picked are delivered. In supermarkets vegetables and fruits are refrigerated for at least one week before anyone eats it," she said.

Ways to save water

Despite the shortage of water in the UAE and the region as a whole which has raised questions over the benefit of farming at all, Bsaiso believes nothing beats locally grown produce without pesticides in the most efficient way.

"We have to try to think of measures to save water and keep local farms because it is very important to have locally produced food from a nutritional point of view," she said. It also saves on food miles and depending on all items coming from abroad.

"Production is low in the summer but the response for delivery has been good so far to JLT. Later I will expand to other areas and open a shop here to give people the chance to have food straight from the farm."

The farm's produce is also available at the Farmer's Market in Souq Al Bahar, Downtown Burj.

At your door

Mazaraa delivers produce from the Abu Dhabi Organic Farms directly to Tamweel Tower, Jumeirah Lake Towers on Mondays between 12- 3pm. Orders must be received before 4pm on Saturdays. Contact mazaraa.organic@gmail.com