Skyscraper farming in the UAE: Less water, more food

SKYCRAPER FARMS: Vertical farms greatly reduce water use, but also bumps up yield and ability to cultivate a larger variety of crops. The practice of growing crops in vertically-stacked layers in a controlled environment allows for growing crops otherwise unsuitable to the local climatic conditions. They can be grown in commercial quantities, in “skyscraper farms”. Photo shows vegetables grown using hydroponic methods at the UNS Farms in Al Quoz, Dubai.

INDOOR GARDEN: Vertical farming is revolutionising the way humans produce food. It enables the production of vegetables in large quantities without using soil, sunlight and chemicals. A closer look at the green leafy allure at Badia Farms, an indoor temperature-controlled vertical farm facility in Dubai's Al Quoz district.

VERTICAL FARM: An indoor farm operated by Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai. A huge chunk of the food consumed in the UAE comes from foreign markets. As of 2015, it was estimated that the UAE imports 85 per cent of its food and in 2014 alone, spending on food imports reached $100 billion (Dh367 billion).

FARM TO FORK: Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) follows the ‘farm to fork’ concept, which secures its own supply chain of locally-sourced, fresh vegetables, but it significantly reduces the company's environmental footprint as well. EKFC’s 130,000 square foot vertical farm, located in Dubai South, has enough capacity to produce 2,700 kilos of herbicide- and pesticide-free leafy greens daily, using 99 per cent less water than outdoor fields.

URBAN SETTING, CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT: The key environmental elements such as light, temperature, humidity, and micro-nutrients are controlled to optimise plant growth. Vertical farming can be carried out in the areas with scarcity of water as well as in urban areas as it can be set up in small plots. Photo shows plants grown using hydroponic methods at the UNS Farms in Al Quoz, Dubai.

ENERGY EFFICIENT: Team members of the UAE-based VeggiTech’s vertical hydroponic farm. The agro-tech group uses LED-assisted hydroponics for indoor vertical farms and protected hydroponics to farm sustainably. Its farm facility has grown to over 60 acres of protected hydroponic farms and more than 45,000 sq ft of indoor vertical farms, with a team of over 150 agronomists, engineers and farmers.

VERTICAL FARM: In the time of COVID-19, the UAE is utilising a two-pronged approach to meet the country’s food demand amidst the backdrop of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Being a trading hub, the UAE is the centre of global food supply chain. But the country is also stepping up efforts to support local farmers and explore innovative cultivation methods suitable for the desert climate.

BENEFITS OF HYDROPONIC FARMING: Mustafa Moiz, managing director of UNS Hydroponic Farms, explains the benefits of hydroponic farming at the UNS Farms, in Al Quoz. The indoor farm utilises 30,000 square feet of space and is the largest urban farm in the city.

A MODERN UAE FARM: Badia Farms has built a large-scale high-tech vertical farm in Dubai Industrial City, with capacity to produce up to 3,500 kg of high-quality fruits and vegetables per year.

SILENT, GREEN REVOLUTION: A lettuce wall. Vertical farming is both a “silent” and “green revolution”. Under the UAE’s national food security strategy (2017-2021), the country has witnessed a huge spike in climate-controlled greenhouses, transforming the agriculture sector. It’s a new and effective way of addressing an old challenge: achieve domestic food self-sufficiency.

NEW SPROUTS: LED lights illuminate fresh sprouts at Badia Farms in Al Quoz, Dubai. The UAE has invested in building and operating some of the world’s largest vertical farming facilities to drive food self-sufficiency. Badia Farms's facility at the Dubai Industrial City spans an area of 50,000 square feet. It has the capacity to produce 3,500kg of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.

LESS WATER, MORE FOOD PRODUCED: Food production must increase by 70%, according to UN estimates, as the global population is estimated to possibly hit the 10 billion by 2050. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the vertical farming system consumes 75% less raw material than traditional farming and just 60 watts of power daily to grow 150 kg of vegetables in a month. Hydroponic farmers grow herbs, fruits and vegetables at the UNS Farms in Al Quoz.

SPACE SAVER: To obtain this quantity, vertical farming needs just 6 sqm space; traditional farming requires at least 72 sqm land area. In terms of water usage, a vertical farm uses just 12 liters to produce 1 kg of vegetables — due to recycling — as against 300-400 litres with traditional farming. Farming techniques using hydroponics and aeroponics grow vegetables without free in peat moss. Nutrition is supplied to plants through macro and micronutrients dissolved in water, optimising the use of water.

FUTURE OF URBAN FARMING: "Urban farming is the future of the world," says Mustafa Moiz, MD of UNS Hydroponic Farms in Dubai. The farm temperature is maintained under 24 degree Celsius, the PH level is maintained at 5.80 and carbon dioxide is maintained is at 600 ppm. All of which is controlled and maintained by an automated control panel that checks optimum PH, temperature, nutrient target and humidity.

ECOSYSTEM: A vertical farm ecosystem, by its very nature, solves a key problem – weather-related crop losses. As plants are grown indoors, with or without soil, vertical farming assures protection from unruly winds, dry climate (or incessant rains, in the case of tropics).

FARMING METHODS: There are a number of vertical farming methods. The most dominant is hydroponics, in which the roots are submerged in water infused with nutrients. Another method is aeroponics. Together, they have the potential to transform farming practices in drylands and drought-prone areas, as plants are grown in mist environment, with no soil and recycled water.

YIELD: Growing food in temperature controlled environment offers the same yield throughout the year, even during the peak of summer. It is sustainable because it uses minimum water and the green, red and yellow ultraviolet solar colours that are used in the indoor farm come from energy-saving LED lights. A scene inside Badia farms in Al Quoz, Dubai.