Abu Dhabi, UAE— In a boost to the UAE’s effort to secure self-sufficiency in the food sector, ADQ has partnered with Safe Haven Solutions, a Netherlands-based climate-smart agriculture solution provider, to construct a high-tech greenhouse at ADQ’s AgTech Park in KEZAD.
The automated 10-hectare facility will leverage advanced agricultural technology to increase sustainable food production in the UAE.
Designed to be sustainability-focused, the greenhouse facility will operate with an efficient cooling system that reduces its carbon and water footprint, enabling the year-round cultivation of tomatoes and cucumbers in a carbon-neutral, climate-controlled environment.
In phase two, the project will enter the commercial stage and double the growing area of crops to 20 hectares.
Consumers will benefit from high-quality local produce that remains fresh for longer due to a shorter supply chain. The project’s scalability aims to minimize food waste by aligning production with local market demand.
Safe Haven Solutions’ horticulture experts will collaborate with local researchers and agronomists to encourage the development of technology that is ideally adapted to the local climate and growing conditions, utilizing training facilities to educate and upskill Emirati talent to nurture the next generation of specialized growers.
Gil Adotevi, Chief Executive Officer of Food and Agriculture at ADQ, said, “By driving investments in AgTech solutions, we are strengthening the UAE’s ability to grow more produce domestically. As such, AgTech Park is rapidly emerging as a hub of large-scale, climate-controlled, high-tech farming and R&D projects. We look forward to Safe Haven Solutions bringing their deep expertise in operating high-tech greenhouses to this project to cultivate homegrown fresh vegetables for communities across the nation.”
Abdullah Al Hameli, CEO of Economic Cities and Free Zones, AD Ports Group, said, “We welcome Safe Haven Solutions to KEZAD in support of the continued development of the transformative AgTech Park. Our robust infrastructure and flexible spaces provide ideal facilities for our partners to tailor projects and facilitate the production, storage and distribution of food staples for the benefit of the nation’s expanding agriculture sector.”
Dr. Nadeem Mohammed Aslam, Co-Founder of Safe Haven Solutions, said, “Sustainable agriculture is of paramount importance as we strive to strengthen food security and limit our impact on the environment. We are confident that the AgTech Park, paired with our innovative technologies, will help strengthen the foundation of the UAE’s agriculture sector as it accelerates towards securing year-round access to nutritious food that feeds a growing nation.”
With the UAE’s history of high dependency on imports of produce and the country’s annual consumption of fruits and vegetables projected to increase by 18 percent between 2019 and 2026, strengthening agricultural self-sufficiency in this field is high on the public agenda.
ADQ’s collaboration with Safe Haven Solutions represents another project launched within the AgTech Park in KEZAD. Earlier this year, ADQ commenced the operational phase of the Park with the launch of a vertical farming project in partnership with ZERO, a high-impact technology company headquartered in Italy.