Yet another regional first for the UAE capital…

Regional firsts are becoming the UAE capital’s thing. Inside the last 12 months, Abu Dhabi’s hosted the region’s first Michelin Guide Food Festival, the region’s first-ever World Supercross Championship, the region’s first culinary studio with the opening of Ecole Ducasse Abu Dhabi, and most recently, the region’s first microbrewery with the arrival of CRAFT by Side Hustle in February. Now, the UAE capital will have the region’s first…indoor vertical strawberry farm.

And that’s expected to begin taking shape in a matter of months.

Resulting from a partnership between Mawarid Farming and US-based Plenty farming, this new venture will strengthen the UAE, and Abu Dhabi’s endless measures geared at building a smart, sustainable city and nation in the years to come.

In numbers…

The indoor facility will have an area of 7,500 square metres, will be powered by half a billion US dollars (as part of a project that will also have four more regional facilities follow the pioneering one), and if you were wondering what sort of output we can expect…it is believed to be in the range of over 4 million pounds of strawberries, every year.

Why vertical farms? Because they’re estimated to use 99 per cent less land, and up to 90 per cent less water.

Tech lovers will be pleased to note that this new indoor vertical strawberry farm, the first of five in the region, is expected to employ cutting-edge tech, while incorporating AI, LED lighting, and proprietary software.

Sustainably speaking, this type of farm will lower transportation emissions and reduce carbon footprint, while supporting the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051 and of course, the UAE’s Green Agenda 2030.

One more regional first, one more feather in Abu Dhabi’s hat. Exciting times coming…

Images: unsplash