AeroFarms AgX, Grand Opening in Abu Dhabi, UAE: Debut of

Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

At 65,000 square feet, AeroFarms AgX is the largest indoor vertical farm of its kind for research and development in the world.
With the support of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, AeroFarms AgX will advance next generation agriculture in arid and desert environments.
AeroFarms signs new Collaboration Agreement with Silal to focus on R&D to commercialize new crops like tomatoes and peppers.

AeroFarms®, a Certified B Corporation and world leader in indoor vertical farming, officially unveiled AeroFarms AgX, its newest cutting-edge indoor vertical farm, focused on bringing innovative Research and Development (R&D) to the UAE and the Middle East. AeroFarms AgX is advancing sustainable controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and indoor vertical farming to help address broader global agriculture supply chain challenge.

The world's premier, state-of-the art R&D indoor vertical farm is focused on the latest developments for indoor vertical farming, innovation, and AgTech. The facility is supported by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) as part of its goal to create sustainable investment opportunities to further next generation agriculture in arid and desert environments.

At 65,000 square feet, AeroFarms AgX is the largest indoor vertical farm of its kind for research and development in the world, leading the way in breakthrough innovations to solve some of the world’s most pressing agriculture challenges. AeroFarms AgX has already made several key hires locally and will employ over 60 highly skilled engineers, horticulturists, and scientists for its high-tech laboratories conducting organoleptic research and precision phenotyping, phytochemical analysis, as well as research on next-generation machine vision, machine learning, robotics, and automation. AeroFarms AgX plays a key role in Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem by working with local companies and universities on research projects to tackle problems of agriculture within desert and arid climates.

The Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening began with a keynote address by Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, included a Collaboration Agreement signing with Silal, and concluded with an inaugural First Bite of greens, led by David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms, and a tour of the leading R+D projects happening at AeroFarms AgX.

“AeroFarms has been expanding globally for both our commercial and R&D indoor vertical farms, leveraging our growing expertise and proprietary technology platform that can help solve a broader array of agricultural challenges,” commented David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms. “We are incredibly proud of the amazing international turnout and support at the highest levels for our Grand Opening of AeroFarms AgX, and our ongoing partnership with ADIO reflects our bigger commitment to help transform agriculture, accelerate innovating cycles, and commercialize new products for the region and the world.”

Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz AlShamsi, Acting Director General of ADIO, said: “Abu Dhabi has made it a priority to advance technological solutions that further economic progress for the region and beyond, and AgTech falls perfectly into this category. ADIO’s mission is to help innovative companies like AeroFarms start, scale, and succeed in Abu Dhabi by providing access to the emirate’s innovation ecosystem and infrastructure. We’re excited for AeroFarms to start the next phase of its journey and contribute to solving global agriculture challenges from its advanced facility in the UAE capital.”

One of the goals for AeroFarms AgX is to be a hub of innovation, bringing together key strategic partners like Cargill and Foundation for Food & Agriculture (FFAR) Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) Consortium for R&D collaboration. To this end, AeroFarms signed a formal Collaboration Agreement with Silal, advancing earlier exploratory work under a Memorandum of Understanding. David Rosenberg, CoFounder and CEO of AeroFarms and Mr. Salmeen Obaid Alameri, CEO of Silal participated in the Signing Ceremony. The collaboration is expected to focus on improving the genetics and seedling quality of vegetable and fruit varieties to become more resilient and tolerant to extreme growing conditions. The quality of a seedling is an essential factor for crop establishment, growth, and yield. The partnership will also focus on evaluating and testing crops that have large consumer demand including tomatoes and peppers. The trials and experiments on the crops will be conducted at AeroFarms AgX.

Mr. Salmeen Alameri, CEO of Silal, said this collaboration with Aerofarms marks a milestone in developing an ecosystem for AgriTech innovation towards effective long-term agriculture practices in Abu Dhabi. “This partnership aims to support farmers in Abu Dhabi and the UAE more broadly to maximize their potential by deploying advanced technologies to improve the quality of crop varieties.” Research and development are at the heart of everything we do at Silal, and we want to ensure that Abu Dhabi’s agricultural sector continues to grow sustainably. Silal is proud to partner with AeroFarms, and through this collaboration, Silal will continue to support farmers and local food production.”

"AeroFarms is excited to partner with world-class leaders like Silal that is part of ADQ to create innovative agricultural breakthroughs to improve the food system in the UAE given how much food is currently imported and the challenges of growing outdoors in this arid environment," commented David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms. “This partnership is representative of how our growing technology platform can help address a wide range of traditional agriculture challenges compounded by climate change and supply chain challenges.”

AeroFarms will also be hosting its 2nd Annual AeroFarms AgTech Innovation Summit at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi on February 16, 2023, bringing together over 24 speakers and over 750 participants from over 60 different countries to discuss the future of food and agriculture. The Summit will include keynote addresses by Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz AlShamsi, Acting Director General of ADIO, Sonny Ramaswamy, President and CEO of Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and former Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and AeroFarms CEO and Co-Founder David Rosenberg. Panels will be moderated by Becky Anderson, Managing Editor, CNN Abu Dhabi & Anchor, and Kelsey Warner, Future Editor of The National UAE. For more information, go to https://agtechinnovationsummit.com/.

About AeroFarms

Since 2004, AeroFarms has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture. On a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, AeroFarms is a Certified B Corporation with global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey. Named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company two years in a row and one of TIME’s Best Inventions in Food, AeroFarms patented, award-winning indoor vertical farming technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking agriculture to a new level of precision, food safety, and productivity while using up to 95% less water and no pesticides ever versus traditional field farming. AeroFarms enables local production to safely grow all year round, using vertical farming for elevated flavor.™ Its products can be found at major selling partners like Ahold Delhaize, Amazon Fresh, Baldor Specialty Food, Compass Group, Harris Teeter, Marcus BP, Momofuku Noodle Bars, ShopRite, The Fresh Market, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market. AeroFarms has commercial farms in the United States and recently announced plans to develop throughout the Middle East region. Through its proprietary growing technology platform and cutting-edge R&D Centers in both the US and the UAE, AeroFarms has grown over 550 varieties of plants and has developed multi-year strategic partnerships ranging from government to major Fortune 500 companies to help uniquely solve agriculture supply chain needs. For additional information, visit: https://aerofarms.com/.

About the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO)

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) is the government entity responsible for attracting and facilitating investment in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. ADIO enables opportunities for innovative investors and businesses of all sizes, facilitating connections across Abu Dhabi’s innovation ecosystem to help them establish and grow in the emirate. With a comprehensive range of tailored services and incentives, ADIO helps businesses achieve long-term, sustainable success in the market and across the region.

About Silal

Silal is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy. Silal was established in September 2020 to diversify sources of food products and stimulate local manufactured and agri-food sectors. The company works in line with the Abu Dhabi Government’s directives to promote food supply and distribution in the emirate. Silal’s mandates include empowering the food and agricultural sector and local farmers in Abu Dhabi, as well as managing procurement programs and strategic stocks of foodstuffs, in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA). The company also executes specialized knowledge transfer programs on desert farming techniques, and devises research and development projects to support the increase in local production of fruits and vegetables for smallholder farmers in the UAE.

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