The practice of vertical farming is becoming more and more well-liked worldwide. The majority of the ongoing projects will be finished by 2023, and many have been completed - including the opening of Eco1, the biggest vertical farm in the world, built by Bustanica last year. This clearly demonstrated that vertical farming is about to take off in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai's vertical farming will attract tourists and pique the curiosity of investors making vertical farming in UAE a promising region and sector to eye on.
Food insecurity presents a particularly difficult conundrum for the Middle East, which is already tortured with a variety of threats to peace and prosperity as the world's population is expected to surpass 10 billion by 2050. As time and technology advance, vertical farming is becoming more and more popular in Dubai and the Middle East, especially hydroponics in Dubai.
Governmental backing is paving the way since the Middle Eastern government recognises the importance of farm technology through vertical farming in Dubai in achieving food security goals. Growing the vertical farming sector in the next years has always been up to foreign investment, which creates huge economic potential for both new and old enterprises that see vertical farming in Dubai as a flourishing sector.
Now, while the concept of vertical farming in Dubai is important in and of itself, what is attracting attention is the quick deployment in the Middle East as a whole, namely in Saudi and particularly in Dubai. Let us quickly comprehend how vertical farming in Dubai is now on the rise, as well as how hydroponics in Dubai ensures optimal plant development.
Reasons, why Vertical Farming in Dubai and Hydroponics in pan Dubai are becoming vital, are very interesting.
1) Arid & Dry Weather: The majority of the year in Dubai is arid, dry, and devoid of rainfall. A system that would allow for seasonless farming was always in need demand.
2) Crop production all year: The most significant advantage of vertical farming is that it is not weather dependent, which means you can achieve continuous year-round crop production without worrying about the influence of unfavourable weather conditions on both quality and profile of production and yield. Year-round crop production is very much conceivable in Dubai, where the temperature is at its maximum - vertical farming because of its artificial environment and illumination.
3) Controls agricultural runoff: Using hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic farming techniques, vertical farmers may grow their preferred crops in a soil-free medium that provides plants with all the nutrients they require for optimal development.
4) Controls agricultural runoff: Utilizing empty spaces is crucial in a place like the United Arab Emirates where vertical farming is practised due to the favourable environment. In a city like Dubai, it could be ideal to make use of empty buildings and underutilised spaces. Vertical farming in Dubai can be best done as it has got the huge infrastructure and for sure - a good amount of unused space and if we talk about vertical farming in UAE - the answer is that nothing could beat the region in terms of both money and knowledge.
5) No weather-related crop failures: While this is not the case with vertical farming, crops will yield poorly or not at all if the weather is not cooperative. Vertical farming is done in controlled surroundings with artificial lighting and weather, thus crop loss due to weather is not an issue.
So, according to the latest reports, the food industry is one of the focus areas of the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 for Dubai. The region is always striving to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into the modern agricultural method. Agricultural activity contributed 498 million AED to Dubai's GDP in 2019. Hence, in essence, we clearly understand that vertical farming in UAE is a very focussed-driven, profitable and technology-equipped sector.
