The UAE declared earlier this year that it was making strong efforts to construct the largest vertical farm in the world close to the Expo 2020 site in order to increase the nation’s food production and future-proof its agricultural systems. Additionally, it would support indoor, urban farming as the next significant development in the world’s food production cycles.
Another development is that one of the biggest indoor vertical farms cultivating saffron in the Mena region is currently located in the UAE. The deep yellow-orange seasoning, which is claimed to be the most costly spice in the world, isn’t the most obvious choice to be grown in indoor vertical farming setups.
“Growing saffron is undoubtedly a novel idea; vertical farming is typically associated with products like leafy greens and berries. It’s a unique crop, and in the United Arab Emirates, we treasure it “said Association for Vertical Farming chairperson Christine Zimmermann-Loess. Local saffron production in the UAE represents a significant advance.
The cutting-edge vertical farm, housed in the Veggitech facility in Al Zubair, Sharjah, is prepared to produce high-yielding, high-grade saffron in a first-of-its-kind agrotech initiative in the UAE. In the midst of the pandemic, Veggitech, owned by the Saudi-based SNASCO Group, was established as a leader in cutting-edge technology with the primary objective of advancing the agriculture industry and democratizing growth light-assisted hydroponics systems and penetration for a mass movement in urban farming.
The senior farm manager estimates that each saffron bulb will likely produce two to three stands of saffron during the multiplication procedure. We’re just getting started this year, but we’ll raise the number of bulbs to about 12-15 next year, promising even greater outcomes, he continued.
