Growth spurt coming: Agri-experts betting on large-scale IoT-enabled vertical farming for UAE food, water security
DUBAI - We’d need to grow a lot more edible crops to feed the expected 9.7 billion people who will live on Earth in 2050, from 7.7 billion in 2019, according to United Nations estimates.
In the United Arab Emirates where arid lands cannot accommodate traditional agriculture, experts are betting on large-scale smart, vertical farming for water and food security as the population grows from 10.6 million in 2020 to a projected 15.5 million in 2050. With its experience and expertise building mega projects, the UAE could easily lead in large-scale vertical farming, according to agri-experts at the recently-concluded trade fair Gulfood in Dubai.
“When you look at traditional farming, which is open-soil farming, you can expect around 12-15 kg of produce per square metre per annum, and you would potentially use 2,000 gallons of water per kilogram of produce,” said Hemant Julka, co-founder and chief operations officer of UAE-based VeggiTech.
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