The joint venture, formed between Saudi company Mowreq Specialised Agriculture and Taiwan’s YesHealth Group, recently opened what it described as the tallest vertical farm in the world.
The farm produces leafy greens, microgreens, and edible flowers. This marks the first time in Saudi Arabia that such a diverse range of high-quality produce is being grown locally using advanced vertical farming technology, the company claimed.
“It’s the first time again in the kingdom where all of this produce will come locally with the highest quality and with the best technology,” said Modar Hisham Nazer, co-founder of Mowreq and chairman of Vertical Farms Company.
Today, the farm produces two tonnes of produce daily and has inked deals with major retailers Panda and Danube to carry its products.
Nazer told AgTechNavigator that he sees growing demand for the company’s produce.
This is being driven by a clear shift in consumer preferences. With the availability of locally grown, pesticide-free, and high-quality produce, consumers no longer have to compromise between price and quality.
This shift has created strong demand, which the company can meet through its vertical farming operations.
“We’re expanding in vertical farming and because we want to complete the food basket, we’re also looking into high-tech greenhouses. We’re looking at any produce that’s not done well or not done in a commercially viable vertical farm setting. We want to give the final customer the best produce – the cleanest, the healthiest they can get, said Nazer.
Moving forward, the company is looking to expand to more cities in the kingdom.
Mowreq was founded to address gaps in access to fresh food in Saudi Arabia, where locally produced food faced challenges around pesticide use.
Imports accounted for an estimated 80 per cent to 90 per cent of supply but often lacked in freshness.
Nazer said the idea for a small family farm producing clean food evolved into a commercial opportunity as demand for healthier, locally grown produce became increasingly apparent.
“It was just a prototype farm, not a very big farm, but it produced very well. There was big media buzz about what we did because it was the first time ever that a local farm was producing pesticide-free produce. We knew that we had something big and we needed to grow. We decided that we needed to partner with an expert to build the latest technology and the best farm possible.”
Mowreq and YesHealth initiated the JV in 2022. The partnership was “the best decision we ever made”, said Nazer.
“We believe we have the best combination of local know-how and international expertise,” he said.
Jesper Hansen, chief commercial officer at YesHealth Group told this publication that this vertical farm was “the best one” the company has helped to realise.
“I think this is really the combination of really successful technology being transferred from Taiwan with our operating experience to the market that is the most suitable [for vertical farming], because the cost of operating is low and the need is really there.”
The Taiwanese company is now looking for more opportunities in the Middle East region on the back of this successful venture.