Pure Harvest Smart Farms announced on Thursday the launch of operations in the Middle East following an investment of $1.1 million from Abu Dhabi-based Shorooq Investments to fund an innovative agribusiness solution.
Shorooq said in a statement that it has acquired a 3.3-hectare farm site in Nahel, where Pure Harvest intends to establish the nation’s first high-tech, commercial-scale greenhouse, capable of year-round tomato production.
Pure Harvest said it intends to cultivate high value crops in modern glasshouses using a proprietary semi-closed climate controlled growing system that is purpose-built to overcome the unique challenges of year-round production in the littoral areas of the GCC region.
In a market where existing commercial farms are forced to cease vegetable production during the extended summer period lasting June-October, the proposed technology offers to deliver a true and tangible food security solution.
The company’s regional headquarters, to be based in Abu Dhabi Global Markets, will be led by founder and CEO Sky Kurtz and by co-founder, director and local partner Mahmoud Adi, both MBA graduates of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Pure Harvest said its vision is to supply premium quality produce directly to retailers, airlines and hospitality food distributors.
Kurtz said: “The region’s economies have begun to experiment with the use of mid-tech hydroponic technologies; however, to our knowledge nobody has ‘fully committed’ – investing the necessary capital and deploying the portfolio of technologies needed to produce Dutch-quality produce year-round at a commercial scale in hot/humid areas bordering the Arabian Gulf.”
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