PIF signs JV agreement with AeroFarms to build indoor vertical farms

Logo of Public Investment Fund (PIF)

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed today, Feb. 1, a joint venture agreement with US-based company, AeroFarms, to establish a company based in Riyadh to build and operate indoor vertical farms in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The agreement will optimize the utilization of natural resources, including water and agricultural lands, through the implementation of indoor vertical farming, with no need for arable land, resulting in significantly higher yields and using up to 95% less water versus traditional field farming, the Saudi sovereign fund said in a statement.

The partnership is expected to enable sustainable, local sourcing of high-quality crops all year round, grown using AeroFarms’ proprietary smart agriculture technology (AgTech) platform, which helps solve broader supply chain needs in the industry. The joint venture plans to build and operate several farms across the region in the next few years.

The first farm in Saudi Arabia, which is likely to be the largest indoor vertical farm of its kind in the MENA region, will have an annual production capacity of up to 1.1 million kilograms of agricultural crops, the statement added.

The fund also noted that the partnership aligns with PIF’s strategy, which focuses on developing and enabling the capabilities of key sectors, including food and agriculture, which will contribute to improving trade balance, localize technologies, develop industries and the overall growth and diversification of the Saudi economy through partnering with the local private sector.

Majed Alassaf, Head of Consumer Goods and Retail, MENA Investments Division at PIF, said that the agreement will lead to setting up indoor vertical farms in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region, increasing regional reliance on locally produced, high-quality crops grown in a sustainable way using the latest technologies.

PIF is enabling the growth of the food and agriculture sector and localizing technology that can benefit private sector industry participants, Alassaf added.