Pure Harvest Smart Farms, a transformational, tech-enabled arid climate agribusiness based in the Abu Dhabi, has announced the successful commissioning of its inaugural high-tech greenhouse.

Immediately following commissioning the company also planted its first-ever crop, said a statement from Pure Harvest.

Pure Harvest aims to be part of the solution to the region’s growing food security, water conservation, and sustainability challenges, it said.

Pure Harvest’s proprietary solution has positioned the company as a pioneer of high-yielding, year-round production of fresh fruits and vegetables.  

The company’s growing system was specifically tailored for the challenging climates of the Gulf region.  

The inaugural greenhouse was developed in partnership with Certhon Greenhouse Solutions, a leading Dutch designer and builder of modern greenhouses.  

Indoor temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels are carefully balanced and automated using a climate management computer system developed by Priva, a leader in horticulture and building automation.

Pure Harvest co-founder and chief executive officer Sky Kurtz said: “The early results are very promising. We’re just a little over a month into production and to-date we’ve been able to create a near-perfect climate for the plants, even when the temperatures outside reached over 46 degrees and humidity over 82 percent!”

“All credit to our Head Grower Jan Prins and his team. This is a critical milestone: we needed to operate in August so that we could prove our concept during the most extreme summer period,” he said.

“We now know for certain that we can deliver year-round production as winters are easy… and we will only improve upon these results with experience and innovation,” he added.

Majed Halawi, chief of staff, Pure Harvest, said: “We are excited about the growth potential of our business.”

“I’m personally thrilled that we are beginning to realise our shared mission to produce delicious, healthy, sustainably-grown fresh produce – grown right here in the UAE,” he added.

Halawi said: “Transforming the local agriculture industry has always been part of my life vision and launching Pure Harvest has been one of my most fulfilling personal experiences to-date. We are very close to harvesting our first tomatoes and to launching them into the UAE market.”

“It has not been an easy journey and it likely never will be – but our strong team has been able to rally behind the broader mission and successfully control the climate during the toughest months of the year. I can't wait to hear customer feedback once our delicious products hit the market,” Halawi concluded. – TradeArabia News Service