Agritecture in the Middle East

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Why Controlled Environment Agriculture?

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Tariq Bushnak, VP of Business Development at Mishkat (former Agritecture Client), a Saudi Arabian brand, comments that during covid-19 “farms who were utilizing CEA were able to keep up with demand during a period of unusual stress on the local food supply”.

“We [Saudi Arabia] have traditionally relied on fishing and trade to get our food. We import 90% of our food, with vegetables and fruit coming from places as far away as Latin America. If we can grow imported vegetables locally and if we can do it more sustainably, using less water and less pesticides, we can provide a fresher, healthier and more transparent food experience to local food consumers.”

Our 2020 Global CEA Census Report has a MENA-specific section and features Tarik. Receive the report today!


Project Portfolio

We have had the pleasure of working on several projects in the GCC-MENA region.
Mishkat

Mishkat

Sukna, in partnership with Agritecture, has established the brand Mishkat in order to develop a self-sustaining market for local modern agriculture by empowering entrepreneurs and the next generation of farmers through technical training, strategic networks, and business planning.

Location: Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Services Rendered: Farm Design, Economic Feasibility Study, and Partnerships

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Farms Not Arms

Farms Not Arms has designed a multi-agricultural farm that combines regenerative agriculture with an adaptive low-tech hydroponic system that aims to bring together the host community and refugees.

Location: Lebanon

Services Rendered: Feasibility, Farm Design

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Qatar Development Bank

This Client was seeking services related to the planning and development of a 1,700 square meter vertical farm based in Qatar. The operation involved two warehouses, and the Client was interested in understanding the feasibility of this project.

Location: Doha, Qatar

Services Rendered: Industry & Market Research, Concept Development, Economic Analysis

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Melia Desert Palm

Located 20km outside of Dubai’s city center and located on a 160-acre Polo Estate, the Melia Desert Palm Dubai is a contemporary and niche boutique hotel. The hotel’s owners desired an experiential greenhouse and outdoor farming design.

Location: Dubai, UAE

Services Rendered: Concept Development, Economic Modeling, Farm Design

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Nawafil/Turki Al-Nafisi

Turki Al-Nafifisi is an entrepreneur looking to understand and pitch the economic case of an urban farm in Kuwait to his family business. His mission for the project was a double digital return on investment, provision of quality jobs for the local market, and an impact on food security in the area.

Location: Kuwait

Services Rendered: Concept Development and Economic Analysis

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Strawberry Vertical Farm In Dubai

This client is interested in operating a commercial indoor strawberry production facility in the United Arab Emirates. The intention is to create high-quality products that are priced competitively and grown locally. For this stage of the project, Agritecture helped prepare all the documentation required for the client to pitch to prospective investors.

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Services Rendered: Industry Case Studies Research, 2D Layout, Equipment Supplier Identification, Investor Deck


Our Dedicated Consulting Team

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Henry Gordon-Smith
Founder & CEO

Henry helps clients identify and focus their goals, prepares consulting proposals, and develops winning urban agriculture concepts and strategies. As a global thought leader in the accelerating vertical and urban agriculture industry, specifically in the MENA region, Henry has aided with concept development on a multi-agricultural farm in Lebanon, supported the development of the brand Mishkat in Saudi Arabia, and often speaks/trains entrepreneurs at MENA food security events like the World Food Security Forum, MENA, the Oman Sustainable Food Safety & Quality Management Fair 2021, and MEED’s Enhancing food security in the UAE.

Read out to Henry to discuss project opportunities!

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Yara Nagi
Director of Operations

Yara advises on sustainability-related matters for clients and assesses the economic viability of their projects. She gained an interest in sustainable agriculture from her work experience in the Middle East. Her region-specific work involves conducting economic modeling for a luxury hotel in Dubai, UAE, economic analysis for a multi-agricultural farm, feasibility study and economic analysis for an international corporation, and creating partnerships and a sponsorship strategy for the brand Mishkat in Saudi Arabia to help eliminate food insecurity.

Reach out to Yara to discuss project opportunities! Originating from the UAE, Yara is bilingual, and speaks both Arabic and English.

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Nadim Atalla
Product Manager

Nadim is responsible for improving and advancing Agritecture Designer, the world’s first digital platform for urban agriculture planning. Nadim’s background is in the solar industry, with three years of engineering and programming experience. His passion is in food systems, and his dream is to empower underserved communities to become food-secure and independent.

Reach out to Nadim to discuss project opportunities! Originating from Jordan, Nadim is bilingual, and speaks both Arabic and English.


Our Partners

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GreenBridge

Greenbridge creates longstanding, sustainable results through technology, research, and the strategic application of data. They provide services to help build your business, optimize results, and reduce farming risks.

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Farms Not Arms

Farms Not Arms is co-creating the future of food with communities who need it the most. They are a collective of designers, farmers, strategists, & agriculturalists who have come together to build an integrated, multi-agricultural educational farm model.

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Azka Farms

Azka Farms strives towards shortening the food chain with regional farmers and vendors, who share their values enabling more ethical consumption. They do this by providing a monthly subscription service that delivers freshly harvested vegetables, natural dairy items freshly sourced, and the finest freshly picked herbs right to your door.

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CHECK OUT OUR GLOBAL PLANNING SOFTWARE, AGRITECTURE DESIGNER!

We have more than a dozen users from the GCC so far! And, new features specific to the GCC region, including Arabic closed captioning for our Commercial Urban Farming Course, coming summer 2021.

Additional Resources