Pure Harvest Smart Farms announced that it is forming an alliance with Al Dahra Group by acquiring BayWa’s controlling interest in the Al Dahra BayWa joint venture, which currently operates a large-scale, 11-hectare high-tech controlled-environment agriculture production facility. The Al Dahra BayWa project was an early and important contribution to the UAE’s food security and sustainability objectives. It represents a successful partnership between a globally recognised international project developer (BayWa) and the UAE’s leading agribusiness & food security incumbent (Al Dahra). BayWa’s successful development of the Al Dahra BayWa project and its transition to a new, permanent owner-operator (Pure Harvest) is consistent with BayWa’s successful development strategy within its renewable energy business. This transaction represents the largest investment to-date in the fast-emerging GCC controlled-environment agriculture ecosystem.
The parties share a vision to make locally grown, high-quality, safe and sustainable fresh produce available anywhere, embracing the challenge of food security as a global issue that can only be solved through technology, investment, and collaboration. By combining forces, the parties can better serve the market, leveraging Pure Harvest’s proprietary technologies and growing methods to improve productivity, while at the same time combining resources for further research, development and innovation.
The newly formed Pure Harvest Al Dahra joint venture partnership increases Pure Harvest Smart Farms’ total operating capacity under management to over 22 hectares (54 acres). Further, Pure Harvest and Al Dahra will invest additional capital to enhance the farm’s capabilities, as well as expand its production capability into new crops to serve consumers. The three parties will continue to collaborate together to further food security and food infrastructure projects both in the UAE and in new markets, which could include additional production assets, renewable energy infrastructure projects, and other investments.
Speaking regarding this announcement, Sky Kurtz, Founder & CEO of Pure Harvest Smart Farms shared, “We are thrilled about this new partnership. We have always admired the Al Dahra BayWa project’s scale and immense market potential, as well as the existing owners’ collective global reach in agribusiness, renewable energy, building materials, and other sectors directly relevant to our global controlled-environment agriculture ambitions. By combining forces, we can improve our shared ability to serve existing customers, but also improve our capability to deliver new projects both in the GCC and other parts of the world. Pure Harvest is now at the scale that it can partner with formidable, global enterprises, making-possible much greater impact on the world. We are proud of how far we have come and look forward to entering new markets together.”
