UAE – Crysp Farms, a Dubai-based company specializing in turnkey vertical farming for the hospitality sector, has forged a strategic partnership with agritech pioneer Alesca Technologies to deploy 500 modular vertical farms over the next five years across the Middle East.
This collaboration aims to enhance the efficiency of vertical farming and provide over 130 varieties of fresh produce year-round for Crysp’s corporate clients. Crysp’s vertical farms typically use 90% less water and 99% less land than traditional agriculture.
Alesca Technologies has developed one of the world’s most energy and labor-efficient vertical farms by optimizing all aspects of production, from LED lighting and automation to remote monitoring and operations.
This partnership will enable Crysp Farms to significantly expand their unique ‘Farming-as-a-Service’ offering to more hotels and resorts.
Currently, Crysp Farms supplies fresh produce to some of the most prestigious hospitality groups. By building farms on-site, the company claims that hospitality customers can reduce their carbon footprint, eliminate logistics and distribution requirements, and prevent spoilage.
Maan Said, Founder and CEO of Crysp Farms, stated: “Our partnership with Alesca Technologies will provide us with access to top-tier vertical farming technology. Combined with our experience in managing farm operations across the Middle East for some of the world’s largest hospitality brands, this partnership will significantly accelerate our regional expansion.”
The ‘Farming-as-a-Service’ model involves the on-site installation of a custom vertical farm with a multi-year operational agreement to grow a mix of fresh produce based on the customer’s daily food and beverage needs.
Alesca will also install AI-powered monitoring and automation systems in Crysp’s existing and future vertical farms to continually improve productivity and efficiency.
Stuart Oda, Founder and CEO of Alesca Technologies, commented, “Collaborating with Crysp Farms will unlock significant synergies. Alesca has spent the past decade improving the unit economics of vertical farming.
“Crysp’s proven business model will allow us to seamlessly integrate our technology with more clients and communities across the Middle East. We are also excited to enhance our solutions by incorporating feedback from Crysp’s team and customer base.”
Through this regional partnership with Alesca Technologies, Crysp Farms plans to expand into other sectors in the coming years, with a vision to bring fresh, hyperlocal farming to every community.
In April, the UAE experienced a “historic climatic event,” according to the National Meteorological Center, which paralyzed the country, submerged roads and homes, and brought Dubai Airport to a standstill.
However, Crysp Farms remained largely unaffected by the heavy rains. Maan Said explained that even as the storm completely sealed off the outside elements, crops at the farm continued to grow and harvests were ongoing.
“Ironically, our farms are built in this region because of the lack of rain. This particular event was not kind to the traditional farms in the region,” he pointed out.
Maan foresees that vertical farms will continue to play a significant role in all environments, as the key to a closed indoor farm is the ability to produce regardless of external conditions.
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