&ever opens first large-scale indoor vertical farm in the Middle East
After its R&D farm in Hamburg, indoor vertical farming startup &ever (previously Farmers Cut GmbH) has opened its first commercial indoor vertical farm in Kuwait.
The facility, with approximately 3000sqm growing (or faming) space, has a daily output capacity of up to 550kg of salad, herbs and cresses. The Kuwaiti farm is the result of a joint venture between &ever and Kuwait’s NOX Management, which focuses on the food and beverage sector in the GCC and is part of the IFA group.
Kuwait, a country that previously relied on European and overseas imports for most of their greens and herbs, can now locally grow up to 250 varieties of greens and herbs using &ever’s Dryponics technology.
&ever produces high-quality and sustainable crops indoors which reportedly increase nutritional quality and decrease environmental impact. &ever’s vertical farming method uses 90% less water compared to traditional farming, 60% less fertiliser and zero pesticides. Using a sustainable “farm to fork” model, &ever’s technology is able to preserve the plants’ nutritional value until the produce reaches the customer.
&ever’s Dryponics system is a unique method of growing salad indoors which essentially keeps the plants alive, with the roots intact, until the final moment before consumption. By keeping the root of the plants dry, it allows the consumer to harvest the greens only seconds before consumption since the root stays with the plant from farm to table. The result is fresh, nutrient-rich greens. Normally, green leaves lose most of their nutritional value after being washed in chlorine, chilled, packed, stored in warehouses, and then sent on the road for transportation. Even traditional organic labeled foods can contain pesticides.
What sets &ever apart from its competitors, according to the company, is its revolutionary farm design. It aims at being the most energy-efficient indoor vertical farm and hence the most environmentally friendly. Key levers are the use of insulated climatised rooms, a high degree of automation and an AI-based continuous improvement cycle.
Building on the global deployment capabilities of its key partners, &ever will scale its operations quickly and globally. “Our vision is to bring better tasting greens with high nutritional value to more and more people”, said Mark Korzilius, Founder of &ever.
“We have an interesting pipeline of opportunities around the globe”, added Dr Henner Schwarz, CEO of &ever. “We hope to be able to travel internationally again soon to get our next farms live as quickly as possible”.
