Saudi Arabia cooperates with Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven to cultivate Neom desert
Saudi Arabia government has made an agreement with the Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven، a Hollandese greenhouse company، to create a synthetic climate to make the desert bloom by combining a slew of the latest horticulture technologies، including artificial intelligence-driven crop growing and advanced water filtration systems، and aims to start operating the first site as early as next August since the food security is a priority for the planners of Neom، Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s $500 billion showpiece project to turn an expanse of desert into a high-tech region.
Saudi Arabia $120 million contract with the Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven
Saudi Arabia is implementing the project that is just at the start، with the Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven، whose $120 million contract with the Kingdom government entails design and construction of two test facilities on Neom’s outskirts، along with their service and operation over multiple years.
Saudi Arabia is cooperating with the Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven to cultivate an area the size of some 15 soccer fields to form a horticulture oasis on the outskirts of Neom، an entirely new city being built on the Red Sea coast that extends out into the desert.
The commitment between Saudi Arabia and VanDer Hoeven، the biggest food-tech investment
The commitment between Saudi Arabia and the Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven marks the biggest food-tech investment for the kingdom whose largely arid landscape and extreme summer temperatures have long left it reliant on imports to supply most food.
The Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven company
stated that the project with the Saudi Arabia government has started in one location with a novel solar and seawater-driven cooling system to operate the greenhouse throughout the extreme summer heat.
VanDer Hoeven approach will significantly lower water usage
The Dutch horticulturist VanDer Hoeven company explained that the approach will significantly lower water usage from the local grid in Saudi Arabia and it works on another site with a quarantine greenhouse which will be constructed for introducing perennial crops to Neom.
Michiel Schoenmaeckers، VanDer Hoeven’s Chief Executive Officer، confirmed in an interview in Amsterdam that the company is building a synthetic climate where outdoor growing in Saudi Arabia arid desert is difficult، with a goal for plants to yield produce year-round.
Food security is a priority in Neom
Food security is a priority for the planners of Neom، Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s $500 billion showpiece project to turn an expanse of desert the size of Belgium into a high-tech region that may eventually host millions of people.
The urgency for the planners of Neom to achieve food security as soon as possible، has only grown since the global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the fragility of supply chains and highlighted risks to food security in the Middle East.
The kingdom sovereign wealth fund signed a pact with US-based AeroFarms
Among the more recent deals in Saudi Arabia is the kingdom sovereign wealth fund that signed a pact with US-based AeroFarms to establish a company in Riyadh to build and operate indoor vertical farms in the kingdom and the wider region.
Another projects in Saudi Arabia is the Saudi state entity which committed capital last month to a share offering by Brazil’s biggest poultry producer، adding to purchases of stakes in companies from Singapore-based agricultural trader Olam Agri Holdings to Indian rice producer LT Foods Ltd.
Holland، the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter after the US
Saudi Arabia is seeking out the expertise of specialists for Neom، from
the Netherlands (Holland)، which has become the world’ seconlargest agricultural exporter after the US despite being one of Europe’s smallest nations. Its sway has grown thanks to innovative solutions like advanced greenhouses and vertical farming، with half the country’s entire land allocated for agricultural production.
Neom Food CEO Juan Carlos Motamayor indicated that the Saudi Arabia government revealed that apart from meeting the needs of the new city، Neom، the goal of the kingdom is eventually to turn the fledgling facilities into a regional food hub and the construction started earlier in 2023 and the plan is for the test facilities to be completed by next year.
The regional food hub will feed both the future metropolis and the rest of Saudi Arabia
Neom Food CEO Juan Carlos Motamayor affirmed that the regional food hub will feed both the future metropolis and the rest of Saudi Arabia while setting an example for other countries across the world that are grappling with food security amid climate change.
Neom Food CEO Juan Carlos Motamayor said in a separate interview in the Dutch capital that the project in Saudi Arabia will expand significantly after the two pilot greenhouses are ready and the the company will scale up to hundreds of hectares with different types of greenhouses.
Saudi Arabia' Neom needs more than a thousand hectares of greenhouses
Neom needs more than a thousand hectares of greenhouses to deliver on its goal of producing over 300 thousand tons of fruits and vegetables، a target it’s trying to reach in the next eight to 10 years، therefore the company is introducing a novel solar and seawater-driven cooling system to operate the greenhouse throughout the extreme summer heat and is constructing a quarantine greenhouse for cultivating perennial crops in Neom.
The choice of Neom is emblematic of efforts by the Saudi Arabia crown prince to wean the $1 trillion economy off its reliance on oil and turn the city into a testbed for technologies that could revolutionise daily life as there is no other place in the world that is trying to develop at the scale the Kingdom wants to develop and implement agriculture for arid conditions.
