FARM FRESH

As we prepare ourselves for a brand new year, many of you will be looking to clear out your kitchen cupboards from processed foods and sugary snacks and replacing them with nutritious and fresh produce that will help boost your metabolism and shed those festive pounds. What better way to do so than by stocking up with locally grown greens? Badia Farms, the UAE’s first vertical farm, opened this month in Al Quoz, Dubai, and uses hydroponic technology to grow micro-greens and baby leaf herbs without sunlight, soil or pesticides.

Omar Al Jundi, Badia Farms’ founder and CEO, explains. ‘Our mission is to provide fresh, nutritious and chemicalfree produce that is bursting with flavour and grown right here in Dubai. Through vertical indoor farming methods, we can dramatically reduce the carbon footprint and grow leafy greens that are fresher, tastier and delivered from farm to table within hours.’

The highly controlled environment uses advanced hydroponic technology, a chemical-free nutrient-rich base and a bespoke LED lighting system to create the optimal quality and yield. The sustainable ecosystem uses 90 per cent less water than in open-field farming. Since it’s based in the city, it also goes some way to providing a solution to the carbon footprint of imported food that travels an average of 3,000 miles to reach restaurants in Dubai.