Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has partnered with US-based vertical farming startup, AeroFarms, to build indoor vertical farms in Saudi Arabia and across the MENA region.

The partnership will support the optimization of natural resources as vertical farming requires no arable land and uses 95% less water than traditional farming methods.

The first farm will be built in Saudi Arabia, and it is expected to be the largest indoor vertical farm in the MENA region, with a production capacity of up to 1.1 million kgs of agricultural crops per year.

“The agreement with AeroFarms will lead to the establishment of indoor vertical farms in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region,” Majed AlAssaf, head of consumer goods and retail, MENA investments division at PIF, tells StartupScene. “Increasing regional reliance on locally produced, high-quality crops grown in a sustainable way using the latest technologies.”

This latest partnership is in line with PIF’s strategy of furthering developing and progressing The Kingdom’s private sector, particularly in food and agriculture, and localizing technologies amongst other industries.