Pact inked to fund vertical farming of leafy greens

Muscat: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources and Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) on Wednesday signed an agreement to fund the project of implementing an indoor vertical farming project to produce leafy greens.

The agreement was signed within the framework of the ministry’s in bolstering the food security system in the Sultanate of Oman.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Bakri, the Ministry’s Undersecretary for Agriculture and Sheikh Khalid Mohammed Al Fannah Al Araimi, OMIFCO’s Director of Sustainability and Institutional Communication.

The project includes the use of Plant Factory technology, which is a closed agricultural system in which light, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide concentrations necessary for plant growth are artificially controlled. The plants are grown vertically instead of horizontally as in traditional greenhouses; this method increases crop production.

This system will allow farms in having a stable production of greens, particularly leafy greens, all year round.

Moreover, the system will create investment opportunities for job seekers. It will also reduce water consumption by 40-60% compared to regular systems.