By growing pesticide-free red and green lettuce hydroponically, Armela Farms is on a mission to promote healthy living in the UAE by providing consumers with fresher, tastier and longer-lasting vegetables. The high-tech greenhouse, designed and built by Van der Hoeven, incorporates Svensson's proprietary PARperfect double-screen solution. Yazan Abu Jaish, COO of Armela Farms, explains how the technology supports the sustainable production of 4.5 tonnes of high-quality, uniform lettuce per day, all year round.
When looking for a place to grow lettuce, the middle of the desert might not seem like the most logical choice. But Armela Farms opened a 30,000-square-meter high-tech greenhouse (including 17,000 square meters of production space and 13,000 square meters of service areas for propagation, packaging, logistics, and control systems) near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June 2023.
“I have been running several low-tech farms producing leafy greens and other crops in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 2010. However, low-tech farms can only produce good quality crops in the winter, from November to April, when daytime temperatures are between 25-30°C. In the summer, from May to October, daytime temperatures reach 45-50°C with humidity up to 70 percent,” says Yazan Abu Jayesh. “This makes it very difficult to supply retailers, wholesalers and consumers with fresh produce all year round. This has made our region highly dependent on imports, making food security a hot topic not only here in the UAE but across the GCC.”
“In parallel, since the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have become increasingly focused on healthy eating habits. We had already proven that, thanks to our know-how and talented team, it was possible to produce crops even in low-tech systems. This prompted us to set up a high-tech greenhouse that would allow us to expand our product range and quantities to meet growing consumer demand for high-quality, fresh, healthy, tasty and long-lasting lettuce all year round,” he added.
He spent more than a year conducting market research to identify potential technology suppliers.
“I had read the book 'Plant Empowerment' and had a clear idea of which companies were leading the development. I visited the Netherlands several times and met with various companies. In the end, I chose a group of suppliers from Canada, the US and Japan with whom I had previously worked successfully on similar projects.” These companies included Svensson, Hoogendoorn, LetsGrow, Koppert, Rijk Zwaan and Jiffy.
Close collaboration
Van der Hoeven Horticulture Projects coordinated the design and construction of the turnkey greenhouse. The result is a fully automated and robotic operation, from sowing, transplanting, moving and harvesting, producing an average of 4.5 tonnes of green and red lettuce every day. “We do this with just 25 workers, whereas a typical low-tech farm would need 45 workers to produce 500 kg a day,” he says.
This impressive result was made possible thanks to close cooperation between the technology supplier and Yazan himself. As a qualified and experienced agronomist, he already had a clear idea of what was needed to achieve the desired results.
“Unlike many investors who view high-tech greenhouses purely as a business venture, I had first-hand knowledge and experience of low-tech cultivation, so I was aware of what was needed and the challenges of optimizing the microclimate in a greenhouse. This allowed us to come to agreement on the final specifications,” he says.
“For example, I originally planned to install one Svensson screen. But when I learned about Svensson's new PARperfect screen solution at the Plant Empowerment seminar, I immediately knew this would make my life much easier and better. And it turned out to be true.”
Energy Savings
Providing both light blocking and energy savings, this dual-layer screen solution combines Svensson’s Harmony 5747 FR screen with a Harmony 2047 FR VK screen.
“In winter, night-time temperatures can drop to as low as 2°C, but by closing both screens and blocking radiation, we save around 60% on heating costs. The screens also help keep the greenhouse cooler in summer, reducing the strain on our mechanical chillers and air dehumidification units, so not only does it help us manage the microclimate for the plants, it also helps with our sustainability goals,” comments Yazan.
This is important for the company, which prides itself on recycling 100% of its water: “We don't waste a litre – the only water that leaves the farm is through the lettuce!” he adds.
Constant light level
“In addition, PARperfect allows for precise control to maintain consistent light levels needed for uniform produce quality and yield, which is important because lettuce is a short-cycle crop and therefore sensitive to sudden changes in conditions,” Yazan says.
“For us, it's all about balancing the Radiant Temperature Ratio (RTR). Our climate is harsh, with high outdoor temperatures, high humidity and 11 hours of sunshine in winter and up to 15 hours in summer. We work with a target total PAR of 17µmol/m2/sec, which equates to 650µmol of light. This allows us to work with relatively high indoor temperatures (average 18⁰C), but can go up to 26⁰C depending on external conditions. Svensson's screening technology allows us to maintain the set temperature consistently from the first day to the last day of the cycle,” he explains.
This is because the two screens in the PARperfect solution work together in harmony to diffuse light and fill in any shade gaps. To ensure that all plants are always exposed to the same light levels and microclimate every day, the mechanized screens are automatically controlled by the PARplus software running on Hoogendoorn's climate computer.
“We harvest 18,000 good quality, compact lettuce heads every day, with uniform weight and no burnt or brown tips. This is impossible to achieve with a single-screen setup,” Yazan adds.
Expert advice and support
The COO is impressed with the support he received from Svensson, both during and after the installation of the screens. “Not only are they available by phone and email, but a consultant visits us regularly. We've built more than just a business relationship – a friendship with a shared passion for excellence. We sit together, analyze all our historical climate data and discuss how we can improve even more by fine-tuning the settings. Sometimes we consult technical specialists from Van der Hoeven, Hoogendoorn and LetsGrow. That's the beauty of working with the right supplier, who we work with on a regular basis. Thanks to his expert advice, we were able to reach the optimal light levels for our plants and achieve consistently optimal production all year round. In fact, our product quality in summer is even better than in winter.”
Expansion Plans
Now able to produce high-quality lettuce all year round, Almera Farm has signed supply agreements with key customers, including grocery retailers such as Carrefour, Spinneys and Lulu, as well as supplying top hotels and restaurants through wholesalers and catering suppliers. It currently accounts for a 75% share of locally produced lettuce for the UAE market. “However, this represents only 4% of total consumption; the rest is still imported. So there is still a lot of room for further growth in this market,” says Yazan. “That's why we plan to build a new high-tech greenhouse in the UAE by the end of this year, which will be 1.5 times larger than our current greenhouse. In the long term, we also plan to expand into Saudi Arabia. Needless to say, we look forward to working with Svensson and other partners on these future projects,” he concludes.
For more information, please see below.
Ludvig Svensson
(email address protected)
ludvigsvensson.com
