PRESS RELEASE

By Association for Vertical Farming e.V. Munich, Germany

Ekthaar Agricultural LLC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has just earned the distinction of becoming the first-ever Vertical Farm to receive the Sustainable Indoor Farming (SIF) Certification jointly administered by the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) and Control Union United Kingdom (UK).

Bin Dasmal Group, utilizing more than 4 decades of unmatched expertise, proudly introduces a fresh era of sustainability through “ekthaar” – a cutting-edge indoor vertical farm following the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) model. Noteworthy for achieving the Sustainable Indoor Farming (SIF) certification, ekthaar is a prime example of innovative agriculture, ingeniously transforming construction waste into impactful agricultural assets.

In designing and administering the SIF Certification, AVF partnered with Control Union UK, which is globally respected for its independent services in auditing, certification, inspections, chain of custody assessments, and sustainability solutions – encompassing sustainability aspects of the supply chain in the agriculture, energy, feed, fisheries food safety and forestry industries, among others.

Ekthaar Agricultural LLC. “ekthaar” is Bin Dasmal Group’s newly formed Sustainable Farming Solutions in line with the execution of the latest international green building standards and regulations. On 5th July 2022, in line with the “Save Soil” initiative, ekthaar team inaugurated its net farm by planting the first germination pods in the soil.

We audited their lettuce production, showing that indoor farming can provide fresh and sustainable city-grown veggies. The audit was on-site, and the criteria assessed were:

• Energy use (renewable and non-renewable);
• Water use;
• Nutrient use;
• Substrate use;
• Crop protection plan;
• Space use;
• Food miles;
• Seeds and seedlings;
• Waste

 The SIF Certification represents a significant milestone, not only for AVF, but also for the global indoor/vertical farming industry as a whole. Since Vertical farming constitutes an innovative and environment-friendly approach to food production, having the SIF Certification program in place is crucial to ensuring that Vertical Farms meet the highest standards of sustainability and quality.

The SIF Certification is well expected to help boost consumer confidence in produce grown in SIF-certified Vertical Farms – assuring that their production processes have met rigorous sustainability criteria. It also underscores the crucial role of the Vertical Farming industry in fostering locally and globally sustainable food production.

For additional information on SIF Certification and how yours can become the next audited Vertical Farm, reach out to

Marina Merola Teixeira at mmerola@controlunion.com

or Christine Zimmermann-Loessl   czl@vertical-farming.net

Source: ekthaar