Hatch & Boost Ventures, ADGM, an Abu Dhabi-based venture builder committed to ‘hatching’ startup ideas at the intersection of impact and innovation and boosting them into scalable ventures, has announced the launch of World of Farming, its first agriTech startup in its portfolio (WoF).
As the world faces unprecedented food security challenges, exacerbated by rising global temperatures and limited water supply, World of Farming (WoF) is introducing a first-of-its-kind hydroponic fodder (livestock feed) farming methodology for the meat and dairy industries to the Middle East market, with the goal of addressing these challenges and improving sector sustainability.
Due to high temperatures, a scarcity of arable land, and limited freshwater resources, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf nations are known to have a harsh farming environment. As a result, the United Arab Emirates imports 80-90% of its food, including livestock feed. In accordance with the UAE’s National Food Strategy 2051, WoF’s vertical farming model will enable local farmers to produce fresh, cost-effective alternatives to international imports of animal fodder independently, efficiently, and sustainably.
This will be made possible by the startup’s patent-pending proprietary methodology known as ‘The Cattleyst.’ Through a closed loop system that reduces methane emissions to the atmosphere, this full circular farming methodology produces livestock feed in a sustainable manner.
This method will provide highly nutritious, herbicide and pesticide-free animal feed to the local dairy and meat industries at a lower cost, while using up to 90% less water and 90% less land than traditional farming.
“Today, animal agriculture is one of the most harmful industries on the planet, directly responsible for 14% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and upwards of 50,000 acres of forest are cleared by farmers and loggers every day, around the world. This extreme clearing of land results in habitat loss, amplification of greenhouse gasses, and disruption of water cycles. Coupled with the effects of international mass shipping, and copious amounts of water consumption, the snowball effect of unprecedented global challenges we are seeing will continue to gather pace if we don’t do something about it today,” said Faris Mesmar, CEO and Managing Partner of hatch & boost.
“With WoF, we are making agriculture more sustainable. WoF’s vertical farming technology will enable farmers to overcome their dependence on imported livestock feed by growing fresh and nutritious animal feed on their farm. With more farmers adopting our farming approach locally, our ultimate goal is to enhance the agricultural sustainability of livestock ranching and supply chains, and the customers they serve on the regional and global scale,” said Dr. Walid Saad, CEO & Co-Founder of WoF.
WoF’s proprietary software technology, which is currently in private BETA, uses data to monitor and adjust farming parameters in order to identify the optimal environment for optimal farm output. The vertical farm uses AI and imagery to track crops throughout their growth cycle in order to determine health, rate of growth, and detect diseases.
WoF’s goal is to build, operate, and manage farms throughout the region, allowing farmers to enjoy cost savings from eliminating reliance on fodder imports, nutritional losses due to long-term storage, or logistics and storage costs.
“The launch of WoF comes at a time of profound geopolitical challenges and tensions across the world. Due to the current global crisis threatening food security, supply chains disruptions are significantly impacting farmers and end customers. We look forward to scaling WoF in the coming years, to accelerate the practice of sustainable farming in the UAE and support the UAE & wider region in its development of more robust food security for our region.” Dr Saad added.
WoF was recently awarded its first customer contract in the UAE to build, operate, and manage a fully integrated circular farm with an annual output of 3,000 metric tons of fresh animal feed. This follows the successful completion of its first prototype earlier this year.
The startup is also raising funds to expand and scale its operations and offerings throughout the MENA region, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
WoF is also collaborating with a number of local universities to empower youth and engage them in research and development programs to support the national food security strategy.
