An expert takes notes on the health of vegetables.

Badia Farms in Al Quoz Industrial area in Dubai is the GCC’s first commercial vertical indoor farm that supports Dubai’s agricultural sustainability.

The large-scale high-tech vertical farm produces 3,500kg of chemical, pesticide, and herbicide-free fruits and vegetables per year.

Badia Farms said, “We have a growing reputation for supplying the finest micro-greens and herbs to Dubai’s top restaurants, caterers and chefs.”

Vertical farming is the practice of producing food vertically in stacked layers, vertically inclined surfaces, and/or integrated in other structures.

It uses a combination of indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology.

Experts examine a produce.

Vertical farms can grow non-native produce in locations where traditional agricultural methods are impossible. Also, there’s no exposure to the hazards of traditional farming, such as bugs, diseases, pesticides and weather.

In some ways, it’s as simple as it sounds: a vertical farm is a multi-story greenhouse where fruit and vegetables are grown in stacked up towers. There’s obviously a lot more to it than that – and here’s where we’ll try not to blind you with science.

The techy term for it all is hydroponics, which is a technique for growing produce without soil. Seeds are planted in a sterile, soil-less growing environment and then grown in nutrient-rich water. Water is recycled, and everything from air and water temperature through to humidity and lighting are controlled to create the perfect growing environment.