Al Aliyo HydroFarms, a hydroponic fodder farm in the UAE, has opened two warehouses in the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority’s (HFZA) Sharjah Food Park, with an initial investment of $2.4 million.
After signing a lease agreement with HFZA during the 26th edition of Gulfood 2021, the two facilities, covering 12,000 square feet, would have a daily production capacity of about 10 tons of hydroponic fodder, marking the company’s first phase of investments in the Hamriyah Free Zone.
Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of the HFZA, inaugurated the two facilities in the presence of Tarannum Malik, CEO of Al Aliyo HydroFarms, as well as a high-profile delegation from the HFZA.
Al Aliyo HydroFarms will run the UAE’s first and only initiative to produce and cultivate organic fodder for cattle in hydroponic farms, based on a novel concept and latest technology.
Saud Salim Al Mazrouei HFZA Director
“In addition to its quality facilities, integrated business base and infrastructure, the Sharjah Food Park provides investment incentives that perfectly meet investors’ aspirations, help them build a strong presence within the global food sector and provide promising opportunities in the local and neighboring markets.”
To meet the increasing demand for green fodder, one of the alternatives is hydroponic fodder to supplement the meager pasture resources in most of the Middle East, African and Asian countries. Hydroponic, simply translated as water work, green fodder can be produced both in large, sophisticated, automated commercial systems with environmental control or in low-cost systems, where the ambient environment is suitable for fodder production.
According to the HFZA, the products and innovative solutions produced are based on advanced hydroponics technologies that are not affected by temperature or seasonality. There are no pesticides or fertilizers used in the entire production process, which is 100 percent organic. Furthermore, there is no waste.
This is in line with H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah’s vision and directives, which aim to transform Sharjah into a global center for quality industries and support the emirate’s economic diversification objectives.
The park, which covers 11 million square feet, is home to 1,700 companies engaged in food manufacture, preservation, packing, repackaging, import, and export to markets all over the world.
Al Aliyo is cost-effective, sustainable, green, and environmentally friendly, with low carbon emissions and low energy use. The fodder is an excellent addition or alternative for synthetic feeds, with improved nutritional content and hygienic-sanitary growing processes, lowering feeding expenses by 20 to 45 percent.
