• The Summit had over 24 global speakers and over 1,000 participants from over 65 different countries
• AeroFarms signs MoUs with NYUAD and ICBA at the Summit, helping expand Abu Dhabi’s role for AgTech innovation
• The Summit has been supported through collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office
AeroFarms®, a Certified B Corporation and world leader in indoor vertical farming, has convened the 2nd Annual AeroFarms AgTech Innovation Summit at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi, bringing together over 24 speakers and over 1,000 participants from over 65 different countries to discuss the future of food and agriculture. The Summit has been supported through AeroFarms’ ongoing collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO).
The Summit saw keynote addresses by Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz AlShamsi, Acting Director General of ADIO, Sonny Ramaswamy, President and CEO of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and former Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and AeroFarms Co-Founder and CEO David Rosenberg. Panels were moderated by Becky Anderson, Managing Editor, CNN Abu Dhabi and Anchor, and Kelsey Warner, Future Editor of The National UAE.
“We are extremely excited to host our 2nd Annual AeroFarms AgTech Innovation Summit to bring together the foremost minds on solving some of the biggest challenges of our time,” said Roger Buelow, Chief Technology Officer of AeroFarms. “At AeroFarms, we are transforming the future of food and convening the leaders in the space for dialogue and discussion, to create collaborative and cohesive action including research with key companies in the region to address increasing challenges with growing outdoors and supply chain issues.”
At the Summit as well, AeroFarms announced two signings of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA).
“AeroFarms has found an incredible ecosystem within Abu Dhabi and UAE where we have been able to hire locally talented employees as well as find key partners for research initiatives with leading organizations like NYUAD and ICBA,” commented David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms. “We are very appreciative of our long-standing relationship with ADIO to help foster this community as we drive meaningful change and innovation.”
David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms, and NYUAD Dean of Science Marta Losada participated in the signing ceremony. Losada said, “NYU Abu Dhabi is delighted to be partnering with AeroFarms on this important research initiative. This collaboration will allow us to explore the potential of indoor vertical farming and its ability to meet the needs of populations around the world. This is a great opportunity to bring together our respective expertise and knowledge to develop innovative solutions for food production, sustainability, and food security.”
AeroFarms Co-Founder and CEO David Rosenberg and Dr. Tarifa Alzaabi, Director General of ICBA participated in the Signing Ceremony. Dr. Tarifa Alzaabi, Director General of ICBA, said: “Controlled-environment agriculture systems like vertical farming have great potential for increasing food production in arid and semi-arid regions while helping to save water and other inputs. As our center has extensive research on high-, mid- and low-tech controlled-environment agriculture systems, we are delighted to partner with AeroFarms to achieve greater synergy and impact. Through this collaboration, we will be able to innovate and test solutions for resource-efficient and sustainable agriculture in harsh environments.”
ADIO has partnered with AeroFarms since 2020 as part of its goal to create sustainable investment opportunities that support next generation agriculture in arid and desert environments. The partnership through ADIO’s Innovation Program enabled the creation of Abu Dhabi’s AeroFarms AgX, the largest indoor vertical farm of its kind for research and development in the world.
AeroFarms is a purpose-driven company, on a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity. AeroFarms has been leading the way to elevate agriculture for people and the planet, helping address climate change by enabling local food production using no pesticides ever to grow safe, nutritious, and delicious food all year round. AeroFarms is both a change-the-world technology company and an award-winning brand that is reimagining the way food is grown and celebrating its full FlavorSpectrum™ of flavorful possibilities.
