The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources and the Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) signed an agreement today [February 16] to fund the project of implementing an indoor vertical farming project to produce leafy greens.

The agreement was signed within the framework of the Ministry in bolstering the food security system in the Sultanate of Oman.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Bakri, the Ministry’s Undersecretary for Agriculture and Sheikh Khalid Mohammed Al Fannah Al Araimi, OMIFCO’s Director of Sustainability and Institutional Communication.

The project includes the use of Plant Factory technology – which is a closed agricultural system in which light, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentrations necessary for plant growth are artificially controlled.

The plants are grown vertically instead of horizontally as is the practice in traditional greenhouses. This method should increase crop production, while allowing farms to have a stable production of greens, particularly leafy greens, all year round.

Moreover, the system will create investment opportunities for job seekers, and as an added benefit, reduce water consumption by 40 to 60 per cent when compared with regular systems.