Fresh Salad Greens in Saudi Arabia with Bather Smart Farm

Shokair, a self-identified salad lover, first came up with the idea to open his own vertical farm after growing greens in his house. He started small but eventually scaled up and had enough produce to share with family and friends. They loved the fresh, quality greens Shokair was able to produce in his home. 

A geologist by trade, Shokair found Agritecture’s website and stumbled upon Agritecture Designer. He learned about the industry with our Commercial Urban Farming course and then had multiple discussions with our consultants about how to best execute his ideas. He also ran many scenarios on Agritecture Designer’s farm modeling tool, testing out farms with tomatoes, strawberries, and salad greens, among others.

After Shokair had decided more of the specifics about the farm’s design and capabilities, the Agritecture team connected him with suppliers to make his idea a reality. They have faced many challenges during the planning process, one of the main challenges being the local population’s misunderstanding of vertical farming. Finding skilled labor with an understanding of CEA cultivation has been difficult, as has finding construction companies with experience in or knowledge of the vertical farming space. Plus, since many suppliers are located outside of the GCC, communication has been a challenge as well.

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Photo: Bather’s microgreens are grown vertically to maximize yields. 
Credit: Bather Smart Farm.

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