May 21, 2017

Dubai-based hydroponic farming investor Pegasus Agriculture Group announced its planned launch of Pegasus Food Futures – an integrated approach to improving food security through technology, expert solutions, investment, and scientific progress.

The venture will focus on reducing reliance on food imports and providing solutions to global food supply challenges through operations and innovation in food production, livestock, feed stock, technology, R&D, and raising supply chain transparency.

“Next week marks an exciting chapter in our effort to impact global food security,” said Mahmood Almas, CEO of Pegasus Food Futures. “Through greater food supply chain transparency, we can ensure providence from producer to consumer. We are establishing Pegasus Food Futures by taking best of breed technologies to create a global sustainable food future that doesn’t compromise on quality and nutrition.”

The team has chosen to establish its headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, which will act as a strategic global hub from where operations will initially center on the Middle East region.

Although advances in technology resulted in an increase in food production in the MENA region in the 1990s, the region is still expected to see a food deficit of between 50 million tons and 90 million tons by 2020.

However there also are plans to establish and strengthen operations in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

U.S. Expansion

Pegasus Agriculture first expanded into the U.S. market in August 2016 with the construction of a large-scale hydroponic farming facility in Florida.

With a head office in Dubai, Pegasus Agriculture sees hydroponics as a key tool to ensuring food security in the face of climate change, sprawling population, and the loss of arable land. Using premium seeds sourced from Europe, the sharia-compliant company plants in a bed of rock wool, using 90 percent less water, zero soil, and producing fresh produce 300 percent quicker on 75 percent less space than traditional agricultural production, according to its website.

Toward this end, the company secured a 15-year lease on 77 acres in Florida – a region that the company has noted has been significantly affected by climate change, with the option to extend the lease by another 15 years at the conclusion of its term.

The group’s cornerstone project was launched in 2013 through a partnership with Gardinia Hydroponic Farming (GHF) in Oman, and in April 2014 the group announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia – a country that imports 95 percent of its fresh fruits and vegetables, with a 20,000 square meter hydroponic farm that is designed to produce 1,400 tons of produce per hectare.

An Active Pipeline

Pegasus Food Futures already has an active project pipeline established. The venture is supporting a major public-private initiative to develop a global indoor agricultural production, research, training and service hub in partnership with Kennett Township in southeast Pennsylvania. The project is aiming to leverage the region’s leadership in the U.S. indoor mushroom production space and existing indoor agricultural facilities in the area.

Another proposed project, which Pegasus is calling “Agriculture City”, would see a 200-hectare mega-facility including greenhouses, solar stations, and a research lab dedicated to water, energy, and food production be constructed in Saudi Arabia.

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.