Royal Visit

Published by Emirates News Agency, WAM - 03 Nov 2021.

3rd November 2021 - King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited Pure Harvest, a high tech greenhouse with the Middle East's first of its kind strawberry farm in Nahil area of Al Ain on Wednesday. They were accompanied by a number of Dutch officials.

The visit of the Dutch Royal Couple to the UAE is on the occasion of the Netherlands National Day at Expo2020 Dubai, and coincides with the visit of a trade delegation of 50 Dutch company representatives this week. The aim of this trade mission is to establish new partnerships for solving global challenges and deepen relations with existing partners in the UAE and the broader Gulf region.

The greenhouse is specifically tailored to produce in an arid climate such as the UAE. It uses controlled environment agriculture technology to overcome the challenges of growing high-quality produce in places where heat, humidity, and water scarcity affect year-round food production.

With state of the art Dutch technology they effectively manage the climate inside the greenhouse to create an optimal ecosystem for crops. The crops are in heaven; chemical free, and pollinated by busy bumblebees. High tech greenhouses such as Pure Harvest are able to supply high quality food all year round.

Pure Harvest works with several Dutch companies such as Certhon and BOM Group, who build and design high tech greenhouses, and Priva, who provides climate management computer systems to obtain the optimal climate in the greenhouse and regulate irrigation. Koppert Biological Systems provides the pesticide free biological control.

The companies were present during the Royal Couple’s visit and explained their involvement and contribution to the project together with several of Pure Harvest’s growers.

Under the motto, ‘Uniting Water, Energy and Food’, the trade mission brings together companies, that have a common interest in, and contribute to, a sustainable and livable urban environment, focusing on the nexus sectors water, energy and food.

Tom de Bruijn, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands said "These issues are a global concern and particularly pressing in the desert regions of the Gulf, where countries rely on food imports, energy demand is high and water scarcity is growing. By sharing insights and innovations with each other, we can rethink the way we use these scarce resources and create a sustainable future for us all".