Silal’s Innovation Oasis (iO), a cutting-edge research and development centre in Al Ain dedicated to advancing agricultural technology, has signed a significant collaboration agreement with Square Roots, a global agritech firm known for its modular controlled-climate farming systems and AI-driven cultivation technologies. The partnership aims to drive climate-smart agriculture and accelerate pioneering solutions for desert farming.
This collaboration marks a major milestone in the UAE’s mission to boost food security, improve water efficiency, and build a next-generation agricultural innovation ecosystem. The agreement brings together Innovation Oasis’s specialised expertise in desert agriculture with Square Roots’ global strengths in controlled-climate farming, indoor crop science, and AI-enabled agricultural tools.
As part of the agreement, Square Roots will establish a multi-zone, fully cloud-integrated, AI-powered research facility at the Innovation Oasis site. This facility will function as a national testing ground to accelerate progress in indoor and desert farming by supporting parallel trials on desert-resilient crops, low-light genetics, modular indoor farming systems, and generative AI applications tailored to agriculture. The partnership also aims to speed up the commercial rollout of resource-efficient farming technologies across the UAE.
The initiative will support key innovation tracks, including the development of low-light crop genetics to reduce energy use in indoor farming by up to 40%, building on Square Roots’ internationally recognised research funded by the Gates Foundation. The collaboration will also focus on identifying and trialling new strategic crops suited to arid environments, broadening the variety of locally grown produce, and creating advanced AI-enabled tools to improve productivity and optimise resource consumption. Square Roots’ globally acclaimed “Next-Gen Farmer Training Program” will also be adapted locally to equip Emirati scientists, agronomists, and growers with cutting-edge skills.
To further assist the UAE’s farming community, Square Roots will tailor its modular indoor farming system into a resource-efficient model designed for smallholder farmers, featuring scalable units capable of operating on solar energy. A research and development farm based on Square Roots technology will be established at the Innovation Oasis site to support the full scope of collaborative programmes, as well as additional research initiatives led by Silal.
Dhafer Rashed Al Qasimi, Silal Group CEO, said, “This collaboration marks a strategic expansion of Innovation Oasis’s global partnerships, bringing world-class agricultural innovation to Abu Dhabi and advancing the UAE’s leadership in climate-smart and desert farming. By integrating advanced research, AI-driven tools and farmer development, we are accelerating sustainable food production and strengthening the resilience of our agricultural sector for future generations.”
Kimbal Musk, Executive Chairman of Square Roots, said, “Our partnership with Innovation Oasis reflects a shared commitment to redefining the future of agriculture in arid environments. Combining Square Roots’ controlled-climate farming and crop science expertise with Abu Dhabi’s forward-thinking agricultural vision will fast-track solutions in food security and resource efficiency, delivering scalable models that support farmers in the UAE and across desert regions globally.”
Through this partnership, Innovation Oasis further consolidates Abu Dhabi’s standing as a global hub for advanced agricultural development. The platform created through this collaboration will enable the testing and validation of new technologies under actual desert conditions, supporting the development of commercially viable farming models suited to the UAE’s environment.
Innovation Oasis remains dedicated to translating scientific advancements into practical results, improving farmer competitiveness, generating new economic prospects within the agri-food sector, and strengthening the UAE’s long-term goals for sustainability and food security.
(Inputs from WAM)
