Setting up an Arabica coffee greenhouse in the UAE

Elite Agro Holding was one of the first UAE-based companies to successfully grow blueberries in the harsh Middle-East climate and ultimately even export them to countries such as Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. “We were the first to produce blueberries in the UAE,” says Hassan Moufid Halawy, General Manager of Elite Agro Projects. “After that, we also started growing blackberries and raspberries. We have done that very efficiently to the extent that we even exported our products to other Asian countries. This is something we are very proud of, especially because we have done it in a very cost-efficient way.”

An Arabica coffee tree greenhouse in UAE
At the same time, that’s not the only special thing accomplished by the Elite Agro Projects team. Last year, the company designed and built a greenhouse for arabica coffee tree cultivation. “We managed to build the first greenhouse for arabica coffee production in the UAE,” he remarks. A coffee greenhouse is quite unheard of, and the Elite Agro Projects team had quite some challenges during the design phase. “Arabica coffee trees are very peculiar in the way they grow,” Hassan points out. “When we were asked to take up such a project, it was a bit challenging for us. It was a risk, but we finished the first phase last year, and the client was so happy about the final product that they asked us to build another one. Next week, we will hand over this new coffee 1.6 Ha greenhouse.”

But what are the specs of such a greenhouse? “First of all, we went for a medium-tech greenhouse. A passive greenhouse that is,” Hassan says. The reasoning behind that, he continues, revolves around the Capex. Passive greenhouses are indeed less financially intensive than other high-tech glasshouses. “Investing in a super highly technological greenhouse, with chillers and the like, would have resulted in a much bigger capex. Our calculations showed that this was at least three times more expensive than a passive greenhouse.”

After all, every investor wants their operation set up for a lower Capex than anticipated, and Elite Agro Projects has very much focused on this aspect. “Whenever we can, we try to reduce the initial cost. We work around that and resort to local manufacturing, for instance, or we outsource more economical alternatives. That’s why we use padded fans instead of chillers and have automated environmental control, as well as a good screening system, high-pressure misting, and tech that cools the roots of the plants. All these factors combined reduce the stress of the plants and give them an optimal environment to thrive. Last year’s production was satisfactory and allowed us to fine-tune and reduce stressors for plants. All in all, we are very proud of this.”

Supporting Africa-based growers
On top of unique projects and firsts in the country, Elite Agro Projects also exports their corporate social responsibility with a project in collaboration with FAO to support farmers in the African continent. “We have created a new product that addresses the common challenges of many Africa-based growers,” Hassan says. “They are often off the grid, have very poor cold chain infrastructures, and are often dealing with water scarcity. On top of that, they lack proper consulting services or ag extension to support them. So, we came up with Smart Farm.”

This is a containerized unit equipped with a cold store, an automatic drip irrigation system, and fertilizer pumps that can irrigate up to 1 hectare of land. All of that is powered by solar energy and is connected to a platform Elite Agro created with which farmers can ask for assistance with their daily cultivation struggles. “This first project with FAO will be deployed in Liberia, and it’s a donation from the UAE government to the people of Liberia. But in the future, NGOs or organizations that would like to get such a solution – we’ll be able to provide it to them.”