Pure Harvest Smart Farms and RedSea (RedSea) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for Pure Harvest to take over RedSea's existing six-hectare controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) production facility near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This strategic sale of its fresh produce business, which operates under the Red Sea FarmsTM brand, is part of RedSea's strategic transition into a pure-play technology company, focusing on the development and commercialization of AgriClimate technology solutions. It also aligns with Pure Harvest's expansion ambitions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its continued business model innovations, now deploying an asset-light, technology-enabled service model termed "franchise farming," wherein Pure Harvest partners with incumbent farmers in any market to scale sustainable farming solutions worldwide.
Pure Harvest will assume operations of the farm in January 2024, and will immediately invest capital to enhance production and climate control capacities. The investment includes a large-scale integration of RedSea's iyris SecondSkyTM technology, a revolutionary transparent, heat-blocking roofing solution enhancing energy efficiency inside greenhouses while reducing water consumption and improving crop health. iyris SecondSkyTM received the prestigious AE50 and Davidson prizes for innovation in 2023.
As part of the transaction, Pure Harvest will also secure a 40-hectare land bank co-located to the existing production facility in partnership with the Alajaweed farm, positioning Pure Harvest to expand its franchised farm footprint to build up to 28 hectares (equivalent to 52 football pitches) of resource-efficient, protected agriculture production at the site.
Sky Kurtz, Pure Harvest's Co-founder & CEO, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, stating: "We are delighted to partner with RedSea and to support its strategic transition. Both companies wholeheartedly believe that technology will play a critical role to mitigate climate change and ensure the availability, affordability, safety, and sustainability of food. This transaction allows us to double our footprint in the Kingdom and serves as a foundational deployment of our novel 'franchise farming' business model, a solution that has been under development for over two years."
"We are grateful to RedSea and to Alajaweed Farm for the trust they have placed in Pure Harvest and for their innovative and collaborative approach to working as one towards our unified vision. We look forward to beginning work on the expansion projects in the new year, and we hope that this alliance serves as a symbol for what's possible when we work together."
Ryan Lefers, Co-founder & CEO of RedSea, commented: "RedSea began with a vision to bring innovative technologies to the market to tackle climate-driven food, water, and energy challenges. Early-on, we acknowledged the importance of acquiring a first-hand understanding of the challenges our future farmer-operator customers face, and by walking in their shoes were able to develop and field test a compelling suite of AgriClimate technology solutions. We always planned a transition from farm' operator' to a pure-play technology company."
"In Pure Harvest, we have found a custodian for what we have built in the Kingdom to-date, including our fruitful partnership with Alajaweed Farm. They are a partner to carry the torch and have demonstrated passion, commitment, and capabilities to farm in challenging climates and to invest in the Kingdom. We look forward to working with Pure Harvest as a technology partner in the years to come and to bringing the AgriClimate solutions we've honed over the past five years to farmers all over the world."
Both companies have received global recognition for their innovative approaches to agriculture in challenging climates and developing markets. This alliance reflects their unique capabilities and capacities, positioning them to address not only the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's needs, but also to contribute to solving global climate and food security challenges in some of the harshest climates on Earth.
