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Filling a gap to provide certification services to indoor soil-less farms, Sustainable Indoor Farming (SIF) is the first certification scheme tailored to this industry. The scheme was developed by the Association for Vertical Farming in collaboration with Control Union (UK).

The programme was developed with 18 months of stakeholder workshops involving stakeholders across academia, technology provision and growers. Following these workshops, stakeholders agreed on 10 key impact categories encapsulating environmental sustainability in indoor soil-less farming. These are:

- Renewable and non-renewable energy use

- Water use

- Nutrient use

- Substrate use

- Crop protection plan

- Space use

- Food miles

- Seeds and seedlings

- Waste

Ekthaar Agricultural LLC, based in Dubai, stands as the first certified farm against the Sustainable Indoor Farming (SIF) standard. This forward-thinking farm specializes in lettuce cultivation and demonstrates an admirable commitment to sustainability through its innovative approach to recycling construction materials. Given that the construction sector is a significant driver of the UAE's economy, with a recycling rate of under 10%, Ekthaar Agricultural's vision aligns seamlessly with the government's ambitious sustainable agenda for 2030, which strives for zero waste to landfill. Beyond the farm's admirable efforts in creating a sustainable facility, their lettuce production also meets the criteria set forth by the SIF standard.

We celebrate Ekthaar Agricultural LLC's noteworthy achievement and anticipate that it will herald a new era of excellence in the indoor farming industry.



More information about SIF can be found here.