Middle East And Africa Indoor Farming Technology Market - Strategic Insights and Forecasts (2026-2031)

The Middle East and Africa Indoor Farming Technology market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 10.6%, reaching USD 4.8 billion in 2031 from USD 2.9 billion in 2026.

Indoor farming is the process of cultivating plants without the need for soil, utilising techniques including aquaponics, hydroponics, and aeroponics. It is also known as controlled-environment agriculture, with the goal of optimising plant development. The main advantage of indoor farming is the capacity to enhance the development procedure for higher harvests. All of the risks associated with growing outside, like droughts, storms, and pest infestations, are eliminated. Instead, growers have complete control over everything, down to the quantity of daylight crops receive every minute.

The Middle East and African indoor framing tech market is predicted to increase rapidly throughout the projection period because of the requirement for better output with fewer resources and land.

According to World Bank estimates, throughout the Middle East and Africa, just one-third of the land is used for agriculture, and only 5 per cent of that land is arable. The remaining land is comprised of cities or deserts. According to official data, only 1.5 per cent of Saudi land is arable with 36 million population in 2021. Little agriculture the nation does have ends up using more than 80 per cent of the Kingdom's limited and precious water resources. Therefore the ability of indoor framing practices to use space as effectively as possible with minimal resources is critical for the region’s progress and self-sufficiency.

Improved technology like artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, and data analytics are increasingly being employed in indoor farming to boost crop output.

Further, governments and potential leaders in the Middle East are capitalizing on the benefits of hydroponics to establish a truly resilient, food-secure industry. Agritech firms are also employing IoT-based agriculture systems to create vertical farm modules that use fewer resources while producing high-quality crops. Furthermore, they are giving guidance and leadership services to hydroponic growers in the Middle East in order to alleviate the region's food insecurity. A number of Middle Eastern companies are investing in R&D projects to combine technology with food systems to boost productivity and sustainability. However, high initial investment, lack of knowledge and skilled manpower are some of the factors anticipated to hinder the growth of the indoor farming tech market in the region.

Key developments

• The government of the Middle East and Africa are also investing in various indoor farming projects to boost the market demand during the forecast period.  For instance, in 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allotted $26.5 million or SAR 100 million in 2021 for the development and localization of vertical farming technology.

• Moreover, Four agrotech businesses with plans to erect production and research facilities in the emirate received investments totalling $100 million from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.

By growing systems, the market is increasing as hydroponics produces higher yields than traditional farming practices.

Hydroponics eliminates the usage of counterfeit maturing agents and pesticides, which aids in the production of nutritiously better vegetable products. Moreover, the participants are making investments in new items, product innovation, partnerships, business expansions, and acquisitions. For instance, AeroFarms announced a partnership with QFZA and Doha Venture Capital in November 2022 and created a commercialized indoor vertical farm in Qatar Free Zones that will provide unmatched connectivity and access to the region.

Middle East And Africa Indoor Farming Technology Market Scope: 

Key Market Segments

• By Growing Systems

  • Hydroponics

  • Aeroponics

  • Aquaponics

  • Soil-based

  • Hybrid

• By Component

  • Hardware