Entrepreneur Gulf. Ryan Lefers, Mark Tester, and Derya Baran, Co-Founders, iyris (formerly Red Sea Farms). Today, with innovative agriculture-cum-technological solutions being created and developed, Abu Dhabi’s sustainable agriculture too has seen better innovations as of late. With the AgTech Industry developing a unique and patented technology to combat globally adverse climatic changes and their impacts, at iyris (formerly known as Red Sea Farms), the founders – Ryan Lefers, Mark Tester, and Derya Baran, are on a mission to “feed the world sustainably through the power of technology.” With their commitment to sustainably address climatic changes and global food security challenges, iyris has developed a brand called SecondSky – a transparent near-infrared radiation (INR) heat-blocking greenhouse cover embedded with nanocomposite additives that reduce harmful radiation effects on crops, ensuring optimal growing conditions, and simultaneously promoting sustainable farming practices.
This article shall delve into learning how adaptive agriclimate technology – iyris’ sustainable greenhouse covers are used today by farmers and crop growers, who seek to achieve their desired results in conserving resources and improving crop resilience in Abu Dhabi.
The Founders of iyris (formerly known as Red Sea Farms):
Iyris was co-founded by three brilliant and pioneering leaders of innovation and disruptive change-seekers. Co-founded and established in 2018, iyris initially began in 2009. Dr. Ryan Lefers, Professor Mark Tester, and Professor Derya Baran are the co-founders who founded and established iyris in 2018 – a UAE innovation in agriculture. The Research Scientist, Associate Professor, and full-time Professor, respectively, teach in Abu Dhabi at the KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology).
On the 30th of May, 2024 this year, the AgriClimate Tech Innovation company – iyris successfully secured investments of $16 million in Series A Fundraising which was led by the Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF). The investors included were – Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), Global Ventures, Globivest, Bonaventure Capital, and The Kanoo Group.
iyris – Combining Technology, Information, and the Internet:
In places of high temperature and water scarcity regions like the Middle East, food security is a massive challenge. With increased carbon emissions, water footprint, and adverse climatic changes occurring all at the same time, farmers and growers face a tedious and difficult agriculture farming practice. With very harsh environments and temperatures affecting the growth, quality, and yield of crops, sustainable desert agriculture technology, innovative ag-tech practices, and farming solutions are being developed by various organizations and start-up businesses around the world to mitigate such environmental impacts.
Keeping in line with the imperativeness of reducing water usage and carbon and GHG emissions, and increasing the growth and quality of crops, iyris combines modern state-of-the-art developed and patented technology, information, and the internet to create a sustainable agriculture technology called – SecondSky. SecondSky Labs is an innovative engine established through iyris, enabling and encouraging farmers and growers in dry climates and water-scarce regions like Abu Dhabi, to grow their food crops sustainably while using much fewer forms of resources thereby decreasing costs and increasing yield.
SecondSky’s Efficacies in Protecting and Enabling Safe Crop Growth:
SecondSky’s goal is to “seamlessly fuse leading-edge technologies that just make sense, addressing the real problems that farmers experience into simple solutions adapted for traditional agricultural practices.”
As a one-time, life-changing, and sustainable replacement for environmentally harmful plastic coverings, SecondSky’s greenhouse covers only block the harsh near-infra-red radiations (NIR). Due to their high transparency, the embedded nanocomposite additives are specially designed to improve the transmission of light while simultaneously reducing the harmful effects of the NIR. The heat-blocking greenhouse technology covers do not block natural light which is highly required for the plant, crop growth, and sustenance, thereby eventually elevating crop quality and yield. Therefore the growth of food crops is optimized, an increased yield quantity target is met, and the protection of growing food crops is taken care of by adapting to the ever-changing climatic conditions. Through this innovative approach, iyris’ sustainability goals are met, sustainable farming practices are encouraged and fostered among farmers and growers, and the challenges in food security are addressed and mitigated successfully.
As iyris reports – over 11 hot climatic territories have addressed the adverse climatic changes that affect their agricultural food crops leading to a threatened food security through SecondSky technology. Around 30% reduction was seen in energy and fertigation costs for farmers and growers in hydroponic farming systems and practices, and over 63% of near-infra-red radiation was blocked by SecondSky’s specifically designed greenhouse cover. With climate-smart agriculture technologies like iyris’ greenhouse covers embedded with innovative nanocomposite additives, help in effectively and efficiently blocking near-infra-red radiations while maintaining an optimal 81% Photo-synthetically Active Radiation (PAR) transmission.
Revolutionizing and redefining safe and sustainable farming practices while constantly improving crop growth, quality, and yield also in turn improves the use of resources and overall operational management. SecondSky was created and developed by iyris as a patented technology and has been recognized for its effectiveness and efficiency. Therefore the prestigious Davidson Prize was awarded to SecondSky celebrating its contribution to developing sustainable agricultural production.
With this kind of innovative and impactful solution created and developed by the company making it the future of farming in Abu Dhabi and across the globe, iyris surely finds itself standing at the housefront of modern agriculture’s sustainable farming practices in the AgTech Industry. Therefore it can be said that SecondSky is the type of innovative and modernized state-of-the-art technology that has been proven a worthwhile and a much-required investment made “in the developments of a comprehensive range of agricultural covers that incorporate our heat blocking technologies.”