Desert terrain, extremely high temperatures and limited rainfall have historically made agriculture unworkable in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — but thanks to new technology, companies in Dubai are finding ways to grow locally-sourced produce.

With temperatures in the desert city regularly exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in summer months, a massive 80% of the Dubai's food supply is imported. But the government is keen to reduce dependency on imported foods.

Badia Farms is one of several firms tapping into the demand for locally grown foods by developing an indoor farm in the city.

Using hydroponics, a growing technique that doesn't require soil, the farm is successfully growing fruit and vegetables that are already being served in some of Dubai's top restaurants.

Speaking to CNBC's Dan Murphy, founder and CEO Omar Al Jundi explained that crops are moved along a production line in artificially optimized conditions.

"As they move along the production line they sprout and grow, (then) at the end we take them out and offer them to the market," he said, adding that some plants can be grown and sent to a restaurant in as little as 30 days.