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Important Tips For Designing A Hydroponic Production Facility
Growers should always choose a properly sized and engineered system. The reality is that the budget will drive many of the growers’ decisions
Why Do You Keep Saying Buffer Capacity?
For anyone that has called me to discuss the design of their new vertical farm or greenhouse, they have probably grown quickly tired of me using the term buffer capacity. But, of everything I have learned over the past 25 years, the understanding of “buffer capacity” might possibly be the most important. It makes your production system easier to manage, more predictable and more stable. All traits that can be found in all successful farming and commercial horticulture production facilities. (You might remember my recent article on simplicity, well this goes right back to that.)
Let’s start by agreeing that I am not properly using the term buffer capacity which is normally defined as the moles of an acid or base necessary to change the pH of a solution by 1, divided by the pH change and the volume of buffer in liters; it is a unitless number. A buffer resists changes in pH due to the addition of an acid or base though consumption of the buffer.
Now let us focus on how we can manipulate that definition to fit the needs of designing a greenhouse or an indoor farm. When referring to buffer capacity in our production environment we are referring to our system’s ability to keep key elements (temperature, humidity, wind, nutrients, light, CO2, oxygen, water) from fluctuating unless we as the grower determine that we want it to and have the ability to manipulate these key variables while keeping the others in balance.
The ability to keep key elements from fluctuating unless the grower determines that the variables should be adjusted to produce a crop response. Adjustments should be met with the abilities to keep all other elements in balance.
For this article I am going to use (3) examples of how designing “buffer capacity” into your farm will lead to better production and more consistency.
Greenhouse Structure.
For those starting to investigate different greenhouse types and designs or for those that have already gone through the process, I think we can all agree that the choices are limitless, and for the most part the look of the greenhouse has not changed much of the years with one major exception. They have gotten much taller. Taller greenhouses provide a more uniform, stable and ultimately superior growing environment for the crop. During hot weather (as an example), the additional space creates a buffer that avoids trapping heat and humid air around the plants.
Water holding tanks and nutrient solutions reservoirs
For beginning growers this is the area where the right decisions might provide the biggest advantages. Experienced growers may choose to size their systems differently depending on their budget, crop and space but one thing is for sure, they will make sure that they have ample water availability as well as on demand storage to respond to changing crop needs.
Larger tanks and reservoirs (as compared to the amount of plants in the system) have a considerable buffer before they will run out or need to be dumped. The most obvious benefit is that of ensuring the tanks don’t run dry and cause extensive damage to the pump(s) or loss of crops and production. The most important benefit might be a properly sized system’s ability to keep the nutrient solution from having big erratic swings in EC and pH.
Substrates
Hydroponic substrates provide an (additional) reservoir for water, a place for plants to take up nutrients, an area for the plant to develop a sufficient root system as well as location for gaseous exchanges. A good grower will consider all the other decisions that he or she has made in building the greenhouse and designing the irrigation system then decide how much buffer capacity their substrate needs to provide. If the buffer capacity of the irrigation system is limited, the grower may choose to use more substrate with a higher water holding capacity so the total system is more durable on hot summer days. If the grower has a tremendous amount of confidence in their access to water, the responsiveness of their irrigation system and their ability to fix the system if they have problems then the grower might choose a substrate that they can steer thereby providing them more control in the greenhouse.
Growers should always choose a properly sized and engineered system. The reality is that the budget will drive many of the growers’ decisions. Understanding buffer capacity in the system will allow growers to get the most out of their investment while still focusing on consistent and uniformed crop production.
To continue the conversation, email us and schedule some time with either Chris Higgins or our newest grower consultant Tyler Baras (aka The Farmer Tyler.)
Next article. Can indoor farming be profitable?. Simple answer: of course. Complexed answer it all depends.
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Tagged GreenhouseHydroponic Production SystemsHydroponicsVertical Farming
Growing Crops Vertically To Feed The Growing Indian Population
Dr. Dickson Despommier, Father of Vertical Farming and professor emeritus Columbia University, says, “If we could engineer the vertical farming approach to food production, then no crops would ever fail due to severe weather events (floods, droughts, hurricanes, etc.).”
Agrihouse India Ltd set up the country’s first aeroponic laboratory at the University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad in 2016. Dr. Dickson Despommier, Father of Vertical Farming and professor emeritus Columbia University, says, “If we could engineer the vertical farming approach to food production, then no crops would ever fail due to severe weather events (floods, droughts, hurricanes, etc.).”
Currently, there are many vertical farms in the US, Europe, Japan and China, while some of the most robust ones are underway in the Middle East. Despommier says: “If vertical farming in urban centres becomes the norm, one anticipated long-term benefit would be the gradual repair of many of the world’s damaged ecosystems.”
Despommier, in his research article for Agrihouse India International Pvt Ltd, says that there is good reason to believe that a significant amount of energy to run a vertical farm can come from organic waste such as methane. He also states that vertical farms will be engineered to take in contaminated water and restore it to near-drinking water using bioremediation and other technologies yet to be fully developed. The byproducts of burning methane ― CO2, heat and water ― can be added into the closed loop atmosphere of the vertical farm for fostering optimal plant growth. “Any water source that emerges from the vertical farm should be drinkable, thus completely recycling it back into the community that brought it to the farm to begin with.”
Stoner has been the principal scientist for developing a high-performance aeroponic system for NASA for the orbital space shuttle and also earth. NASA endorsed that Stoner’s aeroponic system could reduce the use of water by 98 percent, fertilizer by 60 percent and pesticides by 100 percent. The system can be used for growing anything from leafy greens to strawberries and cucumbers to root crops. Stoner’s technology is widely used in commercial farms in the US, Canada, Vietnam and Europe.
Setting up of vertical farms in India will help mend damaged ecology, create food security and generate employment. Most importantly, it will save India’s farmers from resorting to extreme steps due to unpredictable climatic ravages. Let us all join in praying ‘Annadaata Sukhi Bhava’.
Read the complete article at Hindu Business Line
6 Nov 2020
CANADA: Vertical Farming Is On The Rise In Ontario
According to Elevate’s chief strategy officer, Travis Kanellos, the farm’s goal, for now, is to produce and market leafy greens, such as lettuce, arugula and basil; eventually, it will branch out to more products
November 2, 2020
Experts Say That A Technology Developed
For Space Travel Could Help Good Things Grow Right Here At Home
WELLAND — The technology behind vertical farming was originally developed with space travel in mind. Researchers, attempting to minimize the amount of real estate and materials needed for interplanetary travellers to grow food on long-haul trips, found that the tech could work on Earth. Despite the seemingly futuristic possibilities, vertical farming is becoming a practical reality in southern Ontario: a new vertical farm in Welland’s Industrial Zone had its first harvest last week. The facility, which opened in September, practises a high-tech way of growing food indoors that proponents say saves energy and will help improve food security and safety.
The vertical farm in Welland is about 1,860 square metres. (Courtesy of Amin Jadavji)
Whereas traditional farming involves planting across a wide area, vertical farms build upwards, stacking plants in layers. Run by Elevate Farms, a company that grows and sells produce in vertical farms, the facility in Welland is about 1,860 square metres, 465 of which is growing space. Plants are stacked 13 layers high (about 7.5 metres) and grow with their roots in water, rather than soil. They get their light from LEDs, which can be adjusted to produce changes in the plants’ colours and nutrients.
According to Elevate’s chief strategy officer, Travis Kanellos, the farm’s goal, for now, is to produce and market leafy greens, such as lettuce, arugula and basil; eventually, it will branch out to more products. Kanellos says the farm should be able to produce an estimated 454,000 kilograms of greens per year: “That facility will have a capacity of 1 million pounds annually out of a 5,000 square-foot box. And that’s our quote-unquote standard facility.”
McGill University professor Mark Lefsrud, an expert in food security and urban agriculture, says that, while vertical farming currently accounts for less than 1 per cent of all farming in Canada, within 20 years, “I’d expect it to slowly creep up to around 20 per cent of the total market.”
In a March report, Ontario’s Greenbelt Foundation identifies vertical farming as a priority to expand fruit and vegetable growth in the region and lists six vertical farms operating in Ontario (not including Elevate Farms): one in Kingsville, two in Guelph, and three in Toronto. All grow leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens (such as kale). The report notes that global investment in vertical farms is estimated at US$3.1 billion; about a third of that takes place in North America.
To Youbin Zheng, a professor and expert in controlled environment facilities at the University of Guelph, building more vertical farms in southern Ontario makes sense: “If you look at the Greenbelt and Golden Horseshoe, our land is limited, very limited, but our population has been increasing. If you grow vegetables in the field, there are only a few months in a year you can produce outside. If you grow inside with vertical farming, what you can get is just enormous.” The Greenbelt Foundation report states that, by building up, a vertical farm can produce the equivalent of more than 4,000 square metres of greenhouse space using just 185 square metres of floor space.
Proponents also cite the significant benefits of vertical farming when it comes to food security and safety. The farms can be close to major population centres, reducing the need for transportation. In the case of Elevate Farms, Welland’s easy access to transportation routes means lower transportation costs and fresher, more nutrient-rich food for the consumer. Closer monitoring of produce and the fact that it stays within one country’s border may also reduce the risk of contamination. Before the pandemic, Kanellos says, “we had numerous outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella in different products across the supply chain — and we're going to eliminate that.”
Despite the significant savings when it comes to land and energy, nobody is suggesting that vertical farms will replace traditional farms anytime soon. For Elevate Farms, Kanellos says, “the play is not to try and replace traditional agriculture” but to supplement the existing market with what the farm produces.
At the vertical farm in Welland, plants are stacked 13 layers high and grow with their roots in water. (Courtesy of Josh Siteman)
University of Guelph professor Mike Dixon is a leading expert in vertical farming who also works with space agencies including the Canadian Space Agency and NASA. Dixon leads the school’s Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility and advises Intravision Group, the research and development company behind Elevate Farms. “I've been long quoted as saying the next worst place after the surface of the moon to try to grow plants is a snowbank in northern Canada,” he says. While food-insecure communities such as First Nations in Ontario’s north could benefit from vertical farms, experts point out that building them is costly. Labour is expensive, and energy costs are high: lighting accounting for about 40 per cent of capital costs, as the Greenbelt Foundation notes. “First Nations communities have a hard time covering this without serious subsidies from the government,” Lefsrud says.
Another hurdle for vertical farms is diversifying what they produce. Josh Siteman, the Canadian managing director of Intravision Group, calls leafy greens the “tipping point for vertical farming,” which proved there was a market. Zheng notes that greens are relatively easy to produce and have short growth cycles, meaning that if something goes wrong, it’s not a huge loss to start over. But there are only so many greens a person can eat.
“I'm kind of sick and tired of people growing lettuce,” Dixon says jokingly. “Lettuce is not food until you add the ranch dressing. But everybody and their dog — I would say 95 per cent of the entrepreneurial ventures in horticulture [within] controlled environments — are growing lettuce or some variation on a salad green that has marginal nutritional value, in most cases.” Other popular produce, such as fruits and legumes, take more time to grow and require more nutrition, Dixon says, and harvesting them is more challenging and costly.
Lefsrud notes that there are companies working to produce berries and legumes in vertical farms, and Kanellos says Elevate Farms will eventually move in that direction. He also says the business plans to expand to more Canadian locations but declines to share which ones.
Dixon says that artificial-intelligence systems will be the next big game-changer for vertical farms, allowing growers to work more efficiently and precisely, thereby opening up more possibilities. “The imaging technology that we can bring to bear even now can detect nutrient imbalances, water stress, all kinds of abiotic and biotic stress responses in plants, and affect a management strategy to mitigate those problems long before you and I would ever know that there was a problem. Even a skilled horticulturist would not detect some of the kinds of nutrient imbalances,” he says. “We’ll evolve away from lettuce.”
Ontario Hubs are made possible by the Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust & Goldie Feldman.
Related tags: Food
Author: Justin Chandler
Justin Chandler is TVO.org's Hamilton-Niagara reporter.
Locally Grown Produce With A Vertical Farm In Copenhagen
After Taoyuan, Taiwan and Shenzhen in China, the YesHealth Group has now opened a new-generation Vertical Farm in Europe - Copenhagen to be exact
06-11-2020
Author: Nordic Harvest
New challenges need new responses. Vertical Farming is a solution that delivers efficient agriculture in terms of resources, uses sustainable energy and is an excellent farm-to-fork strategy. After Taoyuan, Taiwan and Shenzhen in China, the YesHealth Group has now opened a new-generation Vertical Farm in Europe - Copenhagen to be exact..
We’ve seen urban vegetable gardens, guerrilla gardening and for some now more structured solutions when it comes to growing vegetables in cities. We also showcased a Canadian enterprise, the Lufa Farms commercial greenhouses that are hidden on the rooftops of disused architecture, providing locally grown, fresh produce for the community. We can see a real surge in the numbers of people seeking feasible and, where possible, sustainable solutions when it comes to growing vegetables locally for people living in the city.
One of the possible answers to the problem of growing fresh, healthy produce for city dwellers is Vertical Farming, which uses just a fraction of land and water compared to traditional farming methods. The vegetables are grown in dedicated indoor facilities, where the climate is maintained at ideal conditions all year round, and there are no insects, bacteria or other pests to fear.
This, of course, means no pesticides are required. Technological advances are a fundamental feature of this type of farming, which was developed by the Taiwan-based YesHealth Group. This technology has evolved into agriculture 4.0 that underpins the Vertical Farm they are about to launch in Copenhagen.
In the case of the greenhouses developed by the Taiwanese company, their proprietary technologies play a prominent role in limiting environmental impact, not least in terms of energy requirements, which are obviously higher than traditional agriculture in the fields.
This is, in fact, one of the accusations fired at vertical farming. Here though, their technologies include a LED grow light system, micro-nano bubble hydroponics technology, and liquid microbial fertilizer formulae. This is in addition to their knowledge of plant physiology, as well as their use of big data and artificial intelligence to increase efficiency.
The group’s latest Vertical Farm, constructed by YesHealth Group in partnership with Nordic Harvest, is located in Copenhagen, Denmark, in Copenhagen Markets, Northern Europe’s biggest wholesale food market. Here they will be growing greens, herbs and kale on shelves that rises as high as 14 floors, as far as the eye can see. This will be the world’s largest vertical farm, capable of harvesting up to 3000kg of leafy greens per day at maximum capacity.
It will also be one of the most sustainable Vertical Farms, thanks to Denmark’s renewable energy infrastructures. “Vertical farming helps Denmark to reduce CO2 emissions per unit of agricultural crop produced, and thus we at Nordic Harvest help agriculture with the green transition that is highly needed when Denmark has to deliver a 70% reduction in greenhouse gases in 2030”, says Anders Riemann, CEO and founder of Nordic Harvest.
In short, a defining moment for the vertical farming movement and the cleantech sector as a whole. With the transparent policies in place in Denmark, the figures and statistics of the Copenhagen Vertical Farm will be made public to verify these claims so you can enjoy a delicious organic salad without feeling guilty.
Christiane Bürklein
Project: Nordic Harvest
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Year: 2020
Images: courtesy of YesHealth Group
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The 5 Best LED Grow Lights To Use For Indoor Plants And Greenhouse Growing
Grow lights mimic natural sunlight and utilize the correct color spectrum to encourage photosynthesis to help plants grow indoors
The best grow lights allow us to garden indoors and in our greenhouses throughout the year. Grow lights mimic natural sunlight and utilize the correct color spectrum to encourage photosynthesis to help plants grow indoors. LED grow lights are energy-efficient, long-lasting, and have the full light spectrum, and we’ll cover the best LED grow lights in this article for indoor and greenhouse growing. This article will cover the best grow lights to use for indoor and greenhouse growing.
Kind LED Grow Light K5 Series This is one the best LED grow lights for indoor plants because of its grow light spectrum. This provides plants with a wide range of lights to optimize their growth and lets you grow all kinds of crops year-round. You can use these LED lights for hydroponic and indoor growing.
MD Lighting LED Grow Light This LED lighting system is set up like a lamp and allows for LED replacement bulbs for long-lasting use. It uses the right wavelengths to help encourage and promote plant growth. The grow light is easy to adjust and move to ensure all parts of the plant are receiving an equal amount of sunlight. It’s energy-efficient and saves money on electric bills.
Phlizon 1200W LED Grow Light The Philzon 1200W is one of the best LED grow lights for indoor plants and greenhouse growing. This grow light system doesn’t use a reflector in order to reduce heat emissions for plant protection. It’s known for generating less heat, being energy efficient, which is a cost-effective solution for electric bills. There are two light switches: VEG (blue and white LED light) which is used to promote young vegetative growth, and BLOOM (red and white LED) to promote flowering and blooming in the plants. The full spectrum of light can be found in this grow light to ensure your plants get the necessary nutrients.
HAUS Bright LED Grow Light Bulb These bright LED growing light bulbs provide a full spectrum of light that will help you grow your plants indoors all year round. It’s easy to install since it’s a light bulb and you can hang it anywhere! Only 20w of power is used, but it still produces 1200 lumens to keep your plants healthy.
Aceple Small LED Grow Light This LED grow light is perfect for small plants like succulents or potted plants. This Aceple grow light is one of the best LED grow lights for indoor plants and you can set it up at your office or wherever you may have a small assortment of plants. It provides red and blue lighting, which is essential for healthy leaves and blooming.
Want to learn more about the best LED grow lights for indoor plants and greenhouse gardening? Join our microgreens class to learn the basics about everything there is to know about microgreen and indoor growing. If you can’t sign up for our class, subscribe to our weekly blog and Youtube channel for weekly updates!
#bestledgrowlightsforindoorplants #bestgrowlight #indoorgrowlight #growinglight #growlight #bestgrowlights
St. Petersburg Urban Farm Saves Resources By Turning Shipping Containers Into Vertical Farmland
“There’s no dirt. There are no bugs. No chemicals. No soil. There are no herbicides. No pesticides inside any of our farm containers,” O’Malley shared
By FOX 13 News Staff
11-05-20
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Brick Street Farms is an urban hydroponic farm located in the heart of St. Petersburg. It upcycles shipping containers into 40-foot grow houses. It started in Shannon O’Malley and Bradley Doyle’s garage.
“We converted our garage to a grow room. We saw an incredible opportunity. We didn’t have the money to convert a warehouse, so we bought a shipping container,” O’Malley explained.
Each container is the same as two to three acres of traditional farmland. It’s six levels of vertical farmland.
“There’s no dirt. There are no bugs. No chemicals. No soil. There are no herbicides. No pesticides inside any of our farm containers,” O’Malley shared.
All of the plants are started with a seed and are grown and harvested inside the shipping container. Every 12 hours, the lights inside the container flip to a different section to give the plants 12 hours of light and dark to represent day and night, so they can rest in between growth cycles.
O’Malley says each farm with about three acres of farmland uses approximately 15-20 gallons of water per day compared to a traditional soil farm that uses 1,000 gallons of water per day per acre.
“Not only are we saving resources, but we are creating delicious, incredibly local food,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley says they plan to bring farms and modular farm containers to cities across the state and country.
She added, “We really are bringing urban farming into fruition.”
Brick Street Farms sells to grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels. Its produce can also be bought on-site at its farm market or online at https://brickstreetfarms.com/.
Global Warming, Decreased Crop Yields, And The Food Waste Industry
With the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement and the proposal of the Green New Deal, concerns continue to grow over global warming and the stability of our food supply
November 4, 2020
Written by Daniel Cunniffe
With the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement and the proposal of the Green New Deal, concerns continue to grow over global warming and the stability of our food supply.
Will global warming affect crop yields?
Among the many impacts of global warming, the two that would likely affect crop yields the most are rising sea levels and more severe, unpredictable climate conditions. Rising sea levels would reduce the land available for farming and severe, unpredictable climate conditions such as strong tropical storms, floods, drought, altered growing regions, or even less rain during the year could decrease crop yields, change the types of crops traditionally grown on a farm, or even make that land unusable for farming.
Smaller crop yields and a smaller food waste industry
The food waste industry depends on the food industry and its crops for raw materials. A decreased crop yield means less food, less food waste, and a decreased food waste industry. One impact of a decreased food waste supply is greater competition between food waste businesses for fewer raw materials. Additionally, if crop yields decrease, the price of food increases, leading consumers to utilize more of a food’s edible potential - a secondary decrease in food waste. Bones, eggshells, and banana peels are commonly thrown away, yet all of these are edible and are more likely to be consumed under conditions of food scarcity.
Different climate conditions, different crops, different food waste industry
Traditionally, farms were handed down from father to son or daughter, where the parent would teach the children what types of crops they could grow along with all of the intricate details and tricks to growing those crops.
Crops that a farm can grow is largely based on the climate conditions of the growing region they’re in, which in turn affects things like soil type, humidity level, etc - all of which are prime factors that allow for healthy crop growth. Global warming will likely shift these growing zones for certain crops. For example, say global warming turns the climate of Canada to that of Mexico, where once Canadian farmers could only grow cold weather crops, now they instead grow oranges.
The idea is that a farm may experience changes in the types of crops they can grow and thus this changes the crops available to local food waste companies. Companies that use waste from a single crop, may have to move locations, ship that food waste from a distant farm, or go out of business altogether as growing zones shift. This will in turn affect the food waste supply chain in ways that the industry may not be prepared for. Growing zones are not concerned with political borders.
If a company depends on a certain crop and the growing region of that crop shifts outside of the country, that company may have to ship food from outside of the country and take on additional costs, such as customs and taxes.
What can the food waste industry do about global warming?
Enter soilless systems - They can be grown indoors and protect crops from severe weather conditions like, droughts, pathogens, and pests. Additionally, companies like Re-Nuble are reducing the carbon footprint of the food supply chain through closed loop agriculture which allows us to avoid further global warming and empower farmers to increase crop yields. This will further ensure a stable food supply, healthy environment, and healthy food for our future.
Tags: closed loop, crop yields, food supply chain, global warming
Lead Image Source: https://sustyvibes.com/impact-climate-change-agriculture
VIDEO: Five Tips On Hydroponic Substrates
This video is part of the series called “Five Tips for Horticulture” featured on the Greenhouse Training Online channel (https://tinyurl.com/ufgto). The series highlights technical topics from university and industry experts
Dr. Paul Fisher from the University of Florida IFAS Extension interviews Shawn Mallen from A.M.A. Horticulture in a new YouTube video where they discuss the different commercial substrates most commonly used in hydroponic production, the importance of air porosity, and compaction of substrates.
This video is part of the series called “Five Tips for Horticulture” featured on the Greenhouse Training Online channel (https://tinyurl.com/ufgto). The series highlights technical topics from university and industry experts. Subscribe to receive upcoming videos on topics such as growing media, vermicompost, and running successful trials. The channel is sponsored by the Floriculture Research Alliance (floriculturealliance.org).
For more information on hydroponics, take the UF IFAS Extension online course for growers on Hydroponic Vegetable Production beginning on November 9 (https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/) in English and Spanish.
For more information:
UF/IFAS
www.ifas.ufl.edu
2 Nov 2020
Vertical Farming Made Easy With Sarab From Ecotwigs
Sarab lives in Mumbai, India. In 2017, she completed an internship in Canada at the In.Genius Farms, a small-scale vertical farm in Laval, Quebec. Mentored by Khaled Majouji, aka The Plant Charmer, she learned about the potential of vertical farming. Once back home, she decided to be the change she wanted to see in her country
August 5, 2020
Sarab lives in Mumbai, India. In 2017, she completed an internship in Canada at the In.Genius Farms, a small-scale vertical farm in Laval, Quebec. Mentored by Khaled Majouji, aka The Plant Charmer, she learned about the potential of vertical farming. Once back home, she decided to be the change she wanted to see in her country.
Inspired by her experience in Canada, Sarab started her own startup: Ecotwigs. With the help of her father, Gurmukh Singh, an entrepreneur in computer numerical control (CNC) machinery, they designed and developed a ready-to-assemble vertical farming system.
It can be produced on an industrial scale, delivered wherever it is needed, and easily deployed upon reception.
Sarab at her vertical farm near Mumbai
As in many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the mobility of agricultural workers in India, adding pressure to food supply chains and compromising the food security of the most vulnerable populations. The situation raised awareness on the importance of local farming and shorter supply chains.
Sarab vertical farming solution comes at the right time. It aims to solve a few problems at once:
requires less land;
reduces the workload and dependence on seasonal foreign workers;
increases yields per square-foot;
improves food salubrity;
simplifies traceability;
and fosters profitability.
Given the current pandemic, such a farming system, which also requires limited interactions and manipulations while operated, would be more than handy.
How it all started
Sarab studied sciences in Junior college. “It was the rational choice”, she said. However, her real dream was to become a pastry chef. She had always been fascinated by big wedding cakes, but convincing her dad about this career choice was challenging.
Nonetheless, while in college she started a side gig as a freelance pastry chef. She liked it so much that after college, she did a bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Hospitality Administration. While studying, she spent a semester working as an intern at the Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi in Ruwais city.
Before completing her bachelor’s degree, a research topic on lifestyle diseases based on our diets shed a different light on her passion. “I realized that what I was loving [baking cakes] was making people diabetic”, she said. “I thought I was giving people joy, but I was giving them diabetes”, she added.
Sarab explained that although she still enjoys baking and has nothing against eating pastries, it may not be the purpose she wanted in life. When she graduated, suddenly she felt like she didn’t want to follow this path anymore.
One day, while waiting for a friend near a market, she was watching how the food was handled. Among other things, she noticed bunches of cilantro unloaded directly on the dirty pavement of a street in Mumbai. Given that cilantro is a garnish in almost every Indian dish, she thought that she could do better. She started to crawl Youtube and looked at hours of videos on how to grow food. The first thing she tried was to grow kiwis from seeds. “I never stopped after that”, she said.
She made a rooftop garden, but without any background in agriculture, she admitted her results were suboptimal. Nevertheless, she was determined to pursue this new path. In 2017, she was following Khaled, aka The Plant Charmer, on Instagram. When she saw a post about an internship opportunity at his new vertical farm, she jumped on it.
The Instagram post that caught Sarab’s attention
Although it sounded like a crazy idea to her parents, generating some fuss in her family, they ended up being supportive of her choice. “Going to Khaled’s farm was the best decision in my life”, she said.
When I was at Khaled’s farm it struck me: this is the future of farming. – Sarab
Sarab wanted to see the full cycle, from seedling to harvesting, including everything in between. “I was supposed to do a one-month internship only”, she explained. “But I was so fascinated on how the system works, I asked to stay longer”, she added.
Sarab at the In.Genius Farm in Laval, QC, Canada
At the end of her internship, another big decision was awaiting Sarab. She had to decide whether to stay in Canada and apply for permanent residence, or to return to India. “The greatest accomplishment in our country is to leave”, Sarab said. “With everything I learned, I felt like the right thing to do was to bring back this knowledge and do something for my country”, she added.
When she returned home, she faced a few challenges. The same as any small-scale urban farming entrepreneurs would encounter in India and elsewhere: access to land, in or near the city, is difficult.
The real estate in Mumbai and other major Indian cities is as expensive as any major city in North America or Europe. It makes farming possible only in remote and often deficiently developed regions. Moreover, a lot of lands in or near the cities and suburbs are highly contaminated, making agriculture beyond gardening nearly impossible. Luckily, Sarab’s uncle provided her with the opportunity to develop her project on an 18,000 sq.-ft plot of land he owns, only 20 minutes away from Mumbai’s suburbs.
Why vertical farming
A new climate report from the United Nations has warned that the world might face a food crisis due to climate change and overexploitation of land and water resources. The vertical farming infrastructure proposed by Sarab aims to enable growing food wherever there is place while reducing pressure on farmlands and fostering soil regeneration.
Without farming the land itself, the annual yields are still calculated in metric tons on less than an acre. By growing above the ground, pest damage and diseases are drastically reduced without the need for any pesticides or harmful chemicals.
For Sarab, vertical farming as she learned it at the In.Genius Farms makes organic farming way easier. “It reduces operational costs, requires fewer resources [human and natural], while increasing yields and margins”, she explained.
“Vertical farming with my infrastructure can be done by anybody because the hard work factors of conventional farming were removed”, she said. “There’s no kneeling, no bending, and no weeding”, she added. From her experience at In.Genius farms, Sarab thinks that 1 worker for every 100 units is more than enough (100 units cover about 10,000 sq.-ft.).
Business model
Once back from her internship at In.Genius Farms, Sarab realized something: she didn’t want to start a farm, she wanted to become the vertical farming infrastructure provider.
I want to be the person who set [up] vertical farms for others because that’s the future. – Sarab
Sarab explains that going through the process of figuring out vertical farming by yourself can be daunting. “Of course some could do it by themselves, but it would turn out to be expensive and time-consuming”, she said. “I want to make things simple and affordable to those wishing to start a vertical farm”, she added.
Her business model is to provide customers with a turnkey vertical agricultural infrastructure and technical assistance to ensure they reach the full yield potential. Therefore, land use and the time, effort, and money spent would be optimized.
As what IKEA does to home furniture, Ecotwigs does to farms by designing and selling ready-to-assemble vertical farms. – Sarab
Sarab’s main market for her vertical farming infrastructure will be existing farmers, but also a new generation of food entrepreneurs who own small plots of land and wish to start small-scale farming businesses. For Sarab, too many farmers in India (and elsewhere) are not treating their farm as a business, and when they do, it is often not managed efficiently. Thus, she wants to provide them with proper customer support to create lasting prosperity.
Vertical Farming Systems
As Sarab’s father noticed her enthusiasm for vertical farming, he decided to help her in her venture. He helped her design and engineer a new system following her experience in Canada.
This A-frame is made of inert material. Suitable for outdoor and indoor farming, it is lighter than wood and easier to assemble (or disassemble if needed). Moreover, it is made to last a minimum of 10 years.
A 100 units farm can be assembled within a week by 2 people. – Sarab
One unit can be assembled by 2 people in 30 minutes. Each A-frame unit includes 10 rammers that are 12 feet long (or 3.90 meters). There are 5 rammers on each side. Working 7.5 hours per day, it would take two people about 7 days to set up a 100 unit vertical farm on 10,000 sq.-ft.
Depending on the crop and location, each unit can generate from $400 to over $1000 in revenue per season. The price to buy a unit is not yet settled. Nevertheless, the price range will be established to allow clients to get a great return on investment (ROI).
Our challenge was to design the most profitable, eco-friendly, food-safe, sturdy, and long-lasting farming system. – Sarab
The rain gutters, as used on the In.Genius Farms’ A-frame, are replaced by a custom made rammers. For marketing purposes, Sarab and her father decided to change the name of this component, which is the channel used to grow food. “In India, when you say gutters, it is associated to a filthy place”, she explained. “It is not the place where people would want their food to grow”, she added.
The rammers’ length, width, and depth were increased to allow higher yields per unit and the growth of a wider variety of crops. The angle of the rammers was set to get a maximum sun or LED light exposure. The system can be deployed either as a few units in a backyard, on rooftops, or at scale on acres.
The next steps
Sarab currently operates a 30 unit vertical farm. It serves as a research and development lab. “That is where data are validated”, she said. Sarab is growing varieties of lettuce and spinach, arugula, peanuts, sweet bell peppers, edible flowers, and eggplants. She will also experiment with growing strawberries, which is unusual for Mumbai’s climate.
As the rammers are longer, deeper, and wider than the model she experienced at the In.Genius farms, bigger crops like cauliflower, celery, and zucchinis will be tested as well. The food harvested at her farm will be for friends and family. With 30 vertical farming units, Sarab already knows that she will not have the volume necessary to consistently supply clients like chefs or grocery stores.
Her focus is on supplying the infrastructure and acting as a vertical farming consultant to her clients. Thus, operating the farm to gather data is the priority. The system will be continuously tested to make sure it can perform well, and that yield expectations are accurate.
Sarab explained that “when a client is looking to invest in infrastructure like this, we need to give them the proper numbers. And I know that at one point, the numbers will speak for themselves”.
Sarab is well aware of the Canadian winter. “Made of inert material, these A-frames do not react much to temperature fluctuations”, she explained. She also knows how robust the system needs to be to endure the cold temperature of northern countries, as well as snow and ice accumulation.
Takeaways on vertical farming
The approach of the farmers should change, and the status quo should be disrupted. Sarab explained that Indian farmers are treated as the bottom of the supply chain. If they could be provided with the proper tools and means to grow, market, and distribute food efficiently, she believes it could make them the leaders of the supply chain. The main issue Sarab stressed is to make sure you have enough customers for those high yields.
“The best part, since all labor-intensive tasks of conventional farming have been stripped out, it could be done by anybody”, Sarab proudly said. Adding some fun, fashion, and style to the business concept is also part of her branding.
I genuinely enjoy working at my farm and the message I want to spread is: this is cool! I can be fashionable and still be a farmer. -Sarab
Do you have an inspiring urban agriculture story to tell or innovative ideas to share? Contact us or leave a comment below!
AUSTRALIA: Food In The Capital
Canberra’s first ever sustainable food event is here. Starting on 17 November 2020, Canberra will play host to Food in the Capital, a first of its kind, sustainable food conference program
Shayna Siakimotu 17 November 2020
Where:
Online and Kambri ANU
When:
17 November 2020, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
18 May 2021, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
16 November 2021, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Canberra’s First Ever Sustainable Food Event Is Here
Starting on 17 November 2020, Canberra will play host to Food in the Capital, a first-of-its kind, sustainable food conference program.
The 3-event series, scheduled across 12 months, set out to connect people from across the industry including farmers, food businesses and manufacturers, community groups, thought leaders and policy makers.The focus will be on food production, consumption and technology and is the first of its kind in the region.
Tickets starting $297 and are for all 3 events.
17 Nov '20 | 18 May '21 | 16-17 Nov '21
The three events set out to connect people from across the industry including farmers, food businesses and manufacturers, community groups, thought leaders and policy makers.
Improvements to our Food System envisaged at FIC could conservatively:
Generate up to 3,000 jobs for the local economy.
Reduce Canberran’s grocery costs by $200 million.
View the program and speakers online and get your tickets today!
Join Canberra’s first ever sustainable food event, starting 17 November 2020. Photo: Supplied.
The Details
What: Food in the Capital – Sustainable food event
When: 17 November 2020, 18 May 2021, 16 November 2021
Where: Online and Kambri Centre ANU, Acton ACT 2601
Cost: Tickets start from $297 (+ booking fee) and covers entry to all 3 events. Single event tickets are not available
For more information, visit Food in the Capital.
Research And Indoor Farming University Network
The Indoor Farming University Network (IFUN) aims to create a space for strategic communication in the indoor farming industry between research departments and universities across the world
OCTOBER 29, 2020
When the pioneering vertical farms were established around the world, comparatively basic first-generation technology used created relatively inefficient systems compared with today. Although these operations only enabled the most basic functions to occur, they demonstrated how feasible it was to grow plants in vertical structures and thus, for the first time in history, opened doors to the vast number of opportunities associated with space-optimised and controlled-environment food production in urban environments.
Notably, this had the potential to bridge the gap between the food source and consumer-created by the second agricultural revolution of the 17th century, which led to the industrial revolution and mass urbanisation.
As the industry’s capital expenditure tends to remain high, increasing the financial viability of vertical farming businesses by cutting down the operating costs is crucial for securing a successful future and has thus become a key focus of research. The transition from first-generation to second-generation technology is critical. Second-generation technology enables automation and continual optimisation of the growing process, resulting in immensely higher yields and more appealing and feasible investment opportunities.
In the indoor farming industry’s short history, advancements in automation have been made in a range of areas including watering and hydroponics, and monitoring of water parameters. More modern practices integrate robotics and even allow plants to be moved. The automation of light quality and intensity plus the incorporation of LEDs has also been key to creating big energy savings and higher quality produce, and there are emerging examples of systems with LEDs that respond and automatically adjust their intensity according to real time data output from the plants.
Check Out UPLIFT, a Fully Automated Vertical Farm by SANANBIO
An example of interdisciplinary research projects
PB ‘Horticultural Systems of the Future’ (HORTSYS) innovates for the future of indoor (and outdoor) horticulture using the latest sensor technology and model-based decision support systems (DSS). The research group, HORTSYS.2, is developing resource-optimised production systems in controlled growing environments including vertical farms. It is a cooperative effort between Wageningen University, the Leibniz Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Production (IGZ), Danish Technological Institute, Aarhus University, Humboldt University Berlin, and many more.
Laura Cammarisano at AVF Indoor Learning Lab and Demo Center, Munich, Germany
Laura Cammarisano (a scientist at the IGZ and AVF member), describes her work:
“I collaborate to create solutions that combine plant mathematical models and sensors for the automation of plant cultivation in closed environments.”
HORTSYS.2 uses knowledge of important parameters affecting plant behaviour, such as light quality or nutrient uptake. They combine understanding from addressing key research questions related to mathematical modelling and sensor technology as well as plant physiology.
There is a call for and a growing need for such collaborative efforts because high tech farming systems, such as vertical farming, combine knowledge and data from a range of different research areas.
Laura Cammarisano added: “One very important aspect at the moment, at least to me, is the need for data as it would help a lot in the automation process.”
The Importance of Building Networks and Consortia
Communication and working together is vital to help the industry move forward as this facilitates more rapid advancements in the automation process and produce quality, increasing the economic viability of VF technology. This helps to secure investment, in turn paving the way for the integration of VF technology and its innumerable benefits into our daily lives.
The Indoor Farming University Network (IFUN) aims to create a space for strategic communication in the indoor farming industry between research departments and universities across the world. With the main priority being to emphasise the importance of research and collaboration during the climate crisis, IFUN will initiate and support interdisciplinary partnerships to create a network offering a range of benefits to its members from consortium building for grant applications and identifying knowledge gaps to education for future researchers, decision-makers, and the general public.
You can find out more about IFUN and how to join here.
Author: Laura Nelson
Tech Startup iFarm Raises U.S. $4 Million to Expand Do-It-Yourself Urban Farms
Most urban farming companies do one of two things: grow and sell their own food or manufacture technology to assist experienced farmers, such as LED lights and robots that can monitor and harvest produce
The Finnish technology startup iFarm recently raised US$4 million to build vertical farms for more customers across Europe and the Middle East. Using these funds, iFarm aims to help more entrepreneurs and businesses set up their own urban farms—at any time, in any place.
iFarm, founded in 2017, develops autonomous farming systems to grow greens, berries, and edible flowers indoors. It sells smaller, individual growing modules, as well as vertical farms for larger-scale production.
Most urban farming companies do one of two things: grow and sell their own food or manufacture technology to assist experienced farmers, such as LED lights and robots that can monitor and harvest produce.
iFarm falls into a third, less common category. Rather than standalone technology, the company sells entire urban farming systems with built-in robotics. These systems enable customers to start farms with little to no knowledge of agriculture.
iFarm’s growing module, iFarm Cropper, is designed for grocery stores, restaurants, or homes. Their vertical farms are intended for larger spaces, like warehouses. These systems are equipped with drones and artificial intelligence that spot diseases and track plant growth. They can also be controlled by an app, iFarm Growtune, that automatically plants seeds and adjusts lighting and humidity.
Kirill Zelenski, the Managing Director of Europe at iFarm, tells Food Tank that the company’s name is reminiscent of the iPhone. With an iPhone, he says, “you don’t need to know anything… You just need to know what you want to do, and it will do it itself. Same with our farms.” He explains that a customer simply has to push a button to grow arugula, and the system knows what to do.
Urban farming companies boast several ecological, economic, and health benefits. iFarm’s technology, for instance, uses 90 percent less water and 75 percent less fertilizer compared to conventional farms, and no pesticides.
Controlled climates inside urban farms reduce the risk of air and water pollution, while allowing for more reliable yields. iFarm reports that 100 percent of their seeds sprout.
Indoor farms can also exist anywhere. The urban farming company Square Roots, for example, grows greens in the heart of Brooklyn. This flexibility cuts down on land use—which is increasingly sparse—and improves access to fresh food in urban areas.
iFarm’s founder, Alex Lyskovsky, decided to start the company for exactly that reason: his hometown in Siberia lacked access to fresh food. Now, thanks to iFarm, says Zelenski, “Even sitting in Finland, I can grow—for example—tomatoes like they would be grown in Sicily.”
Zelenski imagines a world where proximity to farmland no longer dictates where people reside. “Our idea is that it will change the world and how people are living. Because of the possibility to build farms in every house, you can live wherever,” Zelenski tells Food Tank.
Zelinski believes that autonomous farming companies—particularly those that sell already-programmed systems—have the potential to radically reshape the industry. “Modern farmers,” as he calls them, won’t necessarily need to know how to farm.
However, there are downsides. Zelenski notes that iFarm’s drones reduce the need for labor by 800 hours per month, which boosts efficiency and saves farm owners money—but could also threaten job security for farm workers.
iFarm isn’t the only company selling urban farms. Manhattan-based Farm.One offers everything from single-plant hydroponic units to entire vertical farming setups. InFarm, based in Berlin, installs its modular setups in grocery stores. And companies like Agrilution, Rise Gardens, and Aspara sell in-home hydroponic systems.
As for iFarm, the company plans to put half of its recent funding towards scaling up in Europe and the Middle East, 30 percent into research and development, and the remaining 20 percent into internal management and hiring.
The company plans to leave a big mark on the agriculture industry. “We think our technology will change not just [farmers’] work, it will change the world totally,” Zelenski tells Food Tank. “Our idea totally disrupts the industry.”
October 30, 2020
NEW ZEALAND: Southland Lawyer-Turned Lettuce Farmer Expanding Hydroponics Business
Aviation lawyer Angela Beazer, who has been working for the Civil Aviation Authority part-time, was a recent recipient of a $2.5 million Provincial Growth Fund loan
1 November 2020
Otago Daily Times
By: Mary-Jo Tohill
A Southland lawyer-turned lettuce farmer is looking forward to devoting all her time to expanding her hydroponics business.
Aviation lawyer Angela Beazer, who has been working for the Civil Aviation Authority part-time, was a recent recipient of a $2.5 million Provincial Growth Fund loan.
While flying high, the 45-year-old has her feet firmly on the ground. With plans afoot to triple the lettuce farm's production, it had become clear to her she could no longer do both jobs and would have to quit one.
"But now I'm ready for change. I've been trying to juggle both, but they're not complimentary.
"I have a life many people would envy. I can work on my own schedule. I can be there to pick up my daughter from school, but as I say, they (lawyer/lettuce growing) are not complementary. I could not give 100 percent to both. If I do something I like to do it properly.
"I'm quite looking forward to focusing just on the lettuces."
If someone had told the former career professional eight years ago that she was destined to become a lettuce farmer, she would have laughed.
"I pictured lettuces sown out in the middle of the muddy paddock. Not my cup of tea at all."
She and her partner, Craig Macalister, had already taken a big leap of faith when they moved from Wellington to Invercargill so that he could take up a new position with financial advisory and accountancy firm Findex.
However, it was their frustration at not being able to find a suitable rural lifestyle block that led them to a property in Myross Bush.
Shoulder-tapped by a real estate agent, they went out and looked at a place that happened to have a hydroponics setup — Drysdale Hydroponics.
"I knew nothing about growing lettuces. We'd been down here about a year. I had a plot where I grew some veggies — a bit of broccoli, some cauliflower, a few potatoes. Actually, the potatoes were already there. That was about the extent of my horticultural experience."
Fast forward eight years and now she grows lettuce by the hundreds at her farm Southern Hydroponics, still trading as Drysdale Hydroponics, near Invercargill.
And with the expansion that will employ another 30 people, she's set to grow more, and other vegetable crops, including capsicums and tomatoes.
"We're been producing a fairly fixed amount of product. The business does need to expand because there's more competition. The minimum wage's gone up, so you either shut down or you expand and make it worthwhile."
Increasing production and lowering costs made for better economies of scale. Beazer liked the concept of hydroponics as an efficient way of growing food on a large scale.
However, while it had been a great move, it was also a huge lifestyle change,
"I think sometimes, 'why am I doing it?' But you're working at waist height — you're not having to bend and I quite like working undercover, but still feeling like you're working outdoors.
"On the other hand, this is a 24/7, 365-day operation. Someone has to be here watching all the time. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes."
It was sometimes hard to close the greenhouse door and walk away when you had to be constantly checking things like nutrients and temperature, she said.
"One thing I'm really looking forward to is being able to move to a heat pump from the boiler, with the expansion."
There might also be time to take up some interests again — like Zumba.
"I was doing it, but since lockdown and everything I haven't got back into it and I've been a bit of a lazy bum and not been doing it."
Lead photo: Angela Beazer surveys her hydroponic lettuces. Photo / Supplied
Andaz Dubai The Palm Launches Hydroponic Container Farm
Andaz Dubai The Palm has partnered with Green Container Advanced Farming to grow its own fresh produce on site
It will grow produce including lettuce, herbs, and microgreens
November 04, 2020
Andaz Dubai The Palm has partnered with Green Container Advanced Farming to grow its own fresh produce on site.
The boutique lifestyle hotel will host a 400 sq ft hydroponic organic container farm on its Palm Jumeirah terrace, allowing them to harvest fresh produce such as lettuce, herbs, and microgreens.
Kifah Bin Hussein, general manager of Andaz Dubai The Palm, said: “At Andaz we strive to be more sustainable in everything that we do, using resources responsibly to help address today’s most pressing environmental issues.
With this partnership our goal is to bring the freshest and finest ingredients from their natural environment straight to our guests’ tables. We have a dedicated grower who visits the farm daily.
They work within sterile conditions and get to know every single crop within the unit. Once the crop is ready to consume it is delivered straight to our kitchens where our dedicated chefs prepare it ready to be served to our guests. It really take the farm to table concept to the next level.”
The hydroponic container system uses 90% less water than traditional farming methods, while the short distance from farm to fork ensures a large reduction in carbon footprint caused by typical distribution methods.
Guests visiting Andaz’s dining venues, including The Locale and Hanami, will be able to enjoy dishes made with ingredients sourced daily from the farm.
Tags: ANDAZ FARMING SUSTAINABILITY
CombaGroup SA Reveals Rebrand With New Name, Logo, and Products
The new name, CleanGreens, is synonymous with powering clean, sustainable solutions in the agrotech space. It also reflects the company's mission to represent more directly what they are bringing to the table: fresh, healthy, premium quality yields of their customers’ favorite crops
Molondin, Switzerland – 5 November 2020: On the 21st October 2020, CombaGroup SA has announced the company's complete rebranding and launch of its new website.
Last year, the company realized it was time to leverage its unique position in the field of mobile aeroponic growing solutions. This year, they've rebranded to solidify their stance, offering, and direction within the industry.
The new name, CleanGreens, is synonymous with powering clean, sustainable solutions in the agrotech space. It also reflects the company's mission to represent more directly what they are bringing to the table: fresh, healthy, premium quality yields of their customers’ favorite crops.
The rebranding is a response to accelerated company growth and a renewal of its corporate vision, subtly captured by its new
With six years of R&D and technology breakthroughs in mobile irrigation and agronomy expertise, CleanGreens is proud to offer CleanGreens Pro, a system designed to be as simple as A-B-C, with immediate support and maintenance as well as a technical hotline available in addition to the built-in resources.
As a platform, CleanGreens is expanding to welcome new communities of users and has gone even further in solidifying its global position going forward. It has released new product packages and features that allow its clients to build, manage, and deploy custom applications quickly with its own intuitive, integrated, cloud-based operating application, GURU by CleanGreens. The platform gives clients the ability to grow exactly what they want with the support they require whenever they need it.
Based on the experiences and feedback from CleanGreens’ agronomist team and customers, this new app assists in key tasks like sowing, harvesting, and preventive maintenance and also features built-in reminders, alerts, and real-time records. It’s like having your own personal CleanGreens agro-expert assistant at your fingertips.
Currently, there are seven cultivation lines in operation in three locations: Molondin and Geneva in Switzerland, and Châteauneuf-sur-Loire in France. More are in the pipeline for the future. The new improvements have allowed CleanGreens to meet elevated customer demands for more of its innovative products and technologies.
"Our complete solution is different from any system in the market and our re-branding is largely driven by our effort to reflect this for our products, mission, vision, and of course, our customers and consumers,” says Serge Gander, CEO.
He adds: ”We've taken a clean, modern approach to the name, the website's design and the user experience in our new look and rebrand. We purposefully set out to challenge the status quo in all aspects of our business and this redesign reflects that." logo with the notion of interaction and connectedness. These are core to the capabilities of scalable mobile aeroponic technology platforms that are a priority for both CleanGreens and its clients and partners.
Please visit the revamped website www.cleangreens.ch to explore the new website and learn more about the products and services offered.
About CleanGreens
CleanGreens is a Swiss agro-technology company that provides farmers and industrialists with innovative mobile aeroponic farming solutions for growing fresh, environmentally-friendly, nutrient-rich vegetables. A certified B Corp company CleanGreens’ patented technology significantly reduces water consumption and contamination risks while offering maximum productivity per square meter and minimizing environmental impact. Automated irrigation and mechanized spacing system produce clean, quality, pesticide-free salads, aromatic herbs, and medicinal plants all year round, thus providing consumers with healthy, responsible products.
For more information
info@cleangreens.ch +41 21 545 99 25 www.cleangreens.ch
Media information online
Media information and images can be downloaded directly from cleangreens.ch Journalists can subscribe to our media mailings to receive information on CleanGreens’ aeroponic solutions and technology.
For the latest updates on CleanGreens, visit www.cleangreens.ch, or follow on Instagram, Twitter @SmartLettuce, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
CANADA: The Arrival of A Hydroponic Growing Container In Inukjuak
The Pirursiivik Project combines social art and on-the-land activities to improve the health of Inukjuammiut through a local greenhouse and the promotion of healthy practices around water and nutrition
NEWS PROVIDED BY
October 30, 2020
The Pirursiivik Project combines social art and on-the-land activities to improve the health of Inukjuammiut through a local greenhouse and the promotion of healthy practices around water and nutrition.
INUKJUAK, QC, Oct. 30, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The arrival of a hydroponic growing container in Inukjuak is a significant milestone in the Pirursiivik Project, and one of the first phases of a larger collaboration with the Pituvik Landholding Corporation (LHC) and Sirivik Food Centre to use a year-round greenhouse and container farm to grow, cook and share food and knowledge among the community. Over the past three years, the One Drop Foundation and Makivik Corporation have partnered with the RBC Foundation to implement the Pirursiivik Project in Inukjuak, Nunavik.
The Pirursiivik Project, meaning "a place to grow" in Inuktitut, is a 4-year initiative which aims to improve the community's health through the implementation of a greenhouse and a social art program to promote healthy habits around water and nutrition. This project represents a $2.7-million community investment between the RBC Foundation and the One Drop Foundation.
The arrival of the hydroponic container farm on October 11, 2020, is a significant milestone in this ambitious project yet is only the tip of the iceberg. The true success of this initiative lies under the waterline: the community mobilization and leadership at each step of the project. From day one, the community of Inukjuak stepped up to take concrete action towards improving access to fresh produce for Inukjuammiut. A Community Advisory Committee with representatives from over 15 local organizations was established, and this group of volunteers has continued to meet monthly to provide key input on project activities and planning.
The hydroponic container which uses water to grow instead of soil was purchased from The Growcer, a Canadian company established in Ottawa, and will be locally owned and operated. It will soon be installed and begin producing leafy greens this winter with the target to share the first harvest with the community. The fresh produce will be available to community members who, through social art activities, have learned fun new ways to use little-known vegetables such as kale and bok choy.
This growing initiative in Inukjuak was first piloted on a smaller scale, when the Pirursiivik Project supported the construction of and growing in seven community cold frames (outdoor garden boxes made of wood and polycarbonate). These were built using materials donated by the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq and constructed by the Environment Club at the Innalik School, and the Unaaq Men's Association.
With this new hydroponic container farm adapted for the Arctic, the community is now ready to take this next step towards increasing food security and access to fresh local produce grown by and for Inukjuammiut. This is the first phase in a larger collaboration with Pituvik Landholding Corporation and Sirivik Food Centre, a year-round greenhouse and Food Centre in which to grow, cook, and share food and knowledge among the community. The project team is currently identifying fundraising opportunities to secure the $6 million needed to advance this next phase. This innovative multifunctional infrastructure would be the first of its kind in the North and would set a precedent for future greenhouse initiatives in Nunavik and across the Arctic.
About the Pirursiivik Project
Over the past 3 years, almost 1,000 community members have participated in various social art and on-the-land activities, from drumming and cooking classes to a nature trip to identify and document knowledge related to local plant species. A circus show was created by Tupiq ACT, the first Inuit circus troupe from Nunavik, with the support of the project and technical assistance from One Drop (including advice and accompaniment throughout the process). These activities, inspired by Inuit culture and art, were not only fun and entertaining, but also created spaces for shared learning and exchange on traditional foods, nutrition, and the importance of clean water. Collective learning and sharing that will continue both in-person and online through the digital knowledge hub currently in development with the support of a grant from RBC Tech for Nature. Learn more about the project at www.onedrop.org/en/projects/canada
About One Drop
One DropTM is an international foundation created by Cirque du Soleil and Lune Rouge founder Guy Laliberté with the vision of a better world, where all have access to living conditions that allow empowerment and development. Together with its partners, One Drop deploys its unique artistic approach to promote the adoption of healthy water, sanitation, and hygiene-related behaviours and empower communities. For this to be possible, One Drop creates and produces novel fundraising initiatives supported by a visionary community of partners and donors. This year, One Drop is celebrating 13 years of turning water into action, with projects that will soon have improved the living conditions of over 2.1 million people around the world. In 2019, the Foundation was recognized for the second year in a row by Charity Intelligence, this time as one of the Top 10 International Impact Charities in Canada. To learn more about One Drop, visit www.onedrop.org Interact with One Drop on Facebook and Twitter @onedrop, or on Instagram @1dropwater
About Makivik Corporation
Makivik Corporation is the land claims organization mandated to manage the heritage funds of the Inuit of Nunavik provided for under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. Makivik's role includes the administration and investment of these funds and the promotion of economic growth by providing assistance for the creation of Inuit-operated businesses in Nunavik. Makivik promotes the preservation of Inuit culture and language as well as the health, welfare, relief of poverty, and education of Inuit in the communities.
About Pituvik Landholding Corporation
Incorporated January 30, 1979, Pituvik holds title to 521 sq. km. on lands classified as Category I. These lands are held by Pituvik on behalf of the Inukjuaqmiut beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. In this holding capacity, Pituvik has the right to allow people and organizations to use these lands and for that use is allowed to charge compensation. Pituvik also maintains a beneficiary list on behalf of all Inukjuakmiut. Pituvik is a not-for-profit corporation, however it can create and own for-profit subsidiaries to stimulate local economic growth and job creation.
About RBC Tech for Nature
RBC Tech for Nature is a global, multi-year commitment from the RBC Foundation to support new ideas, technologies, and partnerships to address our most complex environmental challenges. It is a core pillar of RBC's Climate Blueprint – its enterprise approach to accelerating clean economic growth and supporting clients in the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. RBC Tech for Nature brings together charitable partners, technology experts, the public and private sector – as well as RBC's own unique capabilities – to build the multi-partner coalitions needed to work towards solving our shared environmental challenges. Learn more at: rbc.com/techfornature
About The Growcer
Growcer manufactures modular hydroponic systems that enable commercial food production in plug-and-play 40- foot modules. Its vertical farming technology enables customers to grow fresh vegetables in virtually any climate and has been deployed within the Arctic Circle at temperatures below -50°C. Growcer empowers conventional farmers, entrepreneurs, communities and institutions to grow food locally all year round. Growcer's work has been recognized with awards from Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, the Entrepreneurs' Organization, and was also featured on season 13 of CBC's hit show, Dragons' Den.
SOURCE One Drop Foundation
For further information: Media Resource Contact: One Drop Foundation, Marie-France Dos Santos, Marie-France.DosSantos@onedrop.org; Makivik Corporation, Carson Tagoona, CTagoona@makivik.org
Related Links
Pure Harvest Smart Farms, How To Grow Local In The Middle East ?
In the UAE where the climate is arid and very hot most of the time of the year, growing local and fresh vegetables can be a challenge or even impossible
03.11.20
Pure Harvest Smart Farms is a tech company that tries to disrupt the agricultural market in the UAE by tackling the problem of food security.
In the UAE where the climate is arid and very hot most of the time of the year, growing local and fresh vegetables can be a challenge or even impossible. There are imports from other countries to secure fresh vegetable supply year-round, but due to the air freight, the products aren’t fresh and are expensive. An issue that Pure Harvest farm tries to address by bringing the best of agriculture technology to develop fresh and locally grown tomatoes in the UAE. Today the company has raised $100 million to expand its production, and start growing in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. We met Sky Kurtz, its CEO, and Co-Founder.
What is controlled environment agriculture and why is it so important in the UAE today?
Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is the strategy taken by Pure Harvest to tackle the issue of food security. This means we engage in CEA with hybrid growing solutions that provide precise climate and environmental controls to deliver quality fresh produce. Pure Harvest’s CEA ensures increased productivity and reduced waste (including water, energy, time, and transport). The UAE is the perfect starting point for us to expand our agritech solutions into other import-reliant regions. There is a huge amount of sun energy waiting to be harnessed!
In which aspects is Pure Harvest disrupting the industry compared to other traditional greenhouses?
The UAE’s arid climate is the right laboratory for the conditions needed for this kind of project and as a result, Pure Harvest is now entering the world stage as a tech-agricultural business tackling the problem of food security. Some other vertical farming countries in the world such as the United States, Holland, France are looking at similar solutions but don’t have the right conditions or a laboratory. The gap between traditional greenhouse countries and import countries has been bridged, this is particularly relevant given the risk of long term import reliance exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
What kind of technologies do you use to grow fresh vegetables in the hostile climate of the UAE?
Pure Harvest integrates world-leading Dutch greenhouse growing technologies together with our proprietary climate management systems. Pure Harvest seeks to leverage innovative semi-closed growing technology (with overpressure climate control and mechanical cooling) in order to pioneer year-round production of affordable, premium quality fresh produce.
What kind of crops do you grow in your greenhouses today?
We are currently growing 26 varieties of tomatoes and 6 varieties of strawberries. We are creating new markets, not just displacing existing commercial import markets. There are over 400 commercial varieties of tomato, and Pure Harvest is proud to grow six that have never before been seen. We’re aiming to be able to produce anything which already grows under a Mediterranean climate in any variety.
Last April, you secured a multi-stage investment commitment valued at over USD 100 million with Wafra Investment company. Which kind of developments do you expect for the company?
This year, the company entered into a first-of-its-kind retailer-integration partnership with The Sultan Centre (TSC) in Kuwait, creating a ‘farm center’ that will include edutainment, a retail farmers’ market, and an integrated café. We are completely committed to supporting public initiatives focused on improved food security, water conservation, skilled job creation, and economic diversification. Through constant engagement with governments, schools, and research institutions, we believe that together, we can lead the Middle East into the next generation of sustainable agriculture.
SEE ALSO A French-Tunisian startup changes the future of sustainable agriculture with insect proteins
3 November 2020
80 Acres Farms Raises Funding Round Led by Barclays to Accelerate Growth in Automated Vertical Farming Technolog
80 Acres Farms addresses both sustainability and food security through growing food differently with vertical farming technology and reducing water usage by 97% on less than 1% of the land, with 300x the yield
HAMILTON, Ohio - November 2, 2020 Newswire.com
80 Acres Farms, the sustainable solution for fresh, pesticide-free food, announced that it added Barclays as a strategic investor in the business, joining Virgo Investments, Orange Wings Capital, QuietStar Capital, and other family office investors.
80 Acres Farms is a 2019 fellow from the Unreasonable Impact Americas program and award winner recognized for their work addressing the global pandemic's effects. 80 Acres Farms addresses both sustainability and food security through growing food differently with vertical farming technology and reducing water usage by 97% on less than 1% of the land, with 300x the yield.
Mike Zelkind, CEO of 80 Acres Farms, said: "There has been an explosion in demand for fresh, locally grown, nutritious food, and this investment round enables us to continue to meet that demand at the right unit economics. We look forward to developing our relationship with Barclays and their global network through our shared passion for enhancing sustainability in this industry."
Andrew Challis, Co-Head of Principal Investments at Barclays, said: "80 Acres Farms can shorten the vulnerable, carbon-intensive supply chain and secure retailers and consumers with consistent, safe, fresh, sustainably grown food. This is an exciting investment proposition for Barclays as it supports our clients' and consumers' transition to a low-carbon economy and underpins our ambition to take a leading role in tackling climate change."
80 Acres Farms operates eight indoor farms in the US, including a new state of the art facility in Hamilton, Ohio - built by an affiliated company, Infinite Acres - that will deliver 10 million servings in its first year. You can find 80 Acres' product of just-picked salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and microgreens at Kroger, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Dorothy Lane Markets, Jungle Jim's Markets, and key National Foodservice Distributors including Sysco and US Foods.
About 80 Acres Farms
80 Acres Farms is a vertical farming leader providing customers with the freshest and most nutritious fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. Utilizing world-class technology and analytics, the Company offers customers a wide variety of pesticide-free food with a longer shelf life that exceeds the highest food safety standards
Lead photo: 80 Acres Farms'. Fully-Automated vertical farm located in Hamilton, OH.
For further information, please contact us at:
rebecca.haders@eafarms.com / +1 513-910-9089
About Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital initiative
As part of its broader commitments, Barclays will invest £175m of its own capital, led by the Principal Investments team, in fast-growing, innovative, environmentally-focused companies whose values are aligned with those of Barclays and which target the goals and timelines of the Paris Agreement. Investments will be strategic to Barclays, its clients, and the communities it serves, with clear scalable propositions that deliver both environmental benefits and economic returns.
For further information, please contact us at:
Investment Enquiries: PITeamInbox@barclays.com
Media Enquiries: emily.stead2@barclays.com / +44 (0) 7796 706166
Related Images
80-acres-farms-newest-location.jpg
80 Acres Farms Newest Location
80 Acres Farms'. Fully-Automated vertical farm located in Hamilton, OH
Related Links
Ground-Breaking Companies Join the 10th Unreasonable Impact Program
80 Acres adds Walmart, Dole execs to leadership team as it gears up for growth
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/67308
Unleashing The Potential of Indoor Sole-Source LEDs on Tomato Production
Enlightening collaboration between Heliospectra and the University of Tokyo
Enlightening Collaboration Between Heliospectra And The University of Tokyo
Heliospectra announced a collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Agro-ecosystem Services (ISAS), the University of Tokyo. In an effort to redefine and unleash the potential of indoor tomato production, this will be a joint research project with the University’s Institute for Sustainable Agro-ecosystem Services (ISAS), in collaboration with Associate Professor Wataru Yamori at the Agricultural Biology and Biogeochemistry Group, and Heliospectra Japan.
With the average age of Japanese farmers reaching 67 years old and younger generations migrating to cities, traditional farming is facing a crisis. This is forcing the country to investigate new ways to produce food. Plant factories are scaling to meet consumer food demand, mainly in vegetable cultivation in both solar and artificial light environments, and the industry is growing. Japan already has approximately 200 lettuce factories using artificial light, and that number is expected to double by 2025. However, to-date, plant factories have been unsuccessful in cultivating light-hungry vine crops such as tomatoes in indoor artificial light. Heliospectra and the University of Tokyo want to challenge this.
Working together, they are looking to build a business model for Japan’s plant factories and PFAL (Plant Factory with Artificial Lighting) organizations for indoor tomato cultivation. In the University lab, the Professor and his students will be using Heliospectra’s MITRA linear, the horticulture market’s first truly modular LED light. Designed by growers for growers, MITRA is a solution for high-light crops, with high-intensity light output and electrical efficacy of up to 2.8 µmol/J.
“We are very excited to be a part of this research together with Dr. Yamori and the ISAS at the University of Tokyo. Over the years, Heliospectra has conducted research on light’s effect on tomatoes in indoor facilities with great results,” comments Yasuhiro Suzuki, General Manager of Heliospectra Japan. “We now look forward to further expanding our knowledge and developing more effective indoor cultivation of tomatoes for commercial use. We look forward to collaborating with the university and sharing with the world our knowledge of growing tomatoes indoors.”
For more information:
Heliospectra
info@heliospectra.com
www.heliospectra.com
Publication date: Thu 29 Oct 2020
Singapore’s Farms Face An Even Greater Challenge In A Post-COVID-19 World
A question now arises as to whether the '30 by 30' food supply vision will suffice for the country. The programme For Food’s Sake! finds out what changes are needed in the growing agri-tech sector
A question now arises as to whether the '30 by 30' food supply vision will suffice for the country. The program For Food’s Sake! finds out what changes are needed in the growing agri-tech sector.
Figuring out new ways to increase productivity on farms is one of the challenges.
01 Nov 2020
SINGAPORE: It is a vision that predates COVID-19. Spurred by threats like climate change, Singapore set about having 30 percent of its food produced locally by 2030, to improve its food security.
But food security expert Paul Teng thinks the country is not going far enough with its “30 by 30” goal set last year.
“Even if we achieve that in 10 years’ time, we’re still dependent on the rest of the world for the remaining 70 percent. If all things are normal, then it should be enough … to create a buffer,” he says.
“But if indeed all the worst-case climate change scenarios come true, and there are many other black swan events, then we may need more than two or three months’ worth.”
Professor Paul Teng.
The professor, an adjunct senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, sees COVID-19 as a “wake-up call” to do more.
“I don’t imagine that the COVID-19 pandemic will be the last time that we’ll be disrupted in terms of food supplies … If you look around Asia at the moment, you’ve got a whole host of issues affecting us,” he notes.
“The armyworm is just one example. But there are many other pest problems, disease problems … Anything could flare up and affect our supply chain. Then there’s also politics.”
There are 220 farms in Singapore as of last year, producing mainly leafy vegetables, fish and eggs.
Millions of dollars are being poured into this growing agri-food industry. But it still produces less than 10 percent of the country’s food, and the rest is imported from more than 170 countries and regions.
Local farms contributed 14 percent of Singapore's consumption of leafy vegetables last year.
Most of the farms are “not what I’d call modern farms”, says Teng, urging improvements in productivity. Not only that, other changes are also needed more than ever, the programme For Food’s Sake! finds out.
THE ISSUE OF LAND
One of Singapore’s largest producers of Asian leafy vegetables is Farm 85, which lies on 12 hectares of land in Lim Chu Kang — roughly the size of 17 football fields.
But its owner, Tan Koon Hua, who started the farm in 1991, does not think it is easy to increase production further.
“The most we can do is to find ways to prevent disruptions,” says the 52-year-old, citing the example of greenhouses, which he has built to protect his crops against changes in weather.
For Food’s Sake! host Ming Tan (left) with Tan Koon Hua.
The other solution, he believes, is a bigger land area. One of the reasons the work on the farm is laborious is its current size, agrees his son Zach, who works there.
For example, while large farms overseas “can invest in a big tractor” to aerate the soil, Farm 85 uses hand-operated soil tiller machines, cites the 26-year-old.
Less than one per cent of Singapore’s land is used for agriculture. In recent years, new plots have been released for farming, but in smaller parcel sizes ranging from about 0.6 to two hectares.
The largest plots awarded have been about six hectares, which means farmers still need to reduce their reliance on land.
Short leases have been another disincentive to making long-term investments in better equipment or infrastructure. It is one of the reasons, along with lack of technical know-how, that farmers are not as productive they could be, according to Teng.
Farm 85.
Today, the new plots have longer lease terms of up to 20 years, compared with previous ad-hoc lease extensions that were as short as three years.
PRODUCTIVITY PLATFORMS AND PITFALLS
To further help with productivity, the government has made several grants available since 2014. At least three are targeted specifically at the agriculture industry.
One is the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA’s) S$63-million Agriculture Productivity Fund. It is meant for farmers to invest in more innovative systems that can boost their yield, for example under a scheme — capped at S$50,000 — for the purchase of equipment.
There is also a scheme for farmers to convert their farm into a more high-tech farming system.
There are funding schemes for farmers to transform the work done on their farms.
To apply, the proposal they submit must include: The project’s objectives; a comprehensive description of the farming system, with the layout; brochures of the equipment; a full business plan; and a track record of the project team’s area of expertise.
For Food’s Sake! host Ming Tan was uncertain, however, whether farmers are able to “suddenly just provide this information”. “If they already knew how to do these (high-tech) things, don’t you think they’d have done them?” he questioned.
So a new type of farmer has sprung up in recent years. Ex-engineers and venture capitalists are among those who have set up tech-focused farms that do not rely on large fields.
Between 2015 and 2019, the number of vegetable farms increased from 54 to 83. Despite this increase of 54 percent, the production of leafy vegetables rose only by 11 percent, from 11,400 to 12,700 tonnes.
Up to 14 types of local vegetables are grown on Farm 85.
There are “still a lot of challenges on the ground”, an industry insider tells Ming. “There aren’t that many dedicated contractors who can build farms … Almost always the infrastructure cost starts ballooning,” he says.
Plus … you need to spend time, effort and money training everyone from scratch literally. We don’t have a ready pool of skilled indoor farmers.
In this high-tech farming space, proprietary technologies have been brought in from different parts of the world, but “these are also varied in terms of how (they’re) translated on the ground in Singapore, in the context of a tropical environment”.
“There’s a lot of clamor, sound … and hype coming,” he adds. “Still … they all need to translate into a viable business.”
IT’S EARLY DAYS YET
According to the SFA, the outlook for high-tech farms is not bleak.
A high-tech farm with lighting, climate control and plant racks extending to the ceiling.
“It’s a really nascent technology and sector. And as with any other new industry, it would take time for commercial models to sort of become viable,” says SFA deputy director (Food Supply Resilience) Sim Wi Min.
“There’s almost a five-year period where they have to do construction and fine-tune their operations. So while you don’t see that corresponding amount of production, I assure you we’ll see more production in years to come.”
She acknowledges that there are “inherent risks” involved, as “technology doesn’t come cheap”. Some farms that were grant recipients, for example, have wound down earlier than expected.
“Some of them don’t make it. Sometimes it’s not because the technologies don’t work. It could be that partnerships fall through,” she adds. “But cases that are successful outweigh those who exit the industry.”
Sim Wi Min.
One of the success stories is ComCrop, which was one of the first to attempt rooftop farming in Singapore eight years ago. Located in a Woodlands industrial estate, its crops are grown using hydroponics instead of traditional soil-based methods.
Chief executive officer Peter Barber thinks of it as a hybrid farm, using sunlight and a greenhouse designed for constant airflow, unlike high-tech indoor farms that use artificial lights and air conditioning. And he can see why the latter might struggle.
“These two worlds (high-tech and traditional farming) have operated in isolation,” he says. “(The traditional farmers) know what they need to do to grow vegetables, but they may not be so adept on the technological side.
“Then you’ve got the tech guys who have all their artificial intelligence and their robots … The problem is, the new guys don’t have the growing experience, and I think that’s why they’re falling down on the volume side.”
Peter Barber shows Ming around ComCrop's rooftop farm in Woodlands.
To create a flourishing industry, he says “we have to build an ecosystem”.
“Then we need the support of the food agency to make sure that Singaporean consumers see the quality, the safety and the nutritional value of what’s grown here in Singapore … and say, ‘That’s a gold standard,’” he adds.
“We still haven’t seen the full repercussions of the food supply problems that’ve been created by COVID. If we don’t change how much we’re growing here, we’re going to be paying more for food no matter which way we look at it.”
BRIDGING THE NUTRITION GAP
In the supermarket, however, some consumers have a preference for one type of vegetable over the other. Demand for vegetables from soil-based farms is higher than for those from high-tech farms, according to NTUC FairPrice, Singapore’s largest supermarket chain.
WATCH: Why aren’t Singaporeans buying more locally farmed produce? (5:26)
As a chef, Ming expected this to have something to do with taste. But in a blind taste test of bok choy (Chinese cabbage), the results were split evenly among customers at a tze char restaurant.
It turns out, however, that some people think soil-grown vegetables are more nutritious, as Ming found out when he asked on Instagram why people preferred to buy these vegetables.
Plant scientist Mandar Godge, who specializes in the study of Asian leafy vegetables, knows what is behind this partiality.
“There was a stark difference between the hydroponics-grown leafy vegetables and soil-grown (ones) five years ago, or even three years ago, in terms of the nutritional density,” says the Temasek Polytechnic researcher and lecturer.
“Now, the gap is bridged. We’re looking at very improved hydroponics techniques coming in and (producing) a similar nutritional density (to that) which we get in soil-based farming.”
Dr. Mandar Godge.
Over the past decade, scientists like him have been trying to supercharge hydroponics produce by, for example, customising them “based on what kinds of properties you need”, like high levels of vitamins and minerals.
Things like enzymes added to the water can “boost” the nutritional value of the leafy vegetables. Different light intensities can also make a difference in terms of the taste.
The nutritional density of the leafy vegetables in his laboratory, he says, “is much higher compared to what’s available”. And for more farms to adopt these technologies, he suggests that a “technology showcase has to be done Singapore-wide”.
THE DUTCH EXAMPLE
One country that has successfully mass-adopted technology in its farming systems, including urban farming, is the Netherlands. Despite its size, it has become the world’s second-largest food exporter by value.
The Netherlands.
Pepper farmer Ron Jansen, for example, has transformed his grandfather’s farm, Jansen Paprika — located one hour north of Amsterdam — into one of Holland’s most modern farms.
His farm, the size of eight football fields, produces more than 2,000 tonnes of peppers each year, which is 15 times more than what his grandfather grew.
To ensure optimum conditions for his plants, he uses temperature and humidity sensors, which he can track from his office. Machines do the heavy lifting. And he is looking to adopt more cutting-edge technology.
“There are tests to grow plants autonomously — so not by hand. You put your set-up in your computer, and the computer will think for you,” he cites.
Ron Jansen.
Universities play an important part in Holland’s agricultural sector, whose exports last year were worth 95 billion euros (S$152 billion).
“One of the missions of the university is to set up research and demonstration centres to show the possibilities of technology … and transfer the knowledge,” says plant researcher Sjaak Bakker from Wageningen University and Research.
To facilitate this, a central organisation groups farmers according to the crops they grow, where they present their problems to researchers and government agencies, and collectively brainstorm solutions.
“Farmers can’t survive on their own. They need a certain scale in doing research and … innovation,” Bakker adds. “This is why the ecosystem in the Netherlands has come this far and is such a successful sector.”
Dr Sjaak Bakker.
THE NEED TO CHANGE PERCEPTIONS
There are more than 20 agricultural universities in Holland that prime people for the industry. In contrast, there are no universities or polytechnics in Singapore offering agriculture as a full-time course. Most farmhands here are foreign workers.
“Not a lot of Singaporeans want to come to a farm and work. It’s hard work, it’s all day … and you have to be here, rain or shine,” says Zach.
Although he is an anomaly, he has helped out on his father’s farm since he was in school. Bjorn Low is even more of an outlier. Eight years ago, he quit the advertising industry to become an urban farmer.
The co-founder of Edible Garden City now has a team of 40 people, with an average age of 25. He thinks it is important to change the perception of farming and to have more young people see it as a career.
WATCH: The full episode — Growing more of our own food: Can Singapore get there? (47:24)
“This is a national security issue. And so, urban farmers or agriculturalists coming up should be seen as an important part of the economy for the future,” says the 39-year-old.
"We need new ideas in this space and to encourage young people to experiment in this space and then drive other initiatives in the local agricultural industry."
He also wants consumers to “step up” for the sake of their food security in future. “Buy local food,” he urges.
“Sometimes the price points … may be five per cent, two per cent higher than things that are produced in Malaysia or Indonesia or Thailand. And consumers are not willing to fork out that additional 20 cents.”
Bjorn Low.
To this end, Restaurant Labyrinth chef and owner Han Li Guang makes a point of sourcing 80 per cent of his produce — including mussels and herbs — from local farms.
The 35-year-old believes restaurants have a part to play, and can even lead the charge, in getting people to buy more local produce.
“We’re like a showroom for Singapore’s agricultural produce … If we can convince people to ‘use local’, no matter how many percent, it’s a good start,” he says.
“My hope for the future is … we’ll see consumption of local produce as a norm.”
Han Li Guang plates up a locally grown dish for Ming.