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The Pollination Pickle of Indoor Farming
Pollinators like bees, birds, and bats account for 35% of the world's current food production, so every third bite of food you eat, thank the pollinators
New Post On Shubham Khoje
by Shubham
A few months ago, I wrote a post about how the farms in the future could go indoors. I had looked at some of the pros and cons of indoor farming and had barely scratched the surface. So I dived a little deeper and found this really interesting challenge as the nascent indoor farming industry moves forward.
Pollinators like bees, birds, and bats account for 35% of the world's current food production, so every third bite of food you eat, thank the pollinators. In the US, these pollinators alone contribute to over $18 billion in the production of over 100 crops every year. Pollination of some form is vital for 75% of the major food crops of the world including apples, almonds, coffee, and many more. In short, pollination is essential to growing food and ultimately for the survival of human beings.
Source: Flower vector created by brgfx - www.freepik.com
But what does pollination have to do with indoor farms?
A majority of the indoor farming companies, be it greenhouses or vertical farms, are focused on growing leafy greens like lettuce, kale, arugula, etc. using either hydroponics, aquaponics, or their hybrid versions. To build these farms you need a lot of cash upfront. The short growth cycles and relative ease of growing these leafy greens are what makes them lucrative to cover the high capital costs.
Stephen Pankhurst in his video explains how there would be three phases of indoor farming, the leafy greens marking the first phase of this industry.
Phase I - Leafy Greens
Phase II - Roots and Fruits
Phase III - Staple Crops
So far, the indoor farming companies have researched and worked towards improving their leafy green growing recipes. They have built software for controlling and optimizing the light, water, wind, and now adding AI to the mix gives them a head start. Having mastery of Phase I has given them the courage to venture further into Phase II, growing fruits.
The big guns of vertical farming like Plenty are already stepping up their game. With their $140 million series D funding, they have partnered with Driscolls, the company that controls 1/3rd of the U.S berry market, to expand into growing strawberries.
But in order to grow fruits, the flowers need to be pollinated. When you try to grow fruits in an indoor farm, which is a closed environment with no access to bees and birds, the biggest challenge would be the pollination process.
The pollination pickle
The main purpose of automating any process is to reduce laborious tasks and make machines do our bidding. Indoor farming companies love to automate their processes, from machines that help the seeding process to automatic conveyors that move the racks for growing the greens, and ultimately robots that harvest the leafy green produce.
In the natural world, however, the labor-intensive task of pollination is left to the wind, birds, and the bees at no cost to us. But with the indoor farms that are spread over millions of square feet either horizontally or vertically, natural pollination becomes a problem. So as we move indoors, some efforts are being made to build tech for reducing the efforts needed for the pollination process.
Tomatoes, for example, are self-pollinating, meaning, the pollen needs to fall inside the flower itself to pollinate and develop into a fruit. But the pollen needs to be "shaken" to fall down, usually, the bees help the tomato plant. But in a greenhouse or an indoor farm, hand pollination with electrical wands replaces the humming of the bees to pollinate the tomatoes. Humans have to move from flower to flower on a scissor lift, making sure the pollination is done on all the flowers. From passionfruit in Brazil, tomatoes in the USA, and eggplants in Nederlands that are grown indoors are hand-pollinated, a tedious and labor-intensive task indeed.
A new approach is being taken by companies like Polybee that are developing drones small enough to fly from flower to flower and pollinate them. The Israeli company Edete has automated almond pollination by using lasers to locate the almond flowers and blow pollen into them. Although almonds are an outdoor crop, the breakthrough technology could someday be possibly used for indoor farms.
Oishii, a New Jersey-based indoor farm, on the other hand, is playing a different ball game altogether, they are growing world class Omakase strawberries that sell for $5 for a single strawberry. Unlike any other indoor farm, they have mastered the technology of using bees to pollinate their fruit and just closed a $50 million Series A funding to expand their farms. They are also at par with using robots for automating their other process. I believe this to be a step in the right direction.
In conclusion, the indoor farming industry that is focused on growing leafy greens is venturing into growing fruits. They have brought down power consumption with energy-saving LEDs, reduced manpower by automating all the processes, built high precision software to help monitor and improve the growth and yield of their produce. Surely, these technological advancements will help them move forward into the next phase, but to scale up the second phase to the humongous levels of Phase I, the industry will have to solve this pollination pickle.
To automate or not to automate the pollination process, that is the question.
P.S: There is an episode on the dystopian Netflix series "Black Mirror", about how in the future, autonomous drone bees built to replace the extinct natural bees, takes a turn for the worse and ends up killing people.
https://shubhamkhoje.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/pexels-videos-4408-1.mp4
Bees Are Dropping Dead In Brazil And Sending A Message To Humans
Death came swiftly for Aldo Machado’s honey bees. Less than 48 hours after the first apis mellifera showed signs of sickness, tens of thousands lay dead, their bodies piled in mounds
Pesticide Use In Brazil Sparks Concern Among Environmentalists
By Bruce Douglas and Tatiana Freitas
August 19, 2019
Death came swiftly for Aldo Machado’s honey bees. Less than 48 hours after the first apis mellifera showed signs of sickness, tens of thousands lay dead, their bodies piled in mounds.
“As soon as the healthy bees began clearing the dying bees out of the hives, they became contaminated,” said Machado, vice president of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul beekeeping association. “They started dying en masse.”
Around half a billion bees died in four of Brazil’s southern states in the year’s first months. The die-off highlighted questions about the ocean of pesticides used in the country’s agriculture and whether chemicals are washing through the human food supply — even as the government considers permitting more. Most dead bees showed traces of Fipronil, a insecticide proscribed in the European Union and classified as a possible human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
European honey bees sit on hives in Sao Roque | Photographer: Patricia Monteiro/Bloomberg
Since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January, Brazil has permitted sales of a record 290 pesticides, up 27% over the same period last year, and a bill in Congress would relax standards even further.
Manufacturers of newly permitted substances include Brazilian companies such as Cropchem and Ouro Fino, as well as global players including Arysta Lifescience Ltd., Nufarm Ltd. and Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. Giants such as Syngenta, Monsanto, BASF and Sumitomo also won new registrations.
The fertile nation is awash in chemicals. Brazil’s pesticide use increased 770% from 1990 to 2016, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Agriculture Ministry says that Brazil ranks 44th in the world in the use of pesticides per hectare and that, as a tropical country, it is “incorrect” to compare its practices with those of temperate regions.
Still, in its latest food-safety report, Brazil’s health watchdog Anvisa found that 20% of samples contained pesticide residues above permitted levels or contained unauthorized pesticides. It didn’t even test for glyphosate, Brazil’s best-selling pesticide, which is banned in most countries.
The silent hives, critics say, are a warning.
“The death of all these bees is a sign that we’re being poisoned,” said Carlos Alberto Bastos, president of the Apiculturist Association of Brazil’s Federal District.
A beekeeper handles a swarm of European bees | Photographer: Patricia Monteiro/Bloomberg
Agriculture is the biggest contributor to Brazil’s growth, composing around 18% of the economy. Its power — from pop culture to politics — is unmatched. Major producers sponsor samba groups, as well as a nationwide “little Ag” school program and arguably, the most influential grouping in congress.
Like U.S. President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro was elected with strong support from agribusiness and has expressed disdain for environmental concerns. “This is your government,” Bolsonaro promised lawmakers from the agriculture caucus, and his administration has allowed the industry wide leeway to use whatever chemicals it likes.
About 40% of Brazil’s pesticides are “highly or extremely toxic,” according to Greenpeace, and 32% aren’t allowed in the European Union. Meanwhile, approvals are being expedited without the government hiring enough people to evaluate them, said Marina Lacorte, a coordinator at Greenpeace Brazil.
Brazil Pesticides
Government approved a record number of products this year
“There isn’t another explanation for it, other than politics.” she said.
Easing pesticide approvals was a campaign commitment for Bolsonaro. The agriculture sector has complained for years about slowness.
“Registrations are the biggest barrier,” said Flavio Hirata, an agrochemical specialist at Allier Brasil consultancy. “The world’s largest pesticide market can’t be limited to a few companies.”
Roughly half of the approvals are ingredients, not final products, said Andreza Martinez, manager for regulation at Sindiveg, a group representing pesticide producers. Varying chemicals is important as pests develop resistance to formulas, she said.
“It brings more tools to farmers, but that doesn’t mean an increase in the use of products in the field,” she said.
The variety, however, alarms toxicologists. “The higher the number of products, the lower our chances of safety, because you can’t control them all,” said Silvia Cazenave, a professor of toxicology at the Catholic Pontifical University of Campinas.
Brazil’s health ministry reported 15,018 cases of agricultural pesticide poisoning in 2018, but acknowledged that this is likely an underestimate.
A vehicle sprays a soybean field near Campo Verde, Mato Grosso state, Brazil | . Photographer: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
One victim was Andresa Batista, a 30-year-old mother of three. In March 2018, she went to work picking soybeans on one of the plantations on the plains surrounding the capital, Brasilia. Soon, she started feeling dizzy and nauseated — and then she passed out.
More than 40 farmhands fell ill that day, according to Batista, so many that they were divided into three groups and taken to different hospitals. The first medical team to attend Batista also became unwell, prompting the hospital to destroy her clothes, including her underwear. Still, Batista and most of the others were cleared to work again two days later. Almost as soon as they started, they collapsed.
Over a year later, Batista still can’t work. She has difficulty eating without vomiting, can’t go to the toilet without medicine, can’t go in the sun without her skin swelling and she’s lost around 30% of her vision. Doctors can’t give her a prognosis due to uncertainty about the type of pesticide that poisoned her.
“That day, our lives ended,” she said. “We’re not the same people we were before.”
Court documents show that Dupont do Brasil S.A., the company that managed the field, agreed to pay damages of 50,000 reais ($13,000) to one of Batista’s coworkers that day. Batista said the company paid her 40,000 reais in an out-of-court settlement. Dupont’s press office said it could not comment on the case due to legal restrictions.
The government said all cases of poisoning must be investigated, and it would introduce a decree to strengthen the oversight and training process for pesticide handling.
A pesticide vehicle on a soybean farm in Mato Grosso state | Photographer: Paulo Fridman/Corbis via Getty Images
Despite stories such as Batista’s, Congress may accelerate approvals yet further, rebranding pesticides as “agricultural defenses” and substituting the requirement to identify potential harm with a simple risk analysis.
Brazil’s National Cancer Institute argued the measure would allow pesticides with “carcinogenic characteristics, endangering the population.” But Alceu Moreira, head of the lower house’s agriculture caucus, is certain it will become law.
“There’s this need to create this international narrative that harms the image of Brazilian agriculture, as if we were using excessive levels of pesticides,” he said. “We’re not.”
Brazilians may disagree. Carrefour Brasil, a supermarket chain, plans to increase its offering of organic products by 85% in 2019. Tatiana Carvalho, a 31-year old who runs a small organic delivery service in Brasilia, says sales have increased constantly since she started four years ago, despite the country’s sharp recession.
She attributes her success to two things: greater consumer awareness and the government’s decision to authorize ever more pesticides.
— With assistance by Simone Preissler Iglesias, and Rachel Gamarski
Lead Photo: A beekeeper inspects his newborn European bees in Sao Roque, Sao Paulo state, Brazil.
Photographer: Patricia Monteiro/Bloomberg
Netherlands: City of Utrecht Turns 316 Bus Stops Into ‘Bee Stops’
The Dutch city of Utrecht has had a great idea to help bees thrive: turning bus stops into little bee havens. These ‘bee stops’ are basically just standard bus stops with grass and wildflowers on top to encourage pollination
Attempting To Help Bees Thrive
The Dutch city of Utrecht has had a great idea to help bees thrive: turning bus stops into little bee havens. These ‘bee stops’ are basically just standard bus stops with grass and wildflowers on top to encourage pollination.
If our natural pollinators would be exterminated, it would cost £1.8bn a year to employ people to do the work of pollinators like bees in a country like the UK. This makes investing in them make sense.
The 316 bus stops also help to capture fine dust and store rainwater. As well as the green roofs, they are all fitted with energy-efficient LED lights and bamboo benches.
The ‘bee stops’ are cared for by a team of workers who drive around in electric vehicles. And if you want to build your own bee stop, the city also runs a scheme for residents to apply for funding to transform their own roofs. The bee stops aren’t the only great place for city bees to hang out.
Source: metro.co.uk
Publication date: 7/17/2019
Bee Is For Brooklyn! Rooftop Farm Teaches Urban Honey Harvesting
Bee Is For Brooklyn! Rooftop Farm Teaches Urban Honey Harvesting
©Esther Horvath
Oh say can you bee: Brooklyn Grange will host an “Introduction to Beekeeping” class on Feb. 18, where you can learn how bees like these produce honey.
By Adam Lucente
Home on the Grange: Brooklyn Grange hosts bees on its rooftop farm.
This workshop has a lot of buzz!
©Esther Horvath
Home on the Grange: Brooklyn Grange hosts bees on its rooftop farm.
A rooftop farm in the Brooklyn Navy Yard will teach urbanites the secret to raising bees and harvesting their honey while in a crowded borough. And those who take the “Introduction to Beekeeping” class at the Brooklyn Grange on Feb. 18 may learn something from the way the industrious insects work together, said one of the farm’s founders.
“They all work collaboratively to the benefit of the organism,” said Anastasia Plakias. “In a city like New York, it can feel like we’re working against each other.”
Brooklyn Grange keeps 30 beehives at different rooftop locations throughout the city, and its bee classes are among its most popular events, said Plakias. The class on Feb. 18 is designed for those who are totally new to the subject, covering bee anatomy, their role in the environment, and how much outdoor space you need to keep a beehive — which is less than you might think, said its teacher.
“Four by four feet is enough space to keep a beehive,” said Carin Zinter, a professional beekeeper. “It’s not space intensive.”
Bees also require a source of fresh water near the hive, she said, and beekeepers must register their hives with the New York City Department of Health.
Bees are dormant for the winter, so the beekeeping season in Brooklyn usually begins in April. But those seeking sweet returns must be patient, said Zinter — beekeepers typically harvest honey in the fall of the year after starting the hive. During the first year, the hive will need all its honey as a food source to survive the winter.
Those who do not keep bees can still support the busy buzzers by buying local, said Zinter.
“If you buy local honey, it supports local beekeepers,” she said. “People sometimes don’t think about where the honey they buy comes from.”
Brooklynites can also support the green spaces that bees need, said Zinter.
“Rooftop farms, gardens, parks. Support these spaces anyway you can,” she said.
Zinter and Brooklyn Grange have a bee in their bonnet about the honey producers, bee-cause bees pollinate a wide variety of the vegetables and fruits that humans eat.
“They’re out there pollinating our food and plants,” said Plakias. “They’re critical to the ecosystem.”
“Introduction to Beekeeping” at Brooklyn Grange (63 Flushing Ave. at Clinton Avenue in Fort Greene, www.brooklyngrangefarm.com]. Feb. 18 at 11 am. $45.
Joining The Hive, Hamilton Urban Beekeepers Have People Buzzing
Joining The Hive, Hamilton Urban Beekeepers Have People Buzzing
JAN 18, 2018
By Hess Sahlollbey
As urbanization continues to shift world populations from rural areas to major cities, a social movement has been growing where urban residents perform their own farming. These urban farming enthusiasts eschew processed foods and manufactured products in favour of cultivating and harvesting their own food.
While small urban patches for fruits and veggies are often visible around the city and backyard chickens are nothing new, urban bee-farming businesses like Hamilton’s Humble Bee have been expanding their hives into all of the regions and neighborhoods across the city.
The Honeybee team, originally founded by Luc Peters and now co-owned by Dan Douma, has more than 20 years of beekeeping experience. What started as small project in a backyard has now seen their urban bee farming business almost doubling every year and on the verge of reaching 200 hives by the end of this year.
“We brought the bees back into the city so that they could thrive and grow again and do what they are supposed to do,” explained Douma. He entered beekeeping field after he became frustrated with the rampant use of pesticides in commercial honey production and unsustainable agricultural practices.
“It’s out of necessity that we did this,” said Durma. “We want to keep the bees alive and it’s too depressing to keep these bees on farms where they rapidly die off.”
Humble Bee is currently located in the Cotton Factory, a transformed industrial building from the 1900s.
From their space, the duo offers beekeeping lessons, sell tools and beekeeping equipment as well as soothing sprays, lip balms and candles. The roof of the building doubles as their apiary, a place where Peters and Douma aim to open more rooftop apiaries throughout the city.
The duo has set their sites on McMaster as a location for one of their future apiaries.
While they have previously had colonies behind McMaster in Cootes Paradise, Peters and Douma would like to potentially house them on the universities’ roof. They also plan to launch a series of free workshops for Mac students interested in taking the plunge into bee farming.
The classes that the duo teaches, which are in high demand and consistently sold out, hammer in the basics of beekeeping and the essentials to keep a healthy and prosperous colony. Their seminar covers all aspects of the colony from workers, drones and the queen all the way up to the macro environment.
The equipment required to keep bees were all on display and the duo covered the costs involved in starting a hive as well as the Ontario Bees Act, which sets the rules for beekeeping in Ontario including registering your bees and passing an apiary inspection program.
Hobby beekeeping and urban agriculture also have a strong and growing following allowing farmers to connect with other urban farming enthusiasts.
“Our motto is that the bees come first over everything and we are not about to risk our bees for profit,” said Peters. The team’s approach to is always to make more out of a few hives, rather than have a lot of hives that barely produce and are barely looked after.
Currently, their Humble Bee honey can be bought at the Mustard Seed Co-op grocery on store on York Boulevard, where a colony can also be prominently spotted from the street.
“It’s out of necessity that we did this. We want to keep the bees alive and it’s too depressing to keep these bees on farms where they rapidly die off.”
Dan Douma, Humble Bee, Co-owner
“One of our big goals is to have hyper-local small batch honey where we’re moving towards labeling everything according to the neighborhood it was produced in,” said Douma. “Ideally we would have one bee yard in every neighborhood of the town and that neighborhood listed on the label”.
The duo has also worked with a non-profit in Toronto called FoodShare which is focused on providing fresh food to underserviced neighborhoods and working with urban farms to create job opportunities in big cities for people recovering from mental health issues.
The duo aims to start their own FoodShare branch that would allow them to be more involved in the community. The program would allow people to heal, recover and grow emotionally and spiritually alongside the urban agricultural spaces that they maintain and toil in year-round
This move in urban and hobby farming is one where everybody wins in the city as it ensures more pollination, homegrown food and healthy bees in the city.