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CANADA: Bringing Local Greens To Ontario Year Round
The state-of-the-art farm is fully automated and equipped to grow microgreens and baby greens 365 days a year, without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides and with dramatically less water consumption
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Sep 15, 2020
Vertical Farm In Guelph Is Now Fully Operational
GUELPH, ON, Sept. 15, 2020,/CNW/ - The revolutionary GoodLeaf Farms' 4,000-square-metre indoor vertical farm is now fully operational.
The state-of-the-art farm is fully automated and equipped to grow microgreens and baby greens 365 days a year, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides and with dramatically less water consumption. The result is a safer, more nutrient-dense, and sustainably grown food source, providing a domestic alternative in a produce aisle highly dominated by imports from the southern United States or Mexico.
"Knowing where their food comes from is important to Canadians," says Jacquie Needham, Accounts Manager for GoodLeaf Farms. "Our growing system mimics the spring sun without the use of chemicals, releasing farming from the restrictions of the changing seasons. We can grow local, fresh, nutritious, and healthy leafy greens for the Ontario produce market all year long — we do it safely."
Vertical farming is an innovative growing process that naturally grows plants with hydroponics under specialized LEDs that concentrates the waves from the light spectrum that plants need to maximize photosynthesis. This method of farming is cost-effective, uniquely suited for Canadian climate, and scalable. GoodLeaf Farms is a leader in food safety. Every crop is tested for contaminants before it is shipped, ensuring it is safe for consumers.
GoodLeaf Farms is also sustainable. It uses 95 percent less water than a traditional farm, has no run-off issues or potential contamination of nearby water sources, it is local which eliminates thousands of kilometers of transportation from the supply chain and more food can be grown per acre, reducing land-use pressures.
GoodLeaf currently has four microgreens and two baby greens available in Ontario:
Spicy Mustard Medley — Blend of Asian greens create a spicy touch reminiscent of Wasabi or Dijon Mustard. It makes for a perfect peppery finish.
Pea Shoots — Sweet and crisp with a subtle pea flavour, they add a fresh bite to salads, seafood, and summer rolls.
Micro Asian Blend — Mild peppery flavour with a hint of mustard, this makes a great addition to stir fry, soups, or as a crunchy culinary adventure to any dish.
Micro Arugula — Intense spicy flavour that is both peppery and nutty. Use this to elevate the look and flavour of any meat or seafood dish, as an addition to your salad or to garnish your sandwich.
Baby Kale — Earthy and nutty, it is a calcium-rich dark green to add a nutritional punch to any salad.
Baby Arugula — Excite your taste buds by adding this spicy and peppery green to your salad or as a topping for sandwiches or burgers.
"The pandemic has underscored how important it is to have access to local food sources – food that we know is safe, grown responsibly, and immune to border closures," says Ms. Needham. "Compared to a green that was grown thousands of miles away, packed onto a hot truck and shipped across the continent, our process is far superior. Local food is simply better — better for you, better for the environment and better for our economy."
Follow GoodLeaf Farms on Instagram at @goodleaffarms and like it on Facebook at /GoodLeafFarms.
About GoodLeaf Farms:
With a passion for delicious, nutrient-rich greens, GoodLeaf was founded in Halifax in 2011. Using an innovative technology and leveraging multi-level vertical farming, GoodLeaf has created a controlled and efficient indoor farm that can grow fresh produce anywhere in the world, 365 days of the year. The system combines innovations in LED lighting with leading-edge hydroponic techniques to produce sustainable, safe, pesticide-free, nutrient-dense leafy greens. GoodLeaf has ongoing R&D Programs in collaboration with the University of Guelph, Dalhousie University, and Acadia University.
Learn more at goodleaffarms.com.
SOURCE GoodLeaf Farms
For further information: Jacquie Needham, Accounts Manager at GoodLeaf Farms, jneedham@goodleaffarms.com, 416-579-6117
Smart Acres CEO On The Latest Addition To The Hydroponic Vertical Farming Industry In Abu Dhabi
The launch of Smart Acres, the UAE’s latest addition to the hydroponic vertical farming industry, this week means that a line of the freshest, most nutrient-dense greens for UAE residents and businesses alike is now being produced in containers on the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, with the aim to expand across the UAE
Smart Acres is here with lettuce at the helm. In an exclusive interview with Abu Dhabi World, Smart Acres CEO Abdulla al Kaabi reveals what this means to Abu Dhabi and the farming community on the whole.
If you love healthy produce, and who doesn’t, then this news is going to please you and your tastebuds no end. The only drawback at the moment is they’re not for sale in supermarkets just yet, but it won’t be long before they are.
The launch of Smart Acres, the UAE’s latest addition to the hydroponic vertical farming industry, this week means that a line of the freshest, most nutrient-dense greens for UAE residents and businesses alike is now being produced in containers on the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, with the aim to expand across the UAE.
So we headed over to the St. Regis Abu Dhabi to meet Smart Acres CEO Abdulla al Kaabi to find out more.
Tell us about your background?
I am from a tech and farm background. My father has a passion for farming and gardening; he’s very strict about anybody who messes around with his garden or farm. My father has a few farms across the UAE, where he grows crops and dates. When he heard that I was pursuing a project in the agriculture sector he got excited and actually gifted me a farm, which I am grateful for and will keep. However, Smart Acres, rather than the farm my father gifted me, is an urban farm.
How was Smart Acres first developed?
CEO Abdulla al Kaabi (centre)
Smart Acres was founded in 2017 and local testing began in July 2019. Smart Acres was developed by a team of experts, including myself, Director Sean Lee, and Lead Project Manager, Aphisith Phongsavanh with the aim of improving food security within the United Arab Emirates and developing the country’s farming capabilities, providing a solution to potential socioeconomic threats such as pandemics and climate limitations the Middle East currently endures.
Tell us more
We planted lettuce and after a few harvests, we decided to expand from two containers to eight containers. From the two insulated containers, the yield was 3.5 tons annually, which was our proof of concept. For the proof of concept, our target weight for each lettuce head was 140g. However, we have reached an average of 200g per head. I don’t think any other vertical farm here reached that quality or weight in terms of vegetables at this size.
How would you describe Smart Acres?
It is a one-of-a-kind agriculture system that is designed to produce some of the highest yields of crops within the UAE’s vertical farming industry while introducing a new future for clean foods and allowing both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C ) sectors to locally sourced produce.
Tell us about the containers
We invested heavily in the containers, not just financially, and it took us a while to partner up with n.thing, a South Korean vertical farming technology company, to bring the best vertical farm here in the UAE. We had talks with other companies before and we decided to go with this one, in terms of risk, in terms of technology they are using. And the system we are using in the containers is hydroponics (growing plants without soil) which has been used by growers for hundreds of years.
Techno advancements mean we were able to implement the Internet of Things for operations, which helps us to monitor the entire farm in terms of humidity, temperature, and even the nutrients that go inside the plants. Now we have our expansion plan from eight to 78 containers, which eventually will produce more than 140 tons of produce annually. We are currently in talks with private and public entities in terms of the expansion. We are also planning to have a research and development center in order to start growing our own potato seeds in a controlled environment.
Will Smart Acres just be growing lettuce?
In our current eight containers, we grow four types of lettuce; Lolo rosso , green glace, oakleaf Batavia, but we are able to grow 30 types of lettuce. Currently, we are testing new methods to improve the quality and weight of the existing lettuce. The results of last month’s test resulted in lettuce whose individual heads weighed more than 200 grams on average. However, we aim to grow more than just lettuce. We have plans to eventually grow baby spinach, mature spinach, and baby arugula. Smart Acres’ vision is to expand to meet the demand of popular produce in the region such as strawberries, and, as I previously mentioned, a shift and emphasis on cultivating potato seeds.
Where can we buy your smart lettuces?
We are now supplying restaurants and hotels for free to get ourselves known, and we have had great feedback from them. We have also partnered with several restaurants and cafes around the country including Inked and Fae Cafe, and have plans to have our produce in the kitchen of dozens of other F&B outlets. The recent initiative by HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), stating that all major grocery stores in the capital must allocate space for local produce mean we are perfectly poised to enter local supermarkets. We have had lots of offers from Abu Dhabi Holding and other government entities that are members in the food security committee to buy our whole produce. Currently, we are focused on our actual produce itself, in terms of quality, weight.
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Posted in Features, Food, Life, News
Tagged agriculture system Abu Dhabi, CEO Abdulla al Kaabi, Clean foods UAE, food security UAE, SMART ACRES Abu Dhabi, st regis abu dhabi, UAE Climate Change Risks and Resilience, UAE farms, UAE’s vertical farming industry, vertical farming Abu Dhabi
Singapore's Temasek Bets on 'Skyscraper Farms' As Growth Market
Temasek and German pharmaceutical major Bayer established Unfold, a 50-50 joint venture, last month. The company will develop and market seeds for vertical farming both in Singapore and at its California headquarters
Joint Venture With Bayer To Develop Seeds
To Boost Food Security In City-State
TAKASHI NAKANO, Nikkei staff writer
September 10, 2020
SINGAPORE -- Singapore's state-backed investment group Temasek Holdings has extended its business portfolio into urban farming, a concept that will aid the city-state in its quest to become more agriculturally self-sufficient.
Temasek and German pharmaceutical major Bayer established Unfold, a 50-50 joint venture, last month. The company will develop and market seeds for vertical farming both in Singapore and at its California headquarters.
Singapore produces less than 10% of the food it consumes. The government plans to raise the ratio to 30% by 2030.
Vertical farming, officials believe, is crucial to attaining that goal. The technique grows agroponic layers of crops under artificial light inside skyscrapers. Because the plants are not dependent on weather, the method is expected to generate large yields in a relatively quickly.
"Temasek is recognized as one of the leading investors in the food and agriculture segment," said Jurgen Eckhardt, head of Leaps by Bayer -- an investment arm of Bayer. "They have investments in, and relationships with, a range of vertical farming companies."
Bayer will provide plant genetic data to Unfold, which will first develop new varieties of lettuce, spinach and tomatoes, among other crops. The company will sell seeds to food producers.
Temasek will introduce companies to the technology and expertise at Unfold and other investment targets. Temasek holds a stake in Sustenir Agriculture, a Singaporean urban farming company, providing a channel for Sustenir to cultivate Unfold's high-yield seeds.
Vertical farming is projected to grow into a $12.77 billion market in 2026, according to Allied Market Research, up from $2.23 billion in 2018.
Temasek invested 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) into Bayer in 2018 -- funding which helped Bayer complete the acquisition of U.S. seed producer Monsanto.
The company anticipates further investments in the agricultural sector.
"Whether it's in the area of an alternative protein, aquaculture, or crop science, it's an area that requires actually more capital," said Temasek International CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara. "So far it's done well for us and we're still keen to invest more in it."
Temasek has expanded its portfolio of life sciences and agribusiness investments. Allocation in the domains stood at 8% at the end of March, or five points higher than five years earlier. The size of the holdings is about $17 billion.
The coronavirus pandemic has heightened concerns over food security. Thailand and other trading partners temporarily imposed restrictions on exports. The Singaporean government doled out 30 million Singapore dollars ($22 million) in subsidies this April to help companies produce more eggs, leafy vegetables and fish.
"In Singapore, with less than 0.8% arable land, vertical farming innovation is critical," said Unfold CEO John Purcell.
This year, Temasek has invested in startups that develop meat and fish substitutes, as well as plant-based milk. GIC, another Singaporean state investor, in May picked up shares in Apeel Sciences, a U.S. company that developed an artificial peel for fruits and vegetables to extend shelf life.
The less-than-stellar portfolio performance has also factored in Temasek's investments into agribusiness. For the year ended March, the company reported a return of minus 2.3%, the first negative result in four years. Declining stock values of domestic companies such as the banking group DBS Group Holdings and the conglomerate Sembcorp Industries were behind the setback.
When Singapore Airlines sought to raise up to S$15 billion in rescue funds this March, Temasek was the first to indicate it would sign on in light of its status as a major investor in the carrier. Saddled with its role as a financial provider of last resort, the state investment group's ability to reap returns from investments in agriculture and other growth sectors will sway its performance.
Temasek has also stepped up investment in advanced medical fields such as biopharmaceuticals in the past year, with stakes in 10 companies revealed in 2020 so far.
Vertex Venture Holdings, a Temasek unit that oversees a fund specializing in the medical field, has invested in more than 20 healthcare-related startups, including American drug developer Elevation Oncology in July.
"COVID-19 has shone a light on the importance of continued R&D investment," said Lori Hu, managing director of Vertex Ventures HC. "It has revealed critical unmet needs in the health care industry. We continue to actively look at new deals."
Leveraging its broad network, Vertex took a stake in Israeli telemedicine platform operator Datos Health in April and invested in India's IVF Access Hospitals, which specializes in infertility treatments, two months later.
Through its investments in the medical field, Temasek is also involved in the global race to develop coronavirus treatments. It was part of a group of investors to pour $250 million into Germany's BioNTech, which is jointly developing a COVID-19 vaccine candidate with Pfizer. South Korean drugmaker Celltrion, in which Temasek holds a roughly 10% stake, has brought a diagnostic kit to market in the U.S. last month.
Investments in biopharmaceutical developers carry high risks, but the payoff can be large when a treatment successfully reaches the market. Holdings in unlisted companies accounted for 48% of Temasek's portfolio as of March-end, up six points from a year earlier.
Lead photo: Courtesy of Unfold - Vertical farms use hydroponics to grow crops inside buildings.
Netled Partners Up With Agritech Start-Up Vertigo Farms – A Focus On New Kinds of Vertical Farming Applications
Vertigo Farms is the first publicly known European actor to produce natural extracts from plants grown indoors. Mainly herbs are grown and processed in a sustainable manner with no use of chemicals, all-year-round, regardless of weather conditions
26th August 2020 by johannak
Netled and a Polish agritech start-up Vertigo Farms have announced a new technology partnership. Vertigo Farms will use Netled’s Vera® vertical farming technology in its indoor growing projects. The collaboration has already started, and the goal is to have the first plants growing at the beginning of 2021.
Vertigo Farms is the first publicly known European actor to produce natural extracts from plants grown indoors. Mainly herbs are grown and processed in a sustainable manner with no use of chemicals, all-year-round, regardless of weather conditions.
“At Vertigo Farms, we believe that vertical farming serves the future not only for direct consumption purposes, but it may also serve as base for highest quality natural extracts for food, cosmetics and pharma industries”, comments Dawid Drzewiecki, the CEO of Vertigo Farms.
The company works with research laboratories and universities to develop methods for optimal conditions and nutrition of plants to boost their growth. Each type of plant requires a different approach. For start, the company will experiment with Safflower, Lovage, and Opium poppy, but there will be more species along the way.
Niko Kivioja, CEO of Netled, comments the newly formed partnership: “Vertigo Farms has a very interesting approach to produce natural extracts. Netled is proud to be Vertigo’s technology partner. In addition to this, our crop specialist team is especially excited to have insight into the new, more exotic plants growing in a vertical farming environment. Globally, we see massive opportunities to produce crops which have very high-quality standards in vertical farms, alongside the more common leafy greens.”
The mission of Vertigo Farms is to process and deliver the highest quality natural ingredients with the use of state-of-the-art solutions. Thus, the goal is a great fit with Netled, as the company aims to provide the best technology, expertise, and guidance for vertical farming projects and actors all around the globe.
Read more about Netled’s Vera® Vertical Farm: https://netled.fi/vertical-farming-vera/
Read more about Vertigo Farms: http://vertigofarms.eu/
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Filed Under: NewsTagged With: indoor farming, indoor farming technology, indoor growing, sustainable growing, vertical farm, vertical farming, vertical farming expertise, vertical farming technique, vertical farming technology
“We Are Developing A Sustainable Technology That Uses 75% Less LED Lighting”
Verde Compacto, a Mexican start-up, producer of container farms and indoor farming growing technologies, has seen significant demand for their growing systems during the pandemic
Verde Compacto, a Mexican start-up, producer of container farms and indoor farming growing technologies, has seen significant demand for their growing systems during the pandemic.
"COVID is driving this market forward because people want to know what is behind their food and their diets. Logistic chains in countries like South Korea and Arab countries are really dependent on imports. They are trying to implement urban technologies to strengthen their supply chains. As we’re focusing on growing systems, we are trying to turn this into reality. We are growing food in a more sustainable way where everyone can benefit from it”, Juan Gabriel Succar, Co-Founder and CCO of Verde Compacto says.
The company has an R&D container farm, Huvster, with several labs and small scale systems. The company sells some of its crops locally to better understand the urban business model, as Verde Compacto is educating the future indoor growers.
The Huvster growing container
Succar continues: “We are providing the knowledge to any grower that wants to have an urban farm and we are helping them throughout the process by constructing a farm to their needs.” The company does not only build container farms, which is their standard model but also provides custom made projects such as warehouses or buildings. Or on a smaller scale like supermarkets and restaurants. “We provide the knowledge to install a farm at any size”.
Decreasing LED use
Verde Compacto is looking to improve the electricity use for its growing solutions. “We are developing a sustainable technology that uses 75% less LED lighting, which is part of a sustainable R&D project. The tests are still running but they have delivered positive results. In the end, our technology used for indoor farms allows us to rotate the lamps. Rather than using four lamps at one spot, Verde Compacto can use one light that is constantly rotating. That's why we can make such a big impact on light usage”, Succar affirms.
Lack of quality and water
“Every business model and location has different benefits. As we are one of the largest agricultural countries in the world, we can offer excellent fresh produce quality. The sad story is that all the good fruits and vegetables are exported, thus there is a lack of quality products here in Mexico”, Succar says.
Succar says that Verde Compacto’s technology can build a profitable business model to deliver excellent quality and healthy food to the Mexican society. He notes that the central Mexican region sees a big challenge: a large water shortage. “With our solution, companies still see an opportunity to grow food and maintain their quality by using fewer resources”, Succar notes.
Sustainability
“We always try to give the best options possible regarding our client’s budget, business model, and capabilities. Verde Compacto is cooperating with solar panels to give access to clients for installing these solutions. “Renewable energy, in the end, really depends on the client. Our goal is to make vertical farming as sustainable as we can”, Succar states. At the end of October this year the company will install the first urban farm in Salamanca, Mexico which will be run on 100% solar energy.
Price opportunities
Succar: “In Mexico, we provide our produce at a lower price level than supermarkets. This is done on purpose, to get people to know about vertical farming. Sometimes we are on the same price level.”
Olivier Kappetein, EU representative at Verde Compacto notes: “We have a financial stimulator and we found out that we can bring product prices down. Consumers would pay less compared to supermarket prices as they are unbelievably high. In the United Arab Emirates, locally grown products are unfindable. An iceberg lettuce costs around €7.60 (9 USD) or more. We could get that price down by at least 350% and still make a profit if we were to sell our produce there. We are aiming to sell high-quality food and that’s what they are looking for.”
Pre- and post COVID story
Verde Compacto has a pre- COVID story and a post-COVID story regarding any company expansions. The pre-COVID story was to expand to all Latin American countries, as a priority. They started several alliances and promoted the Verde Compacto technology in Latin America. However, the economy in Latin America was really affected during the pandemic.
“Thus, countries depending on imports saw a great opportunity in our technology for constant production. We didn’t get behind on the expansion actually. Right now, we are working with associations to open different commercial offices in several countries in Latin America. We will be expanding there at the beginning of next year. We are also exploring different options in different parts of the world, expanding globally. One of the regions is Northern Europe because we saw the need for farming technology in those countries. Especially in Luxemburg, where there’s limited fresh produce available.
“The most common problem in vertical farming is the unawareness of the consumer”, Kappetein adds. “They don’t know what it has to offer. It’s still an investment that needs to be made. There is still a greater focus on organic produce as they are aware of the great benefits that come along.”
The Verde Compacto team
Forage
Verde Compacto has been developing its own R&D department, generating knowledge that is also used for new product lines. Succar continues: “We are developing indoor farming systems that are not limited to leafy greens and herbs, but also for forage e.g.. Forage is eaten by grazing cattle mostly. With our hydro system, we can feed cows e.g. with using fewer resources in a more profitable way. The meat and milk industry is impacting the ecosystem significantly. Implementing this technology will help us to make this type of agriculture more sustainable.” The company is also exploring the opportunities of launching indoor strawberries, with the greatest focus on Europe.
For more information:
Verde Compacto
Juan Gabriel Succar, Co-founder, and CCO
juan.gabriel@verdecompacto.com
Olivier Kappetein, EU representative
olivier.kappetein@verdecompacto.com
Phone: +316 14 62 13 10.
www.verdecompacto.com
Publication date: Tue 8 Sep 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com
IDTechEx Identifies Innovative Companies Changing The Face of Vertical Farming
Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly
Sep 02, 2020
BOSTON, Sept. 2, 2020,/PRNewswire/ -- Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly. By using LED lighting tailored to the exact needs of the crop, alongside advanced hydroponic growing systems, and growing crops in vertically stacked trays, vertical farms can achieve yields hundreds of times higher than the same area of traditional farmland.
Investors and entrepreneurs alike are excited about the potential of vertical farming to revolutionize the global food system and some vertical farming companies have raised dizzying amounts of money. Plenty, a San Francisco-based start-up, and the most well-funded vertical farm, has raised $401 million in funding, with backers including SoftBank, Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Fellow US start-ups AeroFarms and Bowery Farming are not far behind, with $238 million and $167.5 million in funding, respectively.
While there has been much attention on these companies and their exploits, there are dozens of other companies in the industry developing their own approaches to vertical farming. Here, we explore some of the most innovative vertical farming start-ups, based on the recent IDTechEx report, "Vertical Farming 2020-2030".
Freight Farms
Freight Farms is a Boston-based vertical farming company that manufactures "container farms", vertical farming systems installed into 40' mobile containers. Alongside its container farms, Freight Farms provides the farmhand software, a hydroponic farm management, and automation platform that also connects users with other Freight Farms customers. Container farms have many advantages - they are easy to transport, compact, and relatively cheap to set up in comparison to other vertical farming systems. Container farms are often turnkey systems, too, meaning that they require much less experience and expertise to operate than either a factory-scale vertical farm or indeed a traditional farm.
Freight Farms recently released its most advanced container farming system, the Greenery, which it believes is the most advanced container farming system in the world. The Greenery is a turnkey system that uses an array of sensors to continuously monitor the growing conditions inside the farm, with the farmhand software automatically making adjustments and planning watering cycles in order to provide the optimum environment for growing crops and allowing users to control their Greenery remotely from a smartphone.
80 Acres – Collaboration, Food Experience
Despite their potential, many vertical farming start-ups have struggled over the years with the labor costs and power requirements for running a high-tech indoor farm. This has often forced producers to sell their crops at a much higher price than conventionally farmed leafy greens. Additionally, many founders of vertical farming companies have little experience in the food industry and can struggle with the day-to-day realities of running a food production industry.
80 Acres is an Ohio-based vertical farming start-up aiming to overcome these challenges by constructing the world's first fully automated indoor farm. The company was founded in November 2015 by Tisha Livingston and Mike Zelkind, who between them have over 50 years' experience in the food industry. Collaboration is also important to 80 Acres. The company believes that vertical farming is a very multidisciplinary field, requiring collaboration between partners who are experts in their own discipline. Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) developed the LEDs used in the facility and Dutch greenhouse automation company Priva developed the control and fertigation systems, with 80 Acres using its experience in food to bring the system together and integrate the technology.
The company currently operates a 75,000 square foot facility in Hamilton, a suburb of Cincinnati, which is set to expand to 150,000 square feet in summer 2020 following a $40 million investment from Virgo Investment Group. When completed, 80 Acres claims this facility will be the world's first fully automated indoor farm. The farm will be automated from seeding to growing to harvesting, using robotics, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and around-the-clock monitoring sensors and control systems to optimize every aspect of growing produce indoors.
Jones Food Company
Jones Food Company is a British vertical farming start-up that operates Europe's largest vertical farm out of a warehouse in Scunthorpe, UK. It was founded in 2016 by James Lloyd-Jones and Paul Challinor, who wanted to build the largest vertical farming facility that they could in order to help overcome some of the operational problems plaguing the industry and bring vertical farming to the mainstream. After visiting several vertical farms in Japan, they decide that the only way to make vertical farming a success is to focus on scale and automation.
Jones Food Company focuses on maximizing automation and robotics in their facility to minimize operating costs, with its facility being modeled on a car factory, with the growing process resembling a production line - over the 25-day growing period, plants move from one end of the facility to another. Much of the work is done by machines, helping to reduce labor costs. Harvesting is carried out by bespoke machines and the heavy lifting is performed by a robot called Frank. This focus on automation means that only six employees are required to operate the Scunthorpe facility.
Jones Food Company has partnered with UK online grocery company Ocado, which currently owns about 70% of the business. Through this partnership, Jones Food Company is aiming to set up vertical farms next to Ocado's grocery depots, meaning that fresh produce could be delivered to shoppers within an hour of being picked.
Infarm
Infarm is a Berlin-based start-up that sells modular, hydroponic vertical farms for growing leafy greens and herbs in supermarkets, schools, and offices. A single two-square meter unit can grow 8,000 plants in a year, with the company claiming its farms use 95% less water than soil-based farms, take up 99.5% less space, use zero chemical pesticides, need 90% less transportation, and use 75% less fertilizer.
Infarm has partnered with several major supermarkets across Europe, where it has currently deployed over 500 farms in stores and distribution centers. The company is also beginning to expand in the USA, having recently partnered with Kroger to trial its indoor farms in two QFC stores in Seattle. In the UK, it has partnered with supermarket chain Marks & Spencer, which is trialing in-store urban farming in seven locations in London, growing Italian basil, Greek basil, Bordeaux basil, mint, mountain coriander, thyme, and curly parsley.
The company's business model is based around an "agriculture-as-a-service" model. The modular farms remain the property of Infarm, which receives income per harvested plant. Infarm then coordinates with clients such as retailers and takes care of the farm including installation, cultivation, harvesting, and maintenance. Aside from the regular visits by service personnel to plant new plants, the farms are controlled remotely. This modular, data-driven, and distributed approach — a combination of big data, IoT, and cloud analytics — sets Infarm apart from competitors. From a price point, Infarm is attractive for supermarkets, which get a better product at the same price. In addition, the plants, especially herbs, are harvested fresh, preserving color, smell, flavor, and nutrients.
For more information about the vertical farming industry and the innovative companies operating within the space, please see the recent IDTechEx report, "Vertical Farming 2020-2030", www.IDTechEx.com/VertFarm or for the full portfolio of related research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research.
IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Consultancy, and Event products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information on IDTechEx Research and Consultancy, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.
Hydro Farms Raises Fresh Funds and Releases New Products
With roots in the Egyptian hydroponic farming sector since 2012, Hydro Farms is one of the first to implement hydroponic planting in Egypt.
by WAYA Staff - Aug 31, 2020
With roots in the Egyptian hydroponic farming sector since 2012, Hydro Farms is one of the first to implement hydroponic planting in Egypt. Hydro Farms started working to revolutionize the farming industry in Egypt and bring clean, quality products to the market, farm-to-table. Hydro Farms recently raised funds from angel investors in Egypt and the Gulf region which contributed to the next phase of the brand’s expansion plan after years of evolving Hydro Farms’ products through extensive research and development.
The team behind Hydro Farms not only strives for excellence within their own products but also shares its years of expertise with more than 10 Egyptian farms and it has greatly aided in improving their product quality and overall team performance. Hydro Farms is currently growing 30+ varieties of produce that are unique in the market which is more inclined to growing leafy greens.
Now more than ever, Egypt and the whole world needs to divert their farming methods in order to become more eco-friendly especially when it comes to water consumption; hydroponically grown crops use 90% less water compared to traditional methods as well as a great shrink in land size and growing more food with higher quality and much fewer resources.
Hydro Farms is planning to play a bigger role in the community. With a special focus on educational events that start with school trips to enlighten children about the importance of sustainable farming, participation in wellness retreats to encourage people to grow their own produce at home, and farm trips to reveal the level of technology currently achieved by Hydro Farms.
“We started this 8 years ago, now it’s time to take it to the next level!” says Adel El Shentenawy, Hydro Farms’founder; “we’re an exceptional start-up with a combined experience of 8 years and an incredible amount of passion and hard work put into the company has helped us pull through and thrive in the toughest and most challenging times for a company or a startup”.
As a first milestone in the large scale expansion plan, Hydro Farms will be releasing PERET; an exclusive range of fresh produce never seen before in Egypt at Gourmet “A premium quality grocery store franchise”.
The range will be featuring an array of colorful heirloom tomatoes that used to be imported for very high prices like the San Marzano, Choco-Mato, or Chocolate Tomatoes and Golden Sweet as well as a new range of exotic peppers and chili peppers with a promise of more exciting varieties. This release is a planned buildup to a nationwide release. Hydro Farms is aiming to expand the territory of their market to reach the shelves of international grocery stores as it offers a year-long variety of fresh produce that is made with the highest standards and attention to detail. By moving outside of Egypt Hydro Farms is hoping to bring back Egyptian agriculture brands to their peak of glory.
Federal Grant Bolsters Higher Education In AgTech
Cornell University has reported that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), has endowed the university’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Integrative Plant Science with a $496,000 grant
Growers have indicated the need for highly skilled workforce is becoming more urgent as technology restructures the future of farming.
Today’s blog notes a bright spot amongst many past reports of reduced government-backed financial support in research & development (R&D) and education programs that aim to improve living conditions, reduce environmental impact, and manage the growing population’s resources via technology.
Cornell University has reported that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), has endowed the university’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Integrative Plant Science with a $496,000 grant. The federal funding will be used to develop new controlled environment agriculture (CEA) training programs for a skilled workforce that is sorely needed.
Cornell’s associate professor of horticulture Neil Mattson, well-known to us as the keynote speaker at our 2019 HortiCann Light + Tech conference, will collaborate with Cornell Small Farms program director Anu Rangarajan, Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute, and SUNY Broome Community College to create a technical training certificate in CEA production. The partners also expect to develop a two-year associate’s degree program for students at these institutions and other community colleges to provide solid education in CEA.
Mattson said in the Cornell Chronicle, “Growers consistently state that finding well-trained personnel to operate their facilities is among the largest barriers to expansion.”
Why do we need this educational support? The global population is growing, and supply needs to ramp up to deliver healthy foods to all economic strata. Many food crops are currently unavailable close to home for many, which places a burden on transportation and increases carbon footprint, as well as impacting shelf life. CEA can bring many food-growing resources closer to consumers, especially in urban areas or regions that would prove inhospitable to sensitive crops in a traditional farming operation.
CEA gives growers the means to apply physical systems of growth media, environmental controls, horticultural lighting, and water supply systems along with evidence-backed research in pest management, food safety processes, light customization, and more to produce food sources in a manner designed to balance economic viability, food demand, and sustainability.
Technologies available to modern CEA growers would naturally require a more advanced skillset. Indeed, said Rangarajan, “Our efforts have laid the groundwork for what I hope will be a dynamic training program that will build the workforce and elevate the industry as a whole.”
It’s an exciting time in the horticultural and agricultural space, and learning opportunities abound. Bookmark our HortiCann Light + Tech conference homepage for updates on our upcoming October program, now virtual for 2020. Moving beyond horticultural lighting fundamentals, the program will also delve into agribusiness and the return on investment in advanced systems and controls, AgTech systems integration, and topics related to legalized cannabis growing operations.
Photo credit: Image by iamereri via Pixabay; used under free license for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
Author: Carrie Meadows | LEDsMagazine | Jul 10, 2020
VIDEO: Will This Y Combinator-Backed Startup’s Urban Home Farms Take Root In India?
UrbanKisaan leverages hydroponic technology for home growing kits, as well as a network of urban farms for online delivery and retail channels
Inc42 Staff
27 Aug'20
UrbanKisaan leverages hydroponic technology for home growing kits, as well as a network of urban farms for online delivery and retail channels
During the lockdown phase, the company claimed to have seen 10x growth in terms of demand for its fresh produce, compared to pre-Covid times.
Based in Hyderabad, UrbanKisaan has installed close to 30+ vertical farms and plans to expand to Bengaluru, Chennai among other cities
There’s a minor revolution underway in many of India’s biggest cities. We are talking about hydroponic farming and this soil-less method is fast becoming the answer to solving the problem of carbon footprint in food. Call it hydroponic farming, soilless farming, vertical farming or anything else — for many it is the long-awaited answer to responsible eating.
In this backdrop, agritech and hydroponics startups are quickly finding niches in various produce categories and cities. Despite their shared ethos for sustainable food production, the likes of UrbanKisaan, Barton Breeze, Hydrilla, Simply Fresh, Acqua Farms, Letcetra Agritech, BitMantis Innovations, Future Farms, Ela Sustainable Solutions, Agro2o, Junga FreshnGreen, Pindfresh are working in this field through different models and targeting different niches — from large-scale hydroponics farming in rural areas to small home farms for the cities.
Working on the philosophy of bringing farms closer to home is Hyderabad-based UrbanKisaan. With the vision of making hydroponic technology more affordable and accessible for the masses, UrbanKisaan offers home-grow kits or vertical hydroponic farms. And by creating mini-farms in cities and revitalizing farmlands with hydroponic technology, the startup also supplies fresh produce to customers through Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo, and other retail channels as well as in the D2C model on subscription and on-demand basis.
“We are the only startup in the hydroponic landscape to have taken a hybrid approach, where we have 20,000 sq. ft. research and development facility, along with 15+ in-house scientists working on newer innovations and products,” claimed cofounder and CEO Vihari Kanukollu elaborating on how the company is looking to differentiate itself in the burgeoning hydroponic market.
However, UrbanKisaan is not alone in the game, Simply Fresh, another Hyderabad based agritech startup, also grows and supplies a line of medicinal plants and fresh produce from its greenhouses. Similarly, Chennai-based Future Farms works on hydroponic technology at a commercial level, where it designs integrated full-stack solutions for alternative farming in the country. The vibrancy of the hydroponic models and the large ground area that needs to be covered across cities and villages has made it possible for multiple startups to thrive in this space.
Needless to say, the market opportunity is huge, as ‘urban farming’ is catching up at a rapid pace globally. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global hydroponics market is expected to reach $16.6 Bn by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 11.9% from $9.5 Bn in 2020. The growth of the sector is said to be driven by the increase in population and the need for food security through alternative high-yield farming techniques, given the depletion of water across the globe.
Plus, the rise in awareness and demand for a healthier lifestyle is said to have opened doors for a plethora of possibilities for hydroponic startups to reap the benefits in the long run.
UrbanKisaan earns revenue from its multiple channels which allow it to reach all kinds of consumers — from those who want a taste of the hydroponic produce to those who want to grow it themselves. Its urban farms are strategically located next to retail stores to facilitate hyperlocal deliveries and its DIY home kits are for the latter set. Additionally, it is also supplying its technology to local farmers to reutilise farmland.
The startup was founded in 2017 by Kanukollu, Srinivas Chaganti, Dr Hari, Shiva Prasad and Dr Sai Ram, a scientist who has been instrumental in developing the nutrient solution for their state-of-the-art vertical farming technique. In March 2020, the company also raised $1.5 Mn in seed funding from Y Combinator.
Home Farming In The Times Of Covid
During the lockdown phase, the company claimed to have witnessed 10x growth in terms of demand for its fresh produce, compared to pre-Covid levels. Further, cofounder Kanukollu said that the disruption in the supply chain and consumers leveraging on the hyperlocal delivery modes, along with the change in consumer lifestyle, for the consumption of fresh, organic produce has resulted in the surge in demand.
The Covid-19 pandemic temporarily halted the movement of produce across India and highlighted the gap in the food supply chain. This allowed agritech startups such as UrbanKisaan that specialise in hydroponic farming to tap a tremendous opportunity and bring efficiency in the supply chain.
With its hyperlocal urban farms model, Kanukollu claimed UrbanKisaan is not only bringing transparency to the vegetable supply chain but also lowering the carbon footprint, reducing food waste. Most importantly, their farming technique also claimed to save 95% water, and grow the produce 30x compared to traditional farms.
Its home kits are priced anywhere between INR 9,900 and INR 19,900 with about 50+ varieties of leafy vegetables and exotic vegetables supported by these kits, including spinach, coriander, mint, basil, bok choy, lettuce, parsley, fenugreek, capsicum, tomato and kale among others.
Further, the company claimed to have semi-automated the entire process and has designed the kits in such a way that it requires limited resources to manage it. “Once installed, it requires 15 min/week of effort to take care of the plants, thereby making it seamless for consumers to grow their own fresh produce,” said Kanukollu.
A Tech Upgrade For Rural Farmers
In addition to this, UrbanKisaan also works with local farmers who own greenhouses, where it helps them in setting up vertical farms from scratch to producing and supplying fresh fruits and vegetables.
Cost-wise, the poly house or greenhouse setup would typically cost farmers anywhere between INR 35 to INR 50 Lakhs per acre, of which, the government may subsidise up to 80%. Once this is installed, which is a fixed cost, for setting up of hydroponic setup, it would cost the farmer additionally INR 50 Lakhs. But, UrbanKisaan told Inc42 that it looks to reduce this cost at INR 15 to INR 20 Lakhs.
UrbanKisaan claims to have installed close to 30+ hydroponics farms in the state, across its various offerings. In the coming days, it plans to expand into other cities, including Bengaluru, Chennai among others, along with growing its team, adding newer varieties of hydroponic seeds, fruits and vegetables, and enhancing its technology capabilities.
Kanukollu is looking at creating a centralised monitoring system through UrbanKisaan for these various hubs and farms. “We are heavily investing in artificial and machine learning tools, where once the network of the urban farm increases, we will be able to monitor and control their farms remotely and provide a real-time update to customers.”
