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INDIA: Toward A Fresh Future
It’s not often that you get to see your leafy greens, herbs and microgreens grown on-site by hydroponic farming while shopping inside a mall
It’s Not Often That You Get To See Your Leafy Greens, Herbs, And Microgreens Grown On-Site By Hydroponic Farming While Shopping Inside A Mall.
22nd July 2021
Express News Service
CHENNAI: It’s not often that you get to see your leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens grown on-site by hydroponic farming while shopping inside a mall. This novel concept comes to Chennai, courtesy of Freshlings, with its first retail offering at the Express Avenue Mall.
Following the success of their plant-based subscription boxes, the 900-sq-ft-store, which had a soft launch last week, will offer its patrons a touch-and-feel experience of the green goodness before they handpick them. While they’re yet to stock up the entire list of farm-fresh vegetables and fruits, there’s enough for you to whip up a three-course meal from what’s currently available at the store, assures Sriram Gopal, founder of Freshlings.
“We’ve believed in ‘Clean food for all’ since 2014. While we’ve been witnessing a gradual change in the mindset of people, the interest in eating healthy and clean hit an all-time high after the pandemic. We’re grateful to the EA mall for being able to kickstart this pioneering facility. We’re hoping the on-site set-up will trigger the curiosity of more people to give this a shot,” he says.
A green catalyst
The store has an entire section of microgreens, romaine lettuce, kale, and amaranthus, neatly boxed and stacked. Sitting next to them are candy peppers, mini cucumbers and carrots, zucchini, Chinese cabbage, galangal, berries, dragon fruit, and select staples. “Fresh produce is replenished based on demand. Our quality control manager ensures nothing beyond its shelf life is stacked on the cold shelves. In case of minor damage, the product will be kept under our ‘Ugly section’ that’s yet to be launched. This is just to say that those in that section are not any less but will be made available to customers at a discounted price to ensure zero wastage,” he says.
Along with their in-house greens, Freshlings works to curate more seasonal and perennial produce from farmers and organizations that adhere to standards of sustainable food production and Global Agricultural Practices’ standards. “We’re also looking for ways in which nutrition can be made fun for kids and encourage them to make healthy choices. There will be a kids-approved section that will be filled with their favorites. We will also be sensitizing kids and motivating them to engage in farming. There’s a dedicated Grow and Bloom section for kids and urban dwellers to adopt the farming lifestyle with grow kits, seeds, herbs and tools to get started on the gardening journey,” shares Sriram.
Walking us through hydroponic farming that’s now being explored by more families — especially during the lockdown — Sriram says that plants grown in this farm don’t have pesticides and use only 20 percent of the water it would normally take to grow the same quantities. “These recirculated water systems help irrigate the produce and can prioritise food grown for taste, colour, and nutritional value rather than shelf life or its ability to sustain mass production. Greenhouse and Indoor growing also means that everything happens under the watchful eyes of the farmer. One doesn’t have to worry about the hygiene factor either because your plants grow in a controlled setting, away from any kind of pollutant or toxic substance. It’s a completely safe method,” he notes.
Clean and conscious
Besides being a catalyst in bringing a lifestyle change in Chennaiites and promoting conscious eating, Sriram is optimistic about solving inefficiencies in the supply chain and also providing a feasible solution to farmers. “Our seven years of research in this field is aimed at imparting knowledge to farmers on utilizing technology optimally. If a machine that’s cheaper than your mobile phone can do the trick of farming then what can be better than that? We call this appliance agriculture and have developed our proprietary operating system that can take care of end-to-end production of 30 crops. The next step is to incorporate regional languages so the machine can command the farmer and handhold him through the process. It will monitor everything from water levels, temperature, humidity until harvest. We recently set up a fully automated facility in Singapore. It will take a long time here but we are in talks with like-minded people,” he elaborates.
After crossing the initial hurdles of getting their customers to try their products, Sriram says that they are all about working relentlessly towards the larger picture. “Sustainable food production and responsible consumerism must work in tandem to create a value-conscious lifestyle. Often premium product chains eliminate Chennai from their expansion plans because they think people here are not quality conscious and price-sensitive. We are challenging the notion by starting here. To us, being a cult brand is more important than chasing numbers. This is just the beginning and we hope to impart knowledge to as many as possible,” he says.
The shop will officially be launched shortly. Freshlings has also tied up with delivery partners to cater to its patrons living across the city. Until then, you can keep track of their daily updates on their official Instagram page @thefreshlings or visit www.thefreshlings.com
Malaysian Mall Visitors Encouraged To Start Farming
Some malls are planning to transform underutilized space into urban farms
By JAROD LIM
26 May 2021
URBAN farming involving local communities is a much-talked-about topic among Klang Valley folk.
As more and more community and urban farms emerge in the city, shopping centres in Klang Valley are jumping on the bandwagon to showcase urban farms set up within their premises.
Tapping into the rising popularity of urban farms among city dwellers and the need for better food security amid the Covid-19 pandemic, they feel it is essential to educate and address food accessibility and sustainability to the masses.
Some malls are planning to transform underutilized space into urban farms.
Taking up 2,100sq ft, Quayside Mall by Gamuda Land in Kota Kemuning, Selangor started its farm called Farm by the Quay in the shopping complex last December.
The mall partnered with Havva Agrotech Sdn Bhd in setting up the farm and grew six types of leafy vegetables using its own method.
Gamuda Leasing, Retail and Malls director Tan Kim Whatt said the idea behind the farm was to encourage people to do their own farming.
Tan (right) and Teoh checking vegetables at Farm by the Quay.
“It goes in line with the company’s core values to encourage a sustainable environment, ” he said, adding that the company had a vision to promote sustainable living. “Through this urban farm within the mall, we hope to spread awareness of its importance to visitors.
“The aim behind this initiative is to show them that it is not difficult to farm with the system that we have. In the long run, it will benefit generations to come, ” said Tan when met at the urban farm.
Farm by the Quay, he added, created an internal and external integration with the mall in Twentyfive.7, an integrated township at the edge of Kota Kemuning, Selangor.
“While the township is centred on sustainable development, the urban farm is a precursor to bigger plans around the area.
“Within the mall, we encourage our tenants, usually restaurants, to adopt the farm-to-table practice by buying products from the urban farms.
“Aside from ensuring the freshness of the vegetables, restaurants also take only what they can sell, which reduces food wastage.
“It is a rather new concept. We are also exploring other means, including having urban farms in other Gamuda Land properties, ” added Tan.
One of the leafy vegetables at Farm by the Quay.
Havva Agrotech farm and product director Teoh Shu Hua said Havva stood for the various urban farming techniques, namely hydroponics, aeroponics, vermiponics, vertical farming, and aquaculture.
She said the system enabled plants to grow in a vertical hollowed tube with their roots exposed to water in a fish tank placed underneath the structure.
Teoh said a separate tank combined hydroponics with vermiculture to provide nutrients to plants such as kailan, bak choy, kale, lettuce, and Japanese cucumber.
“We are also doing experiential engagement with mall visitors through workshops on weekends, ” she added.
Teoh said through Havva Agrotech, they want to educate the public that urban farming was not costly and could be done in small spaces using the company’s integrated vertical farming system.
“Urban farming has become important during this pandemic as more people start to adopt this practice, ” she said.
Farm in the city
In October last year, the Sunway Group launched the Sunway FutureX farm, an urban farm innovation hub in Bandar Sunway.
At the farm, rows of hydroponic vegetables are grown in a glasshouse fit with advanced technologies to monitor the optimum growing condition for the plants.
Van Leeuwen is looking at other Sunway properties to incorporate urban farming.
Led by Sunway iLabs, Sunway FutureX serves as a skills-building hub for urban farmers, technology companies, researchers as well as young talents to collaborate and create transformative solutions that focus on food and agriculture technology.
It currently features two aquaponic farms, an indoor vertical farm, and an outdoor hydroponic farm.
Sunway iLabs director Matthijs van Leeuwen said FutureX Farm was equipped with technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor the plants’ growth.
“The hydroponics method uses 90% less water and generates 30% to 40% higher yield per square feet.
“For the past seven months, we have grown and harvested 25,000 plants and fed 500 families, ” he said.
The pandemic also showed the lack of food security in the city and the need to bring food production closer to it.
“Supply of vegetables at the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market was disrupted and this showed that a centralised supply chain system does not work.
“Hence, a food production system closer to the community removes all the logistics needed to ferry supplies from rural areas to the city.
“It also reduces carbon dioxide emission and improves the nutritional value of vegetables, ” added van Leeuwen.
Technology aside, the farm also engages with the community to be involved in urban farming.
Sunway FutureX Farm also teamed up with Sunway Property in its growing and owning initiative for individuals who want to grow their own produce.
“Interested individuals pay for a small farm plot and they are provided with the seeds and gardening materials. We then manage it for them.
“One can pick up their greens or have it delivered to them, ” explained van Leeuwen.
FutureX Farm also aims to educate and empower communities through sustainable living and urban farming. It also hopes to nurture more agriculture entrepreneurs in Klang Valley.
Van Leeuwen said they were looking at incorporating these urban farms into Sunway properties.
The hydroponic glasshouse at Sunway FutureX uses modern technology to monitor the light intensity and humidity of the surroundings to ensure it provides the optimum environment for vegetables.
“We are also talking to other Sunway properties about reimagining space to transform underutilized areas into urban farms.
“Sunway Property is looking at potential spaces around its development projects to set up urban farm plots, ” he said, adding that similar talks were being held with Sunway City Iskandar Puteri in Johor and Sunway Penang.
“In Klang Valley, we potentially would expand the urban farm in Sunway Velocity and Sunway Pyramid, but we are still in the planning phase.
“We want to educate and raise awareness among the people and get the community involved in urban farming.
“By putting an urban farm in a mall, visitors get to try it out themselves. Ultimately, we want to inspire them. They can then bring this concept back to their community, ” he said.
Public exposure
Central i-City shopping centre in Shah Alam, Selangor teamed up with Trex Event Management to organise its first Urban Farming Festival last month
Featuring 15 exhibitors, the exhibition had a two-pronged approach — to introduce a new and healthy trend to the public while helping the urban farming industry players introduce their products to the masses.
Central i-City Marketing and Strategic Communications senior executive Joyce Chew said the festival encouraged urban farming as a new trend.
“People can consider taking up urban farming as a new hobby that encourages and elevates the quality of life.
“We believe urban farming can help many to achieve their close-to-impossible goal of having green space at home through a sustainable and effective system, ” she said.
Chew added that the festival had paved the way for the possibility of having an urban farm in the mall.
“Since we have a vast open area at the mall’s Level Four, we are exploring the idea to transform the space, ” she said.
Havva’s urban farming techniques include hydroponics, aeroponics, vermiponics, vertical farming, and aquaculture.
Participants’ feedback
Sunway Geolake resident Yap Wei Hsum, 35, who participated in the growing and owning initiative by Sunway FarmX, said she liked the food sustainability efforts promoted by the farm.
“When I purchased the property here, I got to know about the programme through an email.
“Feeling curious, I found out more about it and joined it eventually.
“Initially, the vegetables that I collected weekly were rather small in size, but they improved gradually.
“I was happy with the weekly harvest as it was fresh and enough for the family, ” she said, adding that she even participated in the workshop to learn how the vegetables are grown.
Farm at the Quay visitor Vincent Lim, 35, lauded the mall’s effort to promote urban farming in the city.
“It is a fresh idea that the public can take up as a hobby and grow vegetables in their own backyard.
“We can also teach our children about urban farming, which is something they may not be exposed to while living in the city, ” he said.
Lead photo: Located on the ground floor of Quayside Mall, Farm by the Quay is home to six types of leafy vegetables. — Photos: SS KANESAN, KK SHAM and CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
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TAGS / KEYWORDS: Urban Farm , Klang Valley , Sunway Gamuda