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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
Related stories:
Farming solutions to help city folk grow fresh produce for their own consumption
TAGS / KEYWORDS: Urban Farm , Klang Valley , Sunway Gamuda
CANADA: ‘Made In Quebec’ Strawberries Offer Hope For Food Autonomy
The pandemic, with its broken supply lines and closed borders, has been a worrying reminder of Quebec’s dependence on imported food. Roughly 75% of its fresh fruits and vegetables, in fact, come from elsewhere
10-05-2021 | Msn News
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
CANADA- The pandemic, with its broken supply lines and closed borders, has been a worrying reminder of Quebec’s dependence on imported food. Roughly 75% of its fresh fruits and vegetables, in fact, come from elsewhere.
Inside a windowless metal cube in a building on the outskirts of the province’s largest city, Montreal, Yves Daoust is trying to make a dent in those numbers.
The cube houses some 3,800 strawberry plants arranged in vertical gardens, pollinated by bumble bees, and brushed by morning dew. The carefully controlled environment is tracked by sensors and attempts to mimic ideal summer conditions year-round in a city where the average outdoor temperature in January is 13.6 degrees Fahrenheit (-10.2 degrees Celsius) and the winter cold doesn’t let up until May.
When Daoust’s company, Ferme d’hiver -- the name is French for “winter farm” -- started selling batches at C$5.99 ($4.80) a pack at nearby supermarkets in December, the pesticide-free berries were snatched by customers accustomed to Mexican or U.S. produce that often costs a bit less. Now it’s signing up farmers to install the technology and make Quebec winter strawberries viable, helped by C$1.5 million in financing from the government.
Quebec’s history -- it harbors a strong nationalist movement -- has long reinforced a preference for homegrown businesses, but after the pandemic disrupted labor migration and prompted some countries to restrict exports, local sourcing became an urgent matter for the government.
“The pandemic made Quebeckers a lot more sensitive to the importance of supporting local companies,” Agriculture Minister Andre Lamontagne said in an interview. “Every time we increase consumption of Quebec food products by a notch, it has considerable effects on the Quebec economy.”
The government earmarked C$157 million in November to boost food autonomy. In addition, its investment arm, Investissement Quebec, supports individual projects like Ferme d’hiver’s. Two recent projects it financed were greenhouse expansions that together received C$60 million.
The initiative aligns with themes dear to Premier Francois Legault, who was elected in 2018 on a nationalist platform. Quebec, a majority French-speaking province, is protective of its culture and businesses and considers any goods that come from outside Quebec, even from other Canadian provinces, to be “imported.”
Fruits and vegetables aren’t the only problem. Only about half of the all wholesale food purchased by grocers and hospitality companies is grown or transformed locally. To improve that ratio, Quebec is banking on greenhouse production, which it wants to double over five years with C$112 million in aid programs.
Another weapon is state-owned Hydro-Quebec’s cheap and abundant electricity, a key incentive for an industry that requires large amounts of artificial lighting during dark winter days.
© Bloomberg A Strawberry Harvest At Ferme D'Hiver Vertical Farm. The grow room at the Ferme d’hiver.
Photographer: Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
In Compton, a town two hours east of Montreal, organic vegetable farmer Frederic Jobin-Lawler is modernizing his 36,000 square feet of greenhouse space with a geothermal heating system, a dehumidifying unit and artificial lighting. After subsidies and other aid, he’ll pay only about 40% of the upgrade costs.
Success or failure of the food autonomy effort will depend on whether small farms like Jobin-Lawler’s can overcome grocers’ general preference for large suppliers or whether they can get institutions like hospitals to buy their produce, he said.
“If we produce more in winter, will our local markets be able to take it in?” he said. “We don’t want to do this to export, we want to do this to sell locally.”
In theory, the province produces enough to supply two-thirds of its fresh and transformed greens, but consumption and production don’t match up perfectly. Quebec grows enough cabbage to cover twice over what it eats, so it exports some. But it meets only 17% of its population’s demand for spinach and 44% for strawberries.
Climate and seasonality have a lot to do with it. As a country, Canada imports the most vegetables and fruits between March and June, followed by the December to February months.
Daoust, the founder of Ferme d’hiver, said he offers a tastier substitute. “It’s not that imported products aren’t good originally, but they are treated to be transported for days,” said Daoust, an engineer by training who grew up on a farm but spent most of his career in the tech industry.
Imported Workers
Not everyone in Quebec is persuaded by the government’s push. Patrick Mundler, a professor at Laval University in Quebec City, says a rush to produce more fruits and vegetables risks increasing demand for other imports, chiefly farm labor.
“The massive production model is totally dependent on labor,” said Mundler, who published a paper on food autonomy last year. “Workers come from Mexico, Guatemala -- I have a hard time accepting we use our electricity to produce cucumbers in heated tunnels rather than buy them from Mexico or Guatemala directly, where they grew in the sun.”
If small farmers manage to get their goods onto grocery shelves where a few giant producers dominate, a big question remains whether consumers will get into the habit of buying local.
“The consumer has the last word,” said Catherine Brodeur, a vice president of economic studies at Groupe Ageco, a consultancy in Quebec City. “The share of consumers who want to buy locally and are ready to pay more grows over time. But a lot of consumers buy the product that’s 5 cents cheaper.”
Photo © Bloomberg A Strawberry Harvest At Ferme D'Hiver Vertical Farm
Strawberries are harvested at the Ferme d’hiver.
Photographer: Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg
Were Medieval Cities Greener? Urban Agriculture In The Middle Ages
Cities have grown so rapidly in the past century that we tend to forget that, until the late nineteenth century, the vast majority of people actually lived in rural settings
By Lucie Laumonier
Cities have grown so rapidly in the past century that we tend to forget that, until the late nineteenth century, the vast majority of people actually lived in rural settings. Even just one hundred years ago, most of the suburbs of large modern cities were completely rural.
In the Middle Ages, cities comprised a large population of farmers, ploughmen, and agriculturalists who worked in close vicinity to urban spaces. Most cities’ outskirts included an important portion of estates dedicated to agriculture where urban peasants laboured. However, one of the key characteristics of any city is that the food it produces does not suffice to feed its population. Medieval cities thus had to import most of the foodstuff required to sustain their citizens, even if a portion of it was produced locally.
Medieval cities were also full of gardens and vegetable beds that people cultivated for their own sustenance or for extra revenues. This preoccupation with urban agriculture is evident in Le Ménagier, a housekeeping guide written by a fourteenth-century gentleman from Paris for his young wife which included several sections about gardens. This was done in part so that his wife would “have some knowledge on horticulture and gardening, grafting in the proper season, and keeping roses in winter.”
This article looks at the urban farmers of medieval France and discusses the roles of the gardens that were found throughout medieval cities.
Urban peasants: How Many Were There?
Medieval population estimates depend on the nature of available sources, few of which were drafted for demographic purposes. Wills and fiscal sources are often the main indicators of a population’s stratification. In the town of Manresa, Catalonia, 13.5% of fifteenth-century taxpayers were farmers. This proportion is relatively low, especially compared to the large city of Montpellier, Languedoc, which counted more than 30,000 inhabitants on the eve of the Black Death. There, 22% of the 1380-1480 taxpayers were farmers or gardeners.
The data thus suggests that one in five late medieval urban dwellers in Montpellier practised agriculture. But, except for the gardeners, we have no concrete information about the actual work the farmers performed. We do not know for instance what proportion specialized in cattle or sheep rearing; how many were mainly producing wine or cereals. We do not know either how many owned the fields they tilled, how many farmed the estates of others, or how many had no land and no job security, and hopped from farm to farm looking for work.
A gardener from around the year 1425, depicted in the Housebooks of Nuremberg – Amb. 317.2 fol. 8v
Part-Time Urban Farmers
Few work contracts were made by the urban peasantry. In Marseille, Provence, 10% of the fourteenth-century work contracts analysed by Francine Michaud concerned farming and agriculture. The figure is low but compares to the data I collected for Montpellier in Languedoc. The reason for such a small figure is that agriculture, in general, seldom prompted the drafting of a work contract, even in rural settings where it was the primary occupation of workers. Since agricultural work was seasonal in nature, it rarely called for the legal guarantees long-term work contracts required.
In the Montpellier sources, some self-identified urban peasants juggled different jobs, suggesting that agriculture was not, in fact, their full-time occupation. Some men described themselves as “agriculturalist and gardener”. Two men were “carpenter and ploughmen;” one taxpayer worked as “musician and ploughman and public crier;” one was a “glove maker and ploughman;” while another was listed as a “ploughman and fishmonger.” It is possible that agriculture was their primary occupation but that they had a side activity to make ends meet.
But it is also possible these workers took on agricultural work during harvest season as a way to supplement their earnings coming from their other activity. Medieval city dwellers often owned small pieces of land they rented out or cultivated in their free time. In the town of Castelnaudary, near Toulouse, 95% of the fourteenth-century taxpaying inhabitants owned at least some agricultural land. The rate was 91.5% in the fifteenth century. Most of these landowners held very small estates (less than 2 hectares), which would not have sufficed to sustain their families. Nonetheless, these lands did offer the guarantee of some sustenance to their owners.
Urban Gardens for the Poor and the Wealthy
Vegetables, fruits, and various herbs had always been cultivated in cities for practical and sustenance purposes. Cities were covered with backyard vegetable beds in which people planted cabbage, carrots, peas, and other products they would eat. Historian Jerry Stannard dubbed such vegetable beds “kitchen gardens” and underlines that “the produce of the smallest, most crudely tilled plot was preferable to nothing at all,” in that they provided “free” food to their owners. Besides vegetables, artisans and workers also planted (grew) medicinal plants.
However, the existence of kitchen gardens often depended on the population density of cities and on the demographic context. At times of demographic pressure, when cities were full, the spaces taken up by the gardens and vegetable patches of the poor were used for housing. The size and number of such gardens therefore decreased. But when the population declined, such as after the Black Death, unoccupied lots and abandoned houses were turned into vegetable beds to help sustain more modest households. Today still, depopulation in cities sometimes prompts the reconversion of available lands into gardens and parks.
Unthreatened by demographic changes were the patrician gardens that belonged to the wealthier inhabitants of cities. These gardens were usually of the mixed type, containing edible and medicinal plants as well as ornamental species cultivated for their beauty and delightful scents. Ornamental gardens were heavily featured in medieval literature (which teems with scenes unfolding in gardens), where protagonists engaged in all sorts of activities — preferably courting a lady or discussing philosophy with allegorical figures. The Romance of the Rose is a fitting example of such.
An illustration from Roman de La Rose, depicting a fountain and a stream pouring outwards from the centre of the garden – Wikimedia Commons
Ornamental Gardens: Aromatherapy and the Pleasure of the Senses
Ornamental gardens gained traction (in popularity) after the devastations of the plague and its ulterior episodes. The scientific belief that nasty vapours carrying miasmas had caused the disease, as the airborne transmission of plague through droplets had been acknowledged by medieval physicians, fuelled the idea that gardens had the power to clean up the air. Gardens, in short, had a curative power one should not ignore. Through their odour, wrote Italian physician Marsilio Ficino in the second half of the fifteenth century, flowers and plants “restore and invigorate you on all sides, as if by the breath and spirit of the life of the world.”
The curative virtues of gardens worked in two ways, notes historian Carol Rawcliffe. On the one hand, the smell of flowers restores health by strengthening the heart, while on the other it works as a prophylactic agent. Medieval scientists recommended the scent of roses and violets as a form of protection against the plague. The perfume of violets was also prescribed to treat headaches, fevers, and skin diseases. Fourteenth-century physician John of Burgundy therefore recommended “to smell roses, violets, and lilies” before leaving one’s home in times of plague to avoid catching the disease.
Even more ambitious was physician Ibn Khatimah, who had witnessed the devastations of the Black Death in Andalusia. He argued that cities should protect themselves from the plague through the intensive cultivation of sweet-smelling plants around their boundaries. This physical barrier against the disease could then be enhanced by the stockpiling of plants to prevent its vapours from reaching the cities’ dwellers. In their homes, town dwellers could scatter freshly cut herbs and flowers on the floor to clear the air; and “refresh” their straw mattresses with the addition of lavender and other plants.
Besides the curative virtues listed above, medieval physicians also believed flowers to be beneficial to mental health. Walking in gardens, smelling and looking at flowers uplifted people’s morale, which in turn had positive effects on their general health. Moderate exercise and strolls in gardens or, when possible, in the countryside, cured both the soul and the body. The reason why medieval hospitals kept gardens in their precincts were both practical (cultivating the medicine and food they needed) and philosophical, thus enabling the sick to breathe some fresh air and engage in light yet invigorating activities.
Medieval cities were surrounded by agricultural estates. Within their walls, the urban space was partly covered with gardens that belonged to the wealthy, to hospitals and convents. In humbler neighbourhoods, the extent land was taken up by private gardens depended on the period of time and the density of the city in question. The fewer the inhabitants of a city, the more numerous its gardens tended to be. Besides their role in alimentation, gardens, ornamental ones especially, also had medicinal virtues for the soul and the body. In the Middle Ages, smelling the roses was to be taken literally.
Lucie Laumonier is an Affiliate assistant professor at Concordia University. Click here to view her Academia.edu page or follow her on Instagram at The French Medievalist.
US: INDIANA - Indianapolis Indoor Farm Packages Leafy Greens To Uplift East Side
An indoor-farming facility using cutting-edge technology is bringing new food options to the city’s east side
by: David Williams
May 7, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An indoor-farming facility using cutting-edge technology is bringing new food options to the city’s east side.
Uplift Produce grows, harvests, and packages leafy greens in a renovated 60,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis.
“We say that we’re fresh-to-market in hours and the reason for that is we actually harvest, pack, and ship within a matter of a few hours into distribution channels,” Chris Arnold, CEO of Uplift Produce, said Friday.
Keith Cooper, Uplift Produce location manager, said depending on the product, they grow from seed to finish in 14-21 days, with a “100% controlled environment. So, we’re controlling the CO2, the humidity, and temperature to be exactly at the set points that the plant needs.”
The business is a joint venture with a Dutch company called PlantLab. The first product launched from the Indianapolis facility in October. Arnold said the company is committed to uplifting the community.
“It’s working well here in Indianapolis to have that partnership, meaning that every dollar that’s ever made here, a portion of those goes directly right back here into the community,” Arnold said.
They’ve got 11 employees right now. Uplift produce donates about 150 pounds of food a week to places that include Second Helpings hunger relief and the Cafe Patachou Foundation. This area is in the midst of revitalization.
“Everything that we do is really centered around, ‘How do we uplift people and the whole community support?’ Really that partnership with Englewood and the work that the folks at the Englewood Community Development Corporation are doing here in the community, we’re really just trying to equip them to continue to do the work that they do,” Arnold said.
Arnold said he is called to do this work — not only to feed people but also to help this area.
“Our desire is that people would be able to just live, work and play in this neighborhood. Be able to directly walk into work and never have to get in a car,” Arnold said.
The Englewood Community Development Corporation is an ownership partner, Arnold said. The facility is housed at the historic P.R. Mallory campus, inside the Bunker Building.
Arnold told News 8 there are plans to expand the facility even more by the end of this year and bring an additional 20 jobs to Indianapolis.
Uplift Produce has facilities in seven different states and several cities. You can find their products online at Green Bean Delivery and hope to sell on retail shelves in Indianapolis soon.
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Singapore Shows What Serious Urban Farming Looks Like
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how susceptible countries are to turmoil in the global food supply
MAY 3, 2021
As recently as 1970, nearly one in 10 Singaporeans was engaged in farming or fishing. Now, most of the island is urbanized. The vast majority of apartment complexes in Singapore are public housing, which allows the government to designate their rooftops as agricultural spaces in the public interest.
From what was once Singapore’s largest prison complex — the Queenstown Remand Prison, housing about 1,000 inmates at its peak — an 8,000 square meter urban farm, Edible Garden City (EGC), now bursts with colorful vegetables and fragrant herbs. Co-founded by local resident Bjorn Low in 2012, EGC is one of Singapore’s first urban https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/singapore-shows-what-serious-urban-farming-looks-like initiatives and is located inside the former prison compound. It is one of several efforts in the city-state to strengthen the island’s food security at a grassroots level. “Our goal was and is to encourage more locals to grow their own food and thus help strengthen the city’s food resilience,” says Sarah Rodriguez, EGC’s head of marketing.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how susceptible countries are to turmoil in the global food supply. This is an issue of particular concern to Singapore, which imports almost 90 percent of its food from more than 170 countries. For several years now, the city authorities have been preparing for just such a crisis. The Singapore Food Authority (SFA) launched its ambitious “30 by 30” initiative in 2019, with the objective of producing 30 percent of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally by the year 2030. Supported by a mix of government grants and incentives, 30 by 30 will test the limits of urban food production. At last count in 2019, the city had 220 farms and was meeting 14 percent of its demand for leafy vegetables, 26 percent for eggs, and 10 percent for fish.
Vertical farms feed an island
As recently as 1970, nearly one in 10 Singaporeans was engaged in farming or fishing, either directly or indirectly. Orchards and pig farms dotted the island, and many residents grew fresh vegetables and raised backyard chickens. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, however, most of these occupations disappeared from the rapidly urbanizing city-state. Competing demands for land use led to agriculture being limited to about one percent of the land. Singapore’s food supply grew increasingly reliant on imports.
That began to change about a decade ago amid serious concerns about Singapore’s heavy reliance on imports. In response, the government backed efforts to shore up the nation’s food security with urban farming. In 2014, the authorities announced a SG$63 million (USD$47 million) Agriculture Productivity Fund to support farms in increasing their outputs by using innovative technologies. Over 100 local farms have benefitted so far.
But with COVID-19 threatening to disrupt the city’s imports, the fear that essential food items may not be available became very real. “People have started to resonate with the need for reliable access to food in their own homes and neighborhoods,” says Cuifen Pui, co-founder of the Foodscape Collective, which works with local communities and natural farming practitioners to transform underutilized public spaces into biodiverse edible community gardens. “Many Singaporeans are connecting with the concept of food security at a personal level.”
EGC, which has designed and built over 260 small produce farms for restaurants, hotels, schools and residences in Singapore, also experienced an increased interest in their foodscaping service. “Our foodscaping team saw a 40 percent increase in inquiries from homeowners between April and June last year,” says Rodriguez.
Pre-pandemic, EGC supplied produce to about 60 restaurants in the city and shipped produce weekly to 40 local families that had signed on to their Citizen Box subscription service. When restaurants shut in April last year, EGC quickly converted its restaurant-supplying beds and systems to grow crops for Citizen Box instead. “A bed that was previously used to grow tarragon for restaurants was repurposed to grow something like kang kong (water spinach) that is more suitable for home cooking,” explains Rodriguez. “We were able to supply three times more households through Citizen Box.” EGC uses natural farming methods like composting for soil regeneration and the use of permaculture techniques, to ensure that the impact on the environment is minimal and the soil remains healthy and productive for future generations.
Currently, EGC also grows kale and chard using hydroponics and microgreens in soil, all of it in a climate-controlled, indoor environment. “We strongly believe that there should be a balance between agritech and natural farming,” says Rodriguez. “We prefer to focus on the wide variety of veggies that grow well in our climate.”
EGC’s focus on natural farming is shared by the Foodscape Collective. It’s co-founder Pui had the opportunity to start a community edible garden in 2013, along with her neighbors. More recently, at the invitation of the National Parks Board and The Winstedt School, the Foodscape Collective, together with the local community, is transforming land in two locations using permaculture techniques. “These gardens are multi-functional spaces — to grow edibles, to grow plants for biodiversity, to nature watch, to enhance the soil ecosystem by composting food scraps, or simply just spaces to relax in a busy city,” says Pui.
Edible Garden City, once the largest prison in Singapore, is now an urban farm helping to bolster the city-state’s food security. (Photo courtesy of Edible Garden City)
But with less than one percent of Singapore’s land available for agriculture, 30 by 30 is increasing demand for tech-based solutions that can produce large volumes of food in small spaces. “Technology plays a huge role in Singapore’s food security,” says Prof. Paul Teng, food security expert and Dean of the National Institute of Education International. Rooftop farms like Comcrop — one of the recipients of the government’s SG$30 million (USD$22 million) 30X30 Express grant — and Citiponics are growing greens hydroponically on rooftops.
Since the vast majority of apartment complexes in Singapore are public housing, the government can designate their rooftops as agricultural spaces in the public interest. In 2020, the rooftops of nine multistory car parks in public housing estates were made available for farming by the government.
Other farms like Sustenir are using climate-controlled agriculture to grow their greens entirely indoors. “Singapore will always have to maximize its land and labor productivity for self-production, and this means technology,” says Teng. “It doesn’t make economic sense to produce food in Singapore when there is no comparative advantage, such as with rice and other large area-requiring crops.”
In line with its focus on highly-productive farming, SFA plans to redevelop Lim Chu Kang — an area in the northwest of Singapore covered with traditional farms — into a high-tech agri-cluster, which would triple the output of the area. The redevelopment work is expected to begin in 2024.
Egg production and aquaculture are also being ramped up. Chew’s Agriculture, a household name in Singapore for its farm-fresh eggs, received a 30X30 Express grant to build additional hen houses equipped with technologies to minimize egg breakage and maximize production.
As of 2019, Singapore had 122 sea- and land-based fish farms, with the majority of its offshore fish farms located in the Johor Strait to the north of the island. With these fish farms reaching maximum production levels, potential sites in the southern waters of Singapore are being assessed for suitability and environmental impact. Vertical aquaculture on land is also being viewed as an alternative to increase fish production. Land-based fish farm Apollo Aquaculture recently made news with its upcoming eight-story, state-of-the-art farm.
On the public-facing side, the SFA is encouraging citizens to buy locally farmed food, emphasizing its freshness and nutritive value. A new logo SG Fresh Produce was launched to make all locally grown produce easily identifiable in supermarkets.
As Singapore moves ahead with its 30 by 30 plans, it will still need to import the majority of its food. Not far from Lim Chu Kang is Sungei Kadut, one of Singapore’s oldest industrial estates, which will be redeveloped in a phased manner into an agri-tech innovation hub. “The government is hoping to develop the country into a regional agrifood tech hub for innovations that can offer technology exports to the region,” says Teng. “By helping other producing countries with technologies that can up their production, they will have more for Singapore to import.”
This story was originally published in Reasons to Be Cheerful. It is reprinted here with permission.
Next City is one of few independent news outlets covering urbanism’s efforts to achieve a more equitable city; including how to bring people out of poverty, empower business owners of color, connect us with sustainable technology, center community-based cultural knowledge, house the homeless, and more. Ultimately, it’s about how we care for each other, and we need your support to continue our work.
Anne Pinto Rodrigues is a Netherlands-based freelance journalist, writing on a broad range of topics under social and environmental justice. Her work has been published in The Guardian, The Telegraph, CS Monitor, Yes!, Ensia, and several other international publications.
Lead Photo: (Photo courtesy of Comcrop)
Urban Farmers Captured On Canvas
“Re-Enchanting the City,” an exhibition in Chelsea, highlights the visual record of the many vibrant local farms, community gardens, and rooftop plantings around the city by the artist Elizabeth Downer Riker
An Exhibition by The Painter Elizabeth Downer Riker
Documents A Decade of Urban Gardening
April 26, 2021
“Re-Enchanting the City,” an exhibition in Chelsea, highlights the visual record of the many vibrant local farms, community gardens, and rooftop plantings around the city by the artist Elizabeth Downer Riker. About 10 years ago she started painting rooftop farms in Long Island City, Queens, and parts of Brooklyn, and then took her oils and canvas to other neighborhoods in the city, and even upstate. The exhibition features 20 of her works, and they are for sale, from $1,000 to $2,200.
“Re-Enchanting the City: Greening New York City,” April 27 through May 22, Ceres Gallery, 547 West 27th Street, Suite 201, 212-947-6100, ceresgallery.org.
Follow NYT Food on Twitter and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Get regular updates from NYT Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips, and shopping advice.
Florence Fabricant is a food and wine writer. She writes the weekly Front Burner and Off the Menu columns, as well as the Pairings column, which appears alongside the monthly wine reviews. She has also written 12 cookbooks.
Lead photo: “Bird’s-Eye View of Brooklyn Grange-Future,” a portrait of the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm.Credit...Elizabeth Downer Riker
USA: NEW JERSEY - AeroFarms Expands Global Headquarters To Support Growth And Innovation
Indoor vertical farming leader continues commitment to Newark as it expands presence within the community
April 23, 2021
Indoor vertical farming leader continues commitment to Newark as it expands presence within the community
Co-Founder & CEO David Rosenberg recognized as ROI-NJ Top Technology Influencer
AeroFarms, a certified B Corporation and leader in indoor vertical farming, today announced that the Company has received its certificate of occupancy for expansion of its global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey. To support its corporate expansion, AeroFarms recently completed the build-out of an additional 25,000 square feet at its headquarters for new office space and more expansive R&D and Innovation Centers of Excellence.
In 2015, AeroFarms partnered closely with the City of Newark and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), to relocate its headquarters to Newark from the Finger Lakes region of New York with the goal of creating more than 75 year-round jobs in the local community. Today, AeroFarms employs in Newark more than 150 team members, and the Company is delivering on its vision of not only serving the broader New York metro area but also serving as the global epicenter for large scale commercial indoor vertical farming and the latest in breakthrough proprietary technologies addressing some of the world’s most pressing agricultural challenges.
AeroFarms has been leading the way for innovation and technology breakthroughs since its inception and will continue to build on this legacy through continued R&D and infrastructure to maintain its leadership position as the Company scales. Earlier this week, AeroFarms Co-Founder and CEO David Rosenberg was recognized as a Top Technology Influencer by New Jersey media outlet ROI-NJ, further demonstrating the Company’s leadership in technology and innovation.
"New Jersey and Newark have been the perfect home for AeroFarms to recruit the best talent for horticulture, engineering, data science, operations, and food safety enabling us to reimagine agriculture in the Garden State," said Rosenberg. "We are scaling farms around the world, partnering closely with major multi-national retailers, and our newly expanded global headquarters will be a showcase for our transformative work and innovation that will further drive our mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity."
AeroFarms has a long history of community involvement, including partnering with Ironbound Community Corporation and NJ Reentry Program, which offers career opportunities to those previously incarcerated. In addition, AeroFarms has made an impact with its Community Farms, working with partners such as Newark-based Philips Academy Charter School and their EcoSpaces program. The Company also partnered with the City of Jersey City and the World Economic Forum’s Healthy Cities and Communities initiative for the first-ever municipal indoor vertical farming program, consisting of ten vertical farms throughout Jersey City located in senior centers, schools, public housing complexes, and municipal buildings. The ten sites will grow 19,000 pounds of vegetables annually, using targeted aeroponics water mist and minimal electricity, and the food will be provided to the community for no cost.
About AeroFarms
Since 2004, AeroFarms has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture. On a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, AeroFarms is a Certified B Corporation Company with global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, United States. Named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company two years in a row and one of TIME’s Best Inventions, AeroFarms patented, award-winning indoor vertical farming technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking agriculture to a new level of precision, food safety, and productivity while using up to 95% less water and no pesticides versus traditional field farming. AeroFarms enables local production to safely grow all year round for its commercial retail brand that offers peak flavor always®. In addition, through its proprietary growing technology platform, AeroFarms has developed multi-year strategic partnerships ranging from government to major Fortune 500 companies to help uniquely solve agriculture supply chain needs. For additional information, visit: https://aerofarms.com/.
On March 26, 2021, AeroFarms announced a definitive business combination agreement with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: SV). Upon the closing of the business combination, AeroFarms will become publicly traded on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol "ARFM". Additional information about the transaction can be viewed here: https://aerofarms.com/investors/
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction in connection with a proposed potential business combination among Spring Valley and AeroFarms or any related transactions, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction where, or to any person to whom, such offer, solicitation or sale may be unlawful. Any offering of securities or solicitation of votes regarding the proposed transaction will be made only by means of a proxy statement/prospectus that complies with applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or pursuant to an exemption from the Securities Act or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "outlook," and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this presentation, regarding Spring Valley’s proposed acquisition of AeroFarms, Spring Valley’s ability to consummate the transaction, the benefits of the transaction, and the combined company’s future financial performance, as well as the combined company’s strategy, future operations, estimated financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the respective management of AeroFarms and Spring Valley and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AeroFarms and Spring Valley. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political, and legal conditions; the inability of the parties to successfully or timely consummate the proposed transaction, including the risk that any regulatory approvals are not obtained, are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the proposed transaction or that the approval of the stockholders of Spring Valley or AeroFarms is not obtained; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to AeroFarms; risks related to the expansion of AeroFarms’ business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on AeroFarms’ business; the ability of Spring Valley or AeroFarms to issue equity or equity-linked securities or obtain debt financing in connection with the proposed transaction or in the future, and those factors discussed in Spring Valley’s final prospectus dated November 25, 2020 under the heading "Risk Factors," and other documents Spring Valley has filed, or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that neither Spring Valley nor AeroFarms presently knows, or that Spring Valley nor AeroFarms currently believe are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Spring Valley and AeroFarms anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ assessments to change. However, while Spring Valley and AeroFarms may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Spring Valley and AeroFarms specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Spring Valley’s and AeroFarms’ assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210423005283/en/
Contacts
AeroFarms Contacts
Investor Relations:
Jeff Sonnek
ICR
Jeff.Sonnek@icrinc.com
1-646-277-1263
Media Relations:
Marc Oshima
AeroFarms
MarcOshima@AeroFarms.com
1-917-673-4602
Vertical Farming’s Success Depends On The Cheapest Lightbulb
More than a decade ago, microbiologist Dickson Despommier floated the idea that nations with little arable land like the UAE could become self-reliant by growing food in skyscrapers with perfectly optimized artificial light and heat
The industry promised to tackle world hunger. But all it may end up delivering for now is expensive basil and perhaps some better quality marijuana.
January 16, 2021
Abu Dhabi’s giant Yas Mall isn’t the most obvious location for embracing nature. The sprawling complex, which houses a 20-screen cinema, leads to a Ferrari-themed amusement park.
At its heart is the Carrefour SA hypermarket. There’s no natural light or soil, yet floor-to-ceiling shelves offer shoppers herbs and microgreens grown right in the store. The fresh produce is a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates, which is almost all desert and imports 80% of its food. It’s marketed as a healthy way for customers to reduce the carbon emissions that would be generated transporting their groceries.
Carrefour grows herbs and microgreens such as arugula on shelves stacked floor to ceiling.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
More than a decade ago, microbiologist Dickson Despommier floated the idea that nations with little arable land like the UAE could become self-reliant by growing food in skyscrapers with perfectly optimized artificial light and heat. He called it vertical farming and argued that it could reduce world hunger and restore forests depleted by commercialized agriculture. It would also eliminate planet-warming emissions caused by plowing fields, weeding, and harvesting, as well as transportation.
In the years since millions of dollars have poured into companies trying to make Despommier’s idea a reality. Agriculture and forestry account for about a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases, while the hunt for new farming land to feed a growing global population has exacerbated deforestation. The prospect of solving both problems has enticed all sorts of investors, from tech entrepreneurs to restaurateurs and industry giants like Walmart Inc.
A record $754 million of venture capital was invested in the industry in the first three quarters of 2020, according to PitchBook data, a 34% increase from the whole of 2019. It’s drawn particular interest in Singapore and the UAE, whose governments have set goals to increase their national food production.
Mostly Leaves
Percentage of vertical farmers who say they grow a given crop
But vertical farming will have to get a lot cheaper to deliver on its lofty aspirations. While it frees up arable land and uses 95% less water, creating the ideal conditions for growing plants ends up consuming much more energy than traditional methods. Lights need to run for 12 to 16 hours a day and heating must be used in the winter. Miguel Povedano, chief operating officer at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, which runs the Carrefour franchise across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, says vertical farms cost 20% to 30% more than traditional ones.
Investors may not be able to live up to the hype they’ve created around the industry, and see their bubble burst before they have a chance to prove themselves, says Michael Dent, an analyst at IDTechEx. “If people are expecting world-changing progress and they don’t see it in the first two or three years — and what they see is high-quality salad — there’s a chance they might pull out their investment on the field and move on to the next thing.”
His analysis shows that most vertical farmers focus on herbs and salad greens because of their rapid and simple crop cycles. Microgreens in particular are popular with consumers concerned with healthy eating, rather than in deprived areas. They’re also more likely to grow herbs like cannabis than higher-calorific squashes or melons, which need more energy and water.
A migrant worker adjusts lettuce inside an indoor hydroponic farm operated by Green Container Advanced Farming LLC (GCAF) in a Carrefour SA grocery store in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
Rather than feeding the world’s poor with high-calorific foods, the microgreens and herbs grown by indoor farms are only going to be an option for the world’s wealthy elite for many years to come. Vertically farmed produce is far more expensive than conventionally farmed goods and even most organic produce, Dent found. For example, New York-based Bowery Farming’s indoor-produced kale mix is almost three times more expensive per pound than Whole Foods Market’s baby kale option, and its cilantro is more than five times more expensive than its Whole Food’s equivalent.
Emerald Technology Ventures investor Gina Domanig says she’s more interested in backing technologies that can reduce energy costs than the farms themselves. She compares indoor farming to desalination technology — the process of removing salt from seawater to provide fresh drinking water to people in water-stressed countries such as Israel.
“When desalination came out, everybody said it’s the holy grail for freshwater,” she says. “But desalination is really energy-intensive.” Vertical farming “might be an interesting thing” if there are technologies to make it less energy-intensive, she says, but right now “it’s not economic or environmentally sound in all areas.”
Salad greens require less energy and water to grow indoors than higher calorific foods.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
One option to cut costs is solar power, which has become the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of the world. In Germany, Farmers Cut has developed a combination of solar power plants and batteries so it pays less for power than it would connecting to the country’s grid, says Chief Executive Officer Henner Schwartz. The cost of storing energy can be as low as 10 or 11 euro cents per kilowatt in Germany.
“The energy issue is the key thing you need to crack,” he says. “We’re not claiming we can do carrots or watermelons any time soon at competitive prices, because it’s just not possible.”
In Abu Dhabi, Carrefour is trying to find a lightbulb supplier who can reduce its power use by as much as 65%, according to Povedano. “The kilowatts consumed in electricity is the major handicap,” he says. “It’s not only what you, as a company, want to do. It’s how you get the customer to substitute imported products for this technology, and the key is that it needs to be really affordable in terms of price.’’
— With assistance by Agnieszka de Sousa
Lead photo: LED lighting at an indoor hydroponic farm inside a Carrefour SA grocery store in Dubai.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
New Smart Urban Farm Takes Root
Using New Tech, it Can Grow Up to 100 Tonnes
or About 1% of Leafy Vegetables Grown Here
October 23, 2020
An urban farm that aims to produce high-yield greens without sacrificing any flavour by leveraging Internet of Things technology was officially launched yesterday.
Commonwealth Greens took root in Jurong in May. The forest-like farm consists of over 6,200 pillars, each of them 2.4m tall, that are reminiscent of the foliage of trees.
Positioned in six different rooms the size of Housing Board flats, the pillars in each room support one type of leafy green: lettuce, kale, chard or herbs. Hydroponics is used to grow the plants.
The farm can grow up to 100 tonnes of vegetables a year, which is close to 1 per cent of leafy vegetables grown locally.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu (centre) viewing Just Harvest, the latest farm to table solution which will be announced soon for potential clients such as hotels, restaurants and cafes. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID
During the launch yesterday, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu visited the farm as well as Archisen, the agri-tech firm that set up and manages Commonwealth Greens.
Archisen's co-founder and chief technology officer Sven Yeo said Commonwealth Greens is one of the highest-yielding indoor farms in Singapore and that it will support and contribute to the country's goal to self-produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030.
The farm's leafy greens are currently sold on online supermarkets such as RedMart and PandaMart, under the brand Just Produce. Each 100g salad mix that costs between $4 and $4.50 comprises a variety of lettuce and kale, along with either mustard greens, sorrel or mizuna.
From the middle of next month, the farm will start selling speciality herbs - mustard greens, ice plant and sorrel - in 20g boxes which will cost between $4 and $5.
Archisen has also developed a mini version of its farming system.
Shorter pillars brimming with full-grown veggies are stored in a glass cabinet and can be sent to restaurants for direct harvesting. From next month, the company will deploy those cabinets to five hotels, restaurants and food service companies.
Walls of edible greens: This forest-like area is one of six grow rooms in a new urban farm called Commonwealth Greens. Leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, chard and sorrel are grown hydroponically along each 2.4m white pillar. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID
It is not just its aesthetic that makes Commonwealth Greens unique.
To ensure optimal yield, fast growth and highly nutritious and flavourful greens, the vertical systems are powered by a smart cockpit that heavily leverages Internet of Things technology, data analytics and sensors.Culinary uses for speciality herbs
ICE PLANT
The edible succulent is coated with tiny, crystal-like beads that give the unique vegetable a frosty, magical appearance.It typically grows in saline environments and its beads trap salt - hence its salty taste.
Archisen grew different sets of ice plant using nutrient solutions filled with either table salt, sea salt or Himalayan pink salt. It was discovered that table and sea salt made the taste too sharp for comfort but Himalayan pink salt was easier on the palate. The mildly salty succulent has a crunchy texture, and is juicy and refreshing.
MUSTARD GREENS
The dainty-looking leaf with the frilly edges can be a healthier substitute for wasabi.
The fierce wasabi heat hits you immediately, spreading down the throat and up the nose. You may tear up a little too.R&D was used to intensify the wasabi flavour.
RED-VEINED SORREL
The leaves can replace lemon juice or dressing in salads. On second bite, the citrusy flavour explodes, giving a sour surprise.Data is continually stored in the cloud, in real time, for the scientists to analyse and to drive automation. For example, if the pH of the nutrient for lettuce reaches unhealthy levels, sensors will alert a device to automatically restore the acidity level."
As we have more growth cycles over time, our data sets increase, and that enables us to construct mathematical models to predict the outcome of how we grow," said Mr Yeo.
Tenders awarded to turn 9 HDB carpark rooftops into urban farming sitesWild teen to urban farmer: He wants to make Singapore a more sustainable and liveable city
Archisen's office, which is one level above Commonwealth Greens, also houses a research lab for conducting experiments and testing new solutions.In the near future, the company plans to build indoor fruit orchards or vineyards.
Parliament: Encourage growth of urban farming to secure Singapore's food supplies, says Ang Wei NengFeeding cities of the future
Scientists in the lab are now growing black, red and green grapes in a controlled environment. In 10 months, the vines have started to bear clusters of grapes, each fruit about the size of a chickpea. Through traditional farming, it takes about three years to fully grow grapes.Although immature and smaller grapes tend to be sour, the black grapes from the lab taste sweet.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 23, 2020, with the headline 'New smart urban farm takes root'.
Lead photo: Archisen co-founder and chief executive Vincent Wei (left) and chief technology officer and fellow co-founder Sven Yeo seen here with full-grown veggies from the mini version of its farming system, which will be deployed to restaurants and hotels.ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID
"Urban Farming": Are Rooftop Fields The Future?
Large cities offer millions of square meters of unused roof space. Why aren’t they being converted to cultivate crops? The potential seems enormous, but “urban farming” is still in its infancy. EURACTIV Germany reports
By Florence Schulz | EURACTIV.de | translated by Sarah Lawton
September 30, 2020
This article is part of our special report New terminologies in sustainable food systems.
Large cities offer millions of square meters of unused roof space. Why aren’t they being converted to cultivate crops? The potential seems enormous, but “urban farming” is still in its infancy. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Salad from the roof of the supermarket or tomatoes from the facade of a high-rise building? What sounds like fiction is already a reality in some cities, albeit on a small scale. Urban farming is not a new concept, but one that has hardly been exploited to date.
Cultivating fruits and vegetables could experience a boom in the coming decades. After all, the human population is growing rapidly and is increasingly settling in cities. More than half of this population is already living in cities, and by the middle of the century, around 66% of people are expected to be living in cities – out of a world population of 9.7 billion.
More food also means correspondingly more demand for farmland, but this already accounts for 42% of the global land area.
Another problem is transport. According to the Fraunhofer Institute, around 12% of agricultural emissions are attributable to this alone.
As the World Summit on Biodiversity opens on Wednesday (30 September), new measures to halt its decline are being discussed, including the concept of payments for environmental services, which is currently widely debated in France and Europe. EURACTIV France reports.
Urban gardens for times of crisis
Could urban farming be part of the solution? One thing is certain: The idea is not new. Until the 19th century, cultivating crops was common practice within cities. When they disappeared, private allotment gardens spread.
Interestingly, a new trend is emerging: self-sufficiency is booming in the city, especially in times of crisis.
Often with success, as the British example shows: During World War Two, the government launched the “Dig for Victory” campaign. As a result, up to 50% of fruit and vegetables were produced by the population in allotment gardens.
In Spain, during the economic crisis, the proportion of allotment plots and community gardens increased six-fold between 2006 and 2014.
Apart from private cultivation, however, there are hardly any places where agriculture takes place on a larger scale in cities.
Roof gardens of the future use domestic heat and rainwater
In Europe, urban farming is still in its infancy.
“Every morning, I ask myself why not many more cities invest in it,” says Jörg Finkbeiner, architect, and co-founder of the Berlin network ‘Dachfarm.’ The consortium consists of gardeners, agroscientists, and architects, who together plan greenhouses for growing crops in the city.
However, Finkbeiner believes that this cannot be the case with urban farming, because most buildings are not statically suitable for it: “If you put crops in tubs on a roof and water them, you can quickly achieve 300 kilograms per square meter. Most buildings can’t support that.”
Dachfarm, therefore, relies on roof structures that are as light as possible and are built on top of existing buildings. The plants grow either in substrates such as pumice, lava, or compost, as these are much lighter than soil or in hydroponic systems, where the nutrient supply is provided directly via a nutrient solution.
The glass gardens are designed to operate as efficiently as possible by using the waste heat from the building, collecting rainwater, or recycling greywater from households.
The concept of soil carbon sequestration, a cornerstone of regenerative farming, is regaining strength as a key measure in both climate mitigation and adaptation.
With Dachfarm, we want to show that the increasing amount of pavement in cities and the loss of arable land do not contradict themselves, Finkbeiner told EURACTIV.de.
Other advantages are that roof gardens can be used to produce close to the consumer and “on-demand,” so to speak, eliminating long transport routes or the need to store food. But not every type of agricultural cultivation is structurally possible, Finkbeiner points out. Besides, there are many open questions particularly in terms of building codes.
Bologna and Amsterdam with great potential
For supermarkets or restaurants, the own roof garden could be an attractive concept.
However, it is not worthwhile for everyone, because investment costs are still comparatively high and the food harvested in this way is more expensive.
A 2017 study by the European Parliament’s Scientific Service (EPRS) also came to the same conclusion: urban agriculture is “associated with considerable ecological, social and health benefits,” but can increase biodiversity and counteract the heating of cities.
However, this is also associated with high operating costs, for example for electricity, and is in competition with other types of use, for example for solar energy systems. In addition, the report says, tensions between “traditional and innovative farmers” and an increase in land values are also concerns.
There are no reliable figures on how widespread urban farming is in the EU. However, according to the ERPS evaluation, the potential could be huge, depending on the city.
In Bologna, for example, more than three-quarters of the vegetables consumed there could be grown in roof gardens. In Amsterdam, where currently only 0.0018% of food is produced locally, up to 90% of the fruit and vegetables consumed could be grown.
In a clear nod to the strategic importance of agroforestry, the term has now cropped up in both the European Green Deal, the European Commission’s roadmap for making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, and the EU’s flagship new food policy, the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy.
Commission has no plans special funding
These figures seem optimistic, as they would probably require strong political support. In the current EU Common Agricultural Policy, urban farming projects can theoretically be financed with funds from both pillars as well as from the European Social Fund and the Regional Development Fund, but this is at the discretion of the member states.
Further support is not in sight, as the Commission “currently has no plans to coordinate strategies for urban agriculture beyond different levels of government,” according to the response EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski gave in the European Parliament in May. However, a planning study on the topic is currently being prepared. This should be completed this autumn.[Edited by Gerardo Fortuna/Zoran Radosavljevic]
Topics agriculture Agrifood CAP reform urban farming Urban Gardening
The content of this page and articles represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
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Lead Photo: Up to two million square meters of roof space could be used for plant cultivation in Berlin alone. But the investment costs are still relatively high. [YuRi Photolife/ Shutterstock]
Harvest London Invests In State-of-The-Art Vertical Farm
Harvest London has invested in its second vertical farm in the capital, transforming an empty industrial unit in Leyton into a state-of-the-art indoor farm
30th September 2020
New facility in Leyton is vertical producer’s second site in north London and the latest construction project by booming tech firm CambridgeHOK
Basil will be the farm's first crop
Harvest London has invested in its second vertical farm in the capital, transforming an empty industrial unit in Leyton into a state-of-the-art indoor farm.
The site in north London, which boasts 152 m2 of growing area, will produce herbs and certain vegetables hydroponically for local restaurants 12 months of the year.
The business currently operates from a smaller vertical farm in Walthamstow, growing leafy greens, herbs, flowering plants, and root vegetables for London restaurants.
The main benefits for chefs, according to Harvest London, will be the quality, locality, and freshness of its produce.
Matt Chlebek, chief agronomist at Harvest London, said: “This is a really exciting development for us and a huge step up from our initial facility, which we established on the back of our own research and development two years ago in Walthamstow.
“We started the business having spoken to local chefs about providing freshly grown herbs just a few miles from their kitchens, thereby reducing the distance and time from production to consumption. This was something they were excited about.
“We have worked with a number of restaurants in London over the past two years who have become excellent customers and as a result of that success we wanted to improve further and become more sophisticated in what we are doing.”
He added: “We can certainly look to increase the number of restaurants we supply now, and ask chefs what herbs they want us to grow, and when.
“The plan is to demonstrate the increasing demand at this facility and secure further investment to create more, larger vertical farms across London in the coming years.”
The new farm’s ‘grow room’, which uses energy-saving LED lighting, is controlled by automated climate and irrigation systems to aid production and maximize growth.
Harvest London will be able to control the climate remotely via their mobile phones and analyze data on yield and growing capacity.
As well as the grow room, CambridgeHOK constructed a harvesting room and production management area, where crops will be processed and made ready for collection and delivery.
First, produce off the racks at the north London farm will be basil, of which the unit can produce around seven tonnes a year. The first crop is now almost ready to be harvested just four weeks after being planted.
This is the latest project to be completed by East Yorkshire-based horticultural engineering firm CambridgeHOK, which is currently also working on a multi-million-pound strawberry glasshouse for Beeswax Dyson in Lincolnshire as well as around 30 other projects.
The tech firm is on course for its best-ever financial year amid booming investments in glasshouse and vertical production in the UK.
Chlebek and Harvest London’s chief executive Chris Davies praised CambridgeHOK for their specialist knowledge and handling of their farm’s construction.
“As a client, it is reassuring to know you are working with a company that handles every aspect of planning, design, and building a vertical farm,” said Chlebek.
“You simply wouldn’t get the same knowledge and understanding by using a number of different companies for each element of the project, as we had to do when establishing our first facility.
“The great advantage CambridgeHOK brings is that they are experienced growers. They have explained why the specific approach was being taken with regards to each element of creating the ideal environment.”
UK Urban AgriTech Collective
UKUAT is a cross-industry group devoted to promoting urban agtech as a solution for food and environmental crises
The UK Urban AgriTech collective, or UKUAT, brings together the UK’s key players in modern agricultural technologies. We’re a cross-industry group devoted to promoting urban agtech as a solution for food and environmental crises. We influence policy by sharing information, educating, and communicating practitioner needs as one. We promote the uptake of agtech in urban and peri-urban settings by uniting to attract funding and customers.
UKUAT - A Brief History
It started out with a group of perhaps 5 people. Mark Horler, our founder, brought these people together to just have a chat about the industry in the UK. The short version, though it may seem hard to believe now, is that there really wasn’t that much of an industry in this country then. There were only a handful of companies developing tech and systems as well as a couple of universities with an interest in the general area.
However, slowly but surely, that number began to grow, and so did the number of people in that little group. At some point in late 2017, it was agreed that we ought to give it a name, and so UK Urban AgriTech (UKUAT) was born.
Over the next couple of years, an interesting thing happened. The UK had been slow to get going with controlled environment agriculture (CEA), but then it started to happen. More companies appeared, and more universities took an interest, as did various consultancies and other interested parties. Some of these joined UKUAT, which, at the time, was an informal collective. As happens with these things, they spoke to others, who spoke to others and, before we knew it, we had a fairly substantial number of members.
As all this was happening, we made a collective effort to start hammering out what we wanted this collective to be and do. Lengthy discussions were had, ideas were proposed and batted around, via our monthly online calls. In early 2019, most of the group met in person in Coventry. The main results of that meeting were a document detailing our aims, and another setting out our mission & vision.
These went back through the discussion & revision process. When we met again in London in late 2019, we all agreed it was time to turn UKUAT into a formal organisation. We’ve now done that, and it’s now time to get on with the work we want to do - education, outreach, policy, advocacy and more! We’ll be at events and partnering on all sorts of interesting projects in the coming months (and years).
