Belgian Lettuce Grower De Glastuin Achieves Increased Production And Faster Growth Cycles Thanks To A Full LED Solution From Signify

December 17, 2020

Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Since the introduction of Philips GreenPower LED Toplighting Compact from Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, many vegetable, fruit and horticulture growers have made the choice to fully equip their greenhouses with LEDs. By combining this LED lighting with the GrowWise Control System, it is possible to both control and dim the light, giving growers a high degree of flexibility. This solution has now also found its way into lettuce growing; De Glastuin in Belgium opted for 100% LED grow lights from Signify.

Each type of lettuce requires a different amount of light. Heat is also a limiting factor when growing lettuce. As a result, in many periods it is not possible to illuminate the crops because too much heat accumulates in the greenhouse. Thanks to LED lighting, which emits less heat, it is possible to light the crop for longer hours, resulting in a increased production and faster growth cycles. The combination with the GrowWise Control System also allows the lighting to be dimmed. For example, to keep the light intensity the same on sunny days while maintaining light uniformity or to prevent climate fluctuations.

This summer, lettuce grower De Glastuin expanded its existing 1.75 hectare greenhouse with HPS lighting by 0.75 hectares. In this new part of the greenhouse, Philips GreenPower LED Toplighting Compact is installed together with the GrowWise Control System. The modules in the new part of the LED greenhouse have an output of 1800 µmol/s and require only 520 W (3.5 µmol/J). They provide a light level of 90 µmol/s/m². De Glastuin is pleased with the high quality and longer shelf life of the lettuce."With Toplighting Compact in combination with the GrowWise Control System, we can automatically adjust the amount of LED light to the amount of daylight at any given moment. As a result, there are fewer fluctuations in light intensity during the day. The lighting is much more efficient, dimmable and it offers us flexibility by allowing us to provide less light at any time," says Wouter de Bruyn, business manager at De Glastuin.

"De Glastuin's choice of Signify reinforces our conviction that we have chosen the right approach to make it easier for growers to switch to LED," says Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture LED Solutions at Signify.

The first Toplighting Compact was introduced in 2019 as a 1-on-1 replacement of HPS lighting to enable an easy transition to LED. The Toplighting Compact can be mounted on an existing HPS connection. This saves time and money during installation. In new greenhouses, installation is even easier thanks to easy-to-install brackets. The universal design of this system gives growers the possibility to fully equip their greenhouse with LED lights or to change their current set-up into a hybrid system with LED and HPS lighting. Signify's Compact range is also equipped with optics with normal and wide beam angles. The wide beam angle is ideal for growers looking for optimal light distribution or for lower greenhouses, for example. For crops where a greater distance between the plant and the grow light is possible, the normal beam is a better option.

More information about the Philips Horticulture LED solutions from Signify is available on the website.

For further information, please contact:

 Global Marcom Manager Horticulture at Signify

Daniela Damoiseaux

Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69

E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@signify.com

www.philips.com/horti

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the global market leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings, and public spaces. In 2019, we achieved sales of EUR 6.2 billion with approximately 37,000 employees in more than 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for better lives and a more sustainable world. We achieved CO2 neutrality by 2020 and have been on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index since our IPO in 2016. We were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Signify news can be found in the Newsroom, on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.

"CEA Can Increase Its U.S. Market Share By 5x Over The Next 10 Years"

S2G Ventures rResearches

Controlled Environment Agriculture Market:

Investment in CEA has surpassed $2.0B across North America and Europe spurring new start-ups, innovation and corporate engagement across the supply chain. With increased demonstration of the viability of controlled growing, a newly launched report predicts that CEA will support more than 10% of US vegetable and herb production by 2025 leading to significant opportunities for growers over the next decade.

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The new report, Growing Beyond the Hype: Controlled Environment Agriculture, launched by S2G Ventures reveals how innovation in the field of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), including greenhouse and indoor farming, will lead to ripple effects across the food system and more sustainable methods of production. S2G Ventures is a multi-stage investment firm committed to advancing sustainable solutions in food and ag – its portfolio companies include Beyond Meat, sweetgreen, Lavva, Apeel Sciences and more. The report predicts the maturation of CEA will lead to differentiated, quality products, cost-competitive pricing and a more resilient, traceable and trustworthy supply chain. These new supply chains may represent a transition for the changing urban real estate landscape post-covid.

"Controlled farming has the potential to offer consumers and supply chain stakeholders resilient, sustainable, local, high-quality products," said Walter Robb, Executive-in Residence at S2G Ventures and former co-CEO of Whole Foods. "It is a growing part of our evolving food system and can work alongside outdoor production to mitigate climate risk and help solve systemic nutrition and food access challenges."

S2G Ventures expects that CEA will have far-reaching implications for the future of our food system in three key areas.

Local production and controlled environments will lead to a more resilient, traceable and trustworthy supply chain
Despite being a $1.2 trillion global industry, fresh produce faces significant supply and demand challenges resulting in a systemic lack of high-quality, affordable products reaching consumers. According to the Lancet, only 36% of the global population in 2015 had adequate availability of fruits and vegetables to meet the WHO age-specific minimum nutrition targets. 

In the United States, for example, the fresh produce market is challenged by the limitations of outdoor production, including climate, field loss exposure, resource intensiveness, and limited ability to iterate or diversify, as well as geographic constraints resulting in products traveling 7-10 days on average from farm to consumer. As a result, the U.S. is reliant on other countries to meet demand with 53% of fresh fruit and 32% of fresh vegetables imported annually according to the FDA.

If just 13% of vegetables and herbs shift to local CEA production by 2025, the United States can add $2.3bn additional production capacity and reduce our need for fresh vegetable imports by 15%. Local production can save up to 9 Trillion food miles through shorter transportation routes minimizing shelf life time spent in transit and reducing the amount of food waste by retailers and consumers. Additionally, controlled environments improve food safety, traceability and consistency of production.

Technology and operations advancements drive improvements to CEA unit economics that can compete with or beat outdoor production.
In order to gain market share, CEA production must become cost competitive with outdoor production. High upfront capex costs of facilities and equipment as well as energy costs, labor and product inputs, have historically made costs of CEA growing prohibitive. But innovation of grow inputs, improved grow systems, and optimization of facility productivity are driving more cost-effective production. Those innovations combined with CEA's higher number of grow cycles, 10+ for Greenhouse and 20+ for Indoor, will enable CEA to achieve unit economics that are at cost parity with outdoor.

CEA will usher in the next wave of biodiversity, nutrient density, and flavor innovation providing retailers with differentiated, quality products.
According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, about 75 percent of the world's food comes from just 5 animal species and 12 plants. Almost half of our plant-derived calories come from just three foods: wheat, corn and rice. Germplasm for these plants are bred for long storage time and disease resistance, at the expense of flavor, color, and nutritional value. The lack of biodiversity and nutritional value in our global diet restricts the value that plant molecules can play in human health.

Indoor Agriculture offers new grow formats, methods and technologies that promise to increase the quality, consistency and diversity of produce. Advancements in CEA-tailored seeds bred for traits such as flavor, color, nutrient density and ripening will expose consumers to new flavors and more varied products. Ultimately, indoor agriculture will support customized grow recipes as IP, branded produce, local production of hard to access specialty ingredients, spices and superfoods and eventually inputs for food as medicine. 

"Controlled growing is a critical solution to address both the current supply challenges brought to light by COVID and the pressures on outdoor growing exacerbated by climate change," said Sanjeev Krishnan, S2G Ventures Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer. "We believe CEA can grow its US market share by five times over the next 10 years in response to these pressures and continued consumer demand for fresh produce."

The report
Growing Beyond the Hype: Controlled Environment Agriculture is based on S2G Ventures desktop research and interviews with over 20 industry experts including CEA growers, systems providers, policymakers, academic institutions, outdoor growers, ag input suppliers, philanthropists, and other investors. The report outlines the opportunity for CEA to resolve the current lack of high-quality, affordable produce driven by limitations in outdoor production and customer geography and outlines three areas indoor production must overcome to take significant market share including cost, product selection and productivity.

To read the full report, download at https://www.s2gventures.com/reports 

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3 Dec 2020

Folium 2.0 Hits The Market Ahead of Schedule

19 November 2020

Autogrow has launched the second generation of its Folium Smart Sensor Network, ahead of schedule to meet customer demand for greater access to data in the cloud.  
 
“Since the initial launch of Folium in February we have had fantastic feedback from customers requesting further features. Because of our focus on usability and our approach to design; we have been able to deliver F2 significantly ahead of our timeline and incorporate the most requested items which is incredibly exciting,” says Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Morgan.  

“F2 gives growers that next level microclimate data. Traditionally, microclimates described the farm, then it was the greenhouse, but now with F2 it is down to the level of the plant itself. Each sensor can gather a monumental amount of data making it the most comprehensive sensor network on the market.” 

The Autogrow team focused on the most requested features for F2 including the addition of plant temperature readings, substrate moisture readings, and actual VPD (Vapor Pressure Deficit).  

“With the release of our Folium public API (Application Programming Interface) in August, we were able to integrate other sensor technology like Plant Temperature sensors and Substrate Moisture Sensors to the platform. Growers don’t need to buy seven or eight different sensors any longer to get all of these readings. Everything is available in F2.”  

F2 introduces new features including: 

• Connecting a Plant Temperature Sensor

• Connecting a Substrate Moisture Sensor

• Receiving actual VPD (Vapor Pressure Deficit) readings as opposed to estimated.

• Dew Point calculation.

As well as delivering the existing readings for: 

• Climate Temperature

• Relative Humidity

• CO2

• PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation)

• RAD (Radiation)

• Barometric pressure

“All of the readings and microclimate visualization are presented in the cloud on one platform. When you’re looking for precision in agriculture you need to understand the levers you can pull to further increase your yield and F2 is what’s going to get you there.” 

For more information on F2 - https://autogrow.com/products/folium-f2

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MEDIA QUERIES

Kylie Horomia, Head of Brand & Communications
(e) Kylie.horomia@autogrow.com
(w) www.autogrow.com  www.farmroad.io  

Sales queries – sales@autogrow.com

 About Autogrow

Autogrow leverages the power of technology, data science, and plant biology to provide indoor growers affordable, accessible, and easy-to-use innovation – 24/7, anywhere in the world. 

Our hardware, software, and data solutions support growers and resellers in over 40 countries producing over 100 different crop types.

 We are the experts in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and continue to stay ahead of a rapidly evolving landscape.

Autogrow, Building 3, Level 1, 61 Constellation Drive, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, Auckland 0632, New Zealand

41 Million Dollar Investment To Boost Abu Dhabi's Agriculture Technology

Three innovative agriculture companies will develop cutting-edge projects in Abu Dhabi to boost the emirate’s agriculture technology, AgTech, capabilities across land, sea, and space.

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The Abu Dhabi Investment Office, ADIO, announced today individual partnerships with Pure Harvest Smart Farms, Pure Harvest, FreshToHome, and Nanoracks that will see the companies receive financial and non-financial incentives totaling AED 152 million (USD 41 million). The research and technologies developed by these companies will expand existing capabilities in Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem and promote innovation in the sector to address global food security challenges.

New partnerships
The new partnerships are a continuation of ADIO’s efforts to accelerate the growth of Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem through the AgTech Incentive Programme, which was established under Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabi’s accelerator program. The Programme is open to both local and international AgTech companies. The partnerships follow ADIO’s AED 367 million (USD 100 million) investment earlier this year to bring four AgTech pioneers – AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ, and Responsive Drip Irrigation, RDI, – to the emirate to develop next-generation agriculture solutions in arid and desert climates.

Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, said: "Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead at full steam with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’ and solve long-term global food security issues. We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and this has enabled the rapid expansion of our AgTech sector. Innovations from the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms. Partnering with Pure Harvest, FreshToHome and Nanoracks adds a realm of new capabilities to the ecosystem across land, sea, and space."

Bin Hendi continued: "We are driving innovation across the entire agriculture value chain and this is producing a compounding effect that is benefiting farmers, innovators, and companies in our region and beyond."

Pure Harvest, FreshToHome, and Nanoracks have been awarded financial and non-financial incentives to expand operations in Abu Dhabi. The competitive incentive packages include rebates on innovation-linked high-skilled payroll, high-tech CAPEX, as well as land, utility, and intellectual property support.

Since the beginning of 2020, ADIO has attracted seven AgTech companies to Abu Dhabi, each bringing a complementary skill to expand the ecosystem. ADIO’s new partnerships with Pure Harvest, FreshToHome, and Nanoracks will build on the achievements made by AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ and RDI, the AgTech pioneers ADIO partnered with earlier this year to establish R&D and production facilities in Abu Dhabi. 

Pure Harvest is a home-grown, tech-enabled farming venture that uses cutting-edge food production systems to grow fresh fruits and vegetables in a climate-controlled environment, enabling year-round production anywhere, while using seven times less water compared to traditional farming methods.

Pure Harvest will invest in smart farming and infrastructure technologies at its new farms in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, to optimize growing conditions through hardware design innovations, artificial intelligence, autonomous growing and robotics, plant science research, and desert-optimized machines. The company will also progress R&D and deployment of a commercial-scale algae bioreactor production facility that will grow higher quality, healthier Omega-3 fatty acids without the limitations and challenges of traditional animal sources.

Sky Kurtz, Co-Founder, and CEO of Pure Harvest, said: "We are delighted to have received the support of ADIO to further invest in our home-grown, innovative growing solutions. It also serves as a powerful endorsement of our business case and mission as we pursue innovation to address food security locally and internationally. As one of the pioneering champions in the region’s emerging AgTech sector, this commitment will give us the resources we need to drive and expand our R&D capabilities and will position us for international expansion from our strategic base in Abu Dhabi. This partnership further demonstrates how committed the government is in supporting and enabling innovative technology companies, providing them with the tools, resources, and support to thrive and make a large-scale impact in the region."

FreshToHome is an e-grocery platform for fresh, chemical-free produce. The company maintains complete control over its supply chain, inventory, and logistics by obtaining produce directly from the source through an AI-powered auction process. ADIO’s partnership will aid the expansion of FreshToHome’s land and sea operational and processing capabilities in the UAE, bringing expertise in aquaculture, contract farming for marine and freshwater fish species, and precision agriculture to Abu Dhabi. It will also invest in innovative fish farming technologies and cold chain.

Shan Kadavil, CEO and Co-Founder of FreshToHome, said: "At FreshToHome we use cutting-edge research in AI and precision aquaculture for furthering food security in a sustainable manner while also giving better value to consumers, fishermen, and farmers. To this end, we intend to bring our US patent pending AI-powered Virtual Commodities Exchange technology, our e-grocery platform, and our nano farm aquaculture technology to Abu Dhabi, enhancing food production and distribution for the region. ADIO has been a terrific partner to us and we are thankful for their support in helping us be part of the vision."

US-based Nanoracks is the single largest commercial user of the International Space Station and is building the first-ever commercial AgTech space research program. Nanoracks’ ‘StarLab Space Farming Center’ in Abu Dhabi will be a commercial space research facility focused on advancing knowledge and technology for organisms and food produced in space and in equally extreme climates on Earth. The space-based technology will be applied to desert agriculture to address pressing environmental and food security challenges and to benefit long-term human space exploration.

Allen Herbert, SVP of Business Development and Strategy, and Head of Nanoracks, UAE, said: "Much of today’s technology used for vertical, urban and closed environment agriculture initially came from space research from 30 years ago, and Nanoracks is ready to synergize these technologies back to in-space exploration. We firmly believe that space research holds the keys to solving major challenges on Earth from climate change to food security. And our StarLab Space Farming Center in Abu Dhabi is just the beginning.

We’re building a global research and development team that will produce and commercialize organisms, technology, and innovative products that will not only revolutionize farming in Earth’s deserts and harsh environments but also change the way humans are able to explore deeper into our universe."

For more information:
www.wam.ae 

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11 Nov 2020

MAURITIUS: Promotion of Entrepreneurship In Green And Sustainable Agri-Business Activities

Date: August 20, 2020

Domain: Agriculture and Food Security
Persona: Business; Citizen; Non-Citizen; Government

GIS – 20 August 2020: A training course in Hydroponics Crop Production and Greenhouse Management, aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship in green and sustainable agri-business activities among co-operative planters, was launched, today, at the National Cooperative College (NCC), in Terre Rouge.  Some 75 co-operative planters and unemployed persons are participating.

The course, which covers both theoretical and practical aspects of hydroponics, is being offered jointly by the NCC, the University of Mauritius (UoM), and the Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (FAREI).

In his address, the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs, and Cooperatives, Soomilduth Bholah, recalled that the course is in line with Government’s policy to drive agricultural innovation and promote sustainable agriculture and food production. The training, he said, focuses on providing essential basic knowledge and practical skills pertaining to crop production.

The Minister also lauded the benefits of hydroponics farming which are namely: water conservation, use of fewer chemicals, space-saving, faster growth, nutrient control, bigger yields, no soil erosion, and healthier plants.

This emerging sector, Mr. Bholah indicated, is aligned with initiatives promoting the protection of the environment and of public health, food safety, and entrepreneurship.  He also highlighted that hydroponics farming requires less pesticides and herbicides, resulting therefore in healthier food for consumption.

The Hydroponics course

This part-time course is of a 30-hour duration and will be conducted once weekly at the NCC. Practical sessions will be held at the Mapou Model Farm and the UoM Labs.

The topics being covered include: introduction to agriculture and hydroponics, greenhouse models and structures, fertigation and nutrient solution preparation, management of greenhouse environment, pre/post-cyclone management practices, troubleshooting, choice of varieties of crop, seedling production, cultural practices, pest and disease management, and harvest and post-harvest practices.

It is recalled that financing plans for hydroponics are available at FAREI and the Development Bank of Mauritius.

Government Information Service, Prime Minister’s Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org  Website: http://gis.govmu.org Mobile App: Search Gov

UK Urban AgriTech Collective

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).

"Vertical Farming Is A Great Answer For Food Security Worldwide"

“Vertical farming is a great answer for food security worldwide, especially in locations where the climate makes it hard to grow plants in or in megacities.”, says Gabriele Puccetti with the Goat Project.

ENVI-BIO VF module
Their product ENVI-BIO VF is a newly patented vertical farming system, now in line for funding to start agronomic testing and the industrialization of the module. The module has multiple floors that provide plants with everything they need: water, nutrients, lights (LED), pumps, sensors, WI-FI communication, and a pH corrector. The module itself is a micro, self-sufficient vertical farm.

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The all-inclusive costs are $590 per net vegetative square meter. The production costs for lettuce, when energy costs $100 per MWh, are 0.29 per head and 1.93 per kilogram. 21,000 tons per year can be harvested out of 15,000 square meters, per year, and 105,000 tons from 75,000 square meters. “This is why we are a revolution in industrial vertical farming.”

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Dubai EXPO 2021
When the tests have been done and the system is ready to be sold in the industry, in the first year a demo plant close to the EXPO 2020 location in Dubai will be set up. Here, people who are interested in vertical farming can visit it and see the machine at work.

Challenges and opportunities
The biggest challenge for vertical farmers is the high production cost due to the high investment and electricity needs and labour costs. Over the last years, many solutions have come to the market, many of them with a lot of financial help from venture capitalists.

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There is a big market for vertically produced products, so it’s easier for farmers to enter this market. “We have an innovative solution to lower the area and maximize the production, so we lower the production costs. All this thanks to a low-cost structure, automation, and no workers needed inside.”

For more information:
The Goat Vision Holding
Gabriele Puccetti
+39 3922730361
+96 0958999
tgp@thegoatproject.bio 
gabriele.puccetti@themaldivianalliance.mv 

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Publication date: Tue 30 Jun 2020
Author: Marlies Guiljam
© HortiDaily.com

Future Farm Technology Expo Announces That The UK Urban Vertical Farm Association Urban Agritech UK (UKUAT) Has Joined Future Farm Technology Expo As An Official Supporter of The Event

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Future Farm Technology Expo is delighted to announce that the Uk urban vertical farm association Urban Agritech UK (UKUAT) has joined Future Farm Technology Expo as an Official Supporter of the event as an Official Association.  UKUAT will be working with the team at FFT Expo to help promote, educate and support UKUAT exhibiting members and connecting the UK urban vertical farming industry to suppliers, farmers, and those who are researching the industry. FFT Expo will run from 11th & 12th of November 2020, at the NEC Birmingham.

Statement from Mark Horler here:

Mark Horler, Chairman, and Founder of UKUAT commented “We are very excited to announce UKUAT’s partnership with FFT Expo and to have the opportunity to promote urban agriculture and the related technologies at such a leading and exciting event. Urban farming is an integral and rapidly growing part of farming. UKUAT is proud to represent and promote our members who are creating new technologies, sharing knowledge, and ultimately producing food in urban and peri-urban areas. It’s a truly exciting time to be involved with UKUAT, as we have networked with different internationally recognized institutions to promote the fantastic new technology that is arising from the sector. We seek always to create new strategic links with experts, organizations, institutions, and to share knowledge. This partnership with FFT Expo will enable us to expand and promote these activities, utilizing this event, online webinars, whitepapers, and networking events in the future.”

Mike Enser, Marketing Manager for the show said ‘the launch edition in 2019 attracted motivated and engaged visitors from across the farming community, with 96% of attendees having buying power. We are delighted that UKUAT is working with us. The knowledge they have of the UK sector is second to none and we at FFT Expo are looking forward to working with Mark and his team to ensure the UK urban vertical farm market is showcased through its exhibiting members, through the associations thought leadership and through its vision ‘To utilize Urban Agritech as a tool to achieve greater sustainability & resilience in the UK food system. Expanding the horizons of Urban Agritech to better inform communities across the UK.’

Future Farm Technology Expo is run by Farmers Weekly and Reed Exhibitions. The event hosts demonstrations of new technologies and the multitude of capabilities that data provides as well as bringing together innovators in agricultural technologies with farmers looking to improve their productivity and yields.

Editors notes:

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.

Future Farm Technology Expo is one of the only UK events dedicated to solving the challenges faced by farmers through agricultural technology solutions.

Whether you are looking to optimise your production or reduce waste, here you have direct access to the experts and technological solutions that will benefit you long-term and plant those seeds for positive change.

For immediate circulation:

To get in touch with UKUAT please email info@ukuat.org

If you would like to talk to the team behind FFT Expo, please email Mike Enser –michael.enser@reedexpo.co.uk

Are There Really Little Bugs in Your Strawberries?

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May 22, 2020

The internet is freaking out about a TikTok video (and accompanying Buzzfeed article) showing what appears to be little worm-like bugs crawling out of fresh strawberries soaked in saltwater. Is this for real? Have we been unknowingly enjoying larvae in our triple-berry parfaits? Should we just never eat fruit again? I talked to some experts to find out.

Here’s the short answer: this is a real thing that can happen, but it’s not common. And neither the food safety experts nor the bug experts advise washing your fruit in saltwater.

What is actually happening in this video?

Krista Torres, who made the video, writes: “I filled a bowl with room temperature water, poured in a shit ton of sea salt (like five large spoonfuls), put the strawberries in, and waited about 30 minutes.” She then notes little white wormy things crawling out of the strawberries and concludes that they are the larvae of spotted-wing fruit flies, Drosophila suzukii.

It’s not clear from the video whether she’s identified the species correctly, but more about that in a minute.

The saltwater soak is actually a technique that growers and wholesalers use to check for fly larvae in berries, entomologist Hannah Burrack told me. She helps berry farmers with pest management at North Carolina State University. Berries are sold from growers to wholesalers (who package them into those clamshell boxes) and from there, resold to supermarkets. “If [the wholesalers] find larvae in the fruit coming from the grower, they will send all of that fruit from that grower right on back,” says Burrack.

Since they only test a sample of the fruit in each shipment, there’s no guarantee that the rest of the berries are larvae-free, but the general idea here is to minimize the chances of any bug-filled berries making it into the supply chain

.Are there bugs like this in all strawberries?

No. But there are probably bugs in some strawberries.

You know fruit flies, right? Those little tiny guys that show up around overripe fruit you’ve left on your counter too long? They’re often Drosophila melanogaster or Drosophila simulans, Burrack says if not one of their relatives. The adults, which you’ve seen and swatted away a million times, reproduce by laying their near-microscopic eggs in the soft parts of the fruit. The eggs hatch into itty-bitty larvae—aka maggots—which look exactly like the “worms” in the TikTok video. Eventually the larvae grow bigger and turn into flies, and the circle of life repeats.

Usually you find these guys in fruit that’s damaged or overripe, but there is a species called Drosophila suzukii that uses a saw-toothed ovipositor (a, uh, butt spike) to inject its eggs into fresh berries while the fruit is still growing on the plant.

As the Buzzfeed article puts it, “the females shoot their eggs into the interior of fruits that are just beginning to ripen, especially blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. MEANING THESE BUGS ARE LIKELY IN ALL BERRIES!”But Burrack tells me that there’s no way to know whether the larvae in the video are D. suzukii, since all Drosophila larvae look alike. And since growers and wholesalers do their best to keep D. suzukii out of the food supply, it’s not very likely: These larvae could just as well be from a fruit fly that was buzzing around the grocery store or Krista Torres’ kitchen.

Would it be harmful to accidentally eat these bugs?

Nope. The idea they are lurking within your berries may be unappetizing, but they’re not going to hurt you. “You can eat them, but kinda gross,” says Ben Chapman, a food safety specialist from North Carolina State University.“‘Natural’ protein,” tweeted food safety specialist Courtney Crist when I asked about it.“If you’re eating berries I would assume you have probably eaten these at one point,” says entomologist Joe Ballenger.

Excuse me, bugs in food are grossA valid point. But since you brought it up: This is nothing new. Did you know that vegetables are grown outside, in dirt, and that there are lots of bugs out there? Ballenger casually mentioned he’d picked a plant bug (that is, I am not joking, its actual name) out of his lettuce recently. Plant bugs inject their saliva into leaves and then suck out the resulting slurry. You have probably eaten a lot of plant bug spit.

Similarly, Chapman noted that worms in fresh fish are so common, sushi restaurants are required to freeze raw fish before serving it to kill any worms. Which mean the worms are still there, they’re just dead.I could go on, but I won’t. Suffice it to say, you’ve probably eaten a lot of things you’d rather not think about. Or as Ballenger puts it: “If you look too closely at it, pretty much anything is gross.”

Okay, so what should I actually do with my strawberries?

Everybody I talked to said the same thing: you don’t need to soak them in saltwater or do anything special. A regular rinse is fine.

Burrack points out that you should keep your berries in the fridge. This makes them last longer and it keeps them away from the fruit flies buzzing around your counter. Bonus:  After three days of refrigeration, any fruit fly eggs or larvae in your berries will likely be dead, at least.

All the classic strawberry-keeping advice still applies, the other biggie being to not wash your berries until you’re ready to eat them. Washing can damage the berries slightly, creating opportunities for mold and microbes to get under the skin. So just take the handful of berries you intend to eat, wash those, and leave the rest in the fridge until next time.

Beth Skwarecki Posts Email Twitter

Beth is Lifehacker's Senior Health Editor. She has written about health and science for over a decade, including two books: Outbreak! and Genetics 101. Her Wilks score is 302.

Lead Photo: Shutterstock

Filed to: FOOD SAFETY

US: Jersey City Is Growing Leafy Greens For $17 Per Pound to Give Away For 'Free'

The city will spend close to $1 million building vertical gardens to provide produce for its healthy eating programs.

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CHRISTIAN BRITSCHGI | 6.9.2020 ( Serhii Neznamov/Dreamstime.com)

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Sometimes you have to spend some green to make some green.

On Wednesday the city council of Jersey City, New Jersey will vote on awarding a three-year, $1 million contract to the company AeroFarms to build 11 vertical gardens on city properties. The company estimates it will be able to churn out 19,000 pounds of leafy greens a year from these installations, which will then be distributed for free to city residents.

Steven Fulop, the city's mayor, told NJ.com that the farms would produce vegetables for city-run healthy eating programs. Residents would register for these programs to receive the free produce, on the possible condition that they would be required to attend healthy eating classes and/or have their diets and health monitored."It is going to be oriented towards diet, healthy eating, and making people more aware of what they are putting into their body,"

Fulop said. "We are going to be hopefully changing outcomes of how people eat and live which ultimately changes life expectancy."

The $70 million hole the coronavirus pandemic has blown in the city's budget only makes the AeroFarms contract more valuable, the mayor told the news site, given how obesity can compound COVID-19. "We feel it is more important than ever to focus on food access and education," he said.

The "we'd be stupid not to do it" attitude is encouraging. The cost and overall concept of the program raises a few concerns, however.

According to AeroFarms' estimate, it will be able to produce about 58,000 pounds of produce over the life of its three-year contract.

This means that the city is paying $17 per pound of leafy vegetables produced. Even if one excludes the construction costs of the vertical farms (which would presumably be usable after the three-year contract ends), it's still paying a little over $7 per pound of produce.

A quick online search shows the city could buy a pound of spinach from Safeway for under $2 a pound.

A 1-pound package of organic mixed greens at Walmart costs a little less than $5.If the city were really so keen on improving the diets of its residents, it would probably be far cheaper for it to just buy produce from local grocers and then give it away.

Indeed, the city staff who evaluated AeroFarms' 2019 bid for the city's vertical farming contract (the only one the city ended up receiving) expressed concern about its costs, particularly given that the city wouldn't retain ownership of the vertical garden units.

The idea of bringing vertical farming to Jersey City is part of a broader initiative of the Swiss-based World Economic Forum to create public-private partnerships that will "design and support socially vibrant, and health and well-being centric communities in cities."AeroFarms' method of vertical farming, which grows plants inside without the need for sunlight or soil and uses very little water, apparently fits into this broad vision. The World Economic Forum has been touting the promise of vertical farming since at least 2015.  

Yet in that time, more boring improvements in agricultural technology have been at work boosting crop production while using less land. That's improved sustainability while driving down prices.It's quite possible that one day, vertical urban farms will be a far more efficient option. Unfortunately, that day isn't here yet.

AeroFarms Recognized by Fast Company For Third Consecutive Year

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Inside AeroFarms

Photo courtesy of AeroFarms

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The vertical farm operation was recognized by the magazine as a 'World Changing Idea.

May 2, 2020

Posted by Chris Manning

Per a press release, AeroFarms has been recognized in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas package for the third year in a row. The company placed in four categories: General Excellence, AI & Data, food and space, and places and cities. AeroFarms was a finalist in both the General Excellence and AI & Data and an honorable mention in the food and spaces and places and cities categories. 

AeroFarms' announcement read as follows:

"Our mission is to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, and we are honored to be recognized among a group of trailblazing companies working to change the world. At AeroFarms, we have developed our own patented indoor vertical farming technology to completely transform the way fresh, safe, healthy, and tasty food is grown at scale. We are not just a farm–we are a group of full-stack, world-class experts where horticulture intersects with engineering, food safety, data science, and nutrition, giving us the unique capability to understand plant biology in an unprecedented way.

In addition to being recognized for our innovative use of AI & Data to grow our plants, we are proud to be recognized for our commitment to revitalizing Spaces, Places & Cities, and bringing green jobs and fresh food to cities. Each of our farms has a unique story breathing new life into abandoned buildings. One of our commercial farms and corporate HQ is built on the site of a former abandoned steel mill in an industrial section of Newark, NJ.

And it doesn’t stop there — we are working with top tastemakers and chefs like David Chang, and leading researchers at Cornell and Rutgers and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research on cutting-edge science to create the next generation of Food that has greatest nutrient-density and flavor around…and the results have been absolutely delicious." 

Tags: Vertical farms  Indoor agriculture Technology

Kalera Leads The Way In Agritechnology At The Largest Hydroponic Vertical Farm In The Southeastern U.S.

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April 15th, 2020

UPDATE: 05/07/20

Kalera has re-opened operations at the HyCube facility at the Marriott World Center.

Kalera has turned farming on its head – literally. Based in Orlando, its team of science- and technology-driven horticulturists leverage cleanroom technology, artificial intelligence, the internet-of-things and data analytics to cultivate sustainably grown, fresh produce in vertical hydroponic farms.

Kalera’s co-founders came to Orlando in 2007 with the lofty goal of growing enough produce locally to feed the entire city. In 2018, they opened Kalera’s first hydroponic vertical farm, the HyCube at Orlando World Center Marriott.* The HyCube epitomizes farm-to-table dining, producing 200,000 heads of lettuce each year just a 20 feet away from the hotel kitchen, where guests enjoy lettuce and microgreens cultivated from the hydroponic vertical farm. It’s also eye-catching; through larger-than-life glass walls, visitors can see bright green lettuce peeking over the side of vertical towers stacked floor-to-ceiling. The entire structure is illuminated in a pink glow from red and blue lighting optimized to provide maximum plant yield and quality while minimizing energy costs.

Two successful years since the opening of HyCube, Kalera has now expanded its vision to feed even more residents across the entire city, state and beyond. In February 2020, the company took one step closer to achieving this vision with the opening of another farm in Orlando just northwest of Orlando International Airport – the largest indoor farm in the Southeastern U.S. The farm is expected to produce approximately 6 million heads of lettuce per year, exceeding the amount of lettuce produced annually in the HyCube farm by 30 times. To support these growing operations, Kalera CEO Daniel Malechuk is proud to make hiring local talent a top priority and has already hired graduates from the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida and Florida State University.

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Similar to its original location at the Orlando World Center Marriott, this new farm employs proprietary high tech innovation to not only run the farm, but also to ensure ideal conditions for plant growth.

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“We’re growing more plants with less space and less water, and with no pesticides or fertilizers,” explained Malechuk. “It’s using things like big data and artificial intelligence to measure temperature, humidity, air flow and light exposure, and analyzing it in a database to see how it affects plant growth and yield.”

Kalera’s indoor farms are unique in shielding both plants and horticulturists from extreme elements that could interrupt production or compromise lettuce crops. Relying on data analytics, the Kalera facility automates various processes to create an ideal, controlled environment for plant growth. From air circulation to carbon dioxide levels, its machines are constantly monitoring feedback from technology embedded in its crops to determine whether adjustments are needed. Kalera’s systems are so accurate that its team can often predict the results of a harvest. As Malechuk explained, they have perfected Mother Nature indoors.

While the controlled indoor environment is certainly impressive, Kalera’s proprietary air purification system truly sets it apart. Taking a page from nanoelectronics manufacturing, Kalera relies on cleanroom technology to eliminate the need for harmful pesticides and safeguard plants against bacteria, such as E. coli, which has caused nationwide recalls of romaine lettuce.

“What we’re witnessing right now in our lifetime, and what I’m so excited to be part of, is the total revolution of agriculture,” said Malechuk. “I don’t know if it’s been coined yet, but I think we’re at the ‘AgTech Age.’”

Much like the smartphone has revolutionized our way of life and become an indispensable tool we often take for granted, Malechuk clearly envisions a society in which vertical hydroponic farms like Kalera’s are the norm – especially in densely populated cities where hyperlocal sustainable farming practices would have a greater impact.

Until that day, Kalera continues with its plan to expand across the continent and around the globe at the forefront of a new “AgTech Age.”

*Kalera’s Orlando facility remains operational despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has donated its leafy greens to multiple charities in the area and has provided free cases of produce to many neighborhoods across the city. Its produce can also be found across all Orlando Publix locations.

Currently, Kalera has paused operations at the HyCube facility until the Marriott World Center reopens for guests and is using this time as an opportunity for cleaning and renovations to the facility.

Artemis Celebrates 5th Birthday "In Agriculture, There’s A Digital Gap That Translates Into Direct Financial Impact"

This week the team with Artemis is celebrating their 5th birthday! "I could not be more proud of our team for leading us through this incredible journey. While this year certainly feels very different than in the past, it’s more clear than ever that agriculture is going digital and I’m thrilled Artemis is at the forefront of this revolution", CEO Allison Kopf shares.

Launched enterprise platform

"Last year we launched our new enterprise platform", Allison recalls. "When we started Artemis (FKA Agrilyst), we primarily worked with small farms. In 2019, we began working with much larger, multi-site operators who have traditional enterprise needs. We successfully went through a major refactor to our platform adding additional integration capabilities, enterprise-level security, multi-language support, and lots of additional functionality including our new advanced reporting. We also focused on our account management process to ensure customer success for the long-term."

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Allison Kopf at the Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas in 2016

Fast growth
"All of the product and process improvements we made early in the year translated into fast growth, culminating in our best quarter (Q1) despite the global uncertainty. We have been doubling revenue quarterly and I’m so proud of our team for creating and supporting our explosive growth." 

Expanded presence in Canada
With the expansion of their product capabilities, the company also focused on expanding into new markets. "Canada has always been a priority for us and we were excited to broaden our Canadian presence this year and begin expanding in target geographies. We started working with incredible customers like Jamco Growers (part of the Red Hat Co-operative) and Sweetgrass in Alberta. We look forward to continuing our growth in the area." 

We’re still early
"When you’re deep in the operational weeds, it’s easy to look at KPIs as a way to show internal progress from day to day. What feels like exponential growth in the short-term horizon of a year or two often only reflects a small change in the industry as a whole. Agriculture is one of the least digitized industries and there’s so much room for innovation. It’s important to watch for the signs of the shifts while also managing for the long-term", Allison shares.

"Some things are still difficult. At the end of the day, farming is hard and margins are slim. However, some things are becoming easier. It’s clear there’s a digital gap. It’s clear how that gap translates into direct financial impact for farm operators — knowledge transfer is particularly important right now (what happens when someone has critical information and is sick or leaves the operation), compliance-based infractions, and audits are expensive, and profit-based optimization is critical."

"I’m incredibly optimistic about the future of digital agriculture and am excited that we’re beginning to transition from early adoption into broad usage."

Click here for more on the Artemis celebration.

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For more information:
Artemis
artemisag.com

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Publication date: Fri 24 Apr 2020

INDIA: Top 5 Agritech Startup That Helps You Set Up Soil-Less Indoor Farming

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Feb 11, 2020

Hydroponics or growing plants in water or sand, rather than soil, is done using mineral nutrient solutions in a water flush.

 This indoor farming technique induces plant growth, making the process 50 percent faster than growth in soil and the method is cost-effective.

Only an expert gardener knows how tough it can be to grow plants and how much extra care it takes with special attention to soil, fertilizer, and light. One can’t get the process right and expect good yields without getting his/her hands dirty. But, to make their work a lot easy and convenient, many start-ups in India are working on hydroponics farming.

Hydroponics or growing plants in water or sand, rather than soil, is done using mineral nutrient solutions in a water flush. Moreover, this indoor farming technique induces plant growth, making the process 50 percent faster than growth in soil and the method is cost-effective. Mineral nutrient solutions are used to feed plants in water.

 Here’s a list of five start-ups in India that are innovating agriculture methods and leading the way in indoor farming.

Barton Breeze: Gurgaon based Barton Breeze is a commercial hydroponic farm specialist, using controlled sustainable technology and modern farming techniques, to create highly productive agri-models for the new-age farmer. Barton Breeze is not just a hydroponic farm developer, but also a farmer, growth consultant and a retailer. We provide end to end farm management solution and execute projects on a turnkey basis from the development of climate-controlled Polyhouse/Polycarbonate house to Aeroponic set up and training resources on how to run the farm efficiently and impart technology training. Barton Breeze combines sustainable technology and modern farming techniques, to create highly productive models for the new-age farmer. We pride ourselves on providing knowledge and the best available products to our customers. Carefully chosen and tested equipment and nutrients ensure our customers have maximum results with their microgreens.

Future Farms: Chennai based Future Farms now grows 16 crop varieties, classified under English Exotic, Asian Exotic and Indian Exotic, across 15 acres of land spread over 10 states. It recorded a $1 million turnover last year. Their primary focus is on leafy vegetables with farms spread across the country from Delhi to Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat.

Acqua Farms: Chennai based Acqua Farms grows everything from Italian basil to carom (ajwain), mint, spinach, lettuce and a host of leafy greens and herbs. Moreover, he grows these vegetables using planters made of PVC pipes. “Besides a starter kit, Acqua Farms also provides setups for larger planter systems with 24, 48, 72, 96 and going up to 1,000, depending on what the user needs. They also have a subscription-based service to those who have no knowledge of hydroponics, where, against a monthly amount, they assign the user an agronomist who takes care of their plants and monitors it once a week.

Letcetra Agritech: Goa-based Letcetra Agritech in the Mapusa area of Goa is the first such indoor hydroponic farm, which grows good quality, pesticide-free vegetables. Their farm, measuring 150 sq meters, produces tons of leafy vegetables like lettuce and salad greens, besides cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and basil. “Letcetra has expanded to include two more farms with an overall area of 2,300 square meters. The combined fresh produce from all three farms put together is about 6-8 tonnes of different varieties of lettuce and other leafy greens, per month.

BitMantis Innovations: Based out of Bengaluru, this IoT and data analytics start-up have developed its IoT solution GreenSAGE, which allows individuals and commercial growers to grow fresh herbs throughout the year with the minimum of fuss. Under GreenSage, you have the Micro Edition and Greens Edition kits that use hydroponics methods for efficient use of water and nutrients.

16 Initiatives Changing Urban Agriculture Through Tech And Innovation

The United Nations estimates that nearly 10 billion people will be living in cities by 2050. According to a recent publication by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, urban eaters consume most of the food produced globally and maintain more resource-intensive diets including increased animal-source and processed foods—rich in salt, sugar, and fats. At the same time, many urban populations—particularly in low-income areas and informal communities—endure acute hunger and malnutrition as well as limited access to affordable, healthy food.

But there are countless ways that cities can feed themselves and create better linkages between rural and urban food systems. In Mexico City, the organization CultiCiudad built the Huerto Tlatelolco, an edible forest with 45 tree varieties, a seed bank, and plots for biointensive gardening. In the United States, City Growers uses New York City’s urban farms as a learning laboratory for children to reconnect with nature. And in the Kalobeyei Settlement in northern Kenya, urban agriculture represents a tool for empowerment by improving food security, nutrition, and self-sufficiency among refugees.

“Agriculture and forestry in the city… answer to a variety of urban development goals beyond the provision of green infrastructure and food, such as social inclusion, adaptation to climate change, poverty alleviation, urban water management, and opportunities for the productive reuse of urban waste,” says Henk de Zeeuw, Senior Advisor at the RUAF Foundation.

And thankfully, there are hundreds of entrepreneurs and organizations using this opportunity to improve urban agriculture and satisfy the demands of an increasingly urban population. From high-tech indoor farms in France and Singapore to mobile apps connecting urban growers and eaters in India and the U.S., Food Tank highlights 16 initiatives using tech, entrepreneurship, and social innovation to change urban agriculture.

1. AeroFarms, Newark (United States)

AeroFarms builds and operates vertical indoor farms to enable local production at scale and increase the availability of safe and nutritious food. The company uses aeroponics to grow leafy greens without sun or soil in a fully controlled environment. The technology enables year-round production while, they say, using 95 percent less water than field farming, resulting in yields 400 times higher per square foot annually. Since its foundation in 2004, AeroFarms aims to disrupt conventional food supply chains by building farms along major distribution routes and in urban areas. The company also won multiple awards, including the 2018 Global SDG Award, for its environmentally responsible practices and leadership in agriculture.

2. Agricool, Paris (France)

Agricool is a start-up that grows strawberries in containers spread throughout urban areas. The company retrofits old, unused containers to accommodate both an LED-lights and aeroponics system making it possible to grow strawberries year-round. The Cooltainers are powered by clean energy and use 90 percent less water than conventional farming. Agricool also works on building a network of urban farmers through the Cooltivators training program, aiming to open up job opportunities for city residents to work in the agricultural sector. The start-up now works on expanding operations to other cities, an effort made possible by the replicability of the container’s design.

3. BIGH Farms, Brussels (Belgium)

BIGH (Building Integrated Greenhouses) Farms, a start-up based in Brussels, works on building a network of urban farms in Europe to promote the role urban agriculture can play in the circular economy. BIGH’s designs integrate aquaponics with existing buildings to reduce a site’s environmental impact. The first pilot—located above the historic Abattoir in Brussel’s city center—includes a fish farm, a greenhouse, and over 2,000 square meters of outdoor vegetable gardens. They started in 2018 producing microgreens, herbs, tomatoes, and striped bass. BIGH Farms also partners with local businesses and growers to make sure the farm’s production is complementary to the existing food community.

4. Bites, Phoenix (United States)

Bites is a mobile platform working to help connect urban farmers, chefs, and eaters in Phoenix through farm-to-table dining experiences. Eaters and chefs sign up and meet through the app to organize an in-home dining event. Chefs gather the ingredients from urban growers registered on the platform in an effort to promote local, small businesses. Bites was launched in 2017 by Roza Derfowsmakan, founder of Warehouse Apps, to improve accessibility to farm-to-table experiences and support urban farmers. By using technology to build culinary communities, Bites aims to change consumer choices from shipped-in, trucked-in produce to locally sourced food—involving people in the solution itself.

5. BitGrange, Multiple Locations (North America)

BitGrange is an urban farming tool and learning platform working to help educate children on food and agriculture. The BitGrange device, a hydroponics and Internet of Things-based system, produces edible plants with little water and energy. BitGrange’s software evaluates environmental variables in real-time and notifies growers through a smartphone app to take necessary actions, such as adding more water or plant food. Founded in 2015 according to their philosophy, Plant-Connect-Sync-Play, BitGrange aims to inspire youth to engage in farming by gamifying agriculture. The nano-farm’s design is available for download at BitGrange’s website for potential growers to 3D print the device in their own location.

6. Bowery Farming, New York Metro Area (United States)

Bowery Farming, an indoor farming start-up, uses software and robotics to grow produce inside warehouses located in and around cities. By controlling every aspect of the growing process, the start-up is able to produce leafy greens and herbs using a minimal amount of water and energy per square foot. The technology also makes it possible to grow customized products for chefs and restaurants, such as softer kale and more peppery arugula. Since its establishment in 2017, Bowery Farming is now expanding operations beyond its warehouse in New Jersey to build vertical farms in other cities and, ultimately, bring efficient food production closer to consumers.

7. Farmizen, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Surat (India)

Farmizen is a mobile-based platform renting farmland to city residents to grow locally grown, organic produce. The app allocates its users a 600 square foot mini-farm in a community nearby. Users can visit the farm anytime to grow and harvest chemical-free produce. Farmworkers look after the plots when the users return to the city, making a fixed and stable income—up to three times more than that of conventional farming. The app is live in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Surat with 1,500 subscribers and 40 acres of land under cultivation. Farmizen was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Gitanjali Rajamani, driven by the need to create stable livelihoods for farmers and reconnect city-dwellers to agriculture and nature.

8. Fresh Direct, Abuja (Nigeria)

Fresh Direct is an impact-driven start-up using vertical farming and hydroponics to promote locally grown produce and the involvement of youth in agriculture. When young entrepreneur Angel Adelaja started engaging in eco-friendly farming, she faced multiple challenges with conventional farming practices, including access to land, water, and technology. As a response, Adelaja founded Fresh Direct in 2014 to make urban agriculture more accessible to everyone, especially youth. Fresh Direct installs stackable container farms in the city, growing organic produce closer to the market. In the future, Adelaja aims to eradicate the notion among young professionals that agriculture is a line of work for the older generations.

9. Gotham Greens, Multiple Locations (United States)

Gotham Greens builds and operates data-driven, climate-controlled greenhouses in cities across the United States. The greenhouses, powered by wind and solar energy, use hydroponics to grow salad greens and herbs year-round using fewer resources than conventional farming. In addition to its goal of sustainable food production, Gotham Greens also partners with local organizations, schools, community gardens, and businesses to support urban renewal and community development projects. Gotham Greens is also the company behind the country’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse, a partnership with Whole Foods Market to operate the greenhouse located above their flagship store in Brooklyn, New York.

10. GrowUp Urban Farms, London (United Kingdom)

GrowUp Urban Farms works on developing commercial scale, Controlled Environment Production (CEP) solutions to grow fresh food in communities across London. The CEP farms use aquaponics to farm fish and grow leafy greens in a soil-less system, turning previously unused brownfield sites into productive areas. The GrowUp Box—a community farm developed together with sister organization GrowUp Community Farms—produces over 400kg of salads and 150kg of fish each year. Over the long run, the company aims to replicate the aquaponics system to build urban farms in other cities, opening employment opportunities for youth, and using agriculture as a means to make communities more self-sustaining.

11. InFarm, Multiple Locations (Europe)

InFarm, a Berlin-based start-up, develops modular indoor farming systems to bring agriculture into cities. Designed to combat the long distances food travels, the InFarms produce leafy greens and herbs using 95 percent less water than traditional farms and no pesticides. The technology, the company claims, can reduce food transportation up to 90 percent. In 2013, the company pioneered the modular system in restaurants, schools, hospitals, and shopping centers. Operations have now expanded to distribute portable farms in neighborhoods and supermarkets across Germany, Denmark, France, and Switzerland. The expansion, AgFunder reports, can be attributed to InFarm’s decentralized, data-driven model.

12. Liv Up, São Paulo (Brazil)

Liv Up works to deliver healthy meals and snack kits prepared with locally grown food to residents of the Greater São Paulo region. The start-up sources organic ingredients from family farmers in peri-urban areas, in an effort to shorten value chains and better connect small producers to the urban market. A team of chefs and nutritionists prepares the meals, which are later deep frozen to maintain the food’s integrity and extend its shelf life. Liv Up was founded in 2016 by a trio of young entrepreneurs driven by the lack of access to healthy foods in São Paulo. The start-up now operates in seven municipalities of the metropolitan area, rotating its menu every two weeks.

13. Pasona Urban Ranch, Tokyo (Japan)

Pasona Urban Ranch, an initiative of the Pasona Group, is a mix of office space and animal farm located in the heart of Tokyo’s busy Ōtemachi district. The initiative aims to raise interest in agriculture and dairy farming among city residents by bringing them in close contact with farm animals. The ranch houses eight animal species, including cattle, goats, and an alpaca, which are cared for by specialized staff. Visitors and employees of the building can attend seminars on dietary education and dairy farming. Previously, the Pasona Group gained worldwide acknowledgment for Pasona O2—an underground office farm built by Kono Designs in 2010 growing 100 regional crops in downtown Tokyo.

14. RotterZwam, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

RotterZwam, an urban mushroom farm, raises awareness on the potential of the circular economy for addressing environmental issues. The farm’s closed-loop system works with used coffee grounds—collected from local businesses—to turn residual flows into food. The mushroom nursery, built out of old containers, uses solar paneling to power the farm’s operations and the e-vehicles used for product delivery. The farm’s team offers tours to educate citizens on circular systems and trains entrepreneurs wishing to start a mushroom farm. RotterZwam’s second location in the Schiehaven area opened in mid-2019 thanks to a crowdfunding campaign to bring back the farm after a devastating fire in 2017.

15. Sustenir Agriculture (Singapore)

Sustenir Agriculture is a vertical farm working to promote high quality, locally grown, and safe food with the lowest possible footprint. The farm—located in the heart of Singapore—uses the latest technology in hydroponics and smart indoor farming to produce leafy greens, tomatoes, strawberries, and fresh herbs. Starting as a basement project in 2012, Sustenir now produces 1 ton of kale and 3.2 tons of lettuce per month in an area of 54 square meters.

16. Urban Bees, London (United Kingdom)

Urban Bees is a social enterprise working with communities and businesses in London to help bees thrive in the city. Through education and training, the initiative raises awareness on how to create bee-friendly communities and on how to become responsible beekeepers. The first training apiary was established together with the Co-op Plan Bee in Battersea, South London. The enterprise also advises urban gardening initiatives, including Lush’s rooftop garden, to ensure that green areas install the right forage and create healthy bee habitats. Co-founder Alison Benjamin says that city residents often suffer from the nature-deficit disorder and urban beekeeping is one path to reconnect with nature in the city.

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Andrea Oyuela

Andrea Oyuela is a Food Tank Intern—and chef in the making—with more than 5 years of experience in environmental research, urban agriculture, and healthy urban planning. Until recently, Andrea worked at UN-Habitat in Kenya as manager of the program on Planning for Urban Health. She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Environmental Management from Wageningen University and is the author of a number of published works. Her favorite ingredient is garlic.

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Liberty Produce And Partners Are Transforming The Vertical Farming Landscape

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2nd December 2019

 London, UK

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Liberty Produce and Partners have launched their ambitious programme to coordinate the development of the technology needed to make Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) more effective, efficient and sustainable.

 The joint venture, co-funded by Innovate UK (the UK’s innovation agency), is supporting the creation of an integrated technology system focussed on reducing operational costs by 25%, improving crop yield by 30% and reducing necessary grower intervention through improved decision support and automation in lighting, nutrient and environmental control technologies.

The project involves several partners and experts in CEA, including Crop Health and Protection (CHAP). In work being carried out at CHAP’s Fine Phenotyping Lab, based at Rothamsted Research, experts are assessing ways in which plants react to light throughout the day, determining how to activate and make them most receptive to light, particularly through the manipulation of wavelength and light intensity. They have already found evidence that plants photosynthetic response to light levels off and reaches saturation. Within CEA systems, avoiding the unnecessary application of light is crucial in reducing operational cost and making systems more sustainable.

The data collected on how different crops respond to artificial LED lighting systems will inform the development of further technologies around sensing and automation - work packages being led by FOTENIX and Iceni Labs.

As the new technologies are developed, they will be evaluated at the IHCEA facilty, a vertical farming commercial demonstrator established by Liberty Produce in partnership with Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) and located at the James Hutton Institute, in Dundee, Scotland.

Zeina Chapman, Director of Liberty Produce commented, “Vertical farming is not yet sustainable - the capital and operational costs limit the adoption of these systems. This vital research and development will enable the build of innovative new technologies that will ensure CEA becomes an essential and sustainable element of crop production as the global population grows.”

Dr Ruth Bastow, Innovation Director of CHAP said, “CEA has great potential to be part of a global solution to produce food in more efficient, resilient and sustainable ways. However, there are still bottlenecks to be overcome for large-scale adoption, and this project will help accelerate the development of new technologies and approaches to improve the overall efficiency of CEA utilising capabilities across the CHAP network.”

Crops growing in the IHCEA facility. Credit: Liberty Produce 2019.

***Ends*** 

About Liberty Produce

Liberty Produce is a farming technology company, enabling the growth of local produce year-round, using a fully-controlled, industry-leading, indoor vertical farming system. With expertise in lighting and nutrient delivery technology, Liberty develops and builds systems that reduce operational costs and improve yields of crops grown in controlled-environment farms. Their vision is to drive innovations that will enable the UK to meet our crop requirements over the next century, without harming the planet.

https://www.liberty-produce.com/ 

For further information contact:

Benita Rajania

benita@liberty-produce.com

+44 20 3290 8801

About CHAP

Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), funded by Innovate UK, is one of four UK Agri-Tech Centres. CHAP’s vision is for the UK to be a global leader in the development of applied agri-technologies, to help secure our future by nourishing a growing population sustainably while delivering economic, environmental and health benefits to society.

CHAP acts as a unique, independent nexus between UK government, researchers and industry, building innovation networks to identify and accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions to drive incremental, transformative and disruptive changes in sustainable crop productivity and to establish controlled environment agriculture (CEA) as a core competency.
www.chap-solutions.co.uk/

For further information contact:
Darren Hassall
Darren.hassall@chap-solutions.co.uk
+44 (0)1904 462062

About Innovate UK

Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth. We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation.

www.innovateuk.ukri.org

Applications Now Open For FoodTech Accelerator, The Global Corporate Accelerator Powered by Deloitte Officine Innovazione

Applications are open until September 30th 2019 for the Foodtech Accelerator: the global open innovation initiative based in Milan and dedicated to innovative projects and startups in the food and retail sectors.

The accelerator selects up to 10 best-of-breed startups to supercharge food innovation and match Corporate Partners business needs. The aim is to accelerate concrete industrial pilot projects together in a 15-week program.

The call: open to companies around the globe established or being set up to innovate in the field of food production and distribution: new foods, quality and traceability of food, healthy lifestyle, circular economy, new delivery models, smart packaging, and precision agriculture.

The program: a hands-on learning experience and out-of-the-building approach to successfully transform ideas into innovative products working directly with expert mentors and corporate executives. Selected startups will validate and scale their business faster to enable MVP and PoC testing.

Initial investment: access to €20k in cash contribution and €50k in services, directly invested by the Partners of FoodTech Accelerator, in exchange for up to 6% of your equity.

Investments: the program ends with the DemoDay. The 7 startups will be presenting their outcomes to selected investors invited by Deloitte and its partners. Corporate Partners have already confirmed their willingness to make additional investments of up to 1 million euros.

How to participate: find all the required info and apply now at

https://www.foodtechaccelerator.io

Should you need any further detail, please write us at

hello@foodtechaccelerator.io

New Raft For Hydroponic Crops Such As Basil

Rosa Plast has introduced a new raft to grow basil hydroponically. Developed in collaboration with Cammelli, the companies claim that the productivity increases by 25%. "They are designed to optimize processes, logistics, maintenance, cleaning operations and, most of all, to increase productivity per square meter." 

Using the panel leads to a 25% increase in productivity, 10% less time used for harvesting, a 15% drop in transplant time and a 30% drop in cleaning time. Its long-lastingness was assessed at +400%." 

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"Thanks to our lengthy experience and our collaboration with Cammelli, we developed a panel for the cultivation of basil. The great performances were confirmed by both agronomists and producers," explains plant manager Attilio Cattaruzza. 

"In addition, no sanitation is required and the material used is entirely recyclable. The panel was designed to be used with an automated system and can be stacked."

Rosa Plast was set up in the 1960s and specializes in the construction of plastic component molds and equipment for the processing of plastic materials. A few years ago, it also started focusing on the indoor forming sector, with particular attention to designing rafts for soil-less hydroponic crops.

"Our recent experiences and the collaboration with expert producers of highly-automated systems meant we could develop a few products for hydroponic crops. We registered two patents for salad and basil rafts." 

Contacts:
Rosa Plast Srl
Z.I. Nord- Via Valcellina 1, 
33097 Spilimbergo (PN) Italy
Tel.: (+39) 0427 595311
E-mail: attilio.cattaruzza@rosagroup.com
Website: www.rosagroup.com

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Publication date: 7/1/2019 
© HortiDaily.com

Want Chemical-Free Vegetables? Vertical Farming Might Be The Answer

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo

JULY 01, 2019

The Telangana State Centre of Excellence (TSCoE) in Jeedimetla feels like an oasis, in contrast to the barren highway that leads to the area and the humble residential colony in its vicinity. The 10.35-acre facility managed by the department of horticulture is a hub of experiments for cultivation of vegetables and flowers.

In one of the poly houses covered by a UV-stabilising film, more than 800 PVC pipes have been converted into vertical farming towers. Each of these pipes have been filled with a mix of coco peat, red soil, neem cake, vermicompost and micronutrients that help plant growth. Each pipe has more than 20 slots from which small branch-like extensions emanate, it is in these that green leafy vegetables are grown.

The CoE designed and tested such prototypes in December 2018, approved by the department of horticulture authorities and a technical committee of agriculture experts; it has so far grown coriander, amaranthus, bacchali (Malabar spinach) and palak (spinach). At the moment, the 800-plus towers grow spinach, some of them ready to harvest.

A retail counter near the entrance of the premises sells fresh greens and vegetables grown at the centre and it’s a big hit with the neighbourhood. Palak is sold at ₹40 per kg, double the price of wholesale market, but there are many takers since these greens are free of chemical pesticides. There have been days when the centre sold 400 to 600 bunches of leafy greens.

Around the world

• Singapore: The vertical urban farm called Sky Greens, located in Lim Chu Kang, harvests 500kg of green leafy produce every day. According to a Straits Times report, the yield in this farm is 10 times that of traditional farms, as it uses tiered metal towers up to nine metres tall. The rotation of these towers in glass buildings allows all the plants to get uniform sunlight.

• San Francisco: Tigris, a hydroponic vertical farm in San Francisco, is a futuristic project focusing on growing leafy greens. The new farm reportedly can grow one million plants at a given time.

While vertical ornamental gardens add aesthetics to premises, vertical farming is more utilitarian. CoE intends to encourage residential colonies in urban areas and farmers at the district and zilla parishad levels to grow more greens using vertical farming.

The CoE feels that having several small crop colonies in urban pockets and rural areas might help meet some of the growing demand for vegetables in the state. Leafy greens, tomatoes, brinjals, chillies and okra, for instance, can be cultivated in balconies and terrace gardens to meet individual home needs.

In addition, enterprising farmers in both urban and rural areas can do vertical farming to grow greens that meet the needs of their neighbourhoods, believes the CoE. “Green vegetables are the need of the hour. They perish easily and don’t withstand long-distance transport. A lot of greens available in the market are also laced with chemical pesticides. There’s an increasing awareness today about safe food. Growing your own greens will ensure safe food and reduce food miles,” says K Latha, assistant director of horticulture, CoE.

Traditional farmers can use vertical farming towers to step up the yield. “In flat-surface farms, it’s tough to harvest green leaves during monsoon. Leafy vegetables can be harvested every 25 to 30 days, so ideally you can aim for 12 harvests a year. In flat cultivation farmers only manage eight or nine harvests. Using these towers and a poly film roof, greens can be grown all round the year,” she says.

K Latha, additional director of horticulture, COE, with agriculture engineering students at the vertical farming polyhouse | Photo Credit: K V S Giri

The coco peat and nutrient mixture in these towers can be replenished after three or four harvests to get quality produce. To counter weeding, the CoE uses a weeding mat on the ground. Small outflow pipes from each of the towers drain excess water.

To make vertical farming economical, the CoE uses non-ISI mark PVC pipes that cost ₹400 to 500 each, as opposed to ISI-certified ones that cost around ₹5000. However, the non-ISI pipes stand the risk of damage when exposed to prolonged heat. The UV-stabilising poly film roof counters this problem.

Latha points out that there are several smart vertical farming methods worldwide, including those that use hydroponics and aeroponics. “There are various designs of vertical farming towers too, across the world. The indigenous technology we developed is one of the methods,” she says, signing off.

Planet Healers celebrates eco-conscious initiatives. If you know an eco warrrior, write in to hydmetroplus@thehindu.co.in

Barbados: Teachers' Training College Opens Aquaponics Farm to Staff and Students

The farm which is being facilitated by the school’s Climate-Smart Aquaponics for a Sustainable Future project, attempts to integrate the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) into the primary school science classrooms. The project was planned by a group of third-year University of the West Indies, Bachelors in Education students.

“There are some deficiencies as it relates to the application of STEM [in the schools]. This Climate-Smart Aquaponics initiative bridges the gap. It allows persons to have a sense of how to go about teaching STEM, particularly at the primary level in Barbados,” said aquaponics consultant and project facilitator Rozanne Walrond.

The College science lecturer revealed the facility accommodates 460 plants and small-scale fish farming. It will be chiefly utilised by Erdiston Teachers’ Training College students but will also be open to primary and secondary school students for use. Walrond insists that exposure to aquaponics from an early age would educate students on the importance of sustainable and renewable energies.

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“One of the benefits of aquaponics is that… where there is a deficiency in arable land and you have a system of this nature, the opportunities are endless in how much you can actually reap,” she continued.

Walrond disclosed that the opening of the aquaponics farm was the first phase of the college’s plan to become fully sustainable and promote renewable energy. The facility will be using recycled water and will be sustained by solar energy, thanks to the support of Williams Solar which has donated photovoltaic panels.

“We want to become iconic in terms of having this college be promoted as a smart and sustainable institution,” commented Walrond.

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Source: Barbados Today (Katrina King)

Publication date: 7/1/2019