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Why Pink Is The New Green at This Farm in Dubai
Unlike traditional indoor farms lit by high-powered fluorescent lamps, the climate-controlled Badia Farms in Al Quoz 1 basks under efficient low-energy pink-colored lights which are not only cost-effective and durable but also speed up crop growth dramatically.
Why Pink Is The New Green at This Farm in Dubai
The newly-opened Badia Farms in Al Quoz uses environment friendly pink LED lights to reduce costs and speed up crop growth
The climate-controlled Badia Farms in Al Quoz 1 uses efficient low-energy pink-colured lightsImage Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/XPRESS
Badia Farms produces nearly 18 varieties of micro-greensImage Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/XPRESS
The pink-colured lights are not only cost-effective but also speed up crop growthImage Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/XPRESS
Reinventing agriculture. Omar Al Jundi, CEO and founder of Badia FarmsImage Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/XPRESS
Since these crops aren’t exposed to sunlight, they don’t lose water or energyImage Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/XPRESS
The plants are stacked on top of each other in a vertical farmImage Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/XPRESS
Omar reckons farming under pink lights may well be the future of farming in the regionImage Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/XPRESS
January 11, 2018
By Sapna Dhanwani, STAFF REPORTER
Dubai: A newly opened farm in Dubai has devised a unique method of growing pesticide-free veggies all year round. It uses eerie pink LED lights instead of sunlight.
Less energy, more growth
Unlike traditional indoor farms lit by high-powered fluorescent lamps, the climate-controlled Badia Farms in Al Quoz 1 basks under efficient low-energy pink-coloured lights which are not only cost-effective and durable but also speed up crop growth dramatically.
Researchers have found that plants grown under LED lights can significantly reduce greenhouse energy costs without sacrificing yield. According to them, the technique could change the way farming works.
“Since these crops aren’t exposed to sunlight, they don’t lose water or energy and therefore are far more nutritional than plants grown outdoors,” says Saudi businessman Omar Al Jundi, founder and CEO of Badia Farms which operates from a warehouse. The neon pink lights make the place look more like a nightclub than an indoor farm.
When plants are stacked on top of each other in a vertical farm, the ones at the bottom are often deprived of essential nutrients.
The only way to get around this problem is to add artificial light which could add up to costs.
Power of pink
New research shows that plants don’t necessarily need the whole spectrum of ROYGBV lights. According to scientists, pink light – a combination of red and blue wavelengths -- is all that they really need to grow.
Spread over 8,500 square metres, Badia Farms produces nearly 18 varieties of micro-greens including arugula, kale, radish, red cabbage, basil and mustard.
The produce can be ordered online at www.secretsfinefood.com. “The response has been very encouraging,” said Stephanie Duriez, managing director of Secrets Fine Food. Omar reckons vertical farming under pink lights may well be the future of farming in the region. The country’s arid environment is not conducive to farming which explains why over 80 percent of food requirements comes from abroad.
“Through vertical indoor farming methods, we can dramatically reduce carbon footprints and grow leafy greens that are fresher, tastier and can be delivered from farm to table within hours,” he said.
“We are currently testing for tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers and chilli and are quite certain we will be able to produce them soon said,” he added.
What is vertical farming?
Vertical farming is the practice of producing food and medicine in vertically stacked layers. It uses indoor farming techniques and a controlled-environment agriculture technology, where all factors can be controlled. These facilities utilize artificial control of light, environmental control (humidity, temperature, gases, etc) and can produce vegetables and plants all year around.
Products available at Badia farms (Priced at Dh15 for one punnet)
- Wasabi
- Spicy Mustard
- Purple Mustard
- Kale
- Arugula
- Lemongrass
- Cabbage
- Red Cabbage
- Coriander
- Parsley
- Garlic Chives
- Cinnamon Basil
- Radish
- Mint
- Cress
- Basil
- Lemon Cinnamon
- Celery
Soon to come
- Tomato
- Capsicum
- Cucumber
- Chilli
Sweden’s World Food Building Aims To Improve Food Security
Although Sweden’s has ample food relative to other countries, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Executive Director Johan Kuylenstierna argues that the country still needs a strategy for food security.
Sweden’s World Food Building Aims To Improve Food Security
JANUARY 16, 2018
In Linköping, Sweden, Plantagon has designed the World Food Building, which will be equally shared between office spaces and an urban greenhouse.
CC: Plantagon
Although Sweden’s has ample food relative to other countries, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Executive Director Johan Kuylenstierna argues that the country still needs a strategy for food security. As a solution, the Swedish architecture firm, Plantagon, has proposed a design plan for a building called “World Food Building,” half of which will house a number of offices spanning 17 floors, while the rest will become an urban greenhouse.
The world’s population is slated to increase to nine billion by 2050. Even before that, with enough food produce to serve everyone, more than 800 million people have poor access to food – mainly in Africa and South Asia.
Work spaces in the World Food Building. CC: Plantagon
The World Food Building is being built in Linköping, a city in southern Sweden, which is home to 153,000 inhabitants. It’s the fifth largest city in Sweden and part of the expansive East Sweden Business Region. The World Food Building will stand 60 meters (196.8 feet) high and will grow food produce using hydroponic farming, a popular method that uses mineral nutrient solutions to feed the plants in water, without soil.
“Our goal is to produce the most food on the smallest footprint using the least amount of water and other resources and yet still maintain premium quality,” Plantagon states. “We minimize the use of transportation, land, energy, and water – using waste products in the process but leaving no waste behind.”
Designed to be entirely circular, the World Food Building will get its heat and fuel from a nearby waste incineration and bio-gas plant. The urban greenhouse will receive and use excess heat from the nearby power plant. The waste produced by the urban greenhouse will in turn be sent to the biogas plant for composting. The architecture firm uses symbiotic solutions to develop large industrial food-production systems. “These systems turn excess heat, biomass and even carbon dioxide emissions into assets for local food production,” Plantagon explains.
A vertical urban farm project in China was initiated in May of last year by Yang Qichang, Director of The Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture at The Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Services (CAAS), as a solution to his country’s food crisis. Mr. Yang believes that by using vertical urban farms, farmers can do away with the need for pesticides and use less chemical fertilizers, producing safer food.
Backed by a $8 million government grant, Yang runs a “plant factory” on the roof of the CAAS. The “plant factory” comprises rows of crops that stand 10 feet (3 meters) in height, growing tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and bok choy, among others. The researcher is yet to identify which parts of the visible-light spectrum are optimal for photosynthesis and plant growth while using as little energy as possible.
U.S. Indoor Farming Startup Plenty Eyes Rollout In China, Japan
January 17, 2018 By Reuters
Shutterstock photo
By Dominique Patton
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Ambitious U.S. indoor farming startup Plenty Inc is actively seeking urban sites for new farms in Chinese cities as part of a global drive to set up high-tech facilities growing organic vegetables in warehouses under banks of LED lights.
Matt Barnard, Chief Executive of the San Francisco-based firm which counts Amazon Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and Japanese tech player SoftBank Corp among its backers, told Reuters on Wednesday that China could potentially host at least 300 of Plenty's farms.
He didn't disclose financial or investment targets for the expansion of a firm which currently operates just one farm, in San Francisco, with another due to open in Seattle in first-half 2018. In July 2017 SoftBank's giant Vision Fund led investors in Plenty in a $200 million funding round.
"We see a massive opportunity to get people product that tastes better and also has health and safety that far surpasses anything on the market today," Barnard said.
Plenty's farming model means growing vegetables and herbs on vertical towers indoors, with hydroponic systems delivering nutrients to plants and LED lighting designed to stimulate rapid growth all-year round. The firm says its model means no soil or pesticides are required, as farm sites are entirely enclosed.
China is expected to contribute 25-50 percent of the firm's business in the future, Barnard said, without disclosing numerical targets.
He said the firm saw huge untapped demand amid concerns among Chinese consumers over food safety.
China has less than a third of the arable land per person compared with the United States, but in many places soil has been contaminated by heavy metals and pesticides, Barnard said.
Urban Farming Key in Fight Against Hunger and Climate Change
The urban farms sprouting up and across cities around the world aren't just feeding mouths—they are "critical to survival" and a "necessary adaptation" for developing regions and a changing climate, according to a new study.
Urban Farming Key in Fight Against Hunger and Climate Change
The urban farms sprouting up and across cities around the world aren't just feeding mouths—they are "critical to survival" and a "necessary adaptation" for developing regions and a changing climate, according to a new study.
Urban farms—which include plain ol' allotments, indoor vertical farms and rooftop gardens nestled amongst busy streets and skyscrapers—have become increasingly popular and important as the world's population grows and more and more people move to cities.
The United Nations predicts that by 2030, two-thirds of the world's population will be living in cities, with the urban population in developing countries doubling. That's a lot of mouths to feed.
The new paper, published in the journal Earth's Future and led by the Arizona State University and Google, finds that this expected urban population boom will benefit from urban farming in multiple ways.
As the Thomson Reuters Foundation explained from the study, "Urban farms could supply almost the entire recommended consumption of vegetables for city dwellers, while cutting food waste and reducing emissions from the transportation of agricultural products."
According to the study, urban agriculture can help solve a host of urban environmental problems, from increasing vegetation cover (thus contributing to a decrease in the urban heat island intensity), improving the livability of cities, and providing enhanced food security to more than half of Earth's population.
After analyzing multiple datasets in Google Earth Engine, the researchers calculated that the existing vegetation on urban farms around the world already provides some $33 billion annually in services from biocontrol, pollination, climate regulation and soil formation.
The future of urban agriculture has even more potential, the researchers found.
"We project potential annual food production of 100–180 million tonnes, energy savings ranging from 14 to 15 billion kilowatt-hours, nitrogen sequestration between 100,000 and 170,000 tonnes, and avoided stormwater runoff between 45 and 57 billion cubic meters annually," the authors wrote.
"In addition, we estimate that food production, nitrogen fixation, energy savings, pollination, climate regulation, soil formation and biological control of pests could be worth as much as $80–160 billion annually in a scenario of intense [urban agriculture] implementation."
Others have praised urban farming for its many benefits.
"Urban agriculture won't resolve all food production and distribution problems, but it could help take pressure off rural land while providing other advantages," wrote environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki.
He cited an example of how one patch of Detroit land, where 12 vacant houses were removed to grow food, "has supplied almost 200,000 kilograms of produce for 2,000 local families, provided volunteer experience to 8,000 residents and brought the area new investment and increased safety."
"Local and urban agriculture can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and recycle nutrient-rich food scraps, plant debris and other 'wastes,'" Suzuki continued. "Because maintaining lawns for little more than aesthetic value requires lots of water, energy for upkeep and often pesticides and fertilizers, converting them to food gardens makes sense."
Writer and former Vancouver city councillor Peter Ladner also wrote in The Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities, "When urban agriculture flourishes, our children are healthier and smarter about what they eat, fewer people are hungry, more local jobs are created, local economies are stronger, our neighborhoods are greener and safer, and our communities are more inclusive."
RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB
- EcoWatch - These radical urban farms could feed the cities... ›
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India: Startups Reaping Dividends in Urban Farms
India: Startups Reaping Dividends in Urban Farms
The urban farming startup ecosystem could be worth $1billion in India in the next two to four years and will become essential due to environmental concerns
By Shashwati Shankar
Economic Times India
Jan 5, 2018
In the past three to four years, more than a dozen urban farming startups have been launched in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Jaipur and elsewhere. They provide services such as setting up rooftop and balcony farms for independent homes and companies with vertical farming options for those with more wall space than floor area.
“I began with conducting farming and gardening workshops but in the last one or two years we have seen interest significantly increase,” said Kapil Mandawewala, founder of Edible Routes. “I get about 30 orders a month, with a majority coming from independent homes and the rest from community centers, educational institutions or corporates.” Edible Routes was registered in 2016 but were operational in the urban farming space for three years prior to that. Mandawewala began experimenting with farming on family-owned land in Gujarat in 2008.
The space for terrace, balcony or farm gardening could range from 50 square feet in a balcony to 50 acres on a farm, with the initial pricing to start a terrace garden ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000. “The maintenance cost for most urban farms usually ranges between Rs 1-2 lakh in a year, whereas for the gardens it’s a few thousand rupees. This remains a challenge as 10 out of 20 requests from customers interested in setting up an urban farm are lost because of the initial investment,” said Mandawewala. Delhi-based Edible Routes has operationally broken even and makes revenue of Rs 3-5 lakh a month, he said.
Excerpt:
Read the complete article here.
U.S. Indoor Farming Startup Plenty Eyes Rollout in China, Japan
JANUARY 17, 2018
U.S. Indoor Farming Startup Plenty Eyes Rollout in China, Japan
BEIJING (Reuters) - Ambitious U.S. indoor farming startup Plenty Inc is seeking urban sites for new farms in Chinese cities as part of a global drive to set up high-tech facilities growing organic vegetables in warehouses under banks of LED lights.
Matt Barnard, Chief Executive Officer of U.S.-based vertical farming start-up Plenty, poses for a picture in Beijing, China January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Matt Barnard, chief executive of the San Francisco-based firm which counts Amazon Inc. (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos and Japanese tech player SoftBank Corp (9984.T) among its backers, told Reuters on Wednesday that China could potentially host at least 300 of Plenty’s farms.
Plenty is currently hiring in China and scouting for locations and distributors in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Barnard said in an interview in Beijing. The company has already hired a team in Japan and has “locked down” a few farm sites there, according to Barnard, also a co-founder.
He did not disclose financial or investment targets for the expansion of the firm which currently operates just one farm, in San Francisco, with another due to open in Seattle in the first-half of 2018.
“We see a massive opportunity to get people product that tastes better and also has health and safety that far surpasses anything on the market today,” Barnard said.
Plenty’s farming model means growing vegetables and herbs on vertical towers indoors, with hydroponic systems delivering nutrients to plants and LED lighting designed to stimulate rapid growth all-year round. Enclosed farms reduce pests and allow the firm to optimise growing conditions.
That could be a big draw in China, which has less than a third of the arable land per person compared with the United States, and in many places, soil contaminated by heavy metals and pesticides.
Matt Barnard, Chief Executive Officer of U.S.-based vertical farming start-up Plenty, poses for a picture in Beijing, China January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
A Plenty farm is designed to be 3 to 10 acres (1.2 to 4 hectares), and can produce between 150 and 350 times the output of a field farm, said Barnard.
Concerns among Chinese consumers over food safety are also a major opportunity. Chinese farms will be accompanied by ‘experience centres’ where people can taste the product and see how it is produced.
“It’s super important that people can trust it,” added Barnard, who expects the China market to contribute 25 to 50 percent of the firm’s business in the future.
The company is talking to restaurants, online grocers and some supermarkets to distribute the product, which will be priced higher than much of the produce available in Chinese markets.
Indoor farms can be located close to cities, cutting out the transport from field to supermarket that impacts the freshness of produce. That allows Plenty to grow varieties for their flavour and not for their ability to withstand transport.
One potential concern for Barnard is the cost of operating the lighting systems.
“China power prices are more expensive than in California,” he said, adding that as long as farms are located in places with the best rates farms can still be successful.
Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Christian Schmollinger
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Career Opportunities for LED Lighting Experts and Urban Agriculture Salespeople!
Career Opportunities for LED Lighting Experts and Urban Agriculture Salespeople!
New Market Manager: Horticultural LED Lighting
Mac & Fulton Talent Partners is looking for an ambitious sales and marketing manager to help launch an LED lighting brand in the horticultural marketplace. This is a well-established lighting company looking to put their resources behind the right sales team.
JOB OFFER:
Market Manager to spearhead the launch of a new brand of LED lights with horticultural applications. The position is located in Milwaukee, WI.
Responsibilities:
- Create overall sales and marketing plans for product lines
- Assess market segments and growth and act accordingly
- Advise senior management about the nuances of the agriculture industry
- Develop price points
- Create distribution channels
- Consistently meet sales goals
- Study industry competitors
- Remain up-to-speed on horticultural technology advancements
Qualifications:
- BA in Business or like subject—preferred
- Experience in horticultural lighting field—preferred
- Sales in horticulture/hydroponics industry—required
- Experience in modern agriculture—required
- Well versed in product development and new market entry—preferred
Please email kentg@mandfconsultants.com or contact me on my mobile 414-412-3729 for more details.
You can also check us out at www.mandfconsultants.com.
Mac & Fulton Talent Partners—A recruiting firm focused on modern gardening—is working with a number of LED lighting product manufacturers in the horticultural marketplace.
About Us
We consider Mac & Fulton Talent Partners the most knowledgeable and attentive recruiting agency in the hydroponics and horticultural markets.
The team at M&F Talent sees a very real societal value in the burgeoning Urban Indoor Farming movement and are most interested in networking with industry professionals.
If you would like to learn more about Mac & Fulton, or would simply like to strike up a synergistic dialogue, Please email kentg@mandfconsultants or contact me on my mobile 414-412-3729 for more details.
You can also check us out at www.mandfconsultants.com
Kent Gruetzmacher
Urban Farm Flourishes in Former Akron Tire Plant
Urban Farm Flourishes in Former Akron Tire Plant
Vigeo Gardens is growing produce and success inside the BOUNCE, Akron's innovation hub at the former site of B.F. Goodrich tire plant.
Author: Amani Abraham
January 10, 2018
From farm to table, in the middle of the winter?
Vegetables and flowers are not something you’d expect to see growing anywhere in Northeast Ohio right now – let alone inside an old tire plant in Akron.
But that’s exactly what an Akron-based agricultural company is doing.
Jacob Craine, Vincent Peterson, and Mark Preston are the founders of Vigeo Gardens, which sits on the third floor of Akron's former B.F. Goodrich tire plant. The business can be easily spotted as it's custom-made blue and red LED lights transform its space into a magenta-like color.
"It allows us to grow a plant in a much quicker time than you would in traditional farming, as well as environmental improvements," Craine said. "We use about a tenth of the water a traditional farmer would use."
Vigeo specializes in growing hydroponic lettuce, hydroponic basil and microgreens. The produce is then sold to local restaurants in Akron, Cleveland and surrounding areas. The company recently landed a deal with Quicken Loans Arena to supply fresh produce to private chefs for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"People are getting more conscious about what they eat and what they put in their body."
The concept of the farm began in Craine's basement where teamed with Peterson to begin growing microgreens. Vigeo soon emerged after time spent inside of the Akron Global Business Accelerator, also home to BOUNCE, Akron's innovation hub.
"We want to re-purpose old buildings like this, start in the Rust Belt and hopefully go across the country."
Singapore A Potential Test-Bed to Develop Food, Agritech Solutions: Koh Poh Koon
Pointing to indoor farms as an example, he said that agencies had made provisions for companies to use private industrial land to kick-start operations as they needed space.
Singapore A Potential Test-Bed to Develop Food, Agritech Solutions: Koh Poh Koon
Dr Koh Poh Koon at the 3rd annual Indoor Agriculture Conference Asia. (Photo: Vanessa Lim)
16 Jan 2018
SINGAPORE: Singapore could potentially become a test-bed to develop exportable models for food and agriculture technology (agritech) solutions, according to Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade & Industry Koh Poh Koon on Tuesday (Jan 16).
Speaking at the 3rd annual Indoor Agriculture Conference (Ag-Con) Asia, Dr Koh said Singapore's environment can help companies expand into global markets.
"We are a well-positioned and efficient logistics hub, our stringent food safety standards also generate consumer trust and allow companies exporting from Singapore to enjoy premium quality branding," said Dr Koh.
Dr Koh speaking to participants at the conference. (Photo: Vanessa Lim)
He added that the government is also currently studying the feasibility of co-locating various food-related industries in a cluster in future.
Beyond this, Dr. Koh highlighted that Singapore has also cultivated deep research and development expertise in fields such as biotech and precision engineering, which can help to speed up the development of the precision agriculture and agri-biotech sector.
"We already have players in these areas like Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, which has strong capabilities in plant sciences and farming systems," said Dr Koh, adding that Singapore's strong intellectual property framework protects research findings and innovations.
As new industries may face regulatory hurdles, Dr Koh added that government agencies will work closely with companies to overcome these challenges.
Pointing to indoor farms as an example, he said that agencies had made provisions for companies to use private industrial land to kick-start operations as they needed space. In addition, account managers were also introduced to facilitate interactions between the companies and other regulatory agencies.
Source: CNA/am
Urban Farms ‘Critical’ To Combat Hunger And Adapt To Climate Change
Urban Farms ‘Critical’ To Combat Hunger And Adapt To Climate Change
11 Jan 2018
Salad leaves herbs and leafy greens grow inside a warehouse run by GrowUp Urban Farms in Beckton, London, July 25, 2017 (Thomson Reuters Foundation / Lin Taylor)
By Thin Lei Win / Thomson Reuters Foundation
ROME: They may look small scale, but rooftop farms, vertical gardens and allotments could prove crucial in fighting hunger in urban areas, researchers said Wednesday.
Urban farms also increase vegetation cover - a key way to limit rising temperatures.
They reduce the “urban heat island effect”, where cities are often several degrees warmer than nearby rural areas due to heat trapped by dark-coloured roads and buildings, researchers said.
Urban farms can lower the risk of flooding during heavy downpours and help to reain water in dry areas, according to a paper published in the journal Earth’s Future.
In developing regions, “urban agriculture may be critical to survival or a necessary adaptation to changing climate”, said the team of researchers, led by the Arizona State University and Google.
Urban farms could supply almost the entire recommended consumption of vegetables for city dwellers, while cutting food waste and reducing emissions from the transportation of agricultural products.
The researchers analysed multiple datasets in Google Earth Engine, an internet platform for processing geographical data, to derive global scale estimates.
Urban agriculture has the potential to save energy equivalent to the use of air conditioners in nearly 9 million United States households, and to produce up to 180 million tonnes of food, they found.
While this represents only about 10 percent of the global production of pulses, roots and vegetables, it provides “a partial solution”, said Matei Georgescu, associate professor at Arizona State University and co-author of the paper.
The U.S., China, Brazil, India, Russia, Germany and Japan have the most potential benefit from urban farming. With more than 2 million hectares, the U.S. has more urban area available than any other country.
Georgescu said he hopes urban planners in Africa and Asia will see the potential of urban agriculture too.
According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the world’s population may live in cities by 2050, with new urban areas concentrated in Asia and Africa.
Georgescu also encouraged people to calculate this potential for their local areas themselves using method provided in the paper.
“One simply has to include their own locally produced data, which might be better than the global data we had to use, and produce their own estimates,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.
Urban farms have become popular in recent years as governments and residents look to promote healthy eating, tackle environmental challenges and transform industrial cities.
Pittsburgh is establishing the largest urban farm in the U.S., post office workers in Paris are growing vegetables and breeding chickens on a rooftop, while a warehouse in London is farming fish and greens
(Reporting By Thin Lei Win, Editing by Jared Ferrie)
Local Skills Showcased At Arab Innovation Academy
Local Skills Showcased At Arab Innovation Academy
16 Jan 2018 - 1:05
Dr Maher Hakim, Executive Director, QSTP, with other experts and officials during the Grand Pitching Session held at the end of Arab Innovation Academy. RIGHT: Sinan Al Obaidi, CEO of AG Automation, doing a presentation during the Grand Pitching Session of Arab Innovation Academy. PICs: Baher Amin / The Peninsula
By Fazeena Saleem / The Peninsula
Doha: The innovation skills of young entrepreneurs have been recently showcased at the first Arab Innovation Academy (AIA). The unique 10-day startup boot-camp was organised by Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) in collaboration with the European Innovation Academy (EIA).
The programme provided more than 100 talented students and young entrepreneurs from across the Arab world with an opportunity to work under the guidance of leading Silicon Valley mentors and establish a start-up.
Under the guidance of leading global tech startup mentors, teams whose members had never met before were challenged to take an idea to a viable startup after just two intensive weeks of working together.
“The young tech entrepreneurs who have participated in the first Arab Innovation Academy care about our region. They are passionate about, and committed to, helping solve the challenges it faces, and they are now global ambassadors both for Qatar and for the Arab world - building bridges among communities and cultures, through innovation,” said Dr. Maher Hakim, Executive Director of QSTP.
“What we have achieved through AIA is to help young people build their confidence, not only in their ability to do things other people cannot do but to demonstrate that they can make a positive contribution to our world,” he added.
In a Grand Pitching Session at the end of the AIA, held on Thursday at the QSTP, participants live-pitched the startup ideas they had developed from scratch during the programme to investors and experts from around the world. Ten teams presented innovative projects.
The winner was AG Automation, a startup that aims to use technology to transform indoor farming.
“Arab Innovation Academy has been a great experience for me. I was able to learn many things as an innovator and entrepreneur. It helped me to become a global citizen as well as an innovator and entrepreneur. It is a great opportunity and Qatar is doing a great job by giving us this opportunity,” Sinan Al Obaidi, CEO of AG Automation told The Peninsula. He is from Iraq and perusing his Ph.D in the United States under the sponsorship of Qatar Leadership Program.
Al Obaidi also said that AG Automation aims at shifting conventional farming to a complete industrial process.
Through the AIA, participating students from universities in Algeria, Lebanon, Oman, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Qatar had the opportunity to leverage an extensive global network of leading tech entrepreneurship experts, who introduced them to innovation tools and methods developed by leading universities and companies including University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University; Google; Amadeus IT Group; and QSTP, part of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D). During the Grand Pitching Session, a group of five students from different countries studying in Qatar and Lebanon presented their project ‘Carryon’ which uses the free space in travellers luggage to send packages worldwide.
The team included Pierre Wehbe and Hussein El Hajj from American University of Beirut; Ahmed Abdilmalik of Qatar University; Mohammad Jawad from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar and Hafis Bello from Hamad bin Khalifa University. “The Arab Innovation Academy gave us the right guidance on how to change an idea into an actual business. It was an mind-opening ten days for us; the whole programme was more practical than theoretical,” they said.
Vertical Farming Funding On The Rise in 2017 & Predictions for 2022
Vertical Farming Funding On The Rise in 2017 & Predictions for 2022
by Sierra Clark
Vertical farming is an industry with the enormous potential to change the way we eat. By saving resources and producing local food, vertical farming may alleviate many of the concerns facing traditional agriculture. However, to become a thriving, sustainable industry will require funding. This means venture capitalists, angel investors, crowd funders, and government must demonstrate enough interest to dedicate money to vertical farming ventures. Without proper funding, a future with vertical farming, and other indoor agriculture methods will not be possible.
Funding for vertical farming has grown
Luckily for the vertical farming industry, funding is on the rise. In 2017, two major methods of funding saw rapid growth. From 2016 to 2017, venture capital funding for vertical farming increased by 653% from 36 million to 271 million. Most of this funding was funneled to a few large companies with strong tech initiatives (read: Plenty). Additionally, crowdfunding for a variety of indoor agriculture initiatives, on sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, increased by 900% from 2.8 to 28 million.
Plenty raised $226 million
Plenty received the largest amount of funding for a vertical farming venture to date. In July 2017, their Series B of $200 million was led by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son with SoftBank Vision Fund and notable investment funds for Alphabet’s Eric Schmidt and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Already Plenty has a vertical farm in South San Francisco and a testing facility in Wyoming. With recent funds, they plan to expand to a 100,000 square foot farm in Washington, twice the size of their San Francisco farm, and globally.
Multiple companies raised tens of millions this year
Other indoor agriculture companies have also seen major increases in funding. AeroFarms, an urban ag and clean tech company in New Jersey, has raised $142.9 million to date. In November 2017, they closed a $40 million Series D round to increase staff and expand globally. Bright Farms, a greenhouse company in New York, has raised $57.9 million to date. In September 2016 they completed a $30 million Series C round led by Catalyst Investors to expand nationally. Bowery, a vertical farm company in New York, has raised $31 million to date. In June 2017, their Series A of $20 million was led by General Catalyst.
Predictions
By 2022, the vertical farming industry will have developed and matured. We believe that the industry is here to stay. In growing numbers, people are demanding local food. Led by this major trend, we expect to see two major advances in the industry within the next five years.
Sources of funding will increase and diversify
Not all vertical farming or indoor agriculture companies are receiving millions in funding. In fact, funding is still a major issue for many vertical farmers. However, where leaders go the rest may follow. Since respected influencers like Schmidt and Bezos are betting on the industry, we can expect interest and funding opportunities to grow. Expect to see investment firms dedicate funds specifically for vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture. We see this already in firms like Equilibrium and Contain Inc.
While the government is typically slower to act than private companies, expect to see more grants and dedication to the sustainable farming space. Cities like Atlanta already have focused urban agriculture initiatives, such as the AgLanta Conference and Urban Food Forest.
Robots and automation will become more integrated in the industry
Labor is one of the largest operational costs (around 25%, following electricity at 26%) for a vertical farm. By reducing labor costs companies can reduce product cost and increase margins, ideally with the aim to provide local food to everyone. Certain countries, such as Holland and Japan have been using automation and robots in indoor agriculture practices for years. Holland is known for acres of fully automated greenhouses, while Japan has over 240 plant factories (comparably, the US has 50), many of which utilize robots instead of traditional labor. Both countries have mature indoor agriculture industries and likely serve as an example of what is to come in the United States. Already, Plenty has integrated robots into their system using small robots, called Schleppers, to transplant seedlings.
This year the indoor ag industry has received more funding than ever before. We expect that funding opportunities will continue to grow, as will technological advances in the space. For now, we must continue to innovate, discover, and raise the industry forward. The future of the world depends on it.
LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO FUND URBAN AND VERTICAL FARMING BUSINESSES DURING THE SMART FINANCE TOPIC AREA OF THE 2018 AGLANTA CONFERENCE ON MARCH 27 & 28 IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA.
urban agriculture, vertical farming, indoor agriculture, CEA, future, funding, investment, venture capital,automation
All-in-One, Plug-and-Play Indoor Hydroponic Greenhouse ‘GroBox’ Launches on Kickstarter
All-in-One, Plug-and-Play Indoor Hydroponic Greenhouse ‘GroBox’ Launches on Kickstarter
Created to make it easy for anyone to grow their own food in the convenience of their own home, self-watering GroBox grows plants faster with two-thirds less water
Offering an extremely efficient and sustainable way to grow plants through hydroponics, GroBox controls the watering schedules and air flow to grow plants faster than other methods while using two-thirds less water than traditional systems.
SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) JANUARY 09, 2018
GroBox, an all-in-one, plug-and-play indoor hydroponic greenhouse that offers anyone the ability to grow their own plants conveniently in their own home, is now available for the first time on Kickstarter.
Offering an extremely efficient and sustainable way to grow plants through hydroponics, GroBox controls the watering schedules and air flow to grow plants faster than other methods while using two-thirds less water than traditional systems.
By using hydroponics technology that makes GroBox self-watering, sets watering cycles and manipulates the LED grow lights, users only have to change the water in GroBox a few times a month – skipping the guesswork for how often they should be watering their plants.
GroBox has also formulated a fertilizer solution so plants get the exact nutrients they need, providing clay pellets that replace messy soil and allow for even water distribution. The LED grow lights in GroBox also provide the lighting the plants need no matter the season or outside weather, and are also customizable for the specific growth phase for specific plants.
GroBox is easy to set up, as well. Users only need to:
Add filtered water to fill line, then add in fertilizer
Add clay pebble growing medium
Add plant mediums and insert seeds (or clones)
Set growing settings based on plants they are growing
From there, GroBox owners only sit back and watch their plants grow, changing the water inside only a few times a month. Plants can either be grown from seeds or clones.
GroBox was designed to make it easy for everyone, everywhere to grow their own plants in the convenience of their home, on their own time, and during any season. By growing their own plants, users also know exactly where they come from – assuring users that they are eliminating pesticides and other harmful chemicals from entering their bodies.
For more information about GroBox or to purchase the indoor hydroponic greenhouse at an early-bird discount during crowdfunding, visit the GroBox Campaign Page on Kickstarter.
About GroBox
GroBox is a part of the sustainable gardening movement. We started with FogBox and have been innovating with incorporating sustainable agriculture methods into technology for years.
We want to help change how people think about their food -- where it comes from and what’s going into it. No toxins or pesticides, ever. Just plants.
Our mission is to become a part of the sustainable gardening movement and make it easier for people to grow their own plants, on their own time, anywhere, during any season.
Three Videos From "Urban Produce" Explaining Indoor Vertical Farming
Three Videos From "Urban Produce" Explaining Indoor Vertical Farming
Automation Is Coming…And 9 Other Things You Need to Know About Indoor Farming
This year, our report provides not only an outlook of the industry, but also an updated analysis of the industry following our 2016 report. We received over 150 responses from 8 countries, with 81% coming from the United States, 12% coming from Canada, and the remainder coming from other countries.
Agrilyst
The intelligence platform for indoor farms
January 8, 2018
Automation Is Coming…And 9 Other Things You Need to Know About Indoor Farming
Curious about indoor farming? You’ve come to the right place.
Last year, we set out to provide detailed insight about the state of the indoor farming industry today — what growers are doing, their challenges, and how they see their field changing over the next few years. With that, the State of Indoor Farming was created.
This year, our report provides not only an outlook of the industry but also an updated analysis of the industry following our 2016 report. We received over 150 responses from 8 countries, with 81% coming from the United States, 12% coming from Canada, and the remainder coming from other countries.
You can check out the full State of Indoor Farming report here.
If you don’t have time to dig deep, don’t worry. Here are the 10 things you need to know:
1. Automation is exciting.
Labor makes up a huge portion of an indoor farmer’s budget (49% of a hydroponic operation), so finding ways to cut down on those cost is important. As a result, automation topped the list of technologies farmers are most excited about.
2. On the flip side, farmers think container farms are overhyped.
Regardless of its recent growth in the last few years, container farms came in at number one on the list of technologies responding farmers thought were overhyped. LEDs came in both second on the list of things growers think are overhyped as well as tied for third on the list of technologies farmers were most excited about.
3. Indoor agriculture isn’t the same as urban farming.
This is a big misconception. Indoor farms typically locate close to the point of sale or where efficiency can be maximized, which is not just in urban areas. This is one of the major benefits of indoor farming. Because the farmer has more control over climate, they can choose to locate a farm wherever it makes the most sense.
4. Most indoor farms are producing 2 or more crops in their space.
80% of respondents to our latest SOIF survey grow at least two crops. Because growers have the ability to create microclimates within the growing area, they can optimize for more than one type of crop. Below are the five most common crops grown by the responding farmers.
5. Indoor agriculture produces higher yields compared to conventional farming.
Enclosing facilities gives farmers the ability to create ideal growing environments. As a result, farmers can grow a crop from seed to harvest in less time and produce higher yields.
6. Leafy greens and microgreens have the highest profit margin.
On average, leafy greens and microgreens had the highest profit margin for responding farmers in 2017, at 40% across various facility and system types.
7. Vertical farms use a lot of energy.
Artificial lighting is a key component to vertical farming operations. Growers run their lights approximately 16 hours per day, every day, all year round. As a result, expect energy to account for a large percentage of your operating costs. Greenhouses use energy too. Most of the energy consumption in a greenhouse comes from heating and cooling costs.
8. Growers are innovative.
We asked growers if they would buy technology from a startup and 78% indicated they would. Most growers specified they don’t want to be “beta testers” but they recognize the need to innovate. The key for farmers is trusting technology and not buying new technologies that don’t directly benefit their farm.
9. 2018 will be the year of data and analytics.
When asked about the technologies growers are looking to invest in this year, most farmers selected data and analytics; climate control systems ranked second. If you are going to run a profitable farm in 2018, investing in a technology stack is a must.
10. Profitability is the number one goal for growers in 2018.
When asked about their number one goal for 2018, 46% of farmers indicated either increasing profitability or revenue. For an additional 7%, the primary goal is decreasing costs, which takes financial-related goals to 53%.
Special thanks to our survey partners: Urban Ag News, State of the Soil, and Cornell University.
Want more? Check out the full State of Indoor Farming report here.
US-Based AeroFarms To Introduce Vertical Farming in Collaboration With Local Businessmen
US-Based AeroFarms To Introduce Vertical Farming in Collaboration With Local Businessmen
January 10, 2018 | DOHA NEWS
Qatar has realised about its high dependency on its neighbouring countries for essential products such as food items due to blockade. Since then it has been using the opportunity devised by crisis to become self-sufficient with the major focus on food security.
Qatar looks highly motivated to achieve aim of self-sufficiency and its confidence has even been a major factor in attracting a lot of Global firms to join its ambitious Self-sufficiency Exhibition scheduled in April, 2018, which is certainly a great prospect.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with Qatar Tribune, AeroFarms Co-Founder and CEO David Rosenberg, stated that his company has presented their technology of indoor farming to Qatar and local businessmen have expressed interest in associating.
The technology of indoor farming to grow vegetables without sun or soil, in a fully-controlled indoor environment can prove very beneficial to Qatar given its geographical conditions. The company’s patented aeroponic growing system, he explained, has very fast harvest cycles, predictable results, superior food safety and less environmental impact.
Though such association will ensure self-sufficiency and food security and boost much needed confidence in local producers and manufacturers to contribute in economic growth, it may lead to increase in prices of indoor produced farm products. The technology as claimed by Rosenberg, ensures that all their produce is available year-round, consistent price, longer shelf life, less shrink, safely grown, wide variety, customizable mixes and no weather issues.
Till now Qatar has met its demand by exports but on a much higher prices and compromised quality, however, such a technology can have immediate effect on achieving food security but only if we do not have to compromise on quality and reasonability of the prices. Hence, we need to move up on lines of ‘produce in Qatar’ and this may prove to be a good addition, without compromising on the basics, as we are not looking for a short-term solution but a long term plan.
Automated Hydroponic Gardens Help You Grow Fresh Produce Indoor Year-Round
Automated Hydroponic Gardens Help You Grow Fresh Produce Indoor Year-Round
Derek Markham (@derekmarkham)
Living / Lawn & Garden
January 4, 2018
Grow some of your own greens, veggies, and herbs indoors with one of these automated hydroponic growing systems.
When you combine an automated low-water growing system with efficient LED lighting, you get a space-saving - and time-saving - solution for growing veggies indoors. Thanks to advances in both automation and lighting, as well as dropping prices for those technologies, the number of countertop and kitchen gardens on the market is rapidly growing.
The latest entry to the indoor gardening scene comes from OPCOM, which is offering a wide range of hydroponic growing systems ranging from a small countertop garden to vertical wall gardens to modular stackable units, as well as 40' shipping container farms, all of which feature "energy-efficient Auto-Cycle" systems that control the lights and watering.
OPCOM, a 23-year old global digital imaging and lighting company, has been branching out into the manufacture of indoor grow units as well because its founder and CEO Jack Ting "passionately believes in the power of hydroponic farming to produce healthier plants while reducing costs and conserving land, energy and water." The company's OPCOM Farm products are intended for everyone from the beginning gardener to those looking to set up a restaurant garden or indoor urban farm, and all of which rely on hydroponics and LED lighting said to simulate the "precise sunlight spectrum" for optimal growth.
The smallest of the units is the O2-Light, a tabletop garden that runs about $180, includes a built-in fan ("a Bio-Air Refresher") and a light that has two lighting modes and can be swiveled over your reading material or work area, with the intent of enabling "a healthy reading environment." The GrowFrame, which costs about $280, can be mounted on a wall as a vertical garden or used on a tabletop, fits up to 20 plants, and also includes a fan (I mean a Bio-Air Refresher). The GrowBox (~$600) is a tabletop unit that can grow up to 50 plants, and its open-frame design and height- and angle-adjustable LED lights are meant to be able to let it handle plants up to 3 feet tall. The $800 GrowWall is a vertical growing system that can accommodate up to 75 plants across 5 tiers, and has a minimal physical footprint (~9" deep x 53" wide).
The company also has a number of other bigger units that could be a great complement to a school, business, or restaurant, as well as large "Interactive Cloud Farms" in a 40' shipping container for those looking to grow mass quantities of greens, veggies, or herbs for sale.
Urban/Indoor Farming Accelerator in Brooklyn Feeds New Yorkers Year-Round
Urban/Indoor Farming Accelerator in Brooklyn Feeds New Yorkers Year-Round
Square Roots is a high-tech indoor farming accelerator in the heart of Brooklyn, New York, working to ensure that city residents can source fresh, sustainable produce twelve months a year. In a major urban center like New York City, where fresh produce can be tough to find even in seasons of peak agricultural output, Square Roots is proving the potential of indoor, climate-controlled agriculture.
The company was co-founded by entrepreneurs Tobias Peggs and Kimbal Musk, who also runs two restaurant chains, with the dual goals of satisfying a demand for produce and training a new generation of entrepreneurial leaders who understand urban agriculture, local food systems, and the transparency and trust that personal relationships bring to food
Over the course of a 13-month program, Square Roots’ ten Resident Entrepreneurs run businesses at the accelerator’s physical home while taking part in a curriculum of skill-based training, professional development, and experiential business learning. They work with hydroponic growing systems housed in old, repurposed shipping containers calledLeafy Green Machines, sold by Freight Farms. Depending on crops and conditions, each container can yield up to 50 pounds of leafy greens per week while using only eight gallons of water a day, according to Freight Farms.
The entrepreneurs deliver fresh greens to consumers at 80 office locations in the city, sell specialty items through a number of retail channels, and work in direct partnership with restaurants. Square Roots shares 30 percent of the total revenue with the farmers, amounting to between US$30,000 and US$40,000 annually, according to co-founder and CEO Tobias Peggs.
“The idea is: with the skills they acquire at Square Roots, and the experience they gain running a business, they can graduate confidently with the knowledge to set up all kinds of companies,” says Peggs. “They might create hardware companies designing more efficient lights for urban farmers. Or software companies to better connect local farmers to consumers. Or value-add companies using locally grown basil to make pesto.”
Peggs attributes the company’s recent success to two primary factors: the high efficiency of the production modules and the trust that the company has built with its customer base.
“Because you are growing in three dimensions instead of two, you can get a lot of food from a tiny footprint,” he says. “And it’s always in season indoors! Even if there’s two feet of snow on the ground outside, we can create the perfect growing conditions inside.”
The company’s proximity to customers is an important element in building trust. “At Square Roots, we’re literally in the same neighborhood as our customers,” says Peggs. He also suggests that building trust requires intentional transparency. To that end, Square Roots elected to install big windows on the modules so that passersby could see how the food was being grown and hosts open house community events on the farm once a monthfor city residents to tour the farms, meet the farmers, taste the food, and engage in a question-and-answer session.
“These notions of trust and transparency are baked into our values and into our product,” says Peggs. “It’s what people expect from modern food companies.”
At the end of one year with the company, trainees pass off their fully-running farming businesses to the next season’s entrepreneurs.
Because the farmer-entrepreneurs are only with the company for a year, the production modules are designed to be easy to understand and use, a significant difference from the knowledge intensity of traditional farming. Peggs doesn’t go so far as to describe the modules as “plug-and-play,” though, explaining that the training program receives substantial support from Square Roots’ head farmer Phil Cuddeback and from farming mentors who have worked at companies like Small Hold, Eden Works, Farm.One, and Gotham Greens
Their first cohort of ten entrepreneurs, which the company refers to as “Season 1,” graduated at the end of October 2017. Four of them are in the process of starting their own businesses, two moved into roles at companies working in the urban agriculture space, two have been rehired by Square Roots to work on research and development efforts, and one is staying on for a second season of production at Square Roots’ facility.
Square Roots raised US$5.4 million in funding in 2017 and aims to expand towards 20 cities by the year 2020.
Pieter De Smedt Comments on 2017 Investments On Vertical Farming
Pieter De Smedt Comments on 2017 Investments On Vertical Farming
Are you a grower or a technology company? You will have to make up your mind someday!
2017 marked another year where several of vertical farming's big names raised millions of dollars for their future development. Aerofarms closed on its 40 million USD series D, Bowery Farming secured 27.5 million USD for its series A, and of course Plenty locked in a whopping 200 million USD as well. What have these companies done with these type of funds in the past and what are they planning on doing with them now? Pieter De Smedt, US country manager for Urban Crop Solutions explains it to HortiDaily.com
"The answer is twofold. First, they plan to allocate the funds into substantial engineering and biological R&D to come up with an indoor growing system and operational playbook to grow crops efficiently (or improve their current set up). Second, they will use the other part of the funding to build and operate said system to expand a brand, grow produce and sell it into the market. But does that make sense?"
A young industry required companies to do the work on technology themselves
"Let us begin by saying that we understand why this approach arose. The industry is young. Companies that wanted to get into vertical farming until recently had almost no integrated technologies available. They were for that reason forced to invest in doing all of that themselves. This meant that all these different companies had to reinvent the wheel as well as make the same mistakes as had been made previously by someone else - just to get started farming indoor. As a result, each time millions were raised and spent on R&D just to arrive at that first operational vertical farm. As technology progressed, these companies were forced to again raise and invest millions into the continued improvement of their R&D, then to build, and lastly to grow and sell.
So now the question arises whether they should continue this loop or at least for how long they should. This is really a matter of what they believe the future will look like."
A future with defined roles for growers and technology providers
"If they continue, then in their vision of the future competition in the industry will comprise of brands of indoor produce growers competing against each other based on (among other things) who has developed the best technology and horticultural know-how in-house. This obviously puts a huge strain on any ambition of profitability as the company must earn back not only the cap-ex of the construction of the system but also of the immense (and continued) R&D investments that preceded it. With limited margins, we argue that that is not a realistic expectation.
If we compare with the more mature greenhouse growing industry, the future is likely to have technology providers on the one hand and growers on the other. Let us take the example of a greenhouse tomato grower. Each time this grower will want to open a new farm or update an old one, he looks at what is available in the market and asks the e.g. 10 leading technology providers (the greenhouse project developers) to present an offer that meets his needs. After careful consideration, he will proceed with the partner he feels most comfortable with. If two years later he wants to open another farm, the process is reiterated and perhaps a different technology provider wins that time. In this model, R&D capital investment on engineering and horticulture remain with the technology supply companies - as we argue they rationally should.
Maturing vertical farming industry
Translate this to the maturing vertical farming industry. What will the companies mentioned above do when they see their technology surpassed by that of a third party technology provider or when a technology provider starts offering new crops? Will they then continue to put venture capital funds into R&D to keep their own system competitive in the (unrealistic) hopes of earning those ever-increasing investments back by selling produce? No. They will have to become technology agnostics and purchase whichever technology on the market best fits their growing needs for a given project at a given time.
In this more mature market new types of entrants will change the playing field too. Whereas now we see primarily investor backed entrepreneurs entering the vertical farming industry, it is likely to assume that the existing incumbent growers, produce processors, as well as produce sellers will at one point also make their move. We predict that they will do so relying on technology providers – as they are doing now as well for their current precision ag and/or greenhouse production.
For the sake of completeness, let me emphasize that we are not saying that the grower will not be doing any R&D - of course they will. Every grower will have specific projects aimed at diversifying its portfolio of produce, improving process flow, cutting energy requirements, increasing yields, etc. and they should do this.
What we are saying though – and this can be construed as the conclusion of this text – Is that in a gradually maturing industry, companies will necessarily need to focus on the primary scope of their business if they want to be successful. That means growers will grow and sell produce while their suppliers will develop and provide the required technology. This will be key to ensure that the future of vertical farming is one of efficient, profitable, diverse, and global operations.
Pieter De Smedt is the US country manager for Urban Crop Solutions, a global indoor farming group building fully robotized vertical plant factories and containers with projects in Europe, North America, and South East Asia.
For more information:
Urban Crop Solutions
Grote Heerweg 67, 8791 Beveren-Leie (Waregem), Belgium
800 Brickell Avenue 1100 Suite, Miami (FL 33131), USA
+32 56 96 03 06
info@urbancropsolutions.com
sales@urbancropsolutions.com
urbancropsolutions.com
Indoor Farmers Report Access to Capital Is Biggest Challenge, Agrilyst Survey Says
While last year, indoor farmers reported the cost of operations as their biggest challenge, this year growers say that access to capital is their biggest hurdle, according to a new report from indoor farming software company Agrilyst.
Indoor Farmers Report Access to Capital Is Biggest Challenge, Agrilyst Survey Says
While last year, indoor farmers reported the cost of operations as their biggest challenge, this year growers say that access to capital is their biggest hurdle, according to a new report from indoor farming software company Agrilyst. It may seem impossible, with indoor farms like AeroFarms, Bowery Farming, and Plenty announcing large early rounds of venture funding, but indoor farming contains much more variety than these high tech coastal operations, as the annual Agrilyst report seeks to demonstrate.
Indoor Farming, on the whole, is maturing, according to the report and Agrilyst CEO Allison Kopf, with greenhouse operations making the most progress to date.
“I’m seeing the most maturation in the high-tech, smart greenhouse industry. Growers in greenhouse operations who have been operating for a number of years are perfecting growing methods and reinvesting profits into new technologies, instead of inventing systems and methods from scratch. Profit margins are pretty stable for these operations and both revenue and costs are incredibly stable across all facility sizes, whereas other facility types (like vertical farming) showed large spreads across different size and age facilities,” Kopf told AgFunderNews.
The report is the result of a survey of 150 indoor farms in eight countries and paints a picture of the financial health and hurdles of various kinds of indoor farming operations. A clear majority (81%) of respondents were US-based with 12% from Canada and 7% from other countries. Nearly half of respondents represent hydroponic farms, while 24% run soil-based operations, 15% aquaponics, 6% aeroponics, and 6% use a mixture of growing technologies.
The most dominant type of facility was glass or poly greenhouses (47%) followed by indoor vertical farms (30%), which generally convert existing industrial buildings. Plastics hoop houses, container farms and other types of structure make up the remaining 23% of respondents.
Costs Rise As Farms Grow Up
In terms of challenges, access to capital is followed by what the report calls “building-related” challenges such as pests and maintaining optimal growing environments followed by labor, and financial sustainability.
Indoor growers continue to focus on specialty crops to take advantage of high margins since operation expenses remain high, with labor at the top of the list.
While labor is a major cost center for all types of indoor farming, vertical farms require the most employees per square foot. “This makes automation technologies incredibly important as the industry matures,” concludes the report.
In terms of inputs, costs are generally split evenly between seeds, nutrients and grow media, except for vertical farms, where grow media represents half of input costs. The report explains that even in profitable vertical farming operations, the cost per square foot is $37.10 while the cost of a hydroponic operation is $13.86. While growing in stacked layers may mean that this difference isn’t as dramatic as it appears.
Profitability Depends on Farm Type and Crop, Not Tech
Profitability remains a challenge for indoor growers with only 51% of reporting farms operating profitably.
The type of farming operation most likely to be profitable according to the report, are indoor deep water culture operations followed by glass or poly greenhouses with 75% and 67% of respondents reporting profitability, respectively. The third most profitable growing method in the survey is container farms (50%) followed by indoor vertical farms (27%) and low-tech plastic “hoop houses” (25%).
The report notes however that “vertical farms reporting limited profitability is most likely because it is a new industry that is just beginning to mature.” Indeed even funding record-breaking vertical farm Plenty is less than five years old. The average age of the unprofitable farms was five years, while the average age of the profitable farms was seven years.
Flower-growing operations are by far most likely to profitable with 100% of farms in the survey reporting operating in the black. Flowers are followed by tomatoes with 67% profitability and micro greens with 60% profitability. Kopf said that this year’s survey did not receive responses from enough cannabis growers to include in the report, but cannabis likely remains the most profitable crop grown indoors.
The type of growing technology seems less correlated to profitability as most technology types range from 50-60% of farms reporting profitability with one exception. Only 25% of farms reporting using a mix of growing technologies operate profitably.
Common Misconceptions
The survey seeks to underline that indoor farming is not only an urban phenomenon, though urban operations generally receive more media attention and seem to draw more venture funding. What might come as a surprise to those who follow the big names in indoor farming is that the majority of respondents were in rural locations (47%) while urban farms made up 43% of respondents and the rest suburban.
“Indoor agriculture isn’t equivalent to urban farming. This is a big misconception. As evidenced by the data, indoor farms typically locate close to the point of sale or where efficiency can be maximized. For a tomato grower, this may mean locating a greenhouse in a rural area where energy is cheaper and closer to a distribution center,” reads the report.
It is also a common misconception that indoor farms can only grow tomatoes, greens, and cannabis. Though these are definitely staples of indoor farms, the crop assortment among the 150 operations surveyed is much more varied and includes: leafy greens, tomatoes, cannabis, flowers, microgreens, strawberries, herbs, cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, onions, leeks, hops, figs, sweet corn, eggplant, fish, insects, carrots, and shrimp but the main crops are leafy greens, microgreens, herbs, flowers, and tomatoes.