Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
Jake Savageau, COO At FarmBox Foods "There’s A Huge Potential In Helping African Countries Become Self-Reliant And Self-Sufficient”
We offer multiple products that can feed large populations with nutrient-dense food. With mushrooms, we are diversifying that vision because we cannot feed the world with leafy greens alone”, Savageau adds
FarmBox Foods is aiming to scale its production of shipping container farms significantly by the end of 2020. “We have been working with some exciting partners outside the private sector, like Ministries of Agriculture in West Africa. There’s a huge potential in helping African countries become self-reliant and self-sufficient”, Jake Savageau, COO at FarmBox Foods says.
FarmBox Foods holds patents for its vertical hydroponic and mushroom farms. “We are trying to grow the right way, not only in terms of scaling but in separating ourselves from the competition, with logistics as our core tenet. The competition doesn’t focus on logistics like we do, in terms of dealing with governments, and getting our farms deployed all over the world.
We offer multiple products that can feed large populations with nutrient-dense food. With mushrooms, we are diversifying that vision because we cannot feed the world with leafy greens alone”, Savageau adds. “Everyone is growing greens and raising tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, but what I think they are missing is becoming a full-circle food security entity.”
Gourmet mushrooms
Alternative energy solutions
The company is also working on solar power solutions which will eventually be used for running their farms off-grid. Atmospheric water generation technologies are also in the works—a vertical hydroponic farm uses three to five gallons (11.4-19 liters) of water per day. FarmBox Foods has partnered with a Denver company that develops microgrid systems. “As we start working with governments, they won’t be putting just one farm into a warehouse or village. Rather it will be 100 farms or more where there’s limited infrastructure. That’s why we want to ensure that our farms will be fully amenable to off-grid setups.”
It’s not about making money and raising money—it’s about feeding the world. The FarmBox Foods team ultimately offers a solution to a global problem. “We are not the only solution, but I think we are a pretty good one. Our system is very well-thought-out for the end-user. We built the farms to allow for the least amount of labor with the highest yield”, Savageau notes. Currently, FarmBox foods is developing its third product, a root vegetable farm which will allow an entirely new group of crops to be grown in its farms.
Jake Savageau, COO at FarmBox Foods
Savageau continues: “The mushroom farm is a bit different than our previous designs, but we have taken care of everything in just one container. So, from start to finish, we have everything inside that’s needed to produce up to 400 pounds (180kg) of gourmet mushrooms per week. Just like the vertical hydroponic farm, it’s deployable for national disasters or food shortages. There are benefits to small compartmentalized systems because when you have a large greenhouse, it cannot be moved easily. Island nations are particularly well suited for container farming because they can control their food supply in a way that was previously unimaginable”
For more information:
Farmbox Foods
Jake Savageau, COO
jake@farmboxfoods.com
www.farmboxfoods.com
Is Hydroponic Farming Actually Sustainable?
If you've ever wondered how sustainable hydroponic farming really is—or what exactly is involved in vertical farming—this article is for you.
September 4, 2020
According to the UN, the world is on the brink of its worst food crisis in 50 years.
The global food industry is searching for a more sustainable and accessible system for producing healthy food, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables. Techniques such as hydroponics and vertical farming may provide the solution by maximizing overall output and minimizing the use of space, soil, and other resources.
But what exactly is hydroponic farming? And is it actually sustainable?
Gotham Greens grows fresh produce such as leafy greens in urban greenhouses. | Image/Gotham Greens
What Is Hydroponic Farming?
There are a variety of different approaches to Hydroponic Farming. But they all involve growing plants and fresh produce minus the soil.
There are several main styles of hydroponic systems. One uses an absorbent wick to transfer nutrients from a water reservoir up to the roots of the crop. While others leave an air-gap, allowing part of the root system to absorb nutrients directly while the remainder is exposed to oxygen in the air.
Plants may also be positioned on a floating raft, or grown through a medium, into which water is regularly pumped. Top feeding also requires regular water circulation, while aeroponics involves leaving the roots completely exposed but frequently filling or misting the space with nutrient-enriched water.
Whatever the precise method used, hydroponics involves regular exposure to both air and nutrient-rich water. According to Vertical Roots, a South Carolina-based Indoor Hydroponic Container Farm, there are five core elements to hydroponic farming. These are freshwater, oxygen, root support, nutrients, and light.
By growing crops in water, vertically, and in climate-controlled greenhouses, Vertical Roots and other similar farms are able to produce nutrient-dense food anywhere in the world, at any time of year, and using fewer resources than traditional methods.
Hydroponic farming is more resource-efficient than traditional methods. | Image/Shawn Ang via Unsplash
Is Hydroponic Farming Sustainable?
Soil-less farming techniques, in general, are typically more resource-efficient long term than traditional methods. According to the National Parks Service (NPS), hydroponics can use up to 10 percent less water than field crop watering.
By operating a closed-loop system and recycling rainwater, high-tech greenhouse developer AppHarvest uses up to 90 percent less water than traditional methods.
Most hydroponic farms utilize closed-loop systems, like AppHarvest, that contain and preserve water. This control over the water system also allows for delicate adjustments to the environment. PH levels, amount and type of light, and quantity of nutrients can all be modified to enhance the growth of crops.
Emphasizing perennial agriculture—particularly in combination with vertical farming and hydroponics—can further maximize both production and nutritional content per-plant. Many perennials, which can be maintained all year round with no replanting, are extremely nutrient-dense.
Start-up costs for hydroponic systems are typically greater than for traditional farming. But overall, it produces far greater output with fewer resources. It also allows growers to produce food anywhere in the world. Thereby reducing the carbon emissions generated through transportation, and allowing for year-round production in even inhospitable environments or weather conditions.
In general, hydroponic systems can produce a greater yield of fruits and vegetables. This is in part due to the controlled environment, but also because plants can be housed much more densely than possible using traditional methods. This both increases the overall output and reduces the quantity of land required.
Vertical farming can decrease the amount of land used for fresh produce even further. | Image/Markus Spiske via Unsplash
What Is Vertical Farming?
Vertical farming involves the growing of vegetables in stacked layers, frequently in a controlled environment.
Vertical farming also requires much less land than traditional methods. Typically, it incorporates controlled-environment systems such as hydroponics to maximize output. The primary goal of vertical farming is to increase the crop yield while reducing the space required, much like hydroponics itself.
Vertical farming firm Infarm recently partnered with supermarket chain Marks & Spencer to grow fresh herbs in select stores. The company is also working with several retailers and chefs across Europe who aim to add small vertical farms to their restaurants and stores.
“Our vertical farms can be installed directly in any urban space,” said Emmanuel Evita, global communications director at Infarm. “Which is where the majority of the global population will live in the next few decades.”
It is particularly useful for growing produce in areas where there is a lack of arable land. In Abu Dhabi, where there are extremely high temperatures and increasing water scarcity, the government is investing $100 million in indoor farming.
Inner-city gardening, in general, also lends itself to vertical farming. While harder to create a controlled environment, guerilla gardening and other community-based projects have also made use of the vertical system. This enables greater access to fresh produce and reduced mileage overall, even with rudimentary systems in place.
Emphasizing perennial vegetables could also maximize nutrients, increase production, and reduce the consumption of resources.
Why Do We Need Alternative Farming Methods?
Studies indicate that the suburbanization of major supermarkets has led to food deserts within cities. This disproportionately impacts low-income people and those who live in urban areas. Traditional malnutrition affects around two billion people worldwide. But the Standard American Diet (SAD) and lack of access to fresh food is also responsible for chronic deficiencies.
Access to fresh fruit and vegetables is likely to become even more restrictive in the recession following the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. And even in countries with plenty of food, there will likely be further disruptions in the food supply chain.
In order to provide enough vegetables for the global population to maintain a healthy diet, food production would need to triple. Alternative methods such as vertical farming and hydroponics could provide a resource-efficient and accessible way of revolutionizing the global food industry.
Gotham Greens, a fresh food farming company, specifically choose to build sustainable greenhouses within cities. Local cultivation helps the company deliver products quickly and with minimal energy expenditure. This also allows those who live within urban areas access to fresh, nutrient-dense food, and to agricultural jobs.
AppHarvest is also creating jobs, minimizing its carbon footprint, and increasing its output with its choice of location. By opening a new facility in Morehead, Kentucky, the company is both tackling high local unemployment rates while placing itself less than one day’s drive from 70 percent of the U.S. population. This reduction in travel for delivery has dropped its overall diesel costs by 80 percent.
“It’s time for agriculture in America to change,” said Johnathan Webb, the founder, and CEO of AppHarvest. “The pandemic has demonstrated the need to establish more resilient food systems, and our work is on the forefront of that effort.”
STAFF WRITER | BRISTOL, UNITED KINGDOM | CONTACTABLE VIA: LIAM@LIVEKINDLY.COM
Liam writes about environmental and social sustainability, and the protection of animals. He has a BA Hons in English Literature and Film and also writes for Sustainable Business Magazine. Liam is interested in intersectional politics and DIY music.
Lead photo: How sustainable is hydroponic farming? | Image/Gotham Greens
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: This Vertical Farm Was Born In The Pandemic. Sales Are Up
The Vegetable Co. in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, grows vegetables under LED lights in a shipping container. “We were a nascent product in an uncertain market,” one of its founders said
The Vegetable Co. in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, grows vegetables under LED lights in a shipping container. “We were a nascent product in an uncertain market,” one of its founders said.Credit...Ian Teh for The New York Times
The Vegetable Co. Sits In A Shipping Container On The Edge of A Malaysian Parking Lot. It’s One of Many Small Farms Around The World Selling Directly To Consumers.
By Ian Teh and Mike Ives
Sept. 3, 2020
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The setup of the two friends’ agricultural venture was unusual. Their farm sat next to a gas station, inside a shipping container where the plants grew in vertically stacked shelves. And the timing of their first sales — during the early days of Malaysia’s coronavirus outbreak — seemed less than ideal.
“We were a nascent product in an uncertain market,” said Shawn Ng, 28, a co-founder of the vertical farm, the Vegetable Co. “We weren’t too sure if it would take off.”
“But somehow,” he added, “the market kind of played in our favor. ”As in-person shopping wanes during the pandemic, Mr. Ng’s Malaysia-based operation is one of many small farms around the world that are selling fresh produce directly to consumers in ways that bypass brick-and-mortar grocery stores.
Some farms sell on e-commerce platforms like Amazon or Lazada, Alibaba’s online emporium for Southeast Asia, or through smaller ones like Harvie, a Pennsylvania-based website that connects consumers with individual farms across the United States and Canada.
ImageShawn Ng, one of the Vegetable Co.’s founders, loaded freshly harvested produce into a car for delivery.Credit...Ian Teh for The New York Times
Others, like the Vegetable Co., sell directly to customers. “I was very ‘kan cheong’ during the lockdown period,” said one of Mr. Ng’s regular customers, Ayu Samsudin, using a Cantonese word for anxious. “Having fresh vegetables delivered to your doorstep was such a relief.”
The Vegetable Co. consists of a 320-square-foot shipping container on the edge of a parking lot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s largest city. It opened for business, with just a handful of customers, about a month before the country’s restrictive lockdown took effect in mid-March.
Revenue grew by 300 percent in the first few weeks, and the shipping container is now approaching production capacity because of high demand, said Mr. Ng’s business partner, Sha G.P.Apart from the gas station, the shipping container’s other neighbors are a driving range and an oil palm plantation. Inside, tightly packed shelves with hydroponic lettuce, sprouts and other vegetables grow under LED lights.
Mr. Ng on a delivery run in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia has weathered the pandemic relatively well, at least compared with other Southeast Asian countries.Credit...Ian Teh for The New York Times
The wallpaper outside the growing chamber shows blue sky and clouds, evoking the view from an old-fashioned farm. But employees pace the chamber’s narrow corridor wearing rubber gloves, surgical masks and white lab coats, as if it were a hospital ward.
The founders have scant experience with traditional farming, and they speak about their work with Silicon Valley-like jargon.
Mr. Sha, who has a master’s degree in management, said he first became interested in vertical farming after watching “The Martian,” the 2015 film in which an American astronaut played by Matt Damon is stranded on Mars and learns to grow his own food.
“I was lost in awe about the degree of precision in the technology along with the elegance of the solution to grow vegetables in a zero-gravity environment,” he said. “Since then, I have gone down the rabbit hole of independent research.”
Gudrun Olafsdottir, a Kuala Lumpur resident from Iceland, said the Vegetable Co. was one of the local businesses she was supporting with a “financial hug” during the pandemic.Credit...Ian Teh for The New York Times
The coronavirus took off in Malaysia in March, after an Islamic revivalist group’s gathering there became one of the pandemic’s biggest vectors in Southeast Asia. Since then, the country of about 32 million has weathered the outbreak relatively well, at least compared with some of its neighbors. As of Thursday, it had reported fewer than 10,000 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, according to a New York Times database.
Malaysia’s initial lockdown allowed only one person per household to go outside for essential errands, and the police enforced local travel restrictions with roadblocks.
But even though the rules were gradually loosened to let most businesses reopen, many urban Malaysians have maintained the online shopping habits they developed during the initial lockdown, said Audrey Goo, the founder of MyFishman, an e-commerce platform that connects fishermen from villages along the country’s west coast with consumers in Kuala Lumpur.
Gudrun Olafsdottir, a Kuala Lumpur resident from Iceland, said the Vegetable Co. was one of the local businesses she was supporting with a “financial hug” during the pandemic.Credit...Ian Teh for The New York Times
“Not many end users are willing to go back to the wet market,” said Ms. Goo, adding that her company’s sales had roughly doubled during the pandemic. “So I think the whole business model will continue to change.”
Mr. Ng said the Vegetable Co.’s parent company, Future Farms, was now seeking seed capital to finance an expansion into a larger facility. He recently hired an architect and a software developer to design it. For now, though, the operation remains modest. On a recent afternoon, Mr. Ng climbed into his car for a delivery run that snaked through low-rise residential neighborhoods, as the sun sank below Kuala Lumpur’s hazy downtown skyline.
One of the customers on the 40-plus-mile route, Gudrun Olafsdottir, said that along with yoga and meditation, greens from the Vegetable Co. were part of a routine that helped her keep physically and mentally fit during the pandemic.
Ms. Olafsdottir, who is from Iceland and works in retail, found the farm on Facebook through a local chef who specializes in raw and vegan cooking. She said it was one of several local businesses that she was supporting these days with a “financial hug.”
“I think that we could do so many things to support those in need if we just consciously choose how we spend our time and money,” she has written on her blog. “A hug and a squeeze.”
The farm is in a 320-square-foot shipping container near a gas station, a driving range and an oil palm plantation.Credit...Ian Teh for The New York Times
Ian Teh reported from Kuala Lumpur and Mike Ives from Hong Kong.
Horticulture Lighting Based on LEDs To Be Installed In Commercial Buildings, Breaking The Limitation of Plant Growth
Adding LED grow lights and smart cultivation system into commercial construction offer a solution for urban farming to enhance local food production
A new deal announced by Heliospectra, a Sweden based horticulture lighting technology provider, unveiled a new approach for achieving urban farming with LED grow lights.
(Image: Heliospectra)
Heliospectra reported that it has received an order from BBL Construction, who operates as a general contractor in the fields of commercial and institutional construction. According to Heliospectra, the two business partners are going to apply their expertise for several projects.
The partnership might indicate that LED grow light and vertical farming facilities are now considered a function to be integrated into commercial and institutional buildings, highlighting the trend of urban and indoor farming.
Increasing urban farming and indoor cultivation facilities are considered one of the prioritized projects for countries and area who used to rely heavily on imported food, as the food security issue was emphasized with the COVID-19 pandemic. Adding LED grow lights and smart cultivation system into commercial construction offer a solution for urban farming to enhance local food production.
IDTechEx Identifies Innovative Companies Changing The Face of Vertical Farming
Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly
Sep 02, 2020
BOSTON, Sept. 2, 2020,/PRNewswire/ -- Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly. By using LED lighting tailored to the exact needs of the crop, alongside advanced hydroponic growing systems, and growing crops in vertically stacked trays, vertical farms can achieve yields hundreds of times higher than the same area of traditional farmland.
Investors and entrepreneurs alike are excited about the potential of vertical farming to revolutionize the global food system and some vertical farming companies have raised dizzying amounts of money. Plenty, a San Francisco-based start-up, and the most well-funded vertical farm, has raised $401 million in funding, with backers including SoftBank, Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Fellow US start-ups AeroFarms and Bowery Farming are not far behind, with $238 million and $167.5 million in funding, respectively.
While there has been much attention on these companies and their exploits, there are dozens of other companies in the industry developing their own approaches to vertical farming. Here, we explore some of the most innovative vertical farming start-ups, based on the recent IDTechEx report, "Vertical Farming 2020-2030".
Freight Farms
Freight Farms is a Boston-based vertical farming company that manufactures "container farms", vertical farming systems installed into 40' mobile containers. Alongside its container farms, Freight Farms provides the farmhand software, a hydroponic farm management, and automation platform that also connects users with other Freight Farms customers. Container farms have many advantages - they are easy to transport, compact, and relatively cheap to set up in comparison to other vertical farming systems. Container farms are often turnkey systems, too, meaning that they require much less experience and expertise to operate than either a factory-scale vertical farm or indeed a traditional farm.
Freight Farms recently released its most advanced container farming system, the Greenery, which it believes is the most advanced container farming system in the world. The Greenery is a turnkey system that uses an array of sensors to continuously monitor the growing conditions inside the farm, with the farmhand software automatically making adjustments and planning watering cycles in order to provide the optimum environment for growing crops and allowing users to control their Greenery remotely from a smartphone.
80 Acres – Collaboration, Food Experience
Despite their potential, many vertical farming start-ups have struggled over the years with the labor costs and power requirements for running a high-tech indoor farm. This has often forced producers to sell their crops at a much higher price than conventionally farmed leafy greens. Additionally, many founders of vertical farming companies have little experience in the food industry and can struggle with the day-to-day realities of running a food production industry.
80 Acres is an Ohio-based vertical farming start-up aiming to overcome these challenges by constructing the world's first fully automated indoor farm. The company was founded in November 2015 by Tisha Livingston and Mike Zelkind, who between them have over 50 years' experience in the food industry. Collaboration is also important to 80 Acres. The company believes that vertical farming is a very multidisciplinary field, requiring collaboration between partners who are experts in their own discipline. Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) developed the LEDs used in the facility and Dutch greenhouse automation company Priva developed the control and fertigation systems, with 80 Acres using its experience in food to bring the system together and integrate the technology.
The company currently operates a 75,000 square foot facility in Hamilton, a suburb of Cincinnati, which is set to expand to 150,000 square feet in summer 2020 following a $40 million investment from Virgo Investment Group. When completed, 80 Acres claims this facility will be the world's first fully automated indoor farm. The farm will be automated from seeding to growing to harvesting, using robotics, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and around-the-clock monitoring sensors and control systems to optimize every aspect of growing produce indoors.
Jones Food Company
Jones Food Company is a British vertical farming start-up that operates Europe's largest vertical farm out of a warehouse in Scunthorpe, UK. It was founded in 2016 by James Lloyd-Jones and Paul Challinor, who wanted to build the largest vertical farming facility that they could in order to help overcome some of the operational problems plaguing the industry and bring vertical farming to the mainstream. After visiting several vertical farms in Japan, they decide that the only way to make vertical farming a success is to focus on scale and automation.
Jones Food Company focuses on maximizing automation and robotics in their facility to minimize operating costs, with its facility being modeled on a car factory, with the growing process resembling a production line - over the 25-day growing period, plants move from one end of the facility to another. Much of the work is done by machines, helping to reduce labor costs. Harvesting is carried out by bespoke machines and the heavy lifting is performed by a robot called Frank. This focus on automation means that only six employees are required to operate the Scunthorpe facility.
Jones Food Company has partnered with UK online grocery company Ocado, which currently owns about 70% of the business. Through this partnership, Jones Food Company is aiming to set up vertical farms next to Ocado's grocery depots, meaning that fresh produce could be delivered to shoppers within an hour of being picked.
Infarm
Infarm is a Berlin-based start-up that sells modular, hydroponic vertical farms for growing leafy greens and herbs in supermarkets, schools, and offices. A single two-square meter unit can grow 8,000 plants in a year, with the company claiming its farms use 95% less water than soil-based farms, take up 99.5% less space, use zero chemical pesticides, need 90% less transportation, and use 75% less fertilizer.
Infarm has partnered with several major supermarkets across Europe, where it has currently deployed over 500 farms in stores and distribution centers. The company is also beginning to expand in the USA, having recently partnered with Kroger to trial its indoor farms in two QFC stores in Seattle. In the UK, it has partnered with supermarket chain Marks & Spencer, which is trialing in-store urban farming in seven locations in London, growing Italian basil, Greek basil, Bordeaux basil, mint, mountain coriander, thyme, and curly parsley.
The company's business model is based around an "agriculture-as-a-service" model. The modular farms remain the property of Infarm, which receives income per harvested plant. Infarm then coordinates with clients such as retailers and takes care of the farm including installation, cultivation, harvesting, and maintenance. Aside from the regular visits by service personnel to plant new plants, the farms are controlled remotely. This modular, data-driven, and distributed approach — a combination of big data, IoT, and cloud analytics — sets Infarm apart from competitors. From a price point, Infarm is attractive for supermarkets, which get a better product at the same price. In addition, the plants, especially herbs, are harvested fresh, preserving color, smell, flavor, and nutrients.
For more information about the vertical farming industry and the innovative companies operating within the space, please see the recent IDTechEx report, "Vertical Farming 2020-2030", www.IDTechEx.com/VertFarm or for the full portfolio of related research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research.
IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Consultancy, and Event products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information on IDTechEx Research and Consultancy, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.
USA - KENTUCKY - Plan: Convert Coal Mine Into Vertical Farm
The company’s business model involves acquiring former coal mines and other industrial sites and convert them into sustainable community development projects
August 27, 2020
By Wes Mills, Content Manager
FISHERS - Fishers-based Land Betterment Corp. is putting in a bid for an abandoned coal mining operation in western Kentucky, with hopes to turn the land into an ag-tech focused business development.
The company’s business model involves acquiring former coal mines and other industrial sites and convert them into sustainable community development projects.
In June, Inside INdiana Business reported on Land Betterment’s plan to convert an old mine in Greene county into farm-to-bottle craft distillery.
The company says it made an offer to acquire certain assets of the Kentucky thermal coal mining operation after the mine’s owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.
“If it were to be successful in the acquisition, Land Betterment plans to permanently close the thermal coal operations, undertake the complete environmental remediation of the land associated with the mining complex, and establish new businesses on the land to create economic diversification and jobs that support the local communities in a new and sustainable way,” said a company statement.
Land Betterment’s plan includes upcycling the 280-acre property into an ag-tech location for indoor vertical farms and a number of bee apiaries.
It also wants to place a commercial-grade solar farm on up to 200 acres of the land.
Singapore’s Giant Vertical Farm Grows 80 Tons of Vegetables Every Year
The farm was founded by Panasonic, and it uses LED lights to quickly and efficiently grow produce indoors without depending on unpredictable weather conditions. Panasonic believes indoor farming is a key to the future that could solve food supply issues worldwide
by Lacy Cooke
This vertical farm in Singapore grows a whopping 80 tons of veggies every single year. The farm was founded by Panasonic, and it uses LED lights to quickly and efficiently grow produce indoors without depending on unpredictable weather conditions. Panasonic believes indoor farming is a key to the future that could solve food supply issues worldwide.
Panasonic started their indoor farm in a 2,670 square foot space and initially produced 3.6 tons of vegetables per year. But the company’s Agriculture Business Division assistant manager Alfred Tham recently told Business Insider that the farm has quadrupled its square footage and food output.
Vertical farming allows Panasonic to make the most of the warehouse space, although they do grow their plants in soil in contrast to many vertical farms. They source their LED lights from a local company. Rather than depending on sunlight or rain showers, the farmers can control the indoor farm’s climate – including pH levels, temperature, and oxygen.
40 varieties of crops grow in the indoor farm – from mizuna to romaine lettuce, mini red radishes, and Swiss chard. But the goal is to start cultivating 30 additional varieties by March of this year. Right now the flourishing farm accounts for just 0.015 percent of produce grown in the country, but Panasonic hopes to boost that statistic up to five percent. As Singapore currently imports more than 90 percent of its food, indoor farms could enable the island nation to become more self-sufficient.
Panasonic is selling the indoor farm’s produce under the brand name Veggie Life, and a three-ounce bowl of greens goes for around $5 in grocery stores. They also sell their produce to local restaurants.
Via Business Insider
Lifestyle Food Sustainable Agriculture, Food, Gardening, News, Sustainable
First Indoor Basil Harvested In Delphy Improvement Center
Meulendijks has been working on the development of practical cultivation knowledge for Vertical Farms. Growth factors such as climate, light and irrigation can easily be varied in the test chambers.
The first batch of indoor-grown basil was harvested at the Delphy Improvement Centre. Since May, Lisanne Meulendijks has been working on the development of practical cultivation knowledge for Vertical Farms. Growth factors such as climate, light and irrigation can easily be varied in the test chambers.
Because of this flexibility, experiments can be conducted to see how cultivation in a Vertical Farm can be optimized. The focus is on analyzing the plant’s growth process. In a Vertical Farm, the plant influences its own growing environment relatively strongly which creates a microclimate around the crop that deviates from the controlled climate in the chamber.
Lisanne in the climate chamber
Cultivation factors
The degree of exchange between these climates depends on the design of the Vertical Farm. In order to fully utilize the potential of a Vertical Farm, optimization of the growth recipes should be based on this principle, because it is ultimately the microclimate that controls the growth of the plant.
By approaching the research from this angle and looking at the effect of the different cultivation factors on the plant, it is possible to formulate growing advice that is specific for different Vertical Farming facilities.
Light intensity
The first experiment looked at the effect of increasing light intensity on the growth of basil, in combination with testing different types of substrate. By using sensors on and around the plant, the growth was closely monitored and could be linked to the microclimate between the crop and the macro climate in the cell. This led to interesting and tasty first results, says Lisanne.
Investigating business questions
The graph shows the relation between increasing light intensity and annual production: the more light, the steeper the curve, the faster the plants growth. The fact that the plant grows faster with more light is of course nothing new.
What makes these results interesting is that each growth curve can be expressed in a formula and the error margin around the curves is small, Lisanne explains. This is because the growing conditions within a Vertical Farm are completely under control. Cultivation practices can then be optimized using the formulas behind these kind of curves.
It becomes possible to formulate answers to questions such as: “How does an investment in extra light affect my yield? How many days after germination is best to harvest to maximize my yield?”
These are important business aspects for production. "Through our application-oriented research, we develop knowledge that responds to these kinds of practical questions."
Fresh weight of the basil plotted as a function of light intensity and days after germination.
This experiment is part of the Fieldlab Vertical Farming South Holland project. This project has in part been made possible by the European Fund for Regional Development of the European Union and a contribution from the Province of South Holland.
For more information:
Delphy
www.delphy.nl
Publication date: Wed 15 Jul 2020
Ocado Boosts Stake In Vertical Farming Specialist Jones Food Co
The online grocery giant bought a 58% stake in Jones Food Co in November 2019 and is understood to have exercised an option in that deal to grow its ownership to approximately 70% of the company
By Alec Mattinson, George Nott
28 August 2020
Ocado Has Upped Its Stake In Vertical Farming Specialist
Jones Food Company To Help
Support The Building of More Farms Next Year
The online grocery giant bought a 58% stake in Jones Food Co in November 2019 and is understood to have exercised an option in that deal to grow its ownership to approximately 70% of the company.
Ocado’s investment will help the indoor produce grower build three more farms in the UK before the end of 2021.
CEO and founder, James Lloyd-Jones told The Grocer: “Their investment is helping us very keenly understand all aspects of the systems we’re building, so we can make sure we’ve got price parity with field and greenhouse-grown, year-round.”
Scunthorpe-based Jones Food Co is Europe’s largest vertical farm operation, with its 5,000 sq m facility stacking up 12 metres high over 17 layers of produce.
Ocado invested in the company as part of a wider £17m bet on vertical farming that also saw it form a joint venture Netherlands-based Priva and US-based 80 Acres called Infinite Acres.
Ocado does not currently list products from its vertical farm operations on its site but hopes to build vertical farms next to or within its CFCs and Ocado Zoom micro fulfillment centres and has mooted plans to open as many as 10 within five years.
The farm’s first crop was harvested in November 2018 and was sold to food-to-go specialist Greencore.
“We want to provide any sort of crop, grown at a value anyone can buy,” Lloyd-Jones said. “I want vertical farming to become boring and not exciting and techy because the minute it’s boring we’ve cracked it.”
Topics: Finance Mergers & acquisitions Ocado Technology
Is Vertical Farming The Future of Herb Cultivation?
“With vertical farming, I can plant a herb, and can be sure it'll ready to sell in five weeks,” says Berjelle. “You also have certainty about your product’s quality. That’s because the product is optimally controlled. The plant grows evenly, thanks to the LED lighting, so it tastes better too."
Berjelle van Namen, Van Namen Specialties
Berjelle van Namen’s roots lie primarily in mushroom cultivation. His father, Johan, has a farm on the banks of the Maas river in the Netherlands. Yet, a few years ago, Berjelle decided to add herb cultivation. Not in a greenhouse or in full soil; in a converted mushroom cultivation cell.
The room is illuminated with violet-colored LED bulbs, and the containers holding the herbs are stacked, one atop the other. This can clearly be considered vertical farming. This concept is gaining increasing popularity among farmers - especially those who grow herbs, leafy and micro vegetables, and edible flowers.
There have even recently been trials with soft fruit. It’s been standard practice in the mushroom world for some time now. Hence the relationship between Van Namen mushrooms and the herbs of Van Namen Specialties.
For Berjelle, it started as an experiment. He encountered this cultivation method during his internship in Finland. There, at Robbe’s Little Garden, they grow lettuce, herbs, and micro vegetables in this way. According to Berjelle, vertical farming offers numerous advantages over traditional herb cultivation.
Vertical farming’s advantages
“With vertical farming, I can plant a herb, and can be sure it'll ready to sell in five weeks,” says Berjelle. “You also have certainty about your product’s quality. That’s because the product is optimally controlled. The plant grows evenly, thanks to the LED lighting, so it tastes better too."
"It satisfies clients, who are increasingly demanding just-in-time delivery of products like herbs. Of course, we mustn’t forget the sustainable character of this cultivation method. Especially since farming like this uses very little gas and no pesticides. We’re looking for ways to be highly energy-efficient too.”
There was a demand for herbs
Berjelle now grows about 12 kinds of herbs and has added a second cell. “In this way, we can vary cultivation conditions like using different temperatures," explains van Namen. "Basil is our top seller. It’s a popular herb that sells well. It’s followed by herbs such as parsley and mint.”
Berjelles sells his herbs under the company’s own brand, Pika Surprisa, and Esperanto for ‘spicy surprises’. Still, Berjelle points out that it’s mainly enjoyable to cultivate and experiment with these herbs. “It’s not quite profitable yet. To achieve this, you’d have to seriously consider scaling up and adding rooms."
"You’d also have to see if you want to grow only one variety. We chose to grow herbs mainly because of the increasing demand for year-round delivery and consistent quality. Vertical farming guarantees this. You can also be relatively lazy with your purchases. You know what you’ll get on the day you want it."
"From the cultivation side, there aren’t as many operational issues either. Although you always have to deal with that. The only thing is, it doesn’t save labor; hands are still needed in that cell,” admits Berjelle.
Herb sales differ from those of mushrooms. “We’ve attracted many new clients who really only buy herbs, and we’ve noticed fewer clients buying both. We keep these two products separate. That’s why the herbs fall under Van Namen Specialties. For example, we export mushrooms to countries like Germany and the UK, but not yet our herbs. Perhaps we will in the future.”
For the coming months, Van Namen’s main goal is to make it through the corona crisis successfully. “The mushroom market was very volatile in these unusual times. It’s slowly recovering, but it still has a long way to go. There aren’t any major developments planned for the rest of the year, either. Now, it's mostly a matter of serving our clients well,” Berjelle concludes.
More information:
Van Namen Specialties
www.vannamenspecialties.nl
Berjelle van Namen
berjelle@vannamenspecialties.nl
Publication date: Thu 27 Aug 2020
Author: Thom Dobbelaar
© FreshPlaza.com
PODCAST: Vertical Farming - Fork Farms: Growing Food For Positive Change - Alex Tyink
Alex Tyink is the President of Fork Farms, an organization that started on the principle that growing fresh and healthy food is a vehicle for positive change in the world. It is their belief that having consistent access to the freshest, highest quality food is a human right.
Alex Tyink is the President of Fork Farms, an organization that started on the principle that growing fresh and healthy food is a vehicle for positive change in the world. It is their belief that having consistent access to the freshest, highest quality food is a human right. Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he and Alex discuss Alex’s unorthodox path to entrepreneurship, hydroponic farming and the impact Covid-19 has had on Alex’s business, Fork Farms.
Click on the Above Image to Access the August 25th, 2020 Podcast
Key Takeaways
02:54 – Alex expounds on the impact Covid-19 has had on his business, Fork Farms, and how he got involved in AgTech
13:02 – Where Alex got his entrepreneurial drive and motivation and Alex’s experience moving to NYC
20:12 – Alex breaks down the business model of Fork Farms, the curriculum package they offer and the idea behind Flex Farm
32:28 – What Alex has learned throughout his entrepreneurial journey in AgTech
37:55 – Challenges and obstacles Alex has had to overcome as he continues to grow his team and business
43:14 – Alex talks about what excites him the most about the future of Fork Farms, AgTech, and a tough question he had to ask himself recently
50:29 – Harry thanks Alex for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can connect and engage with Alex and Fork Farms
THAILAND: "We Are Lacking Research Here To Backup The Benefits of Indoor Growing"
Thai startup Wangree Fresh has been in the market for over two years now. Krisana Tamvimol, Founder and CEO has done research on more than 200 local vegetables
Thai startup Wangree Fresh has been in the market for over two years now. Krisana Tamvimol, Founder and CEO has done research on more than 200 local vegetables. Eventually, he decided to grow four different vegetables in his Wangree Fresh farm: kale, spinach, rockets and swiss chard. Wangree Fresh has had no problems with incoming orders during the pandemic.
He says: “We’ve had an increase in orders as people wanted more clean and home-delivered vegetables, in the comfort of their own house. Having reached our capacity, we haven’t been able to grow any further beyond that. Now with the pandemic, our company growth is put on hold as we cannot get into new investments and expand our business to meet the growing demand. Our supplies are still constant and we will keep producing at maximum capacity.”
Founder and CEO, Krisana Tamvimol
Under construction
The Siam Pun Sun factory, an 1800 m2 farm, will supply 50 tons of vegetables per month. The construction is about 80% completed and will be fully completed at the end of this year. The new farm is looking into giving educational courses as well. Wangree Fresh will provide educational courses on the new property as well. “I want to share my knowledge of vertical farming and my researches. So, I would love to train more people and teach them more about vertical farming so they can become engineers, scientists, or other”, Tamvimol adds.
The farm's end result
It is no coincidence that Tamvimol has established his new farm there. The farm will be located nearby the Wat Pra Baht Nam Phu temple, which is 120km north of Bangkok. The temple is run by monks who are treating people with medical needs and therefore many underprivileged people are relying on their help.
Tamvimol sees the new farm as a corporate social responsibility project because, once the construction has been completed and the net revenue has come in, all revenue will go directly to the temple. “This will help with the operations of the temple and its maintenance, so the temple won’t be in need of donors anymore. Essentially, the temple will return Siam Pun Suk’s fresh produce to its formal donors as a sign of gratitude.”
The 1800 m2 Siam Pun Sun factory
Supermarkets as a direct competitor
The company sells four different kinds of vegetables, namely kale, spinach, rockets and swiss chard. Simply because we have a pretty good calling price for them. Normally, vegetables of the same species are much more expensive in supermarkets than to what we offer. Our quality is even better. “We are competing with supermarkets in terms of price and quality. We are still researching and looking into strawberries and other fruits, but for now we haven’t gotten that far yet in terms of production”, Tamvimol says. Currently, Wangree Fresh consists of one farm and sells its products under two brands: Wangree Health, the organic wing and Wangree Fresh, using new technologies the company has been reversing over the years.
The farm currently produces at maximum capacity
Although supermarkets have been in the market for a longer time, they can’t produce in the high volume and quality like Wangree Fresh can. He continues: “Quality-wise, we are the best producers of these kinds of vegetables in Thailand. We haven’t been able to address demand in supermarkets yet”, Tamvimol confirms. He says that high-quality and clean food is mostly preferred in urban areas. However, supermarkets in the sub-urban areas do not sell this kind of high-value vegetables.
“We haven’t been able to address the demand in supermarkets so far. Simply, because we have a subscription model and we haven’t been able to address the demand of our subscribers just yet”, Tamvimol says. Since February, the company has gone from 1000 to 2000 subscriptions. Previously, we used to have 1000 subscribers and home-delivered vegetables to them on-time.”
Because the subscriptions doubled during the pandemic, the home-delivery time became longer as well. “We were at maximum capacity already, but we wanted to keep making our customers happy. A guarantee to deliver the fresh produce within 24h e.g., to maintain the freshness of the vegetables”, he adds.
Franchise model
In the future, Wangree Fresh might consider having a franchise. “As in, people signing up to use our system. However, at this point, I have my hands dirty on researching the entire growing system. There might come a franchise model where people can sign up for the consultation of our design and construction of the system. The system needs fine tuning all the time, so it’s not easy to sell it off as one package”, Tamvimol states.
Vertical farming system
“There are two main difficulties in vertical farming here. One is the adoption of new technologies. The Thai people and mostly farmers are not bold enough to try new things. They use their own systems that have been used for over decades” Tamvimol says. It’s hard for Tamvimol to get them involved and for them to try the new systems. “The second thing is that there aren’t many vertical farming systems available in Thailand. Next to that, most of the academic works are conducted by foreign researchers and we are lacking researches here to back up the benefits of indoor growing”, he says.
An impression of Tamvimol's growing system
Tamvimol has done a lot of research on technology, hardware and factors of finetuning his system. He grew up in Chiang Mai, where the main business is agriculture, and used to work in the computer hardware business. After an academic tour to Japan, he became involved with vertical farming. That’s when he decided to combine his experience in digital technology and agriculture. After spending the past few years on research: finding the right formula to grow any kind of vegetable and how many vegetables he needs to grow to generate a good return on investments.
For more information:
Wangree Fresh
Krisana Tamvimol, CEO
krisana@wangreefresh.com
www.wangreefresh.com
Publication date: Mon 24 Aug 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com
Pablo Bunster, Co-founder and CCO of AgroUrbana “In Our Next Farm, We Will Be Able To Use 100% Renewable Energy”
As Chile has been in a complete lockdown since mid-May, AgroUrbana is lucky to continue its operations. “It’s not easy, because you have to change the way of operating, the interactions, and in-farm activities, even when food safety was already key to the company culture
As Chile has been in a complete lockdown since mid-May, AgroUrbana is lucky to continue its operations. “It’s not easy, because you have to change the way of operating, the interactions, and in-farm activities, even when food safety was already key to the company culture. Our customers have been ordering through home delivery”, Cristián Sjögren, Co-founder and CEO of AgroUrbana says.
Renewable energy
Bunster notes: “It took us from the energy market, from renewable energy, to farming. We believe that this is the perfect testing round to see what vertical farming can do.” Chile has drought, cheap labor, we have competitive, available and abundant renewables. Which is always a discussion around vertical farming. We manage sunlight here as we use 100% renewable energy PPA. However, we cannot do this with our pilot because the overall consumption is too low, so we have to regulate it. In our next farm, we will be able to go 100% renewable. That puts a lot toward sustainability for vertical farming.” The urban population is growing fast in Latin America. AgroUrbana believes that vertical farming can accommodate that food demand.
“Our next stage is, going commercial to a scale where we can bring costs down”, Bunster continues. “First, we thought of a small community distributed model with a few small blocks around, such as container farms. But, we believe that scale is still required as you can become more competitive with higher efficiency.
“First, we’re farmers and technology comes to serve that purpose be the best farmers! We are developing some technologies internally to run our farms, but our focus now is how we can actually rate the curve of cutting costs to make our products increasingly competitive. We want to stay out of the commodity but still reach the masses. Our mantra is to deliver better quality food to everyone”, Sjögren adds.
Pablo Bunster harvesting some fresh lettuce
Pilot farm
Sjögren states: “We started with a pilot farm, because vertical farming is something completely new in Latin America.” Before launching a new category for Agriculture in Chile, Sjögren and Bunster wanted to understand the economics of vertical farming. They took an approach of technology-agnostic by building a 3000 sq. ft pilot farm, where different technologies are tested. The 18-month pilot phase will be completed by the end of this year.
“We are integrating our own recipe that combines the seeds nature provides us with its nutrition and environmental parameters. Next to that, we are constantly improving and optimizing our operations in order to drive down costs”, Bunster adds. These quantities are allocated in a 3000 sq. ft farm which is not a large production, Sjögren noted, but this is done to test the market, integrate and develop our technology and do R&D in new varieties. AgroUrbana is planning on scaling up throughout Chile in 2021 with an aim to further expand into the new markets, mainly large urban areas, in the region in the next years.
“Chile is a perfect testing ground to start, test and stress what vertical farming can do, due to the Mediterranean weather we have, favorable to open farming, but also abundant and competitive renewable energy. We both spent our last ten years in the wind- and solar energy industry. Renewables will help AgroUrbana close the gap between traditional agriculture and vertical farming”, Sjögren says.
The country has suffered from climate change, with a 10-year drought that highly affected Chilean agriculture. AgroUrbana has achieved surprising improvements in its yield. “We are planning to transfer all this knowledge to our next farm, a 30,000 sq. ft commercial-scale farm. In the upcoming months, we are doing funding rounds in order to help us realize this farm.
Sjögren says that AgroUrbana is going to pilot in the berry space as well, such as strawberries. “We are starting a pilot to test the different varieties of strawberries. Next to that, we are developing edible flowers and some microgreens”, Sjögren affirms. Most of the volume is lettuce, but we will be rolling out other leafy greens and we will see how it goes with the other crops.
Carmelo platform
“There are many components such as climate control, irrigation, growing structures, and so on. We want to put all the pieces together and operate these very efficiently”, Sjögren states. The company is developing a technology ‘Carmelo’, a platform of sensors with hardware and software to monitor and control our operations. “We are at a level of precision, where we are able to handle the microclimates within the farm. Using Carmelo, we are collecting data already for over one year which is helping us to become even more precise and consistent.” All data gathered will be used for our first large scale commercial farm planned for 2021.
“We’re all about technology and data because that’s how you drive down the costs. We are combining genetics, giving the perfect climate, and the perfect environment. Carmelo is all about finetuning the recipe we’re creating, through managing a farm, and having consistent quality food, every day of the year”, Bunster adds.
Product pricing
“Our team is in good spirits as we have been keeping up production. The pandemic hit us hard, but we were able to relocate all production to different distribution channels, such as e-commerce, supermarkets and subscriptions”, Bunster states. We were planning on doing that already, but we accelerated our go-to-market because of the current situation. “There’s no going back on e-commerce because customers are getting used to it. If we can take our produce to e-commerce, keep our customers satisfied and easy about always getting the perfect product, they’ll always order it online. It’s something we already wanted to do and we are currently testing and proving it. So far, we’re doing okay”, Bunster adds.
AgroUrbana has two markets, one of them being retail with a fast pace opening of new distribution for their products, with 100% recyclable packaging. Furthermore, the company delivers its products to restaurants. Since one year, AgroUrbana has launched its own house mix of lettuce.
Cristián Sjögren and his colleague preparing the plugs for planting
Bunster mentioned that AgroUrbana is selling to restaurants that are price sensitive. Meaning that they care about food quality and the costs. “Here’s where food waste comes into play. We do not have any food waste. We’re coming to the point where most of what we grow, we’re able to process and sell. In restaurants only, we’re saving between 25-35% food of waste in leafy greens. We are very efficient in logistics as we don’t truck. We move food for a few miles from our farms to the kitchens of different clients. This helps us to make numbers for a competitive market.”
Focusing on the next generation
“It has been exciting to put our team together because nobody has a vertical farming degree on its resumé. We’re really excited to prepare the next generation of vertical farmers. We’re putting together different skills and attracting the next generation of farmers that want to move from the countryside to the city. It’s an attractive way to get a generation back to growing veggies in the city with a lot of interaction with technology”, Sjögren ends.
For more information:
AgroUrbana
Cristián Sjögren, Co-Founder and CEO
cristian.sjogren@agrourbana.ag
Pablo Bunster, Co-Founder and CCO
pablo.bunster@agrourbana.ag
www.agrourbana.ag
Publication date: Tue 25 Aug 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com
Producing Seedlings In An Off-Grid LED Lit Vertical Farming Facility
Plant Raisers Ltd, the largest propagator of glasshouse salad crops in the UK, has in addition to a recent expansion of its conventional glasshouse facility, partnered with sister company IGrowing Ltd to develop a system to produce seedlings using an off-grid LED lit vertical farming facility
How Plant Raisers Ltd Are Taking Propagation ‘Off Grid’
Plant Raisers Ltd, the largest propagator of glasshouse salad crops in the UK, has in addition to a recent expansion of its conventional glasshouse facility, partnered with sister company IGrowing Ltd to develop a system to produce seedlings using an off-grid LED lit vertical farming facility.
Eliminating carbon footprint
The concept has been designed to eliminate the carbon footprint associated with vertical farming and maximize the yield of seedlings per unit of electricity. To achieve this, every aspect of power demand for urban farming systems was analyzed and optimized. A key focus in developing a sustainable and efficient vertical plant production system targeted the excess heat created by the inefficiency of existing systems. Eliminating this waste energy has allowed the parasitic loads associated with heat management to be negated saving energy and unnecessary capital cost and making off-grid operation a reality.
LED fixture and power infrastructure producing negligible heat
The first task for the designers was to produce an LED fixture and power infrastructure which produced negligible heat. Collaboration with Extreme Low Energy, a UK company with knowledge and expertise in DC infrastructures provided the electrical solution and the APP-based control system that delivered crop-specific lighting recipes. Several iterations of light unit design were required before the targeted level of energy efficiency and lighting performance was achieved. The end result is a bespoke fixture that has excellent light uniformity, full spectral and intensity control and emits virtually no waste heat. The control of spectral lighting recipe and duration allows for further energy gains building on Plant Raiser’s horticultural understanding of crop requirements at each stage of growth. Additionally, as the luminaires are only 8 mm thick there is an opportunity to maximize the number of growing levels in any given space maximizing space utilization.
With no surplus heat load from the installation, controlling the environment required a different approach to the conventional HVAC systems. Instead, environmental control is provided by fans and sensors. These are switched by the App-based program which allows for remote control at any time of day or night. The app also has the ability to continuously record data to aid management decisions on the most appropriate climate and lighting settings.
Container system with low energy demand
The total energy demand of the container system is now so low that it can support off-grid production with power provided by locally mounted solar panels and/or a small scale wind turbine with a stand by gas generator available as an optional extra. Battery technology allows storage and control of the power generation. These aspects are also controlled and monitored using the app-based program.
The resulting system is the culmination of over three years' research at Plant Raisers Ltd focussed on containerized growing seedlings with the minimum energy input. The project is now fully operational and will be further developed by iGrowing Ltd for customer-specific applications. The system components can also be fitted into larger vertical farm developments looking to take advantage of the energy savings and design methodology.
For more information:
Nick Denham
iGrowing Ltd
nick@igrowing.co.uk
Dubai's Green Revolution Starts At Its Vertical Farms in The Middle of The Desert
Dubai is determined to start its green revolution through its ultra-modern vertical farm in the middle of the desert
Erika P. August 18, 2020
Dubai is determined to start its green revolution through its ultra-modern vertical farm in the middle of the desert. The country decided on this project, hoping to end its dependency on food imports. One of the vertical farms in Dubai, Al-Badia market garden farm, grows a range of vegetable crops in a multi-story set-up. Inside the facility, they make sure that the plants get proper lighting and irrigation while recycling 90% of the water the facility uses.
Basel Jammal, the farm's director, said that their project is a green revolution located in the middle of the desert. It is as if the crops were a guest in a five-star hotel complete with amenities essential for its survival: the right amount of light, humidity, heat, and water.
Inside the futuristic indoor farm that could revolutionize agriculture in the UAE Screenshot from YouTube ( Photo: YouTube)
Dubai's Vertical Farm
The United Arab Emirates relies heavily on food imports, and Dubai is no exception to that. However, food security is of concern, especially in a region where geopolitical tensions may arise unexpectedly.
The UAE started buying and leasing agricultural lands in east Africa and in other countries to prevent food shortages even in times of crisis more than ten years ago, . But they aim to eradicate dependence on food imports, giving birth to different agricultural strategies, such as stockpiling and ultra-modern agriculture.
Jammal said that his farm is the "choice for the future" as high-tech computers control the facility. They aim to produce their own crops all year round without relying on imports, or worrying about climate change, drought, or rainfall.
Several vertical farms have also started in Dubai in the past years, such as in less-developed areas in Al-Ain and the mountainous Ras al-Khaimah.
Abdellatif al-Banna uses the hydroponics technology in growing his pineapples that he sells online. He experimented with growing fruits, vegetables, and wheat on his farm. Even in colder months, he was able to produce enough grain for his family in what he hopes as a prototype.
Meanwhile, in an area not far from the skyscrapers of Dubai is a farm that cares for cows in air-conditioned sheds, helping the local market to produce dairy products. They were also rearing salmon in large tanks overseen by a control room despite the scorching heat outside the farm.
Dubai Has More Than Enough Food for the Entire Country
Although these vertical and high-tech farms are privately owned, the government is even encouraging such innovations, said Dubai's Food Security Committee chair Omar Bouchehab.
The Emirati government has launched a plan to raise agricultural production in Dubai by 15% in 2021 and boost using agricultural technologies, Bouchehab said.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, Dubai did not experience shortages in food supplies, unlike other countries that saw shelves stripped of tinned goods, pasta, and toilet papers. It's all thanks to the airborne cargo services of the giant carrier Emirates. The country even promised to re-export various goods to its neighboring countries."
Dubai has an adequate infrastructure and a stock capable of meeting the needs of the United Arab Emirates, and even the needs of neighboring countries," said Fresh Market Executive director Redha al-Mansouri.
Coronavirus Crisis Fuels Interest In Vertical Farming
The coronavirus pandemic has been a major worry for many British farmers, threatening access to agricultural labor and complicating international supply chains. But for proponents of indoor farming, the crisis has offered an opportunity
The coronavirus pandemic has been a major worry for many British farmers, threatening access to agricultural labor and complicating international supply chains. But for proponents of indoor farming, the crisis has offered an opportunity.
David Farquhar, chief executive of technology developer Intelligent Growth Solutions, says the pandemic has prompted a spike in interest in ‘vertical farms’, where batches of crops can be individually watered, fed and lit using LED lights, allowing them to be grown year-round with minimal labor near their markets, regardless of local soil or weather conditions.
At the company’s demonstration farm in Invergowrie near the Scottish city of Dundee, trays of produce stacked in 9 meter-tall towers are managed remotely from seeding to packaging. Humans only need to enter the towers for occasional maintenance. “You can run it entirely on robotics . . . You probably need to go in once every six months,” Mr. Farquhar said.
This higher productivity will have particular appeal to British farmers, who are facing a steep increase in costs because coronavirus restrictions have affected the arrival of seasonal workers from eastern Europe. Brexit may also make it more difficult to access labor from the bloc when the UK’s transition period expires at the end of the year.
Colin Campbell, chief executive of the James Hutton Institute, a research organization that hosts the IGS farm and another vertical farming company, Liberty Produce, said the global food supply system had generally worked well during the pandemic. But he added that the crisis had highlighted worries about food safety and the risks of relying on seedlings or produce grown far away from where it is consumed. “Covid-19 is making a lot of people rethink how we want to grow our food,” he said.
Read more at FT (Emiko Terazono)
Publication date: Tue 18 Aug 2020
The Museum Is Closed, But Its Tomato Man Soldiers On
David Litvin, an indoor crop specialist, tends the plants in a temporarily shuttered exhibition, “Countryside, The Future.” He moved to New York from Tel Aviv in February, along with his wife, Stefanie, and their Dutch shepherd, Ester, with a plan to stay six months harvesting the Guggenheim tomatoes.
Although the Guggenheim’s “Countryside”
Show Was Shuttered by The Pandemic,
its Crop of Cherry Tomatoes is Still Growing and Feeding New Yorkers.
David Litvin checks the tomatoes growing outside the Guggenheim Museum, where he is one of the few people who show up each day for work. Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
By Elizabeth A. Harris / May 17, 2020
The halls of the Guggenheim Museum are pretty quiet these days, with mostly just its ghosts and some security guards as company for the art.
Oh, and there’s the guy who takes care of the tomatoes.
David Litvin, an indoor crop specialist, tends the plants in a temporarily shuttered exhibition, “Countryside, The Future.” He moved to New York from Tel Aviv in February, along with his wife, Stefanie, and their Dutch shepherd, Ester, with a plan to stay six months harvesting the Guggenheim tomatoes. He was going to see the city, too.
“I went out once to a comedy bar, but that’s it,” he said.
The museum has been closed since March 13, but Mr. Litvin still walks across Central Park every day around noon from his rental on the Upper West Side to tend to his flock. “When you grow tomatoes on Fifth Avenue, you want to have the perfect tomatoes, there’s no room to mess up,” he said. “If I have ugly plants, I’ll hear it from the neighbors.”
In the evening, the light from the exhibit casts an alien glow onto Fifth Avenue.Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
These days, you can’t visit the mummies at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or soak in “The Starry Night” at the Museum of Modern Art. But you can still stand in front of the Guggenheim and get a good look at a thicket of cherry tomato vines and a really big tractor.
The tomatoes, housed in what looks like a radioactive shipping container on the sidewalk, were on view as part of the exhibition for just three weeks before the city folded in on itself. But they’re still growing, their vines snipped every Tuesday and donated to City Harvest, at least a hundred pounds at a time.
“This tomato-growing module couldn’t just be turned off with the lights,” said the Guggenheim curator Troy Conrad Therrien, who organized the exhibition with the architect Rem Koolhaas, and Samir Bantal of AMO, the research arm of Mr. Koolhaas’s firm. “We brought the exhibition to the street, and the street is still accessible.”
The tractor is a top-of-the-line Deutz-Fahr 9340 TTV Warrior. It has a computer in the cab, can lift more than 26,000 pounds, and looks completely out of place on the Upper East Side. But the tomatoes look nice there. The shed’s color matches the Guggenheim’s bone-white facade, and neat rows of vines — along with Mr. Litvin, when he’s there — are visible through a plate-glass window, bathed in a neon pink light that spills onto the sidewalk after sunset.
Left Image: Brioso tomatoes are the variety growing at the Guggenheim.Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
Right Image: A high-tech tractor, parked on the sidewalk, is part of the exhibition “Countryside, The Future.”Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
High-Tech Farmers Sow Seeds of Revolution In Dubai Desert
An ultra-modern vertical farm in the middle of the desert stands as a testament to Dubai's determination to spark a "green revolution" to overcome its dependence on food imports
18/08/2020
Dubai (AFP) An ultra-modern vertical farm in the middle of the desert stands as a testament to Dubai's determination to spark a "green revolution" to overcome its dependence on food imports.
Al-Badia market garden farm produces an array of vegetable crops in multi-storey format, carefully controlling light and irrigation as well as recycling 90 percent of the water it uses."
It's a green revolution in the middle of the desert," the farm's director Basel Jammal tells
Each plant is given the amount of light, humidity, heat, and water it needs. It's as if it were a guest in a five-star hotel," he says.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted global supply chains, has refocused attention on food security in the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE is rich in oil and ingenuity, but has little arable land and endures dry, baking summers.
That was not an issue decades ago when the area was sparsely inhabited by Bedouins.
But the wealth generated by oil discoveries since the 1970s sent expatriates flocking to the UAE.
Dubai now has more than 3.3 million inhabitants of 200 nationalities, relies largely on expensive desalinated water, and its food needs have grown and diversified.- 'Choices for the future' -Dubai, like the other six emirates that make up the UAE, is heavily dependent on imports, which make up 90 percent of its food needs according to official statistics.
Produce arrives from all over the world by air and at Dubai's state-of-the-art port, stocking supermarkets with a range that compares favourably to those of any Western capital.
But in a region where geopolitical tensions with nearby Iran frequently threaten to boil over, long-term food security and self-sufficiency are key goals.
More than a decade ago, the UAE began buying or leasing agricultural land abroad, mainly in East Africa, to lock in supply even in times of crisis.
Problems on the ground including political instability led it to look towards Australia and Eastern Europe.
But the need to address its over-reliance on imports has inspired other strategies including stockpiling and high-tech agriculture.
Jammal says his model farm where everything is controlled by computers, is a "choice for the future"."We no longer want to depend on imports. We want to produce locally, all year round, without worrying about climate change, rainfall or drought," he says.
Like Al-Badia, a number of farms are springing up in Dubai and less-developed areas like Al-Ain and the mountainous emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.
Abdellatif al-Banna is another independent farmer joining the innovation drive, growing pineapples in greenhouses using hydroponics -- without soil -- and selling his production via an internet platform.
At his farm in Al-Awir, Banna also experiments with growing fruits, vegetables, and even wheat in the cooler months -- producing enough grain for his family in what he hopes is a prototype.
Elsewhere, not far from Dubai's coastline and glitzy skyscrapers, several farms raise cows in air-conditioned sheds that help provide the local market with dairy products.
And in vast tanks overseen by a control room that duplicates Norway's sunrises and sunsets, salmon are being farmed in tanks, despite searing heat outside.
- Free of shortages -
Such farms are often private ventures but are actively encouraged by Emirati authorities, said Omar Bouchehab, who chairs Dubai's Food Security Committee.
Authorities have launched a plan to raise domestic agricultural production by 15 percent by 2021 and boost the use of agricultural technologies, he said.
At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, while many developed cities saw shelves stripped of pasta, tinned goods, and toilet rolls, Dubai did not experience any shortages in fresh produce or staples.
Thanks to airborne cargo services via giant carrier Emirates, which repurposed passenger seats to boost capacity, Dubai was even able to ensure the re-export of various food products to its neighbours.
At the Fresh Market, a large wholesale enterprise, workers busily transported and stored tonnes of imported fresh food. Executive director Redha al-Mansouri was upbeat about the emirate's food security."
Dubai has adequate infrastructure and a stock capable of meeting the needs of the United Arab Emirates, and even the needs of neighbouring countries," he said.
Vertical Farming Growth Accelerated by Coronavirus
Vertical farms utilize indoor growing facilities that leverage artificial light, reduce dependency on synthetic chemistry and other crop inputs, optimize water use, and allow food growth in challenging environments with limited arable land
August 14, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the traditional U.S. food and agriculture supply chain, providing a potential growth opportunity for vertical farms.
One recent deal made in the space involves Singapore-based Temasek Holdings Pte and Bayer AG forming a new company called Unfold, which will develop seeds for vertical farms.
Unfold raised $30 million in an initial funding round and entered into an agreement for certain rights to germplasm—the genetic material from which plants grow—from Bayer's vegetable portfolio, according to the two firms. By utilizing the germplasm from vegetable crops, Unfold will focus on developing new seed varieties coupled with agronomic advice tailored for the unique indoor environment of vertical farms.
The venture will focus on innovation in vegetable varieties with the goal of lifting the vertical farming space to the next level of quality, efficiency, and sustainability.
"The investment in Unfold is a great example of a transformative, creative approach to developing agricultural products that meets the needs of consumers, farmers, and the planet by increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables, supporting sustainably grown, hyperlocal production, and addressing food security challenges faced by growing urban populations,” said Jürgen Eckhardt, MD, head of Leaps by Bayer, which was built to drive fundamental breakthroughs in the fields of health and agriculture through new technologies.
Vertical farms utilize indoor growing facilities that leverage artificial light, reduce dependency on synthetic chemistry and other crop inputs, optimize water use, and allow food growth in challenging environments with limited arable land. They also help crops grow quicker, enabling the reliable growth of fresh, local produce anywhere and at anytime by utilizing less space and fewer natural resources while reducing the need for food logistics and transportation.
In July, vertical farming company Kalera announced it will open a state-of-the-art growing facility in Houston, TX, during spring 2021. The Houston facility will be the largest vertical farming facility in the state.
The new facility was introduced just two months after Kalera revealed it will be opening a new facility in Atlanta in early 2021—an announcement that took place less than two months after it opened its second Orlando, Florida farm. The Houston facility will be even larger than the Atlanta one, which is slated to be the highest production vertical farm in the Southeast.
“In light of the global pandemic and seemingly endless food safety recalls, today, more than ever, consumers are demanding food that is local and that they can trust, said Daniel Malechuk, CEO of Kalera. “Houston presents Kalera with a wonderful market for our produce, as it allows us to not only supply one of the largest cities in America, but also service cities throughout the region including Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and New Orleans." Kalera’s lettuce from the Houston farm will be available at retailers and foodservice distributors.
Meanwhile, Greenswell Growers will invest $17 million to open a hydroponic greenhouse in Goochland, VA, reported Richmond Times-Dispatch (Aug. 11). The facility will reportedly produce 28 times more product per acre than a traditional growing operation, and the company expects to yield about 3.7 million-lbs. of leafy greens, which it will distribute throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
“Greenswell Growers is proud to bring our large-scale indoor growing facility to Goochland where we will provide delicious, safe, and sustainably grown leafy greens that are good for our community," said founder Chuck Metzgar.
In Scotland, indoor agritech specialist ISG completed a deal with vertical farming operator Vertegrow to build the first commercial vertical farm in the country. This is the first move into vertical farming for Vertegrow, diversifying alongside existing agricultural operations, currently growing crops including barley and rye in open fields.
The towers, which are expected to be operational in early 2021, will grow a variety of crops that are intended to service the local food supply chain. Vertegrow will work with a range of local customers including retailers, caterers, restaurateurs, and other local services, to deliver produce all year round.
The four-tower system will be built in Aberdeenshire in Scotland later this year.
To listen to The Food Institute's webinar featuring AeroFarms, a leader in indoor vertical farming, click here.
About the Author
Victoria Campisi
The Food Institute
Victoria writes for the biweekly Food Institute Report, the daily Today in Food updates, and the Foodie Insider daily newsletter for consumers. She graduated from Montclair State University with a B.A. in Journalism and has a background in Nutrition and Food Science. Victoria can be reached through her email at victoria.campisi@foodinstitute.com.
Is The Future of Wheat Farming Inside And Up?
Researchers see big potential in indoor vertical wheat farms. Scientists say wheat yields could be exponentially larger in indoor, vertical venues
August 15, 2020
Researchers see big potential in indoor vertical wheat farms.
Scientists say wheat yields could be exponentially larger in indoor, vertical venues.
Future wheat farmers might ditch their rolling fields for indoor facilities filled with bright lights, multi-storied structures, and automated airflow. In recent years, indoor vertical farms have been commonly used to grow vegetables such as lettuce, kale, and microgreens. But little research has looked at how they might be used to grow staple crops until now.
A new study by scientists at the University of Florida compares the yields of growing wheat in a field with those of the crop grown in an indoor vertical farming. This method consists of growing food on sky-high stacked layers in shipping containers, tunnels, and warehouses using LED bulbs and hydroponic systems. The study, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that farmers can grow exponentially more wheat using indoor vertical farming than through the same amount of ground space in a field.
Using a crop simulation tool, researchers found that a 10-floor vertical farm, covering one hectare of ground space and operating under optimal conditions, was able to generate about 600 more times the yield than the average amount produced on one hectare of farmland. When they plugged in conditions for a 100-floor farm, the yield produced was 6,000 times more.
A section of a vertical wheat farm growing 10 layers of the crop from seeds to harvest. Credit: Gregory Kiss, Senthold Asseng, and Paul P.G. Gauthier
Scientists say that this method could be particularly useful for feeding the world’s growing population, which is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. According to the FAO, wheat is the most widely grown crop in the world, representing 20 percent of people’s daily protein and food calories. And in recent years, experts say global production has not satisfied demand, triggering price instability and unrest.
Senthold Asseng, the lead author of the study and a professor of crop systems modeling, says indoor vertical farming will also deter farmers from clearing forests for agriculture. He adds that hydroponic methods use 90 percent less water and that housing crops indoors also eliminates the need for using herbicides or pesticides linked to environmental issues and human health risks.
“There is opportunity to grow huge crops and at the same time address the issue of environmental degradation,” Asseng says. “We need to nurture our environment because it’s the only environment we have.”
Despite the potential of growing wheat indoors, Asseng says there are barriers that will likely prevent many wheat farmers from choosing to use the method. These include the energy costs associated with powering an indoor facility.
But Asseng says the environmental benefit of indoor vertical farming could attract governments that are already subsidizing conventional agriculture to put some funding towards growing staple foods indoors.
“Many countries spend a lot of money on agriculture subsidies to keep agriculture production going. It might not always be the right way to consider the economics if it comes down to survival and stability,” he says. “Here is a new way of doing agriculture that will be really good for the environment.”
Lead photo: by Martin Mecnarowski on Shutterstock