Kuwait JV Opens Large-Scale Indoor Vertical Farm

August 16, 2020

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&Ever Middle East, a joint venture between Kuwait’s NOX Management and German company &ever, in partnership with German engineering companies SAP and Viessmann,  has opened the first commercial indoor vertical farm in the Middle East.

Kuwait, a country that previously relied on European and overseas imports for most of their leafy greens and herbs, can now locally grow up to 250 varieties of greens and herbs using dryponics technology. 

The facility, with approximately 3,000 sq m growing (or farming) space, has a daily output capacity of up to 550 kg of salad, and herbs.  The products are available in all leading retailers and co-operatives under the brand name &ever Kuwait.  

The farm produces high-quality and sustainable crops indoors, which increase the nutritional quality and decrease environmental impact. The cutting-edge vertical farming method uses 90 percent less water compared to traditional farming, 60 percent less fertilizer, and zero pesticides. Using a sustainable “farm to fork” model, the technology is able to preserve the plants’ nutritional value until the produce reaches the customer, said the statement.

“Previously, Kuwait’s restaurants imported all of our greens and herbs, mainly from Europe,” said Faisal AlMeshal, Director of Strategy and Business Development, NOX Management. “Our JV with &ever and the partnership with SAP and Viessmann on this indoor farm is enabling the local farming supply chain to save on costs and logistics, to minimize waste, and to make a better choice for the planet. Our customers have enhanced experiences with tastier and fresher produce.”

This knowledge exchange complements Germany and Kuwait’s trade ties. Bilateral trade is €1.3 billion, and Germany’s private sector invests €14.6 billion in Kuwait, according to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.

Germany and Kuwait are strong partners not only in politics but also in business, said Stefan Möbs, German Ambassador to Kuwait, who recently participated in a virtual media roundtable about the farm’s success hosted by the German Business Council Kuwait. 

“I welcome the innovative business idea of German company &ever specifically here in Kuwait. Both countries are seeking new ways in difficult times. Even better to work together!”

Climatized rooms

The farm has partnered with Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions to develop highly efficient climatized rooms which are used in its indoor vertical farm. The technology is 40% more energy-efficient than other indoor vertical farming systems when it comes to energy use for climatization, said the statement. 

&ever built its operating system, &ever Cloud, using the SAP Business Technology Platform -- SAP HANA in-memory platform and SAP Cloud Platform. Farmers can monitor, analyze, and adjust hundreds of data points on plant health, airflow, light, carbon dioxide levels, humidity, and temperature in real-time. 

“Technology is the foundation for transforming customer experiences in restaurants and agricultural production in Kuwait, and for fostering diversified economic growth and sustainable agriculture worldwide,” said Andy Froemmel, Managing Director, SAP Kuwait. “Digitally transforming Kuwait’s agricultural sector supports New Kuwait 2035 goals, and helps to foster the local innovation economy and job creation.”

&ever is ready for global roll-out 

Building on the global deployment capabilities of its key partners, &ever will scale its operations quickly and globally. “Our vision is to bring better tasting greens with high nutritional value to more and more people,” says Mark Korzilius, Founder of &ever. “We have an interesting pipeline of opportunities around the globe,” adds Dr Henner Schwarz, CEO of &ever. “We hope to be able to travel internationally again soon to get our next farms live as quickly as possible.” 

The German Business Council Kuwait is a non-profit organization and business platform, founded in 2005, in order to promote and cultivate relations between German-speaking individuals and companies with their counterparts from the host country and the region. - TradeArabia News Service

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Whole Foods Embarks on Expansion in Multiple Markets

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Thursday, Aug. 13th, 2020
by Chandler James

UNITED STATES - Some major R-E-S-P-E-C-T is in order as organic and natural retail behemoth Whole Foods Market is rolling out multiple new stores in competitive markets across the country. This news comes to light following the grocer’s dark store concept implemented in strategic locations, leaving us to wonder what else Whole Foods has up its sleeve. Along with this multi-tiered launch comes several initiatives targeting the fresh produce department.

On Friday, July 17, Whole Foods opened its 14th location in New York City, according to a press release. The 60,245 square-foot store in Manhattan is part of a 5.4 million-square-foot Hudson Yards development. This location brings added value to the market, namely because of an expanded produce department with selections from more than 15 local growers, including mint and chives from Square Roots, salad kits from Gotham Greens, and grown-in-store mushrooms from Smallhold.

Whole Foods Market is rolling out multiple new stores in competitive markets across the country

A new location also opened up in Castle Rock, Colorado, on Monday, June 29, in a 43,000 square-foot facility. This store also places an emphasis on fresh produce, offering fruits and vegetables including selections from 10 local growers. Entering the same market as one of Whole Foods’ recent dark store openings, we at ANUK are curious to see how the expansion plays out.

As if these influential openings aren’t enough, the retailer also unveiled a new 47,000 square-foot store in Harbor East, Maryland; a 46,000 square-foot store in Washington, DC, partnering with greenhouse growers like Gotham Greens and Bowery Farms; a 35,000 square-foot store in East Austin, Texas, offering fresh produce selections from 75 local growers; and a 44,000 square-foot store in Huntington Beach, California, with fresh produce selections from 50 local growers.

With Whole Foods Market on such an aggressive growth trajectory, keep checking in with us at AndNowUKnow.

Whole Foods Market

Tags: Retail Whole Foods Retailer Grocer Organic Natural Fresh New Store New Stores Facilities Expansion Expands Growth Markets Footprint Dark Store Dark Stores 

Hydroponics – The Pros And Cons of Growing In Soilless Medium

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Posted by: Alejandro Gutierrez

Hydroponics is the practice of growing food with no soil involved. Hydroponic operations may bring food to places where it would be difficult to obtain. It may also assist in the flaws of our current food system.

In 2018, the CDC and the FDA issued two safety alerts for Romaine Lettuce in seven months. Consumers across the United States were urged to avoid Romaine lettuce because of E. coli infection concerns. It took weeks for the FDA to announce that the agency found the source of the contamination. The advisory prompted many food stores, including Whole Foods to remove all Romaine lettuce from their shelves.

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay;

Situations like these are scary for consumers. And not surprisingly, they’re also angry. People are frustrated about how little they know about the source of fresh produce they buy at grocery stores. Urban farming ventures are taking advantage of concerns about the safety of fresh food. Food miles also become relevant. Consumers desire to avoid fresh food that may have been grown with unfavorable conditions. In some cases, pesticide drift from near farms also poses a threat.

Hydroponics offers an answer and a solution to all these concerns. And it presents an opportunity for healthy and eco-conscious people to gain control over the source of their fresh food.

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Photo by Harits Mustya Pratama on Unsplash

Let’s look at the pros and cons of hydroponics. We’ll look at the advantages and disadvantages that apply to urban farming companies catering to local consumers. Followed by those to home gardeners who are involved in hydroponics on a vastly smaller scale.

The Pros and Cons of Hydroponics for Urban Farms

Advantages

• In many cities, urban farms bring business to abandoned buildings and decaying neighborhoods. Their presence benefits the area and encourages the restoration of unused and abandoned buildings.

• Urban farms create jobs in areas with limited or non-existent job opportunities.

• Hydroponic growing offers training opportunities for young people in the community, providing skills they can be used in later life.

• Community growing brings fresh food to “food deserts,” eliminating the excuse that area residents had for not eating healthier foods.

• Growing hydroponically within the city gives people access to locally grown food that doesn’t have to travel so far.

• Food grown on urban farms is picked at the peak of freshness, so it’s higher in nutrition.

• Urban farms lower the carbon footprint of food production. Because they use so water efficiently, hydroponic systems are far eco-friendlier. And the food doesn’t have to travel as far. The use of LED lights increases the energy-efficiency of hydroponic systems.

• Government officials have instant access to information about hydroponic produce and its path from the controlled environment to the consumer.

• Consumers have the assurance that there won’t be any problems with bacterial contamination. They can trust the source of the produce they buy.

• Access to high-quality fresh, locally grown produce means that they don’t have to buy more than they can use. This ensures they’re not wasting food or throwing money away.

• Hydroponics eliminates the need to use chemical pesticides and insecticides

• Photo by Nolan Issac on Unsplash

• Photo by Fitleaf

Empty/Abandoned warehouse has the potential for Hydroponic Growing

Disadvantages

• Urban agriculture doesn’t solve the problems of gang violence and crime in low-income neighborhoods but it’s a great start.

• Businesses that want to establish urban farms in big cities have to go through lengthy applications. From the business license to the zoning permit, it may be a tedious process.

• An urban agriculture venture isn’t likely to bring lots of jobs to the community in the short run. It is not until it establishes itself that results come in the long-run. 

• It will take time for the company to create the conditions for growing conditions. Assembling a hydroponic system that can handle large scale food production will also require some effort.

• The company will need to consider transportation and parking needs for the employees. There may be concerns regarding parking for workers; having an impact on the parking situation for people who live in the neighborhood. However, a good solution with be biking

• There may be a high cost of installing a backup power system (like generators). This is necessary because the damage of potential power failures would inflict significant losses.

Pros and Cons of Hydroponics for Home Growers

Positive Benefits of Hydroponic Gardening at Home

• Hydroponics brings plants into the home, and the presence of plants improves air quality and overall health.

• Hydroponics encourages people to take an interest in the origin of their food. It also gives them insight on what it takes to bring it to their tables.

• Individuals who have hydroponics systems in their homes have access to better quality, fresher, and more nutritious food.

• When you have a hydroponic system at home, you’re able to pick fresh produce just before using it. There is then less chance that fresh vegetables will sit in your refrigerator because you forget about them.

• Because you can pick fresh food when you need it, you’ll cut the cost of your weekly grocery bills. The money you save from buying fewer groceries can go towards clearing debts or in savings.

• You’ll get a tremendous and invaluable sense of satisfaction from being able to be more self-sufficient.

• Since you’re buying the seeds for your hydroponics system, you can be certain of their origin.

• You can plant and harvest fruits and vegetables grown at your own standard. You are free of paying the premium that is standard for food products that bear the “certified organic” label. This label usually carries the charge to the consumer.

Negatives of Hydroponic Gardening at Home

• The cost of purchasing equipment. Regardless of whether you buy kits like the Tower Garden, or buy the components to build your own. While building a system isn’t cheap, the process is educational and fun.

• Unless you buy a kit that provides instructions, you’ll have a harder time assembling your system and getting it started.

• If you buy a kit, you’ll eventually need to purchase replacement parts, additional accessories, and supplemental nutrients. You should factor these things into the total cost of buying and operating a hydroponics system at home.

• No matter how energy-efficient your system manufacturer claims it is, there will be an extra load on your electrical system. A hydroponic system will increase your utility bill throughout the year. With this issue, eco-friendly alternatives arise, such as solar panels which should be implemented if possible.

• Unless you buy a system that is fully automated, you’ll have to constantly monitor nutrient and water levels. You may also have to turn the lights on or off. Don’t expect to have a productive hydroponic garden unless you’re willing to put the effort in. Checking your plants every day is a must. Observing them will ensure that their growing conditions are acceptable.

• Failing to add water when the reservoir needs it, may burn your motor out, and you may weaken or kill the plants. That would be a significant financial setback.

• A power failure will alter the growing conditions in your hydroponic unit. An extended power failure will deprive your plants of light, water, and oxygen. That’s a recipe for their death.

Hydroponics is no different from traditional gardening in that you get what you put into it. Some of the most significant advantages include being able to grow what you want and when you want to grow it, not being tied to traditional gardening seasons, and not having to do as much maintenance as you would if you tried to grow your food in the ground. A well-maintained hydroponic garden will give you access to healthy and nutritious food at any time. You’ll never have to rush to the grocery store for something because you don’t have it on hand.

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Photo by Fitleaf

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US: NEW YORK - What If Central Park Were Home To A Massive Urban Farm?

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08-04-20

A corner of Central Park was once home to a thriving Black community. Amber Tamm wants to honor the legacy of that neighborhood with a farm to feed New York’s neediest.

BY RUTH READER

In 1825, downtown New York City was growing crowded. Then, as now, racism made New York an uncomfortable place for Black Americans, so Andrew Williams, a Black shoeshiner, took an opportunity to move north, away from the hubub of lower Manhattan. For $125 he bought three parcels of land between what is now West 85th Street and 86th Street and where once there was just farmland. Shortly thereafter, a church bought up a plot with plans to create a cemetery for African Americans. Other Black Americans soon followed.

That was the beginning of a neighborhood called Seneca Village. Residents there, like Williams, were largely laborers. But land ownership provided an opportunity for upward mobility and Black landowners with property worth $250 or more could vote in elections. By 1850, there was a school, three churches, gardens, livestock, some 50 homes, and roughly 225 residents, the majority of whom were Black.

But the New York Williams had tried to escape was growing too: The city doubled in population between 1845 and 1855, and citizens began clamoring for green space to be set aside for recreation. Though several sites were up for consideration, including a tract of private land along the East River, the city decided on a large swath at the center of the island. Though the media of the time painted the region as a largely empty save for some poor squatters, Seneca Village fell right inside its bounds.

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The 1868 plan for Central Park. [Image: Wiki Commons]

The city acquired the land through eminent domain, paying owners “just compensation,” (though letters from the time reveal that Seneca Village residents did not always feel the compensation was actually fair). Seneca Village was razed and subsumed into what is now Central Park. Amber Tamm, a farmer for a nearly six-acre New York rooftop farm called Brooklyn Grange, wants to give part of the park back to that history, by taking 14 acres of the 55-acre Great Lawn and turning it into a community farm that would feed under-resourced Manhattanites, many of whom are Black. It would also serve as an educational resource for teaching New Yorkers about urban farming. Tamm wants to call it Seneca Village Farm. “I think calling out Central Park is powerful because it’s the biggest park in New York City and it has the most flatland,” she says.

Tamm is hoping to reclaim Central Park’s narrative and make it a more inclusive one. Her vision is that one person would farm an acre each and people would apply for one of the 14 spots. Tamm envisions running a training program where she and a small team would teach people how to farm their acre with room for creative innovation. If there is someone interested in herbalism, Tamm says she would find a mentor to teach her how to grow herbs. “But also what does it look like for her to exercise creativity? Does she want to grow in rows? Does she want to grow in circles and spirals? Let her flesh out what her vision is and let her work through what it’s like to revitalize soil while also supporting community through what she yields,” says Tamm. Another example she gives: What would it look like to grow rice in New York City?

Tamm’s introduction to the existence of Seneca Village started young and was driven by her mother’s persistent interest in the village. In 1993, a book about Central Park, The Park and the People: A History of Central Park, spurred archeologists Nan Rothschild and Diana diZerega Wall, a professor at City College, to consider Seneca Village’s old plot as the site of an archeological dig. Seventeen years later, the city approved it. The excavation yielded a small glimpse into a place that captivated certain New Yorkers.

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[Photo: Jermaine Ee/Unsplash]

“There would be these excavations where they were finding bones of our ancestors and my mother would always be moved to tears and be investigating how she can go see it, how she can go experience it on her own,” says Amber Tamm, a farmer for Brooklyn Grange, who grew up in East New York. She says her family has lived in Brooklyn for four generations. “Once Seneca Village became a thing and once they started to find the walls and the teapots, she was deeply invested in talking about it.“

The Seneca Village Farm idea was born out of COVID-19. In the early days, food was constrained. Tamm remembers going to the farmers’ market and seeing a bleak array of produce stalls. She and a friend who works on the rooftop garden at Cooper Union began a conversation about what it would look like for New York City to have food sovereignty or sustainable access to healthy, culturally appropriate food grown locally. What kind of food a person can access in New York City depends largely on where they live: Some neighborhoods have big grocery stores with expensive produce trucked in from all over the country. Others have corner stores with selections of packaged goods and small produce sections.

The unequal food distribution in New York has led some food activists to start urban farms that cater to individual communities. East New York Farms, for example, operates a plot and sells to local residents in the Brooklyn neighborhood. The group has also helped others to start their own community-led farms, like the one at the Louis Heaton Pink Houses, a New York City Housing Authority project in Brooklyn.

During the pandemic, food access, at least initially, was even more constrained for those who already have difficulty accessing fresh food. Soup kitchens and groups like Harlem Grown, which uses abandon lots to set up urban farms, stepped in to fill the food void with fresh vegetables and prepared meals. Tamm wonders what such efforts would be like with a bigger piece of land.

The pandemic also provided Tamm with a precedent for converting Central Park to more essential uses: Within the first three weeks of the pandemic, after New York City shut down normal operations, field tents with 68 hospital beds went up in Central Park to support Mt. Sinai hospital as it treated COVID-19 patients. Tamm says, if New York City is willing to set aside land for treating sick New Yorkers, why would it not set aside that same land for ensuring that city residents have access to good nutrition.

“Farmers and doctors are deemed, essential workers. So why couldn’t we have the juxtaposition of on one side of the park they have the COVID hospital and on the other side they have farms, because that would be tackling both sides of health,” she says.

Sam Biederman, systems commissioner for community outreach and partnership development at New York City Parks, works closely with the Central Park Conservancy and also with New York City’s Green Thumb community gardens. He says that given the size of New York City’s population there is physically not enough available land in New York City to grow enough food to feed all its residents. However, he does think community gardens contribute more quality food to certain neighborhoods. Unfortunately, he says, the Central Park Conservancy, in partnership with the city, manages the park with strict rules that may make such a project difficult to undertake.

The Central Park Conservancy is a nonprofit that was founded in 1980 after the park had suffered years of decline, to rejuvenate and manage the park. The city pays about a tenth of the conservancy’s annual $85 million budget, and conservancy raises the rest through private sources. The organization works in tandem with the parks department.

“The undergirding philosophical approach is as much land should be available to all people,” says Biederman. He says that using Central Park as anything other than purely recreational space requires event permitting. The Great Lawn in particular has a lot of limits, he says, because any time an event takes over that space, it is taking it offline for recreational use. The longest a person can get a permit for the Great Lawn is two days and there are only seven permits given out a year. “Turning a significant amount of that space over to agriculture that’s a significantly different use—it’s a tall order.”

However, he also notes that the Central Park Conservancy is very aware of Seneca Village’s history and is trying to honor its legacy in various ways. Last year, the organization put up a temporary installation that highlights the work archeologists have done and their learnings about Seneca Village in the time they’ve been investigating it. It also released a series of materials that help guide teachers who want to use the exhibit to teach students about Seneca Village. Biederman says NYC Parks is also looking into renaming other parks to honor New York’s Black history. “Negotiating what it means to live on and operate and be the custodian of land that once belonged to someone else is a moral responsibility that you have to tend to in perpetuity,” says Biederman. “The way people interact with public spaces evolves from generation to generation—that’s clear.”

Tamm, who has separately recently raised more than $100,000 to start her own farm, is meeting with a member of New York City Parks to discuss the project further and has high hopes for the conversation, she says. “It would be there to pay homage to the ancestors of Seneca Village—that’s the number-one goal.”

Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the Conservancy’s role in managing Central Park.

Lead Photo: [Photo: johnandersonphoto/iStock]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ruth Reader is a writer for Fast Company. She covers the intersection of health and technology.

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Precht's The Farmhouse Concept Combines Modular Homes With Vertical Farms

Architecture studio Precht has developed a concept for modular housing where residents produce their own food in vertical farms.

Architects Fei and Chris Precht, who is also the co-founder of architecture studio of Penda, developed The Farmhouse as a way to reconnect people in cities with agriculture and help them live in a more sustainable way.

Precht designed The Farmhouse as populations around the world are increasingly becoming city dwellers who have lost touch with how their food is produced, while food transportation has an increasingly damaging effect on the environment.

The conceptual modular system would allow people to grow food in residential tower blocks to eat or share with their local community.

"I think we miss this physical and mental connection with nature and this project could be a catalyst to reconnect ourselves with the life-cycle of our environment," said Chris Precht.

Prefabricated A-frame housing modules made from cross-laminated timber (CLT) would be stacked to provide flexible living spaces.

CLT is more sustainable than other low-cost building materials such as concrete because it locks in the carbon absorbed by the trees that were grown to make it.

Each of the module's wall would be made of three layers. An inner layer, facing the home interior, would hold the electricity and pipes with the surface finishes.

A layer of structure and insulation would form the middle layer, and on the outside layer would hold all the gardening elements and a water supply.

Different modules would have different types of external systems, such as hydroponic units for growing without soil, waste management systems, or solar panels to harness sustainable electricity.

Single-family users would be able to build their own homes using as many modules as they chose, or taller housing blocks could be formed by arranging the A-frames into stacked duplexes.

Each duplex would have an open plan living and kitchen space on the ground floor, with tent-shaped bedrooms on the upper floors. On the outer edges of the tower residences could have balconies.

Growing gardens would be arranged so they are either private or communal, with the inverted gaps left between modules providing V-shaped buffer zones between apartments and giving the plants natural light and ventilation.

The smallest living configuration available is just nine square metres with a 2.5-square-metre balcony. Hypothetically, Precht said, the tower could be built as tall as a city would allow.

"The system doesn't limit the height of the tower, because it is adaptable to a different thickness of structure," Chris Precht told Dezeen.

"But national regulations can limit the use of wood. In some countries like Japan, Canada, Scandinavia, Austria, UK, you can construct 18 to 30 stories and building codes around the globe are adapting fast to the use of CLT."

An indoor food market would be located on the ground floor of the tower, along with a root cellar for storing food in winter and composting units for turning food waste back into growing material.

The Prechts were motivated to design The Farmhouse system by their own experience. Two years ago they relocated from central Beijing to the mountains of Austria, where they grow their own food.

"Our motivation for The Farmhouse is personal," said Fei Precht.

"We live and work now off the grid and try to be as self-sufficient as somehow possible. We grow most of the food ourselves and get the rest from neighbouring farmers," she continued.

"We have now a very different relation to food. We are aware that this lifestyle is not an option for everyone, so we try to develop projects, that brings food back to cities."

Working as Penda, Chris Precht worked on the design of a hypothetical CLT tower for Toronto with tree-covered balconies, and a concept for a house in Germany with an interlocking green roof.

Renderings courtesy of Precht.

India Block | Dezeen | February 22, 2019

Farming Goes Vertical - The New Supermarket Trend For Growing Herbs In-Store

The new supermarket trend for growing herbs in-store could help the environment - how does it work?

• Vertical farming works by growing fruits and veg in vertically stacked layers 

• Claims it can significantly reduce environmental damage  

• M&S Simply Food is one of the latest UK retailers to introduce vertical farming 

By GRACE GAUSDEN FOR THIS IS MONEY 

4 August 2020 

Top of the agenda for many big firms across Britain and the world in recent years is to find ways to help reduce their environmental footprint and become more sustainable.

This has been driven by consumer demand for change and warnings over irreversible damage by large companies, who can make small improvements to help that add up.

One such way is vertical farming and it has seen one middle-class supermarket favorite get involved at some stores.

Marks and Spencer is the latest UK retailer to adopt vertical farming into its stores, with a selection of herbs now freshly grown and harvested in stores across London for shoppers to buy.

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Vertical farming works by growing fruits and vegetables in vertically stacked layers inside

It has partnered with Infarm, a fast-growing vertical farming firm based in Berlin, that also now operates in other supermarket chains across Europe.

Ocado has also invested £17million in vertical farming while John Lewis plans to grow salads in store in the future in a partnership with LettUs Grow. 

Aside from Marks and Spencer, Infarm has recently partnered with the online sustainable supermarket Farmdrop, which stocks a selection of herbs and salad leaves. 

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These 4 Reasons Tell Us Why It’s Time To Shift To Indoor Farming

By Ecochirp Foundation in Environment

6th August 2020

Traditionally, agriculture was done on large open farms, having a large dependence on external environmental factors. In recent times, there is a new vertical emerging in agriculture, giving promising results i.e., Indoor farming or vertical farming. Particular challenges that were faced in conventional cultivation techniques have been resolved with indoor agriculture. Though growing indoors can never be a replacement for outdoor agriculture, it can certainly help in growing certain vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and more. 

Let’s have a comparative study of indoor growing vs. outdoor growing.

Weather Dependence

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Traditional outdoor growing is largely dependent on weather conditions. Only seasonal crops can be grown. Weather conditions can be the biggest nightmares for farmers as things like thunderstorms, floods, droughts can damage crops overnight. By growing indoors, we eliminate our dependence on the weather. Instead, growers can control the climate inside the indoor growing system creating the ideal environment for maximum outputs. Using a wide range of sensors, indoor growers can check their plants at all times. 

Pesticides And Herbicides Requirement

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Do you also wear a mask while consuming those??

The crops are more prone to pests and other animal damage as they are exposed to the outer environment. We recently saw the locust attack that happened; it devastated large areas of crops. We saw how fast they traveled and farmers couldn’t take measures in time. They had to spray large amounts of pesticides to protect the remaining crops that eventually went into our systems. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers used are a root cause of major ailments like cancers, immune disorders, infertility, and cardiovascular diseases. 

Indoor grown edibles need fewer chemical additives to grow well. Being indoors, they are not prone to pests. Also, the environment is controlled; therefore, there is no need for pesticides or herbicides. Therefore, the vegetables are pure. 

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About 70% of the world’s freshwater goes to agriculture. And with increasing populations, this water requirement is expected to go up by 15% by 2050. This is a thing we should be afraid of, as the freshwater resources are declining. If things keep going in the same way, there is a possibility that we might not be able to keep up with the requirements. Taking the case of indoor growing, techniques such as hydroponics take up to 90-95% less water. They use a closed-loop system, where there is no wastage, and resources are optimally utilized. 

 The Nutritional Content Of Edibles

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The current agriculture system is centralized. Therefore, fruits and vegetables have to travel thousands of miles before they reach us. In the meanwhile, they lose a considerable amount of nutritional content. For example, spinach loses about 50-90% of its vitamin C within 24 hours of being harvested, which means the vegetables and fruits we eat at our homes in cities is not as nutritional as it should be.

In the case of indoor growing, which is generally done in cities near our homes, transportation time is less than 5-6 hours. Therefore, they are fresh and highly nutritious. 

Pre And Post-Harvest Losses

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About 40% of the world’s food is wasted due to the pre and post-harvest losses. Pre-harvest losses occur before harvesting begins, and may be due to insects, weeds, and rusts. Post-harvest losses occur between harvest and the moment of human consumption. Fruits and vegetables are perishable products and tend to get spoiled or degraded with time and unfavorable factors. Indoor growing has very low wastage as they rarely get diseases; they are near to cities and therefore, have lower transportation times. The edibles are consumed soon after they are harvested. 

This comparison is just a brief glimpse of how growing indoors is more beneficial as compared to conventional growing. However, this article does not mean that indoor growing can replace proper farming. Outdoor farming can not be eliminated but can be decentralized, and with the help of indoor growing techniques, we can revolutionize the current agriculture system for the better. 

About the author: Palak Kumar is an insatiably curious Mechanical Engineering student, passionate about flying, clouds, literature, and plants, working towards revolutionizing Indoor Vertical Growing.

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CEA Success Story About Small Family Farms Using CEA Technologies To Feed Their Local Communities

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To learn more about Snuck Farm and what they're up to, check out their website and instagram. If you’re near Pleasant Grove, Utah, consider visiting their Farm Stand or ordering a Snuck Share!

Would you like to be featured in a Grower's Highlight, or do you know someone who would be a good fit? Let us know!

US: NEW JERSEY - Will NJ's Million Dollar Investment In Vertical Farming Yield Long Term Growth?

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Written By: Theo Longsdon, Agritecture Intern

Amidst the growth of urban farming projects in the US, a notable development took place earlier in June with the announcement that Jersey City, New Jersey, is to fund the construction and operation of 10 vertical farms in the city; the first municipal vertical farm program in the country. 

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The city has partnered up with AeroFarms in a three-year contract worth $987,000 - with just over half of this sum funding the construction of the farm units and the rest covering the project’s maintenance. The farms will use aeroponics to grow a range of vegetables and will be situated at senior centers, schools, public housing complexes, and municipal buildings across the city, taking six weeks to install, and the first vegetables being ready just two weeks after.

The principal motive behind the program is the recognition that there is a growing need to enhance access to locally grown nutritious food and improve the diet and overall well being of citizens. This is in part related to the impact of Covid-19, which according to Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, has had a “disproportionate impact on people with pre-existing heart conditions, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes which is directly linked to a person’s diet”. The venture will seek to counter these issues and promote a healthy, sustainable lifestyle through producing 58,000 lb of fresh vegetables over three years – roughly equating to 100,000 servings – and through holding dietary workshops and health screenings for participants. The hope is that a surge in awareness about healthy eating practices, coupled with the distribution of fresh, nutritious produce, will drive a change in people’s eating habits that leads to improvements in the wider, long-term health of the community.  

The creation of jobs will be a further benefit of the program. AeroFarms are significant job providers; they have created about 120 jobs through their projects in Newark, and their new indoor vertical farming facility in Danville is projected to generate 92 jobs for the area. Whilst there has been no indication about the exact number of jobs that will be created as part of the program, with the introduction of 10 farms across the city it is clear a number of employment opportunities will arise, thus helping to stimulate economic development in the area.

Yet despite these upbeat anticipations, the cost of constructing and maintaining the 10 vertical farms is high, with the contract worth just under $1m. By AeroFarms’ own estimation the 10 farms will produce around 58,000 lb of produce over their 3 years, meaning that it will cost the city about $17 to produce one lb of produce. This is a colossal sum and represents an expensive economic venture in a time when the city faces a $70m budget shortfall as a result of Covid-19.

In such a climate, an alternative option for the city would be to invest money in supporting local farms and promoting the distribution of their produce. A quick look at local farms in the region highlights how this may be a far more cost-effective option: Alstede Farms, a 600-acre farm based in Chester Township retails a wide range of fresh organic vegetables at a significantly lower price – selling a bunch of their spinach for $2.99; a bunch of kale for $2.99; and a pound of beans for $3.99. Another organic farm in the region – Terhune Orchards - offers similarly low prices, retailing a bunch of their kale for $3.25 per bunch, a Romaine lettuce head for the same price, and a head of green cabbage for $2.95. If the city was seeking a more cost-friendly way of promoting healthy consumption patterns, then taking such an approach may have been the more viable option. 

But whilst they may represent the more costly option, vertical farms hold a number of advantages over traditional soil farms. Crop yields tend to be higher, as crops can be grown all year round and conditions can be controlled to maximize growth. Having this controlled environment reduces the susceptibility to climate and local weather conditions that is a major drawback of traditional soil farming. The land area needed to cultivate the produce is far lower, as the vegetables can be stacked vertically – a major benefit at a time of increasing pressure on land. Vertical farms also use much less water as they facilitate the production of crops with 70-95% less water compared to traditional cultivation practices. Finally, the generation of local, year-round farmworker jobs is a clear advantage over conventional outdoor farms in the NJ area that depend primarily on seasonal labor. Taking such factors into account may indeed justify the higher cost of produce associated with the program.

One notable stipulation of the program is that those wanting to gain free access to the produce must partake in healthy eating workshops and quarterly health screenings. This entails the obvious risk that the city has overestimated the demand for education and health monitoring amongst Jersey City residents, which could mean that the uptake is lower than anticipated. If the demand does fall short of what the city anticipates, then issues of distribution may arise and the program’s effectiveness may be undermined. Its success will, therefore, depend to a large extent on the willingness of residents to spend time participating in these workshops and regular health screenings.

Jersey City’s newly launched program represents a pioneering attempt to combat deficiencies in access to locally grown, nutritious produce and awareness about healthy dietary patterns. The decision by the municipal body to step in and sponsor the vertical farms is ambitious and unprecedented in the US, but it also throws up some major questions. For example; will the plan of action lead to a long-term alteration in the diets and lifestyles of those involved? Do the associated benefits outweigh the cost of the program? And ultimately, is it a city’s duty to feed people through its own asset, or should it instead focus on policies, incentives, and programs that encourage the growth and support of local farms?

Seeding The Supply Chain

17 Apr 2020

By : Retail Environments Staff

On-site growth of produce benefits enterprising grocers

By Annemarie Mannion

For this Avril store in Laval, Quebec, Canada, on-site growth of produce grew out of a government project that, among other things, sought to find a way to get food to people in northern areas besides having it all shipped by plane. The store’s automated vertical agriculture platform, known as CultiGo, grows organic greens year-round.

Grocery stores on the cutting edge of providing local produce are nurturing on-site growing spaces to answer consumer demand for locally grown produce. Retailers involved in growing their own hyperlocal produce see benefits. They believe that converting cross-country or cross-region shipping miles to mere footsteps makes financial sense because it provides a better-tasting product and reduces shrinkage.

Stores featuring hyperlocal produce are rare, but they reflect a societal trend. According to research firm Packaged Facts, local food sales in the U.S. increased from $5 billion to $12 billion between 2008 and 2014. The study predicted that local food sales would rise to $20 billion in 2019.

Given the demand, Viraj Puri believes more grocery stores will take this approach to provide locally grown produce. Puri is CEO of urban agriculture company Gotham Greens, which operates a 20,000-sq.-ft. greenhouse on the roof of Whole Foods Market’s Gowanus location in Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. Constructed in 2014, the greenhouse yields produce that is sold and distributed to the market downstairs and to other Whole Foods locations and local restaurants.

“Growing fresh produce in close proximity to city centers means that we can make it available to urban customers within hours of harvest instead of days,” Puri says. He believes grocery stores also benefit when they can provide produce that has superior taste, better shelf life, and fully traceable products.

The superior quality of the hyperlocal produce appeals to both the store and shoppers, agrees Glenn Behrman, founder of CEA Advisors. His company worked with the H-E-B-owned Central Market in Dallas to grow produce on-site in a converted 53-ft.-long shipping container. “It’s in the produce department and on sale 10 minutes after it’s been harvested,” Behrman notes, adding that customers appreciate that it wasn’t trucked over hundreds of miles to get to the store shelves.

The container at Central Market — dubbed a Growtainer — protects the crops from snow, rain, and excessive heat. A 13-ft.-long utility area protects the production area from outside contamination. The 40-ft.-long production area provides environmentally controlled vertical production space, designed for efficiency and food safety compliance, Behrman says. The technology features an ebb-and-flow irrigation system, a water monitoring and dosing system, and “Growracks” equipped with LED systems.

For grocers, on-site growth of produce can reduce shrinkage. “If it takes four days to sell a case of lettuce [produced outside of the store], that last head or two is going to get thrown in the garbage,” says Behrman. Another benefit is the ability to produce small quantities of unique gourmet items. “They can use seeds from France or grow basil with seeds from Italy,” Behrman says.

Behrman believes the most suitable retail stores for on-site produce growth are those in high-income markets where consumers are willing to spend more for fresh, hyperlocal produce.

Rooftop Farming: Another Contribution To The Modern-Day Green Revolution

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Guest Article

This article was written by Camilla Stanley, a guest writer for Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

Green roofs are a growing trend in urban areas because of their unique ability to address several urban challenges at once. These benefits include lowering a building’s energy costs, reducing the urban heat island effect, improving air quality, boosting urban biodiversity, having a positive impact on mental health, and, for businesses, strengthening a company’s marketing and increasing property value. But there is one co-benefit that is rarely taken advantage of… food production! In particular, rooftop farms and gardens provide the added benefit of being a source of locally grown produce.

The demand for locally and sustainably grown food is a growing trend as consumers become more interested in knowing where their food is coming from. There are growing concerns around the distance food travels before it reaches our plates (on average fruits and vegetables travel 1,500 miles / 2500 km), and the usage of hormones, pesticides, and GMOs in meat, dairy products and eggs. What the grocery industry is seeing now is a wave of consumers more willing to ‘vote with their dollar’ to ensure that food companies take the necessary steps to effectively reduce their environmental impact. 

Rooftop urban farming is a great way to meet these growing demands as consumers are beginning to understand the importance of reconnecting and taking care of nature and the many ecosystem services that nature provides. Green roofs utilized to produce food present a great opportunity for property managers and community leaders to transform the built environment and better serve their communities. This is why Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) has put together an informative course on rooftop farming – Introduction to Rooftop Urban Agriculture – a comprehensive review of the benefits, importance, and potential of rooftop agriculture. GRHC is also hosting an Urban and Rooftop Agriculture Virtual Symposium on Thursday, July 23 from 1:00 to 4:30 pm est. The event is bringing together professionals from diverse backgrounds involved in mainstreaming urban agriculture.

The increase in events and resources are coming at a good time as urban agriculture is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the agricultural industry. Rapid technological innovation in areas like vertical farming is allowing entrepreneurs to take advantage of underutilized spaces in cities for food production. This is great for produce that is not well-suited for long-distance transport like leafy greens. Fruits and vegetables that travel long distances also lose flavor and nutrients the longer they are in transit. Urban agriculture helps reduce food waste along the supply chain, supports the growing demand for local and transparent supply chains, and improves the quality of the food available at supermarkets!

Community leaders seeking to address challenges such as poverty, environmental degradation, air and water quality, waste production and disposal and energy consumption would greatly benefit from integrating urban agriculture into their strategies as it is a proven solution in which communities can improve their ecological footprint while garnering social benefits. 

Property managers would be interested to know that rooftop urban farming is a great way to earn LEED credits and maintain peak LEED performance. Sites that have on-site vegetable gardens are eligible for up to 6 LEED credits in the following categories: local food protection (1 credit), social equity within the community (1 credit), heat island reduction (2 credits) and site development: protect or restore habitat (2 credits).

Municipalities are taking initiative and investing in the development of sustainable communities and repurposing unused spaces. For example, in New York City on April 18, 2019, the city council passed The Climate Mobilization Act to reduce greenhouse emissions from buildings and includes a requirement for the installation of green roofs and/or solar panels on newly constructed buildings. A similar by-law was passed in Toronto, Canada back in 2009 where all buildings over 2,000 sq. meters must install a green roof. The city now has over 700 green roofs! Other cities that have adopted green roof mandates in recent years include San Francisco, Portland, and Denver! On a larger scale, initiatives such as the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration where fourteen cities around the world committed to achieving the “‘Planetary Health Diet’ by 2030 which aims to address both environmental and human health through better food choices. 

For examples of some rooftop urban farms around North America, check out the list below:

- Brooklyn Grange in Brooklyn, NY

- Ryerson Urban Farm in Toronto, ON

- Boston Medical Center Rooftop Farm in Boston, MA

- Chicago Botanical Gardens in Chicago, IL

- Uncommon Ground in Chicago, IL

- STEM Kitchen Garden in San Francisco, CA

- Top Leaf Farms in Oakland, CA

Tagged: urban agriculture, rooftop farm, Brooklyn Grange, Ryerson Urban Farm, Uncommon Ground, C40 Cities, green infrastructure, urban farming, green roof benefits, Toronto Green Roof By-law, climate mobilization act, LEED

Is The Future of Farming Indoors?

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July 14, 2020

Brian Kateman Contributor

I write about sustainable and ethical technology and consumer trends.

The global population is predicted to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and to feed everyone, it’s estimated that global food production will need to increase by up to 70% in the next 30 years.

There are many challenges to overcome before fears of a worldwide food shortage can be allayed, including rising temperatures and more frequent droughts caused by global warming. These obstacles are making traditional farming methods increasingly inefficient and unpredictable.

Traditional farming has also been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the FAO, border closures, quarantines and disruptions to supply chains are limiting some people's access to food, especially in countries hit hard by the virus or already affected by high levels of food insecurity.

There’s an emerging consensus that the agriculture industry needs to adapt to use less water and chemicals, make crops less vulnerable to changes in the climate, and produce more reliable yields. Part of the answer may lie in the emerging start-ups growing produce in indoor environments, where growing conditions can be better managed.

The indoor farming technology market was valued at $23.75 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $40.25 billion by 2022. Yields are typically much higher than traditional farming methods. Crops from indoor farming are grown in three dimensions, rather than two – and can be grown all year round, independent of external weather conditions.

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Square Roots next-generation farmers growing basil. CRAIG VANDER LENDE

One of Square Roots’ indoor farms, for example, produces the same amount of food as a two- or three-acre farm annually, just from 340 square feet. This yield is achieved by growing plants at 90 degrees, and by using artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure the environment is optimal for each specific plant, including the day and night temperatures and amount of CO2 needed.

“Our indoor farms are living biosystems, constantly adapting to maintain optimal climates for growing specific crops. We’re then able to understand how changes in the climate can impact yield taste and texture,” says Tobias Peggs, Square Roots’ chief executive.

Not only could indoor farming help adapt to a warming planet, but it has the potential to help slow down climate change by being more sustainable – using less water and producing fewer emissions. While estimates vary widely, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture accounted for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2018; it is also highly dependent on, and a pollutant of, water.

Square Roots’ pop-up farms are built in shipping containers in cities, often in parking lots. They serve local communities, which means reduced emissions compared to traditional agriculture, which often involves transporting food much further. For example, it has 10 farms in Brooklyn that serve 100 retail stores all within five miles of the farm.

At the Plenty headquarters in South San Francisco, leafy greens use up one percent of the land and five percent of the water compared to traditional outdoor farms, says Matt Barnard, the start-up’s Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder.

AeroFarms’ indoor farm in New Jersey grows greens including baby kale, baby arugula, and baby watercress using 95% less water than conventional agriculture on just one percent of the land required. The crops grow under LED light with no pesticides and a fraction of the fertilizer used on traditional farms.

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AeroFarms environmentally-controlled indoor farms can grow all year round independent of climate and ... [+] AEROFARMS

Marketing director Alina Zolotareva says being able to produce have ready-to-eat produce that doesn’t require rinsing helps to reduce water usage.

“This is a transformational innovation for agriculture at large,” she says, “as access to fresh water for growing food is one of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

As well as fewer miles and less water, indoor farming doesn’t require pesticides. This is better for the environment and human health as it eliminates the risk of water contamination due to run-off, and is in line with increasing consumer demand for non-GMO produce.

Plenty eliminates the need for pesticides with LED lights, which are synced with the crop’s growth, Barnard says, to provide the ideal spectrums and exposure and minimize energy usage.

“Our sensor system ensures each plant gets exactly the amount of purified water it needs, and any excess water is recycled through a closed-loop irrigation system resulting in greatly reduced water consumption and zero waste,” he says.

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Nanobubbles super-saturates the water with oxygen, making the plant roots healthier. This promotes ... [+]

MOLEAER

Other farms are using nanobubble technology, such as Moleaer, which has allowed more than 100 indoor farms to connect their irrigation systems to generators that provide oxygen via sub-micron gas-containing cavities to the plant’s roots to provide chemical-free water. These nanobubbles result in healthier roots, more resilient plants, and increasing crop yields, says Nick Dyner, CEO of Moleaer.

“Our oxygen transfer efficiency provides the most cost-effective solution to elevate oxygen levels in the water, which in turn promotes beneficial bacteria and root development,” he says.

The company is also working on a new NASA-approved space farming research project, exploring how astronauts on the International Space Station can grow their own food in microgravity using nanobubble technology.

There are concerns that it’s an expensive investment, but Dyner says Moleaer has various systems so it’s accessible to all sizes of indoor farms, high- and low-tech. Some products do, however, require growers to connect an external source of oxygen, which must come from a gas supply company or an onsite oxygen generator, which Moleaer provides.

“In many cases, traditional farmers may have more to gain by using our technology, since the capital investment is significantly less than the most advanced growing technologies available today, which are often out of a typical farmer’s budget,” Dyner says.

“Nanobubble technology is a cost-effective, chemical-free, and scalable solution that allows growers to increase crop yields and shorten cultivation time - which will be much needed to feed our growing population in the future.”

Peggs says Square Roots is also focused on ensuring its technology makes farming an accessible career path for young people who live in urban areas.

“If you’re a new young farmer at Square Roots, our app will guide you through what to do; what’s growing, what state is in it, what do we need to do today based on where things are in the growth cycle. Through our app and our training program we’re able to bring new people into our team, even folks with zero horticulture experience, and get them ready to go in about six weeks.”

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Indoor farming is putting the youth back in agriculture. PLENTY

But despite being an emerging option for youth in the city, Barnard predicts most will remain traditional farmers.

“The world still needs the field and will need the field forever. We support the field by growing in addition to the field. Over time, [indoor] farming systems will become more accessible and affordable. Both field and indoor farming will be necessary to support global food demand.”

Viraj Puri, Co-Founder, and CEO of Gotham Greens, a pioneer in urban indoor agriculture that operates over 500,000 square feet greenhouses in 5 U.S. states, echoes this sentiment: “Growing produce indoors certainly has an increasing role to play in the future of sustainable food production. While indoor farming may not represent the future of all fresh produce production, for certain types of crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens, and herbs, it will become more prevalent. Customers are increasingly recognizing the reliability, consistency, and high quality of greenhouse-grown produce that’s grown in close proximity to large population centers using fewer natural resources. Other agricultural commodities like grains or fruits or root vegetables, however, can’t yet be produced.”  

However, Dyner predicts that, eventually, the majority of agriculture will move to indoors, in vertical farms— the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers—in urban areas.

“These settings enable traditional farming to shift to controlled growing conditions, using new technology and automation, and reducing the risk of exposure to harsh climate conditions,” he says.

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Plenty's goal is to build vertical farms in urban hubs and distribute each farm’s harvest locally ... [+]

PLENTY

Start-ups like Square Roots, Plenty, and AeroFarms currently practice vertical farming, which is a form of indoor farming that relies on artificial lighting such as LEDs instead of drawing on natural sunlight.

Other indoor farming companies like Gotham Greens grow produce in high-tech glass-clad greenhouses that primarily rely on natural sunlight for plant photosynthesis. According to Puri: “vertical farming is a more nascent technology within the indoor farming sector and the costs of running a vertical farm with artificial lighting and air conditioning is currently not as cost-effective as relying on natural sunlight in greenhouses.”

Gotham Greens takes a different approach, relying on natural sunlight rather than the artificial ... [+]

GOTHAM GREENS AND JULIE MCMAHON

“Greenhouse indoor farming technology has been in operation globally for 20 to 30 years and is proven to be commercially viable. That being said, the costs around artificial lighting and other vertical farming technologies have been coming down significantly in the past few years,” he adds.

Nonetheless, indoor farm technology start-ups, broadly speaking, don’t see themselves as disruptive, but as being on the same side of traditional farms, for the wider cause.

“The common enemy is the industrial food system, shipping food from one part of the world to the other, rather than locally produced food,” Peggs says.

Indoor farms don’t work in competition with each other, either; they work collaboratively by forming a network that shares data. For example, AeroFarms is collecting data on a research project with the non-profit Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research to understand the sensory and nutritional characteristics of leafy greens for the benefit of the entire agriculture industry.

However traditional and AI-based indoor farming work together in the future, there’s little doubt that indoor farming is helping to meet the needs of a growing global population and support traditional farming, which is both at the mercy of and exacerbating a warming planet. Only one method will find itself in space – but there’s space for them both.

Brian Kateman

I am co-founder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing consumption of animal products.

Lead Photo: The world’s current agricultural practices are unsustainable, and indoor farming may offer solutions ... [+]  PLENTY

In Paris, The Pandemic Gave A Boost To Urban Farms

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By Catherine Bennett

The largest urban rooftop farm in Europe opened its doors to the public at the beginning of July – two months behind schedule. Stretching the length of two football fields, Nature Urbaine sits on top of a convention centre in the south-west corner of Paris. The farm began growing herbs, fruit, and vegetables just weeks before Covid-19 hit Europe.

Nature Urbaine’s initial plan was to sell produce to restaurants and local businesses in the surrounding area. When France imposed stay-at-home orders, those restaurants and cafés closed overnight. But lettuce and tomatoes don’t stop growing during a global pandemic.

“We had to rethink our entire model, just as we were having our first harvest,” says Sophie Hardy, the farm’s site manager.

The farm began instead to sell directly to consumers. The small team of farmers were the only people allowed on the rooftop during the lockdown, and every morning they would harvest fruit and vegetables grown from seeds sown in March. They sold the resulting food baskets to residents in front of the 15th arrondissement’s town hall the same day.

For Hardy, the pandemic actually helped urban farms to find a new relevance.

“The crisis marked a moment when people living in the city wanted to opt for healthy, quality products found locally,” she explains. “There was a boom in producers selling their produce directly, and a new awareness that local producers were in danger – and, in echo of that, that France’s own position as a leader in the food industry was in danger”.

This fact did not go unnoticed by the French government. President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech on 12 March that delegating the nation’s food supply to other countries was “madness” and called to “take back control”.

As Covid-19 spread across Europe that month, European countries re-erected invisible internal borders, slowing down or even halting entirely cross-border food supply chains. Storage vehicles piled up at borders and seasonal farmworkers, hunkered down in lockdown, couldn’t get to fruit-picking jobs. Some lorry drivers refused to drive across a continent in the grip of a pandemic.

Fearing seeing fruit and vegetables rot in the fields, the government told businesses and consumers to focus on stocking and buying French food products.

In Paris, where residents weren’t allowed to go further than 1km from their homes, some local producers thrived.

Paris’s Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo has long championed urban agriculture. In 2016, Paris’s city hall unveiled Parisculteurs, a call for ecological and agricultural projects that would receive start-up money. Since then, the platform has funded 38 new urban farms, which produce 800 tonnes of fruit and vegetables every year.

One of Hidalgo’s principle ideas in her recent, successful re-election campaign was the idea of the '15-minute city', a way to rethink urban proximity. The concept aims to turn one of Paris’s drawbacks, its density, into its strength: residents should be able to access every conceivable service within 15 minutes of their homes, from health centres to bars, restaurants, and schools. The city wants to make everything more accessible – including locally grown produce.

La Caverne is one local producer that saw a financial benefit from the lockdown. On the other side of the city from Nature Urbaine and ten metres underground, mushrooms and endives flourish in a former car park that has been transformed into an urban farm.

“For the first time people realised the value of local agriculture,” explains La Caverne’s co-founder Jean-Noël Gertz. “Local producers were able to sell their products at a fair price. They didn’t have a problem finding places that would sell their products, nor did they have to compete with tomatoes from Morocco”.

Although the Covid-19 crisis didn’t entirely rupture traditional supply chains, urban agriculture professionals are hoping that the last few months have proved the importance of a diversified local food supply.

“Urban farms are an essential way of rethinking the cities of tomorrow,” says Anouck Barcat, the president of the French Association of Professional Urban Agriculture (AFAUP). “It’s one of the tools to make a city more resilient. They have so many benefits – we don’t make monofunctional farms”.

There are a number of environmental advantages to urban farms, not least of all their carbon footprint. An urban farm can sell fresh strawberries just metres from where they were grown, rather than having them travel hundreds of miles in a refrigerated container.

Another advantage of urban agriculture is its flexibility: it can slot into the negative spaces of the city, like abandoned railways, empty metro stations and even up the sides of buildings.

“We don’t need to be Haussman,” Barcat jokes, referencing Paris’s most notorious urban planner, who sliced up the city in the 19th century to create its wide avenues and tree-lined boulevards. “We’re not cutting through the city to make way for farms. They can go wherever there’s space: on roofs, in polluted areas, in car parks. We already have the solution for these spaces.”

One criticism levelled at urban farms is that the small yields don’t justify their expense. But both Barcat and Hardy are keen to insist that urban farms should not compete with nor try to replace traditional rural agriculture, but exist in parallel with it.

“We can’t cultivate every type of crop, and anyway, we’re not able to produce enough to feed the entire city. But the crisis has shown that urban agriculture has its place in the city and that this model works,” says Hardy.

France began to ease its lockdown on 11 May. Paris’s restaurants and cafés have reopened, and the city’s open-air street markets are once again selling peaches from Portugal and strawberries from Belgium. The farmers at Nature Urbaine now only have to walk a few metres to deliver their produce to Le Perchoir, the chic cocktail bar and restaurant sharing the same rooftop.

Barcat is philosophical about the slow rise of urban farms, but says that France’s capital has already seen a shift in thinking.

“Of course, some people will go back to their old habits. But others won’t. [The pandemic] has opened up new possibilities. My hope is that the ordinary Parisian will start to introduce more food grown locally in their consumption habits. We’re not going back to zero.”

Catherine Bennett is a journalist based in Paris. 

Lead Photo: The largest urban farm in Europe, Nature Urbaine, had to pivot its model due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE: Smart Acres Plans To Open R&D Lab For Local Produce Amid AgTech Growth

Vertical farming start-up aims to raise as much as Dh20m to fund the project

Abu Dhabi vertical farming start-up Smart Acres is looking to raise at least Dh20 million to fund a research and development center to produce a local variety of potato as agriculture technology gathers pace in the UAE.

“The future is green. The Hope probe has headed to Mars, why shouldn’t the UAE be the first to put a container farm on the planet?” Abdulla Al Kaabi, founder and chief executive, told The National.

The entrepreneur is part of a team of three working in partnership with a Korean AgTech platform called N.thing, to adapt the technology to the harsh arid climate of the Emirates on an Abu Dhabi farm gifted to him two years ago by his father.

Smart Acres has designed vertical farms in shipping containers using the IoT-based technology system that monitors water, carbon dioxide, and nutrient levels. The system sends a push notification to one of the team's iPhones or iPads if levels need to be adjusted, but it allows the process to happen largely unmonitored. The farm is empty most of the time, Mr. Al Kaabi said. The growing process also consumes up to 90 percent less water than traditional farming methods and grows premium and cost-competitive lettuces.

Food security and innovation in agriculture is a priority of the Abu Dhabi government, which has earmarked Dh1 billion for an agri-tech incentive program as part of the government’s Ghadan 21 accelerator initiative.

In April, Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio) invested $100 million (Dh367m) to bring four agriculture technology companies to the emirate as part of government efforts to attract high-skilled talent and cutting-edge research. The country’s 24,000 farms are set to benefit if new technology can be applied to drive efficiencies in crop yield and water usage.

The Covid-19 pandemic has only underscored the need to achieve greater food security in the UAE. Between 80 and 90 percent of the food in the GCC is imported, according to Chatham House.

While the figure is high, UAE residents are starting to see signs of progress: locally-harvested tomatoes and greens at the market or on dining menus are now a common sight. All of this has sprung up in the last several years as vertical and hydroponic farming ventures and research, as well as cloud-seeding, bear fruit.

Mr Al Kaabi wants the Smart Acres Institute of Food Security & Agriculture “to have Emirati hands” build the project. He is looking to attract recent graduates in environmental sciences and technology to the R&D lab to customize seeds to grow in this region in a controlled environment.

Potatoes, one of the most common crops in the world with consistent growing demand year-on-year, will be his first target. The team also wants to develop robots to help with harvesting and packing.

In addition to the R&D lab, Mr. Al Kaabi is aiming to increase the annual yield capacity at the farm more than tenfold, from the 40 tonnes of lettuces that it currently produces.

Mr. Al Kaabi was well-versed with the food industry even before he struck out on his own. His family owns the exclusive distribution license for a popular Korean ramen brand called Samyang Noodles as well as Tom’s Farm almonds.

While he learned a lot from the family trading business, his father encouraged him to build something on his own. After seeing how difficult the last several months have been on the imported food business, he is glad he did so.

With Smart Acres, Mr. Al Kaabi said, "I'm finally doing something right. Now my father asks me every two weeks what is going on at the farm”.

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Updated: July 21, 2020 06:52 PM

Lead Photo: Farming via smartphone in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Smart Acres

US: Vacant For Five Years, A Former Target in Calumet City Gets New Life As An Indoor Vertical Farm Growing Greens For The Chicago Area

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By ALEXIA ELEJALDE-RUIZ

CHICAGO TRIBUNE | JUL 15, 2020

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Jake Counne, founder of Wilder Fields, is seen July 14, 2020, inside an empty Target he plans to convert to an indoor farm, in Calumet City. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

A former Target that’s been sitting vacant in Calumet City for five years will be reborn as an indoor vertical farm producing locally grown greens for the Chicago area.

The 135,000-square-foot building in the River Oaks shopping center will house stacks of trays growing kale, arugula and other leafy greens under artificial lights. A retail shop on-site will sell the produce to the community and invite people in to learn about how indoor farming works.

Once at full capacity, Wilder Fields will employ 80 people and produce 25 million heads of lettuce a year that will be available in grocery stores across the region, said founder Jake Counne. Wilder Fields is the new name of the company, which previously was called Backyard Fresh Farms.

The property was exactly what Counne envisioned when he set out to repurpose existing buildings as indoor farms to supply fresh produce to cities far from the growing fields of California and Arizona.

An empty Target that Jake Counne, founder of Wilder Fields, plans to convert to an indoor farm in Calumet City. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

As retail giants close stores, a trend that’s been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Counne hopes to put the buildings they leave behind to sustainable use.

“We think this is very repeatable,” said Counne, who was a real estate investor before he became an agricultural entrepreneur. “There is a huge amount of vacant anchor retail space.”

Calumet City, which borders Chicago’s southern edge, acquired the building from Target and will lease it to Wilder Fields for 12 months, Counne said. After that, he plans to purchase the property from the city.

Counne expects to break ground by the end of this year and have the first phase of the redevelopment completed by early next year. After operating at a smaller scale to work out the kinks, Counne plans to finish developing the site by 2023. A group of investors is funding the first phase of the project. He declined to say how much funding he has received.

Produce grown locally indoors has gained popularity with consumers in recent years for environmental and quality reasons. It uses less land and water than traditional agriculture and travels far shorter distances, so the product is fresher and lasts longer when it gets into consumers’ hands. Growing year-round in controlled environments also cuts down on waste and contamination and avoids the challenges of unpredictable weather.

The Chicago area is home to several greenhouses that sell greens commercially, including Gotham Greens in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood and BrightFarms in Rochelle, both of which have recently expanded. But vertical farms, which use artificial light rather than sunlight, have struggled to succeed at a large scale.

Counne believes he can make it profitable with lower-cost automation, which he has been testing at a small pilot facility at The Plant, a food business incubator in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood.

He’s developed robotics to reduce the amount of time workers spend climbing ladders to tend to plants. For example, an automated lift collects trays of ready plants and brings them to an assembly line of workers for harvest. He’s also developed a system of cameras and artificial intelligence software that prompts the environment to automatically adjust to optimize growing conditions.

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Jake Counne, founder of Wilder Fields, on July 14, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Wilder Fields’ pricing will be in line with greenhouse-grown lettuces, which typically retail at $2.99 to $3.99 for a clamshell.

Though its first products will be standards like spring mix, spinach and basil, the plan is to also sell more unique varieties that people may not have tasted before. Among those Counne tested during his pilot were spicy wasabi arugula, tart red sorrel and horseradish-tinged red mizuna.

Counne is proud that his first farm is bringing fresh vegetables and jobs to an area that needs both. Parts of Calumet City are in a food desert.

Counne will be hiring for a variety of positions, from harvesters to software engineers to executives. He plans to implement a training program that will allow people to move from entry-level roles to positions managing the computer algorithms.

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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz covers the food industry for the Chicago Tribune's business section. Prior beats include workplace issues, the retail sector and lifestyle features, plus stints at RedEye, the Daily Herald and the City News Service. Alexia grew up in Washington, D.C., and has her degree in international relations from Brown University.

The "AgrarCycle" Network is Intended to Give Vertical Agriculture a Major Boost

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Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences

July 3, 2020

In October of the previous year, the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences announced that a new research center "Agricultural Systemys of the Future" would be created on the Haste campus. The expertise from the research center will also be incorporated into the ZIM network "AgrarCycle". Graphics: Hüdepohl.Ferner Architektur- und Ingenieurges.mbH

In the network for agricultural systems development, the university works closely with research and development institutions, small and medium-sized companies, and start-ups. Cooperation with partners from the IT, engineering, and agricultural sectors should result in highly innovative approaches for food production.

(Osnabrück, July 2nd, 2020) In the coming months and years, a research team from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences wants to set up a highly innovative network of science and business under the name "AgrarCycle" in order to sustainably promote vertical agriculture in Germany. The project is being funded with more than 120,000 euros from the Innovation Program for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

In vertical agriculture, vegetables and fruits are grown in multi-story buildings. This system does not require direct sunlight or arable land because the plants grow in nutrient solutions under artificial light or daylight. In addition to efficient use of space at height, food can be produced in an indoor vertical farm (IVF) in reliable, weather-independent quality. In addition, the use of pesticides can largely be dispensed within production in closed and controllable agricultural systems of an IVF. "This will make it possible for people in urban areas to be supplied with locally produced food in the future," says Prof. Dr. Andreas Ulbrich, professor of vegetable production and processing.
 

Further project partners are welcome

Food from an indoor vertical farm is still too expensive, partly because of the higher electricity consumption. With regard to an IVF, for example, the project proposal states: "Apart from additional costs, the costs of energy consumption of 7 kWh per kilogram of leaf lettuce are already over one euro." To significantly reduce production costs, there is above all a lack of innovative power electronics. With the help of the ZIM network, that should change. "With the various project partners, we want to find ways to reduce emissions and use resources more efficiently," explains Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Pfisterer, Professor of Electrical Drives and Fundamentals. "We want to meet the requirements of nutrition and health-conscious consumer groups and bring new herbal product innovations to the market",

This should succeed both with partners who support the network financially and with associated partners who ideally support the network. The time for the project seems favorable in many ways: In July of last year, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Göttingen published a study that concluded that every second consumer would buy products from vertical agriculture.

Additional project partners from science and industry are being sought for the "AgrarCycle" network. "The vision of the ZIM network AgrarCycle is the further development of closed and controllable agricultural systems with all components and stakeholders along the entire agri-food value chain so that they are climate-resilient, efficient, quality-oriented and economical, and energy and material cycles are optimized and closed can ”, says the project application.

Further information:

Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Pfisterer
Phone: 0541 969-3664
Email: j.pfisterer@hs-osnabrueck.de

Prof. Dr. Andreas Ulbrich
Phone: 0541 969-5116
email: a.ulbrich@hs-osnabrueck.de

Background: The ZIM network "AgrarCycle - Network for agricultural system developments to increase efficiency and climate-secure production of vegetable raw materials through energy and material cycles" is large. Regular partners are: DIL German Institute for Food Technology; ISFH - Institute for Solar Energy Research; DH Light - Professional Lighting; RAM measurement and control technology; Gefoma; Thissen Analytics; Cultinova Experior Microtech; Ingenieurbüro Mencke & Tegtmeyer; Anedo and Hagedorn Software Engineering. Associated partners are: Seedhouse - InnovationsCentrum Osnabrück; Knowledge networking Weser-Ems - bioeconomy Landkreis Osnabrück; Mählmann vegetable growing; ELEA; ELO eG; Vrielmann; K + S and TROX HGI.

By: Holger Schleper | Jasmin Schulte