Sky’s the limit for vegetable farm
Print Edition
A company in the Jiading Industry Zone has developed a “vertical farm” to improve the productivity of vegetables and conserve resources.
Aessense Technology Shanghai Ltd has replaced sunlight with LED light to grow the plants and the lighting can be adjusted to increase productivity.
Zhou Huafang, the company’s chief botanist, said that by not using soil the plants are protected from pests, diseases and pollution. They are fed and watered using an aeroponics system which incorporates more oxygen and facilitates absorption of nutrient-rich water.
Over 90 percent of the water and 50 percent of nutrients, which are recyclable, can be saved.
Vertical farming also reduces the need for farmland.
The company said the investment in vertical farming is higher than for traditional farming.
Its farm has 192 pieces of equipment for every 660 square meters, costing 6 million yuan (US$900,000).
However, vertical farming multiplies benefits of traditional farming tenfold or even higher, the company said.
With a single click on an app, farmers can regulate temperature and humidity and keep an eye on plants grown far from where they are.
“For the traditional agriculture, this is a revolution,” Zhou said.
Vertical farms have now been installed in 450 factories in Asia and the company sees potential for the technology in other fields.
“We are very confident about the future of this project,” said Yuan Zhongxing, Aesssense’s project manager.
“We expect the sales revenue of this project to reach 150 million yuan in the next two years.”
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