Macarthur Foundation “ Changing our food system is one of the most impactful things we can do to address climate change , create healthy cities , and rebuild biodiversity ”. ( 3 )
This is where Controlled Environment Agriculture ( CEA ) comes into the picture .
CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE It must be said that growing food in a climate-controlled environment is not new . Horticultural cultivars have been grown in Australian greenhouses for decades . Think protected cropping , tomatoes , zucchinis , strawberries and you get a good sense of the advantages of growing food in a controlled environment .
CEA refers to high-tech indoor food production systems enabled by new technologies and advanced manufacturing where inputs ( growing substrates , light , water , heat and nutrients ) are monitored and adjusted to ensure the perfect growing environment to maximise yields and eliminate waste .
CEA comes in all shapes and sizes and can utilise hydroponic , aeroponic and aquaponic growing systems . Food can be grown in converted shipping containers , repurposed warehouses , underground tunnels , car parks , roof tops and of course purpose-built facilities . As some say , “ It is no longer about what you make , but how you make it ”. ( 4 )
Globally CEA is big business and the examples below illustrate that confidence and investment is on the rise . Investors and entrepreneurs are looking for opportunities to establish CEA production in both rural and urban regions and it gets interesting .
Snapshot of global players ( 5 ) :
• Plenty is a major urban vertical farm enterprise in San Francisco . It generates revenues of around $ 80M and its major investor is Jeff Bezos . The company has raised $ 200M and in 2017 acquired an “ ag hardware company ” Bright Agrotech in an effort to reach field-scale production . Their farms use 99 % less land and 95 % less water than conventional farms .
• Square Roots started growing basil in 10 shipping containers in Brooklyn with annual revenues of around $ 20m ; Kimbal Mush ( Elon ’ s brother !) is a major investor . In 2019 the company signed a deal to grow herbs in 200 warehouses owned by Gordon Food Service and the net result shortened the supply chain .
• Bowery farming runs two industrial sized indoor farms growing , lettuce , kale and spring onions in New Jersey . The company raised $ 172.5 million from leading investors and recently opened a new farm outside Baltimore city ; Bowery can grow year-round without using pesticides .
• AeroFarms is turning local warehouses into indoor vertical farms . The New Jersey based company operates nine urban farms across the globe including in the US , Saudi Arabia , Japan and Korea . The company recently raised $ 500m from investors to aid its expansion .
• Gotham Greens in 2011 established its first local rooftop garden to provide on demand fresh produce for local cafes and restaurants in Brooklyn NYC . The company , now a network across the USA , generates annual revenues in excess of eight-figures .
• Alesca Life Technologies a Chinese based enterprise is turning used shipping containers and vacant urban infrastructure into highly automated , indoor hydroponic urban farms . There are now hydroponic farms in China , the United Arab Emirates and the company has signed agreements to deliver over 1000 container farms across projects in China , the Middle East , and Southern Africa .
Photo credit : Western Sydney University at Hawkesbury
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 13 NO 2 2020 17