“The difference between a plant factory and traditional gardening is the freedom of production of locally grown fresh food in time and space.”

In theory, at present, there is enough food on the earth to feed about 12 billion people, but the way food is distributed around the world is inefficient and unsustainable. Food is shipped to all parts of the world, the shelf life or freshness is often greatly reduced, and there is always a large amount of food to be wasted.

Plant factory is a step towards a new situation-regardless of the weather and external conditions, it is possible to grow locally produced fresh food throughout the year, and it may even change the face of the food industry.

Fred Ruijgt from Indoor Cultivating Market Development Department, Priva

“However, this requires a different way of thinking.” Plant factory cultivating is different from greenhouse cultivating in several aspects. According to Fred Ruijgt from from Indoor Cultivating Market Development Department, Priva, “In an automated glass greenhouse, you have to deal with various external influences, such as wind, rain and sunshine, and you need to manage these variables as efficiently as possible. Therefore, growers must constantly do some operations that are required for the stable climate for growth. The plant factory can formulate the best continuous climate conditions. It is up to the grower to determine the growth conditions, from light to air circulation.”

Compare apples with oranges

According to Fred, many investors try to compare plant cultivating with traditional cultivating. “In terms of investment and profitability, it is difficult to compare them,” he said. “It is like comparing apples and oranges. It is important to understand the difference between traditional cultivating and cultivating in plant factories, but you cannot simply calculate each square meter, with direct comparison of the two cultivating methods. For greenhouse cultivating, you must consider the crop cycle, in which months you can harvest, and when you can supply what to customers. By cultivating in a plant factory, you can achieve a year-round supply of crops, create more opportunities to reach supply agreements with customers. Of course, you need to invest. Plant factory cultivating provides some possibilities for sustainable development, because this type of cultivating method can save a lot of water, nutrients and the use of pesticides.

However, compared with traditional greenhouses, plant factories require more artificial lighting, such as LED grow lighting. In addition, the industrial chain situation such as geographic location and local sales potential should also be used as reference factors. After all, in some countries, traditional greenhouses are not even an option. For example, in the Netherlands, the cost of growing fresh products on a vertical farm in a plant factory may be two to three times that of a greenhouse. “In addition, traditional cultivating has traditional sales channels, such as auctions, traders, and cooperatives. This is not the case for plant planting-it is very important to understand the entire industrial chain and cooperate with it.

Food security and food safety

There is no traditional sales channel for plant factory cultivation, which is its special feature. “Plant factories are clean and pesticide-free, which determines the high quality of products and the planability of production. Vertical farms can also be built in urban areas, and consumers can get fresh, locally grown products. Products are usually transported from vertical farm directly to the point of sale, such as a supermarket. This greatly shortens the path and time for the product to reach the consumer.”

Vertical farms can be built anywhere in the world and in any type of climate, especially in areas that do not have the conditions to build greenhouses. Fred added: “For example, in Singapore, no more greenhouses can be built now because there is no land available for agriculture or gardening. For this, the indoor vertical farm provides a solution because it can be built inside an existing building. This is an effective and feasible option, which greatly reduces dependence on food imports.”

Implemented to consumers

This technology has been verified in some large-scale vertical planting projects of plant factories. So, why hasn’t this kind of planting method become more popular? Fred explained. “Now, vertical farms are mainly integrated into the existing retail chain. The demand mainly comes from areas with high average income. The existing retail chain has a vision-they want to provide high-quality products, so they are in this regard Investment makes sense. But how much will consumers pay for a fresh lettuce? If consumers start to value fresh and high-quality food, entrepreneurs will be more willing to invest in more sustainable food production methods.”
Article source: Wechat account of Agricultural Engineering Technology (greenhouse horticulture)