Philippines: Vertical farming company wants to spread

hydroponics across the country

Manila-based Agri-Tech and urban farming company Urban Greens is announcing a project
tie-up with the Bonifacio Arts Foundation under the direction of the head curator of The
Mind Museum, who oversees all things art- and science-related in BGC.

The project is based on the creation of a prototype hydroponic setup within the premises of
The Mind Museum science museum, to show off futuristic farming techniques like
hydroponics to grow clean and healthy greens right in the heart of the city space.

As of 2018, Urban Greens has been building a prototype farm in collaboration with the Bafi.
Based on its modular and scalable nature, it has the potential to be developed on a much
bigger scale supplying produce to establishments and residents within Bonifacio Global City
and neighboring communities. Other projects of the company include a partnership with a
major real estate developer.

Urban Greens envisions that hydroponic urban farming will evolve the Philippine vegetable
food scene and provide a sustainable addition to our communities.

Read more at BusinessMirror (Amor Maclang)

Publication date: 4/3/2019 

https://www.hortidaily.com/article/9089806/philippines-vertical-farming-company-wants-to-spread-
hydroponics-across-the-country/
MANILA-based Agri-Tech and urban farming company Urban Greens, (Urban
Greens Hydroponics Systems Inc.) is announcing a project tie-up with the Bonifacio
Arts Foundation Inc. (Bafi) under the direction of the head curator of The Mind
Museum, who oversees all things art- and science-related in BGC.

The project is based on the creation of a prototype hydroponic setup within the
premises of The Mind Museum science museum, to show off futuristic farming
techniques like hydroponics to grow clean and healthy greens right in the heart of the
city space.

Fresh, affordable produce in our cities is often difficult to find. Supermarkets and
local markets are still dependent on vegetables grown with traditional farming
methods and transported from distant farms.

Filipinos battle with rising food prices, inconsistent quality produce, and limited
supply. This will prove unsustainable as the Philippine population is projected to
increase from 106 million (in 2018) to 142 million by 2045—about two thirds of
which will live in urban areas.

A growing movement of urban farming is providing methods towards more

sustainable agriculture practices. Integrating hydroponic farms into our present and
future urban spaces is one way to secure access to cleaner and fresher grown produce.

Environment-friendly farming
Urban Greens, a farming company founded in 2016, advocates hydroponic farming as
a means to unlocking the ability of anyone, including urban dwellers, to grow their
own food more efficiently. Hydroponic farming or hydroponics is when plants are
grown without soil. Instead, the plant roots absorb the nutrients it needs from nutrient-
rich water.

Compared to traditional farming that is resource-intensive and utilizes chemical

inputs, hydroponics uses 90 percent less water and does not use chemical weed or
pest-control products. This is critical as the world’s resources of clean water, fossil
fuels and arable soil is finite. Decades of intensive agriculture production has also
damaged different environments. What is often forgotten is that the health of the
planet impacts the health of the people. Finding alternative systems, such as growing
food in our own communities, enables our lands and resources to recover for the use
of future generations.    

Climate-resilient communities and farming systems

Developing climate-resilient communities must be prioritized as the Philippines ranks
fifth among the countries most affected to extreme weather events from 1998 to 2017.
Scientists have projected that temperatures will continue to increase until the end of
the century resulted to extended droughts or intense rainfall, sea-level rise and
stronger typhoons. The urban landscape creates opportunities for more protected and
controlled farms from the changing climate.

Even with limited space, an urban farmer can choose to stack hydroponic systems or
to plant “vertically” to maximize available space both indoors and outdoors. Options
that improve the availability and accessibility of quality produce at consistent prices.
Vegetables and herbs could be easily grown and harvested indoors, such as offices,
restaurants and homes. One could also tend to the plants in an outdoor setting, such as
under-utilized rooftops, terraces or backyards.  

Urban Greens works with individuals and organizations to find the types of
hydroponic system that would address their needs. The company strives to build
systems that can be easily used, maintained and refitted using local materials.

Promoting healthier lifestyles and well-being

The proximity of one’s food to the place of work and inhabit encourages individuals
to reconnect with nature and what they eat.  Freshly picked vegetables are more
nutritious and retain improved aroma and flavor. These are often lost when vegetables
are packaged and transported through traffic-laden routes.
More hydroponically grown vegetables may help improve the eating habits of
Filipinos. In urban areas where convenience is preferred, studies show that the total of
local household food expenditures for food away from home has gradually increased
from 11.5 percent in 2000 to 17.5 percent in 2012.

The per-capita consumption of Filipino households of vegetables only averages 22.4

kilograms per year. This pales in comparison to the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) recommended level consumption of 146 to 182 kg/yr. Higher
intake of fresh greens reduce the risks of major chronic diseases and avert nutritional
deficiencies.

Settling roots within communities

Establishing hydroponic farms and community gardens make cities more sustainable,
providing both green public spaces and access to quality nutrition. In such
environment, creative synergy is able to flourish and partnerships can begin to
cultivate among residents, farmers, local businesses, academe and local leaders.

As of 2018, Urban Greens has been building a prototype farm in collaboration with
the Bafi. Based on its modular and scalable nature, it has the potential to be developed
on a much bigger scale supplying produce to establishments and residents within
Bonifacio Global City and neighboring communities. Other projects of the company
include a partnership with a major real estate developer.

Urban Greens envisions that hydroponic urban farming will evolve the Philippine
vegetable food scene and provide a sustainable addition to our communities.

If you want to know more about how to grow your own vegetables and become an
urban farmer, Urban Greens also offers to a Hydroponics 101 Workshops for
individuals and companies.

Hydroponics is the process of growing plants without soil. As only water is used,
there is no need for pesticides, fertilizers or fungicides and much less water than
conventional farming is used. Not needing soil or land-space makes it perfect for the
urban setting.

In addition, as those greens are grown amid a highly urbanized area surrounded by
numerous restaurants and condo units, this project demonstrates how to provide the
vegetables and herbs needed by those establishments and dramatically reduce the time
and energy used in transportation – resulting in cheaper, fresher and tastier greens.
The system itself will always be connected to Internet of Things devices, monitoring
the overall status and sending the data to their cloud servers, as to optimize the
growing conditions for the plants. This highly modular and scalable prototype system
can serve as a potential template for a much bigger urban farm setup.  

Apart from the project with The Mind Museum, Urban Greens has secured a strategic
partnership with one of the major Philippine property developers who has invested an
undisclosed sum into the hydroponics company. The main objective of the investment
is to revolutionize the hydroponics and precrafted structures business and the vision is
to reinvent the farming system, and fabrication, supply and installation of technology
of modular buildings, homes, event spaces and other structures making the Urban
Greens the biggest vertical farm in the Philippines, and eventually in the global
market.  Once established, it will not only solve high cost, and inconsistent quality
and supply of fresh produce, but also expand its business in branding, marketing,
licensing, management, design and supply.

Urban Greens is the regional representative of the international Association for

Vertical Farming and the only member in the Philippines.

Urban Greens is a 2-year-old start-up founded by former tech/ corporate biz dev,
turned hydroponic enthusiast Filipino-German Ralph Becker with a big vision for
accessible and high-end hydroponically grown food for big scale businesses as well as
home usage.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/04/03/bgc-bafi-shows-developers-what-to-do-with-your-available-
open-spaces/