Born in the pandemic, London-based Farmia has left its old home and is set to expand its business A London, Ont., agriculture technology company has announced an ambitious new plan that will see its operations move from a former cereal factory to a local mushroom farm, where it will expand production and create a zero-waste farm system it says will help feed an increasingly hotter world.
Farmia first moved to London in the fall of 2021, taking up residence inside the cavernous warehouse of the city's former Kellogg's cereal plant — enough space for Farmia's soaring towers of hydroponic greenery to stretch to the ceiling, filling the otherwise dark space with vertical rows of bright leafy greens, nurtured under the glow of high tech grow lights.
"We chose Kellogg because its the biggest indoor entertainment area in Canada," Mohamed Zayed, Farmia's co-founder and chief operating officer told CBC News, noting the large windows overlooking the huge room allowed the public to get a peek under the hood of a technology Zayed hopes will help change the planet for the better.
"It is very sustainable. We use a lot less space and a lot fewer resources to create a lot more product consistently and year-round."
Locally-grown food for a hotter world
With no soil and no growing seasons, Zayed's technology can reliably produce 640 edible plants in less time than it takes to grow a similar crop outdoors, using the same amount of water it takes for a 10-minute shower — a technology Zayed said can eliminate the wild price fluctuations and e. coli outbreaks that come with the way we farm now.
Click here to see more...