S. Korea’s indoor farming technology helps crop production in the Middle East
  • 3 years ago
여기는 중동, 한국서 온 스마트팜이 우릴 먹여 살리고 있다

To address the global challenges of food security, countries have turned to alternative farming methods.
And one of the those methods is ‘indoor vertical farming’.
As today marks the nation’s Farmers Day, we look into how the country’s latest agricultural technology is helping grow crops in the Middle East.
Min Suk-hyen reports.
This may look like a regular shipping container, but in fact it’s an indoor vertical farm exported to the United Arab Emirates by a South Korean company.
The 12-meter long container is filled with vertical racks of crops, including Romaine lettuce.
Named ‘Planty Cube’, the farm replaces conventional farming methods with digital technology.
Natural sunlight is replaced with artificial lighting and water levels, air temperatures, and humidity can be adjusted with just a few clicks.
"It also operates under a hydroponic system, where nutrients are mixed into water so that crops can grow without soil."
Farms can also be monitored remotely from South Korea, even from a smartphone, and conditions can be adjusted to optimize plant growth.
This way of farming can produce quality food all year round, without being affected by the weather, natural disasters or disease.
There has been high demand for South Korean indoor vertical farms in the Middle East.
Two indoor vertical farms were first set up in July 2019 as part of a pilot project.
Now a total of 10 are stationed in Abu Dhabi with more planned to be shipped next year.
"We are actually planning to export our farm in the next first quarter about 50 cultivation modules… Also, we're getting a lot of requests from other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) areas, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait. "
South Korea launched a set of programs last year to export its smart farm technologies.
It aims to become a key player in the industry, along with the U.S. and the Netherlands.
Min Suk-hyen, Arirang News.
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