A vertical farming firm is fast-tracking the building of two farm modules in Bristol to help feed communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
The first of the new aeroponic farm modules will be ready to start producing produce from mid-April, LettUs Grow announced.
The first harvests will be ready to be delivered to food redistribution charity FareShare South West ten days after the farm’s commissioning. A second, larger module will be following in June.
Because most of the farm's operations are automated, they can be run with only one person on site at any given time to allow social distancing during the Covid-19 crisis.
The food is also produced in an environment with few people coming into contact with it. Once up and running, the farms will be able to provide a food supply to the local community.
Jack Farmer, co-founder of LettUs Grow, said the farm modules can be deployed anywhere with an electricity and water supply.
"They are uniquely positioned to increase regions’ food supply chain resilience by diversifying local food production," he said.
LettUs Grow was founded to mitigate climate risks posed to agriculture and to lessen the environmental impacts of growing produce.
The firm has designed an indoor farming system for greenhouse and vertical farms to address global food security and sustainability concerns.
These indoor farms need no fertile land to operate, use zero pesticides and provide a 'consistent, predictable and climate-resilient food supply all year round,' according to the firm.
Its offering is centred around two core products: a novel aeroponic system and an integrated farm management software called Ostara.
Growth rate increases of over 70% across a range of crops has been seen using this system, compared to current vertical farming methods such as hydroponics.
Ostara automates and controls the whole indoor farm, whilst collecting data on plants, overseeing inputs to crop growth and allowing farmers to trace crops from seed to sale, making operations more efficient.
LettUsGrow built one of the world’s most advanced indoor aeroponic growing facilities in 2019.
