Pick n Pay has become the first South African retailer to launch in-store “vertical farms” to showcase a sustainable and locally-grown modern farming solution.
The vertical farms grow various lettuce leaves and herbs from seeds, right in Pick n Pay’s fruit and vegetable section.
The farming method display in-store is a growing trend globally with supermarkets in Europe and US, such as Marks & Spencer (M&S) and Whole Foods Market, introducing grown in-store leaf.
Pick n Pay On Nicol in Sandton and Pick n Pay Constantia in Cape Town are the first stores to pilot the vertical farms.
Vertical farming is a sustainable and low carbon farming method using 95 percent less water, 85 percent less fertiliser and no pesticides.
According to the United Nations, the global food supply will have to increase by 50 percent by 2050 to accommodate the projected demand for the world’s growing population.
At the same time, there is a need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but agriculture is one of the greatest contributors to global warming, accounting for 24 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Pick n Pay Head of Produce and Horticulture Liz van Niekerk in a statement, said the displays should pique the interest of environmentally-minded customers, but especially the youth, who will be able to see first-hand how produce grows and help connect them more to farming.
“Understanding the provenance of our food is important, and having the opportunity to share this environmentally friendly way of delivering safe and sustainable produce with our customers while they shop, is an opportunity,” she said.
The initiative is in partnership with CAN-Agri, a vertical hydroponic greenhouse farm in Pretoria, which has been a supplier to Pick n Pay for over three years.
The Pick n Pay-CAN-Agri in-store vertical farm has eight vertical ‘growing stacks’, each containing 10 plants, and will be a method demonstration of CAN-Agri’s commercial facility, which has 24 rows with 200 ‘growing stacks’ spanning 6 metres high.
While CAN-Agri maximises sunlight from its greenhouse, grow lights will be used in-store as the produce won’t have exposure to natural light.
While customers won’t be able to buy produce directly from the in-store vertical farms, CAN-Agri will supply a new range of products, pre-packed in punnets made from recycled plastic, from its farm.
Francois van der Merwe, CEO: CAN-Agri, said their firm was a South African innovation using its own, globally patented technology.
Van der Merwe said vertical farming was expected to grow by 25.5 percent over the next eight years due to the increased demand for urban agriculture and adoption of environment-friendly production of fruit and vegetables.
Its 3200 square metre growing area has the capacity to grow 384 000 plants. “We’ve harnessed innovative technology to produce food more responsibly and efficiently,” he said.
“The controlled growing environment delivers a consistent product and means we only harvest what is ordered. Our technology also helps us do many short growing cycles (three weeks) without any negative effect on our production output. Harvesting a younger plant also helps us deliver flawless leaves that just taste better,” he said.
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