Page 43 - FoodFocusThailand No.197 August 2022

SPECIAL INTERVIEW

water flow, lighting, fertilizers, and temperature on a smartphone. • Traceability technology is a critical tool. All Wangree Fresh’s products
CCTV cameras were installed because the higher areas of a have a QR Code for consumers to scan and see the details of their vegetables.
vertical farm are not always easily visible or accessible. The Information provided includes the origin of the seeds, planters, harvesters,
cameras help the farmers detect any abnormality, such as period and location of planting, nutritional values, and lab test results. The
withered leaves that may be caused by cloaked water flow. These information is for consumers’ safety and peace of mind.
technologies allow farmers to detect issues and proactively solve With technologies as the core of farms, it provides much ease in developing
them. an existing factory or building more factories. The system can be replicated
• Cloud Data Storage. Mr. Tamvimol mentioned that the into a new factory, making expansion easier.
information he has earned through his 7 years’ experience in
vertical farming was uploaded to the cloud to provide a foundation Challenges in Vertical Farming
for growth. He envisioned that Wangree Fresh might expand in Mr. Tamvimol added that “The main challenge in vertical farming is funding.
the future, and apart from human points of view, an AI can A plant factory requires technologies and know-how. The yields consequently
analyze the data. are more expensive than traditionally-grown vegetables.” However, he said
that the tip to reducing costs is to select the right technologies. He manifested
that these costs will be lowered to the point that vertical farming products are
at the same prices as other products. Another key factor for the success of
this business is the knowledge and awareness of the differences between
traditionally-grown vegetables, organic vegetables, and medical-grade
vegetables among both farmers and consumers. The last important factor is
Thailand’s safety guidelines for farmers. Mr. Tamvimol agreed that smart
farming should produce safe vegetables for consumers and, at the same time,
be profitable for farmers.
Currently, there are not many vertical farms in Thailand, and there is a
need to develop and tailor the business for specific sectors such as wellness
centers or city-living consumers.

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