Page 24 - Berita Sunway - Issue 76

NET ZER O

Taking farming to new heights
With more than half of the world’s population currently living
in cities, and an estimated ve billion city dwellers by 2030,
vertical farming seems more relevant than ever as a means of
improving food security.
“With less than 10% of agricultural land allocated for agrifood
production and an increasing food import bill of close to
RM 60 billion annually, we cannot rely solely on traditional
farming to solve this burgeoning de cit,” said Sunway Group
chief innovation o cer and Sunway XFarms director
Matt van Leeuwen.

Embracing new technology in agriculture and bringing food
production closer to where people live via decentralised, hyper
local smart farms, is the way forward for Malaysia, he added.

e future generation of Malaysians seems to agree. Student
groups were tinkering with IoT (Internet of ings)
technologies to build agricultural solutions at Sunway iLabs Better for people and planet
Makerspace in Sunway University as far back as 2018 – one of
the market trends that eventually led to the founding of Leveraging precision farming technology such as smart IoT
Sunway XFarms in 2020, according to van Leeuwen. sensors and cameras, vegetables are grown faster and
pesticide-free with signi cantly less wastage – making vertical
“People were saying that there is no hope in [the future of] MATT VAN LEEUWEN farming sustainable for both people and planet.
agriculture as the next generation is not interested in the sector. Chief innovation officer of
But clearly, young talents are now interested in agriculture Sunway Group and director anks to technology, Sunway XFarms hubs use 90% less water
because of the technology involved. What was lacking was a of Sunway XFarms compared to traditional farming yet are capable of yielding ten
real testbed to validate their ideas and to take them to market,” times more produce with less than 5% on-farm wastage.
said van Leeuwen.
“ This relationship created a trust Technology-driven production methods allow Sunway XFarms
Sunway XFarms’ newest vertical farm in Sunway Tower, Kuala to rapidly switch between crops according to market demand
Lumpur, is a towering example of how farming seamlessly ts factor and transparency that the to adjust quantity and variety – reducing food wastage and
in a city. food we ate was produced in a giving them exibility to meet customers’ changing needs.
Occupying three oors spanning 37,000 square-feet in the responsible manner. This is exactly Indoor precision farming also makes sense in a country fraught
33-storey building, it is the largest indoor vertical farm in the the kind of relationship we want to with increasingly extreme weather events, be it heat waves,
Kuala Lumpur city centre with a production capacity of prolonged thunderstorms or ash oods.
13,000 kilogrammes of fresh, pesticide-free vegetables monthly. build with our customers – help
educate people on how we can Located within a ve-kilometre radius of every neighbourhood,
By 2027, Sunway XFarms’ soon-to-be-built hubs in the Klang Sunway XFarms’ ensures the freshest produce while preserving
Valley, Johor, Penang and Ipoh will collectively yield three grow food in a healthy manner, optimal nutritional value, as vegetables are delivered within
TE, SUN
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ARMS’
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Y X
TO DATE, SUNWAY XFARMS’
million kilogrammes of produce yearly. which will have a positive impact TO PILOT FARMS IN SUNWAY three hours of harvest.
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on people’s health.” CITY KUALA LUMPUR HAVE Decentralised precision farms do more than just save the planet
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FED MORE TH
FED MORE THAN 1,800 – they build a connection between people and the farmers, and
N 1,800
contribute to a healthier society, said van Leeuwen.
FAMILIES WITH OVER 15,000
F AMILIE S WITH O VER 1 5,000
KILOGRAMMES OF LEAFY e Dutchman likened Sunway XFarms to his experience in
FY
KILOGRAMMES OF LE
A
VEGE T A BLES SI N CE the Netherlands, where as a child, he would accompany his
VEGETABLES SINCE
mother to shop for fresh vegetables and fruits at local farms
SEPTEMBER 2020.
S E PTEMBER 2020. instead of supermarkets.
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