WHEN Kelvin Teo decided to set up a small vertical farm in his apartment room about five years ago, some joked about it, saying it was a silly idea.
They were wondering why someone would venture into indoor farming, growing greens using LED lights, especially in Sarawak, where there is plenty of land, natural sunlight and water resources.
With his interest piqued, the 38-year-old soon started filling an entire room with growing cilantro microgreens and even expanded to his living room due to overwhelming response to the high-quality of his produce.
He eventually moved his farm to a shop lot near a housing area in September 2020; to scale up and to cater to the increasing demand for his microgreens.
Today, Micro Sprout farm can produce daily harvests all year long as it (indoor farming) has little dependence on weather or climate. It uses LED lights to mimic sunlight, in a controlled environment, where several fans are in place to improve air circulation.
“We can harvest between 3kg and 5kg per day, compared to 1kg in the past when I was growing them in my apartment. We harvest based on our orders, thus, it is always fresh.
“ I chose cilantro microgreens because it is a high-value crop, worth RM250 per kg, compared to other vegetables which are usually priced around RM15 to RM20 per kg,” he said.
In addition, there is a huge demand for the herbs, which are known as ‘Yuan Sui’ in Mandarin or ‘Daun Ketumbar’ in Malay, from hawker food stalls, Chinese eateries to fine dining restaurants.
Many are using cilantro microgreens to add that refreshing taste and aroma to their dishes, especially for Sarawak Laksa and steamed fish.
Although his produce is priced slightly higher than other sellers and farmers in the wet markets which are usually sold in bundles, he is confident of the quality of his produce.
Moreover, his cilantro microgreens are available every day, regardless of the external conditions.
“My produce speaks for itself; they are fresh and good,” he said.
Unlike the traditional farmers, Teo does not just plant and sell the herbs – he is providing other services as well, such as delivery to their doorstep, accepting online orders and payments and even to the extent of explaining the benefits of eating microgreens.
“You don’t have to travel all the way to the market, sometimes just to get disappointed whether it is sold out or unavailable for a certain period of time due to the extreme hot days or rainy season. I provide customers a hassle-free experience.
“I also issue receipts, keep a record of their contacts, orders as well as feedback and so on. It is not just about indoor farming but also about how to make it easily accessible for everyone. This is the modern way of farming or running a business,” he explained.
How Micro Sprout started?
After spending a decade in the construction industry, Teo was exploring other potential opportunities or something new and fun to do.
One day, he came across some videos about indoor farming or vertical farming when scrolling social media – and he was hooked.
With zero agriculture background and knowledge, he started doing research about growing greens indoors, from reading articles and books, watching videos and searching information online.
“Some call it indoor farming while others refer to it as vertical farming – both are correct; it means growing crops in vertically stacked layers in an indoor space or farm – usually in the urban areas where there are limited areas of big lands or fields for planting crops,” he explained.
“The concept is still quite new here, thus, I have to order the LED lights from China, which cost about RM200 per unit.
“I also talked to people (of various backgrounds) and sought advice from others – but everyone has different opinions; some even tell me it is not going to work. But, I did not want to give up so I continued trying different seed types and creating various versions of mixtures for the soil,” he said.
After six months of trial and error, Teo managed to grow batches of cilantro ‘up to his expectation’ before starting promoting and selling the microgreens on social media platforms.
He is currently using coconut husk as the base with organic soil and his own ‘secret recipe’ mixture as well as premium quality seeds, with high germination rate.
To ensure a robust harvest, he adds organic soluble seaweed extract, which is a good source for nutrients in his farming.
“I also need to monitor the condition of the microgreens every day and water them accordingly and manually,” he said.
“The microgreens that grow in an indoor farm will be ready for harvest within three weeks, while those using traditional methods would take about four weeks, depending on the weather,” he added.
Advantages of indoor vertical farming
Indoor vertical farming allows farmers to produce much more food on the same amount of land; achieving higher productivity on a small area.
It goes without saying that such a method also reduces water usage and chemicals and makes crops less vulnerable to changes in the climate.
It has the ability to produce more reliable yields throughout the year, without worrying about the impact of adverse weather conditions.
By eliminating the effects of mother nature, there’s no such thing as a ‘seasonal crop’ and farmers won’t suffer from losses as they try to push the production windows of ‘seasonal cropping’.
Teo said indoor farming can be good for the environment because it massively reduces the amount of fossil fuels needed for farming equipment which is not required to sow, fertilise, weed or harvest crops.
Vertical farming also helps to improve biodiversity because it does not cause land surface disturbance, which helps the natural animal population which lives in and around farms to thrive.
“Growing produce in an indoor environment, he said, allows farmers to manage and monitor the growing conditions better compared to traditional farming. So, it requires less manpower or labour to achieve year-round production,” he said.
“It reduces transport costs, carbon dioxide emissions and reduces the need for refrigerated storage as we are located in the urban area; very close with our customers,” he added.
What’s next?
Moving forward, Teo hopes to diversify his product line in the near future with these potentially higher value crops.
He has applied for a loan from Agrobank which is crucial for him to expand his business, including supplying food and beverage outlets as well as supermarkets.
On government grants and funds, he said, any assistance aimed at promoting and supporting indoor farming or modern farming, especially for young people; should be easily available.
The government and relevant authorities should reduce red tape for the applications and approvals process, to really help and encourage small farmers or start-ups.
Teo said it is necessary for those who want to venture into the business to require an advanced-level of technical “know how” to set up, monitor and maintain.
“Indoor farming is not as easy as it sounds – as farmers will need to know plant science, plant nutrition, and integrated pest management. Beyond that, a basic understanding of machinery, mechanics and engineering will also be critical.
“But, it is definitely the future of agriculture as the traditional and current agricultural practices are incredibly harmful to the planet.
In addition to advanced knowledge of horticulture and engineering, leadership skills, management experience, financial literacy, adept communication, and sharp observation skills are also needed to operate a profitable vertical farming operation.
Many believe indoor farming or vertical farming could be a significant portion of the picture of future agriculture. Farms are becoming increasingly high-tech, allowing farmers to produce more, pollute less, and meet the challenges facing us as the world moves into the future.
