A small business in the southern region of Puerto Rico, practices vertical farming in a growing container. They aim to provide food security and reduce the need for imported produce.
Francisco Santana founded Grupo Vesan in 2015 with a simple concept: farming differently and more effectively. He looked to indoor vertical farming and became the first company in Puerto Rico to adopt that model.
“Everything is with artificial lights and it works with 17°C (62°F) of temperature. It is a completely different environment. We regulate the humidity and even the oxygen level is controlled. The concept of all these parameters is completely different from what one usually finds in the market,” Santana explained.
In its beginnings, Grupo Vesan started with a 40-foot wagon and is now producing a variety of fruits and vegetables in Canas Industrial Park in Ponce, working with a 20-foot ceiling and 14 different parameters that allow for a broader range of products. Even after Hurricane Maria devastated nearly 70 percent of the island’s hydroponics, the company stood strong.
As such, Santana hopes that more agribusinesses incorporate this system so that residents have access to fresh food in times of crisis. “One of the benefits of this system… is that it provides food security. What we project is that agriculture should move indoors,” he said. “Agriculture in Puerto Rico is not where it should be. That is the main issue of food security tied to this subject of indoor vertical farming. On the other hand, at the technology level, we are the pioneers in this process.
Read more at The Weekly Journal (G. Garagalo)