Guangzhou citizens do not have to go to rural areas to experience agriculture anymore; in the center of the city, they can observe the latest forms of modern agriculture up close.
Experience world-class planting technology
There is always a misunderstanding that Guangzhou, a modern city, has no agriculture. However, Guangzhou not only has a vast rural area but developed urban agriculture also.
Huacheng Farm is located in the center of the city and covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is the first immersive science complex with modern agriculture as the theme in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It focuses on agricultural science and technology, growing soilless with water and fertilizer integration and space cultivation technology. The farm has also become a classroom for locals to understand agricultural ecology.
"Hydroponic vegetables also have a genuine taste of vegetables"
One of the largest areas of the Huacheng Farm is a vertical vegetable factory. Vegetable seedlings grow until they have about two leaves. They can then be transplanted to a cultivation board by an automatic transplanter, and then transported by a robot to a vertical cultivation area. Here, artificial light sources and drip irrigation technology are used to ensure that every crop gets whatever nutrition they need. Once the vegetables are ready, they move on to the restaurant nearby, where customers can enjoy their fresh taste. The customers are positively surprised at the quality of the veggies: "I didn't expect hydroponic vegetables to have such a strong flavor," one of them said.
Create a pioneering zone for the modernization of urban agriculture in China
As Wang Aimin, the officer of the Guangzhou Agriculture and Rural Bureau, said, this project aims to demonstrate the subversion of traditional agriculture, and to show its charm in one of the most prosperous urban areas. At present, there are but few agricultural enterprises in the center of the city, which is why Guangzhou launched the Huacheng Farm.
It appears that they have succeeded in filling the agricultural gap in the city; the vertical farming methods such as hydroponics and aquaponics have gradually become the norm in Guangzhou. Agriculture empowered by science and technology has plenty of potential to become the growing of the future; vegetables can be harvested multiple times a year, and crops are less affected by diseases and insects, and thus need fewer pesticides. This modern way of growing food could very well become the most important source of food security in Guangzhou.
See some pictures at news.dayoo.com.