Montel Inc. has announced a partnership with researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) to support the development of a groundbreaking pollinator-independent indoor berry production.
This initiative is made possible through major support from the Weston Family Foundation, via the Homegrown Innovation Challenge Scaling Phase, which invests in innovative Canadian solutions to enable reliable, year-round berry production. As part of this collaboration, Montel will build and host a dedicated pilot farm named MoFarm, where TMU's new airflow-based pollination technology will be tested and evaluated under controlled, real-world growing conditions.
A national effort to reinvent food production
In June 2025, TMU researchers Professor Habiba Bougherara and Professor Lesley Campbell were awarded a grant that will provide up to $5 million to advance their work on a novel system that enables raspberries — and potentially other berries — to be grown indoors without bees. Their innovation centers on a patented airflow and microclimate system capable of autonomously transferring pollen between flowers, addressing one of the most persistent challenges in controlled-environment agriculture.
© Montel Inc.Professor Habiba Bougherara (left)
The Weston Family Foundation's commitment to strengthening Canada's domestic food production ecosystem has been instrumental in propelling this work forward. Montel is honored to contribute to this national vision by providing the infrastructure where scientific discovery and engineering excellence converge.
Montel's role: Enabling real-world innovation
Montel joins the project as a known commodity in indoor vertical farming systems, bringing deep engineering expertise and a purpose-built testing environment to complement TMU's scientific leadership. Their practical experience in designing and manufacturing advanced growing systems adds a strong operational foundation to the research effort.
© Montel Inc.
MoFarm, located next to Montel's manufacturing facility in Montmagny, Québec and designed by Montel, will serve as a central site for hands-on validation and development. The facility will be used to assess the performance of the pollination technology under real operating conditions, run continuous year-round growing cycles, and provide a research environment that closely reflects commercial vertical farming settings. It will also strengthen collaboration between TMU scientists and Montel's engineering and technical teams, creating a direct feedback loop between research and real-world application.
"Montel's mission has always been to help growers 'grow more' with less space. Collaborating with TMU allows us to push the boundaries of what indoor agriculture can achieve when advanced science and engineering work hand in hand," said Yves Bélanger, VP Sales for Vertical Farming at Montel Inc.
A breakthrough in pollinator-independent indoor farming
TMU's research focuses on a major challenge in indoor berry cultivation: how to achieve reliable pollination without relying on bees. In controlled environments, traditional pollinators can be difficult to manage, costly to maintain, and vulnerable to stress. The team is addressing this barrier by combining plant science, mechanical engineering, and precise microclimate control into a single, integrated approach.
© Montel Inc.
The project aims to support pollinator-independent fruit set and reduce dependence on fragile pollinator populations. By improving yield predictability in indoor systems, it seeks to give growers greater consistency across seasons. The research also explores compact plant architecture that enables efficient multi-layer berry production, making better use of vertical space. Ultimately, the goal is to help advance sustainable, Canadian-grown berries that can be produced reliably year-round.
"This funding allows us to build and test a system that could transform indoor berry production in Canada. Partnering with Montel gives us the ability to validate our technology under real indoor growing conditions," concluded Professor Habiba Bougherara, Toronto Metropolitan University.
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