IndoorCultivationfortheFuture

Shigeharu Shimamura
MIRAI,CO.,LTD
(PresentedbyChieriKubota,TheUniversityofArizona)
BackgroundinJapan
Issues:
Increasingpressuretochangethe
structureofJapaneseagriculture
andfoodproduction
Publicconcernsovernutritionand
foodsafety
Trends:
Increasinginterestinplantfactories
inJapan
Advantages:
Strongsupportfromlocaland
federalgovernments
Consumersappreciationofhigh
technologyinagriculture
HardwareandSoftwareNeeds
forIndoorCultivation
Affordablesystemsfor
variousscalesofproduction
Highqualityandnutritionalproduce
Manuals Suitableforbeginners
IndoorCultivation
VerticallyIntegratedBusinessModels
Innovative
applications
Technology
service
Production &
Consultation
System Design &
Manufacturing
Marketing, Distribution &
Service
KeyTechnologies(Hardware)
Productioncapacity(examples)
300lettuceheads/day(60m
2
or650ft
2
foot
print)
10,000lettuceheads/day(1200m
2
or0.3
acre)
Hydroponic(NFT)system
Nutrientcirculation
EC/pHcontrol
Environmentalcontrol
Thermostatbasedtemperaturecontrol
CO
2
control
Fluorescentlampsand/orLEDs
Hygiene
Aircleaning(filtering)system,labsuit
Airshowerforworkersbeforeentering
Watershowerpriortoaccessforcomplete
removalofpathogensinlargescalefacilities
TypicalProductionSchedule(Lettuce)
Harvesting
Seeding&highdensity
production
Transplanting
Transplanting
(day)
f
r
e
s
h

w
e
i
g
h
t
Competitiveadvantages
Foodsafety
Traceability
Littlewaste
Standardized
quality
Yearround
availability
Conventionallettucehead
6070%harvestable
aerialbiomass
Waste3040%of
biomass(outerleaves
andcentercores)
Lettuceproducedin
GreenRoom
TM
9798%harvestable
aerialbiomass
Waste23%ofbiomass
Technologies(Software)
Growingmanualsfor40differentleafycrops/herbs.
Opportunities DesigningFlavor
Flavor= f (Genotype,Environment,HumanPerception)
14plant
factoriesin10
prefectures
Hokkaido
Okinawa
Yamagata
Kyoto
Tokyo
Chiba
Kanagawa
Shizuoka
Mie
Kochi
Applications
Applications
Retail+ IndoorCultivation
Renovatingexisting
buildingsin
urban/suburban
areas
Integrationof
productionsystem
insidetheretail
stores(zero
transportation).
Urbanroadside
stand
Applications
Restaurant+ IndoorCultivation
Alargerestaurantchainwith
~200locationsinJapan
~6tonsofMizuna leavesare
producedfor100oftheir
chainrestaurantsinJapan
Alargepizzarestaurant
chainwith~59locationsin
Japan
Indoorproductionfor
romainelettucesfortheir
salads
Applications
Restaurant+ IndoorCultivation
UniqueApplications
Responsesto3/11Disasters
CollaborationwithGE
Japantobuildan
indoorcultivation
farminMiyagi,Japan.
Kidsveggiefarms
(schoolprojectsto
supportSTEM
educationandlunch
programs)in
Fukushima,Japan
UniqueApplications
ExtremeClimate+ IndoorCultivation
SouthPoleShowaStation
~3m
2
minisystembuiltin
2008tosupplyfresh
vegetables
Onlineconsulting
UniqueApplications
ShoppingMall+ IndoorCultivation
LaLaPort Shopping
Mall,Kashiwanoha,
Japan
A6.6m
2
(71sq ft)
fordemonstrating
productionof
lettuceandherbs
IndustryAcademiaCollaborations
PlantFactoryConsortiumfundedbyMinistryof
Agriculture,ForestryandFisheries(MAFF)
Consortiummembers
Mirai (Leader)
ChibaUniversity(Organizer)
Iwatani(CO
2
,Pestmanagement)
KajimaConstruction
(Architecturaldesign)
ShowaDenko(LED)
Panasonic(Fluorescentlight)
Marubeni(Marketing)
ToyoValve(Nutrientsterilization)
MAFFDemonstrationPlant
CommunityApplication
Regionalcommunitysocial
networkformicrogardeners
AcollaborationwithChibaUniversity,Panasonic,and
MitsuiFudosan(urbandeveloper)
Socialnetworkingsiteforhomegardeners
Userinformationwebsite
MIRAIgardenforhome
Universityresearchpark
MIRAIgarden
website/SNS
Shoppingmall
veggiegarden
(transplantsupply)
Consultingandsupplying
materials/recipes
KashiwaCity
Kashiwanoha district
Community
usergroup
Kashiwanoha communitynetworkingpilotproject
Economicanalysisofindoorlettuceproduction
Items Note
Buildingsize(modular
building)
1,300m
2
(14,000 ft
2
)footprint (1,100m
2
or12,000ft
2
footprint for4,536m
2
productionarea)
Crop Leafy lettuce(10,080headsperday,100gperhead)
Nutrientdeliveryand
lightingsystems
NFT
Combination ofLEDsandwhitefluorescentlamps
Otherfacilities Officespace,packingarea,storage, coldstorage(200m
2
)
Otherequipment Cooling/heating,seedlingproductionsystems, irrigationtanks
andinjectionsystems,climatecontrolleretc.
Equipment/facilitylife Productionsystemsfor7years;15yearsforotherequipment;
20yearsforthebuilding
Items Income/Expense Note
Annualgrosssales ~$4.1M(331MYen) ~$5.68/lb (10%productloss)
Annualcosts(total) ~$3.4 M(274MYen) ~$4.70/lb
Investment return 6
th
year
Balanceestimate
1lb =0.45kg
Items Costs Note
Building 180M Yen(31%) Newconstruction
Construction 110MYen(19%) Utility setup
Equipmentand
facilities
300MYen(51%) NFTsystems, irrigationsystems,lighting
systems,others
Capitalcosts:7.4millionUSdollars(590MYen)
Items Costs Note
Salaries and
wages
71.3MYen(26%) Twofulltimeworkers+hourly laborers(210
h/day,$10/h)
Materials 15.4MYen(6%) Packingmaterials,seeds,lightbulbs,
fertilizers,chemicals,etc.
Utilities 72.6MYen(26%) 369MW/monthpower use+wateruse
Transportation
andshipping
6.0MYen(2%)
Other costs 49.2 MYen(18%) Facility/equipment maintenance,consulting
Depreciation 59.2MYen(22%)
Annualoperationcosts:3.4millionUSdollars(274MYen)
VFChallenges OurExperiences
Itisallabouthavingtherightkindofpeople
withexperienceandtrainingintheproduction
operation
Justlikesuccessfulwineriesandsakemakersneedexcellent
viticulturistsandsakemasters
Indoorcultivationwillneverbethesameas
industrialfactorymanufacturingandneedsa
nonlinearapproachbyunderstandingthe
natureofbiologyandagriculturalbusiness
Questions?