The urban farm of the future
From the November 2007 edition of Agriculture Today.
Chance to lead the world ...
NSW Department of Primary Industries leader of urban agriculture, David Mason, says Australia has an opportunity to lead the world with the innovation proposed by the ecoCity Farm.
"I hope it gets the home support it now deserves and requires," he said.
"The concept addresses the sustainability principle of equity in the food chain, whereby operators benefit by being able to direct-market produce at a retail price, eliminating many of the middlemen in the conventional wholesale market chain.
"The operators would become price makers rather than price takers, thereby achieving significantly higher profit margins while still offering produce to customers at reasonable prices.
"The direct to consumer system would allow the ecoCity Farm operator to build strong customer loyalty and to educate customers about their food and related health and ecological issues.
"This integrated production, service, marketing and education package would have the capacity to reposition agriculture and associated agribusiness in urbanising parts of the world."
Imagine quarter-acre city gardens teeming with fresh fish and vegetables, dotted every few kilometres throughout urban areas across the globe, where nearby residents walk from their home to the farm and purchase their protein and vegetable needs for their families.
Imagine minimal or no transport costs, no refrigeration or storage costs, and no extra labour costs on top of what the farmers are paid to grow and tend the food. This is the ultimate vision of the ‘ecoCity Farm’.
The prototype won a weekly segment of the ABC TV’s New Inventors program last November and is now entering the next stage of development, to test the commercial application of the concept. It is the inspiration of Andrew Bodlovich from Nimbin and Hogan Gleeson, Goolmangar.
"I have not seen, nor have I read any international literature on anything that has the potential intervention scale of the ecoCity Farm concept and associated food chain integration," NSW Department of Primary Industries leader in urban agriculture, David Mason said.
"I became aware of some very forward thinking urban agriculture innovation in my Churchill study tour last year.
"The ecoCity Farm culture, known as enviroponics, combines aquaculture and chemical free greenhouse plant production that may be capable of organic certification.
Mr Mason says the plants in the hi-tech market-garden style farms use the nutrients from water inhabited by fish. The nutrient depleted water is then returned to the fish tanks for reuse. People’s protein needs are met by eating the fish.
"The closed system would use only five per cent of the water used by traditional aquaculture systems or traditional farming to produce the same volume of product," Mr Mason said.
"The concept would be adapted to different climates and work in all but the coldest of conditions."
The initial R&D has been completed and planning is now focused on developing a commercial scale system over the next 12 months leading on to domestic and then international market entries.
"The concept also fits well with farm diversification on existing rural ventures, creating new revenue streams as well as often using resources otherwise wasted by traditional farming. One revenue stream would be from producing the necessary organic ingredients for fish food.
ecoCity Aims To Target
- Existing store chains which carry chemical free food and fresh vegetables
- Institutional organisations (schools, prisons, remote communities)
- Independent grocery retail outlets
- Property developers seeking to create sustainable communities
- Existing aquaculture businesses
- Destination attractions in remote areas that have high volume fresh food requirements.
ecoCity farm advantages
- Strategically position food production and consumption in urban areas in the context of pandemics, globalisation, global warming, natural disasters, human health, community health and environmental health
- Addresses environment management systems, food safety, food security, integrated pest management and biosecurity
- Integration with building and city design, including water reuse and organic waste recycling
- Consistent with developing international trends such as direct marketing, local food and a consumer driven food chain.
- Contribute to knowledge economy
Contact Andrew Bodlovich, Nimbin, 0427 519 975.
