Local agtech boosts vegetable production

The company is planning to build another two indoor farms in the Klang Valley. It is currently in discussions with a mall owner to locate an indoor farm on the north east side of the Klang Valley.

LOCAL agriculture technology (agtech) company Agroz Group Sdn Bhd has completed the construction of its 3,000 sq ft indoor vertical farm at Sg Buloh, which will allow it to produce three tonnes of vegetables every month.

Agroz currently has a total of 37,000 cu ft of indoor vertical farm space via three units of container farms in Mines 2, Seri Kembangan.

“Although only 37,000 cu ft, we can yield produce equal to 18 acres of open farm land, within the city, growing fresh vegetables in the local community,” says Gerard Lim, founder and chief executive officer of Agroz.

The company is planning to build another two indoor farms in the Klang Valley. It is currently in discussions with a mall owner to locate an indoor farm on the north east side of the Klang Valley.

Lim adds that plans to build a 100,000 sq ft farm in Shah Alam is still in-progress.

He says Agroz’s business model of growing fresh produce closer to consumers will help address the issue of food safety, food security and sustainability.

Its large scale and industrial grade indoor vertical farms use a myriad of advanced technologies to ensure the methods and approach of growing food are repeatable, scalable and traceable. Lim says that they leverage Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies including automation, Internet of Things sensors, big data analytics, artificial and augmented intelligence, machine learning and blockchain.

Agroz has also partnered with online marketplaces and e-commerce sites to ensure its produce is accessible to consumers.

Lim adds that the group’s fund raising exercise is still on-going and thus far, several investors from within Malaysia and abroad have shown interest.