School of Bioscience to sow urban farming legacy

Sean Lee conducting a webinar on sustainable urban farming

A future in which artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robots harvesting vegetables in an indoor urban farming facility with IoT sensors is not more than five years away, says Sean Lee Juan Shen, a business graduate and the founder of E-Farm, an urban aquaponics farm based in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

Lee zeroed in on the burgeoning urban agriculture industry and the role of technology in the industry in a webinar co-hosted by the School of Biosciences Club and Taylor’s Nature Club on 30 May that concluded with an enthralling unveiling of new modules.

He also discussed his own business and provided advice on how beginners could approach this industry.

The young entrepreneur explains his urban farming system, which utilises ammonia produced by red tilapias’ excrement.

The produced ammonia will be pumped into a bio tank containing bacteria, which subsequently converts into nitrate for the plants.

“It is a self-sustaining ecosystem that produces no pollution at all,” Lee said.

“In our whole farm, we just put in two things: fish feed and an enzyme that boosts the beneficial bacteria to break down the nutrients in fish waste.”

Apart from being sustainable, Lee also claimed that urban farming could also be a lucrative endeavour, depending on how you approach the business.

“We are profitable because we control the whole supply chain as we not only grow our vegetables, we also sell, package and deliver them to our consumers,” he added.

Lee further emphasised that urban agriculture often has minimal operating expenses if properly implemented.

“We operate with a very small team made up of myself, my business partner, and two employees,” Lee said.

“If it is well-planned with the appropriate technology, then many tasks will be automated, and all you have to do is to come back a month later to harvest the vegetables.”

Lee believes that technology will play an important role in urban agriculture, particularly in indoor and vertical farming.

“The weather now is very unpredictable; there’s rain yet it's hot, which causes a lot of wastage and trouble for traditional farmers, so, by integrating IOT technology and indoor farming, we could have a steady production of organic vegetables and fruits,” he added.

After Lee had concluded his presentation and addressed all of the questions posed by the audience, ​​Associate Professor Dr Yap Wei Hsum from the School of Biosciences made a pertinent announcement.

Wei Hsum Yap unveiling the new urban farming modules

“We are glad to introduce a minor for sustainable urban farming,” Dr Yap revealed.

Dr Yap further added that this minor from the School of Biosciences is comprised of three modules: "Crop Development and Management," "Sustainable Agriculture," and "Agricultural Sensing, Data Management, and Automation."

“We are looking at different aspects of urban farming through these modules to equip our students with the basic knowledge and skills of urban agriculture,” Dr Yap stated.

Students will supposedly study fundamental concepts about agricultural production, plant disorders, crop management, and crop production automation through these modules.

“These modules would basically be in terms of agricultural production for potential commercialization startup ventures.”

Dr Yap also noted that although these modules do not place as much emphasis on the business aspect, their primary concentration would be on agricultural sciences.

“These modules are available as free electives, so anyone interested in enrolling may do so at this time,” she added.