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Manila Bulletin devider Drive devider An organic farm sprouts inside an underground train station in Taiwan

An organic farm sprouts inside an underground train station in Taiwan

Published Nov 2, 2022 05:00 pm

A busy metro station in the middle of Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, is paving the way for more accessible fresh produce. The Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) just inaugurated its "Metro Fresh" indoor vertical farm last week, according to a report from Taiwan News. An entire floor in the underground station was transformed into a 40-square-meter hydroponic farming zone, housing vegetables such as lettuce. 

Lettuce in Metro Fresh hydroponic farm at Nanjing-Fuxing Metro station. (Photo from Metro Taipei)

According to Unimicron Technology, the company behind the initiative, the "smart farm" uses high-tech equipment to ensure that the vegetables are cultivated in optimum environmental conditions. Also, instead of using pesticides and herbicides, the farm relies on LED lighting to create a sterile environment that is safe for plants and humans alike.

More than the innovative space transformation, the farm is also paving the way to make fresh vegetables more accessible to the public. According to the TRTC, the farm produce will be readily available in the "Metro Mart" inside the station. The farm is expected to produce 180 bags of lettuce each week.

In a bid to promote agriculture, they designated the farming zone as an educational site where students can learn agriculture technologies. Efficient land use, such as vertical farming, is crucial in sustaining the increasing needs of more than 23.6 million people in the relatively small island of Taiwan. Furthermore, technology-aided urban farming is also driving the youth's renewed interest towards agriculture. 

Source

Read more about farming and gardening at agriculture.com.ph

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