Last updated: April 2023
Pakistan's first vertical farm was developed in the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate in Karachi, on a previous yarn factory. The owner had a background in environmentally friendly and futuristic plant growth technologies and wanted to convert them into a business model. And since "urban agriculture is immune to the constraints of climate", and the country has suffered a decrease in agriculture labour resources and land fragmentation, Sindh Industrial Trading Estate launched vertical farming practices as a business solution. (Ref: 1,5). In 2016, the owners set up a 60 ft room on the top floor of the old yarn factory into a futuristic farm by using hydroponic techniques to grow kale, rosemary and dozens of other vegetables under the purple glow of LED lights. Later on, the first floor of the factory was converted for vertical farming (Ref: 1). The project is a commercial venture, with agricultural products sold to the finest restaurants and supermarkets in the city. These eco-friendly practices ensure vegetable growth with maximum nutrients and require 90% less water as compared to traditional farming. (Ref: 1, 2)
Various types of vegetables grown at this farm in optimally controlled environment.
Source: (Ref:1)
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Other
Key challenges
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Conversion of former industrial areas
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Employment/job creation
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Knowledge creation and awareness raising
Project objectives
The intervention aimed to address a series of challenges particularly involving issues pertaining to Pakistan, a country with a high population that struggles with arable land fragmentation (inherited land is split among many individuals which means "80% of the farmers have land less than 2 acres which are too little for mechanized farming"):
1. To use sustainable agriculture techniques in a business model. (Ref: 1).
2. To use hydroponic techniques in vertical farming to grow vegetables. (Ref: 1, 3).
3. To produce fresh non-seasonal vegetables all year round (Ref: 1).
4. To produce safer agricultural produce, with reduced use of pesticides or any other preservatives, thus providing a more sustainable agriculture solution (Ref: 5).
5. To address the current shortage of labour in agriculture due to increasing urbanisation (Ref: 5).
Implementation activities
The project started in 2016 and has been successful within two years by successfully implementing sustainable agriculture practices in the country (Ref: 2). This practice motivated other people to start vertical farming within the country (Ref: 4).
The vertical farm has been actively producing fresh vegetables and supplying them to multiple restaurants and clients around the city. Almost 2,500 plants of kale, cherry tomatoes, pak choi, iceberg lettuce, swiss chard, wild rocket, Thai basil, green and colour capsicum, jalapenos, micro greens, parsley, celery, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage are grown within a cycle of 45 to 60 days from the time of seeding to harvesting. The farm had 70 times more production per square meter as compared to field farming and has extremely healthy produce without insecticides and preservatives. (Ref: 1,2,3)
The project owners have plans to expand this initiative on a much larger scale in the near future, which will allow them to export their vegetables to international markets as well. (Ref: 1)
Main beneficiaries
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
- Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Unknown
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The project had been developed and implemented by the owners of SG Allied Businesses Limited, a private sector business in Sindh Industrial Trading Estate, Karachi. The idea, project development, land ownership, and monetary contributions are solely from the owners. However, after the successful development of the project, this initiative was named "Clean Green" for businesses, under which they had been supplying fresh produce to customers, including famous restaurants in the city. (Ref: 1,2)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
No
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Corporate investment
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
No
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Unknown
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Generation of income from NBS
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts, No impacts reported
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Khan, N. (2021). A futuristic vertical farm now blooms in Karachi’s old yarn factory. Arab News. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
2. AgrinfoBank. (2020). Pakistan’s first indoor vertical hydroponic farm start production. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
3. MM News. (2021). What Is Vertical Farming? And How Vertical Farming Works. (Youtube). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
4. NUST ICT. (2019). Vertical Farms of Pakistan. (Youtube). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
5. Associated Press of Pakistan. (2022). Agri-scientist for opting vertical farming for beauty and productivity. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
6. Facebook (2019), Pakistan’s first urban vertical farm, available at Source link (Accessed February 8, 2023)
2. AgrinfoBank. (2020). Pakistan’s first indoor vertical hydroponic farm start production. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
3. MM News. (2021). What Is Vertical Farming? And How Vertical Farming Works. (Youtube). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
4. NUST ICT. (2019). Vertical Farms of Pakistan. (Youtube). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
5. Associated Press of Pakistan. (2022). Agri-scientist for opting vertical farming for beauty and productivity. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
6. Facebook (2019), Pakistan’s first urban vertical farm, available at Source link (Accessed February 8, 2023)
Pakistan First Vertical Farming
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1561866/pakistan
Pakistan First Vertical Farming
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1561866/pakistan
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the "NBS 2022" UNA Asian extension project funded by the Asia-Europe Foundation.