An old factory in Singapore is the setting for an indoor farming operation. The label on the mixed greens from the “factory farm” is Panasonic. At 6.9 Singaporean dollars ($4.84), the salads which include lettuce, mizuna and red pepper slices in plastic containers, are about twice the price of comparable packaged greens from Malaysia, according to an article from Nikkei.com.
Some Singapore residents are willing to pay a premium for the vegetables because they promise quality without pesticide residue. The salad greens quickly sold out, and now 26 locations sell them.
Panasonic grows the vegetables hydroponically in the factory in the western part of Singapore. The facility is a repurposed building that previously housed Panasonic Factory Solutions, a factory automation equipment maker. The facility uses purple LED lights and strict climate and environmental controls to grow the salad greens.
Panasonic intends to increase the indoor farm’s capacity from just 3 tons per year to 81 tons per year in two or three years. The higher production levels would represent 5% of Singapore’s entire annual harvest of vegetables.
