VERTIFARMS

This is a global challenge:
70% of the world’s water goes to agriculture
Crop vandalism and killing by herdsmen
30% more people on the planet by 2050
30% loss of arable land over 40 years
60% of food currently spoiled before it’s eaten
CO2 emissions from “food miles” increasing
Solution
The future is vertical. Vertifarms plans saving up to 75% water used for pesticide free farming, up to 50% less time to grow plants, increase annual productivity, and create jobs for the Nigerian.

In 2050, the world will be at an estimated population of 9.7 billion. And with Nigeria chasing 300 million by same year, the impact of vertical farming system will benefit the country in ways as under:
Reduce carbon emissions
Innovative techniques
Job creation
Economic growth
Curb Crop Vandalism by herdsmen
Food quality and security
Education
Greenspace.

Vertifarms plans producing more food from fewer land and water resources through vertical farming system in Jos North and Jos South LGAs of Plateau state, Nigeria.

With Jos-North and South (572,700 and 407,900 respectively), accompanied by a substantial growth in food demand which is expected to transpire in the next 50 years, 23.34 % of the population are already in urban areas.

In order to feed this growing population, there is a need for sustainable urban food. On the other side of the spectrum, farmer-herder clash continues to hinder food productivity and sustainability in Nigeria and other forms of insecurity and natural disasters tend to militate the current farming system globally.

Since nearly a quarter of the population is out of work and 20 percent is underemployed who are within the ages of 18 to 35, the figures are grim: 55.4 percent of us are without work (https://www.aljazeera.com/prog... ) while on the other side of urbanization, Nigeria increases by 5% to 10% annually (http://www.annalsafrmed.org/ar... ). This is alarming.
Vertifarms hopes to tackle the issue of unemployment and urbanization through vertical farming.

This Vertical farming system is a method of growing crops in vertically stacked layers in a controlled environment or building. A method of farming system that employs the use of soilless limited space, little water and no pesticides, where nutrients needed for the plants are introduced through water. 

The main advantage of utilizing vertical farming technologies is the increased crop yield that comes with a smaller unit area of land requirement. The increased ability to cultivate a larger variety of crops at once because crops do not share the same plots of land while growing is another sought-after advantage.

In the case of Nigeria, rather than going into complete high-tech vertical system, the intention is to use local materials like PVC pipes for the stacking, nipples and other materials, and some low-end solar back-up lighting and venting systems (for photosynthesis and humidity), while not excluding human labour for the success of the aforementioned. 

This solution transcends through; a young farmer who is willing to change his way of farming for the future through the new system, a boy of 22 years - young graduate who is unemployed and hoping to work with the goal oriented system of agriculture, the widower who is willing to afford for healthy meals. And the 980, 600 populations in Jos Metropolis who are within the ages of 18- 90 years, with an annual earning capacity of above NGN120, 000.00. This includes skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers within Jos metropolis.

Their needs have been surveyed and the sample drawn as above. They need jobs, edible healthy crops, and a leaning environment to thrive on while living in the confines of their homes without arable land encroachment through the old farming ways.

In Nigeria, this solution will provide jobs, reduce “food miles”, and reduce arable land use to create more living space, increase revenue to the locality and new earning capacity, reduce Co2 emissions in the environment and less water demand for crops.
The target population will be engaged in the development of the solution through sensitization and training.
The solution will tackle insecurity of food and lives, while reducing unemployment.

Its innovation lies in:

The optimization of cost per square meter, hence more production within the same place. 
It is done in a partly automated and controlled environment that eliminates a lot of risks which is attached to old traditional farming ways. In this case, seasonal weather and environmental issues will be taken out of the fold not forgetting the fact that the scare the farmer-herder clash will be avoided as this will enable thriving crop production all year round.
Its yields are standardized as in, every harvest cycle producing the same quantity, quality, flavor and appearance expected.

It will enable farmers meet changing and demanding market demand since varieties based on consumer or retail preferences can be introduced.

This, because of smaller farming space, vertical farming is welcome and environmentally. It is a new way of bringing pesticide-free food to the dining table.

Although Vertifarms have no competitors at the moment, but are wary of emerging entrants and by repositioning ourselves to serve better, we will still stand as frontiers in the vertical farming sector.

Vertifarms solution will be first of all part automation and part manual, where in the semi-controlled environment the mandate and the milestone to go into full automation in the near future.

This will enable the trainees in the hub to learn a new way of farming.
Measure population to productivity and output. 

Create a chance to train and re-train staff.

Vertifarms technology will comprise part automation and part manual. In the manual phase, the components will comprise PVC pipes and trays for farming and other biodegradable materials like treated saw dust for hang-able crops that only require low monitoring, with a simple method of drip irrigation employed through flexible hose. 

The method of growing the crops in a vertical farm employs the following elements.
• Temperature control will be done through solar heating and control.
• Humidity control through humidity control module
• Artificial lighting through solar powered LED
• Control and monitoring of nutrients and fertilizer via computer monitoring system.
While planning is essential in undertaking vertical agriculture, we need to ensure that what we grow is sellable, and that our production costs are not too high. The first step to ensuring this, therefore, is picking the right crops.

As aspiring vertical farmers we have conducted a feasibility study and come up with a profitable and sustainable plan. This is because every species we plan with have a growing method tailored to its needs. And Determining the daily nutrient and light uptake each crop requires is crucial.

This is more or less a hybrid where the system will also have personels to monitor and care for the plants as well as camera monitoring.

Today, vertical farms are common in Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States. Perhaps this approach will finally enable the world's human population to become truly self-sufficient and free it from the whims of nature (http://www.verticalfarm.com/?p... ).

With the ability to control the lighting, moisture levels and nutrients for each type of crop by using computers, plants grow much faster in a vertical farm. Plus, vertical farms don’t require pesticides, since they are contained indoors and are high up off the ground where many insects thrive.

A Swedish company called Plantagon is working on one right now. The $40 million World Food Building, in Sweden, is set to open this year. The company calls this process “agritechture” or       ” plantscraper”.

Using the power of AI, companies such as Belgium’s Urban Crop Solutions are creating climate-controlled vertical farms up to 24 levels high. Farmers can grow anywhere from 75,000 to 91.5 million crops per year indoors.

The company also sells indoor vertical farming kits for 12 m (40 ft.) shipping containers. These kits offer four to six levels, which can grow up to 54,000 crops per year.
In China, entire districts are devoted to agriculture and vertical farming. With a rapidly growing population, less and less land has become available, and pollution is a big problem for traditional farms. In this case, growing vertically has become a necessity (https://whatifshow.com/what-if... ).

This solution is to address:

Food shortage in the near future, food miles, reduce carbon emission, pricing stability, job creation, crop vandalism, product availability all-year round and waste recycling.

In order to achieve this, vertifarms will roll-out first by starting in 40ft container units with an average staff of 2 per container. This will enable mobility of the farm, low maintenance, limit the level of technology involved and enable staff to supervise crops closely. This is the first phase.

Projecting to larger structure will then be a milestone to be achieved in the next few months after roll-out of the first phase. This is where drone monitoring, larger light control, humidity, temperature and air flow will be monitored using computer aids while not forgetting manual labor. This is the second phase.

Under the assumption of availability of materials, Vertifarms will work to achieve the desire need to provide employment, eco-space, technological advancement, training and retraining of staff. Add on, vertifarms will not forget the mandate of food security and quality it proffers to the populations awaiting its emergence.

At the moment vertifarms solution has served none in Plateau State, Nigeria. This is so because the project is at a concept phase. 

But by the first year, vertifarms plans to achieve the following milestones:

Space procurement
Building of external structures
Purchase and placement of internal structural module
Employment and training of staff
And running of first test 
By the second year, vertifarms hope bringing to Jos-North - projected 572,700, consumable pesticide-free crops and to the dining of the 407,900 population comprising of Jos- South of plateau state by third year of operation. 

Fifth year will comprise of efforts to roll out to the Plateau environs and neighboring states who are willing to embrace the new trend in farming.  It will also be a time to break-even.

Our Vision is to become one of the top vertical farm brands not just in the Plateau State, Nigeria but also in West Africa.

Our mission is to go into full – time cultivation of vegetables, and fruits that will not only be consumed in the Plateau State, Nigeria but also exported to other parts of West Africa.

We want our farm produce to flood the nooks and crannies of the Nigeria and other countries of the African continent. 

Having greater output from a small cultivation area is not the only advantage of vertical farming and since it is human and environmentally friendly: Indoor vertical farming can significantly lessen the occupational hazards associated with traditional farming.

Farmers are not exposed to hazards related to heavy farming equipment, diseases like malaria, poisonous chemicals and so on. As it does not disturb animals and trees inland areas, it is good for biodiversity as well.

While providing for the masses, transmission rates of numerous infectious disease agents- fever, influenza, trypanosomiasis, hookworm, salmonella typhi, dengue fever and malaria will reduce. This modern agriculture will not employ chemical products which pose significant health risk to the population. 

This will not produce massive loss to top soil, while excluding the possibility for a long-term carbon sequestration in the form of trees and other permanent wood plants. 
We also hope to achieve all-year round crop production.

For the population, vertifarms hopes to achieve the above goals within the second year and the next five years of operation.

Vertifarms would get it right from beginning with the help of a concise SWOT analysis and this will lead to the success in creating the foundation to help build a standard vertical farm that will favourably compete with emerging entrants on the horizon.

Strength:
All Year-round crop production.
Eliminates agricultural runoff.
Significantly reduces use of fossil fuels (farm machines and transport of crops)
Makes use of abandoned or unused properties.
No weather-related crop failures.
Offers the possibility of sustainability for urban centers.

Weakness:
One weakness to affect us is the fact that vertical farming technologies face economic challenges with large start-up costs compared to traditional farms.

Another will not be that we are the only available vertical farm in Nigeria, but the fact that where farmers will find it hard to improvise and adapt to this new method of farming system, consumers will question how safe it is patronizing our consumables. 

Opportunities:
The opportunities available to us are unlimited. One is that vertical farms attempt to produce food in challenging environments- where arable land is rare. Having greater output from a small cultivation area is also another advantage – producing more crops from the same square footage of growing area.

Threat:
One of the threats we will face is the fact that vertical farms face large energy demands due to the use of supplementary light like LEDs. Moreover, if non-renewable energy is used to meet these energy demands, vertical farms could produce more pollution than traditional farms or greenhouses.

The barrier to the economic challenges is the reason why vertifarms is seeking 1.5 Million USD to start-up. This start-up will be used for;

- Infra-structure 
- Staffing
- Power (renewable energy)
- Farm inputs
- Electronic modules
- And land

For the farmers and aspiring consumers, programs, including mobile application will be created to enable distant training, marketing of products, consultations, and readily available quick facts for their perusal.it will also enlighten the prospective clients on the health and safety benefit of patronizing our products.

Physical sensitization will also be introduced to the clients nearest to the hub as it will serve as seed for other prospective clients or people who are yet to know the benefits of what we will provide.

8

Mr. and Mrs. Itigbri Ogaga Jesse, CEO and director (respectively)

PhD. HSE, Certified Strategic Manager, Project Mgt, with certificate as Agricultural Entrepreneur. Will; 
• Assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction.
• Responsible for signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Vertical Farm Manager
• Responsible for the planning, management and coordinating all farm activities across the various sections on behalf of the company
• Responsible for carrying out risk assessment 
• Oversee the smooth running of the daily farming activities across the various farming sections.
Administrator/Accountant
• Using IT systems and software to keep track of people and growth progress of crops
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the company
• Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carrying out induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies

Crop Cultivation Manager/Supervisor
• Responsible for the cultivation of crops such as; fonio, eggplant, tomatoes, chilies and peas. 
• Handles plant transplant services
• Supervises other workers within the department
Processing and Packaging Plant Manager/Supervisor
• Responsible for managing the fruits and vegetable processing and packaging plant section of the business
• Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new markets for our agriculture produce, processed food, new partners, and business opportunities within the industry.
Front Desk/Customer’s Service Officer.

At the moment, vertifarms have no partners but have already laid plans for;
Agricultural Services and Training Center (ASTC) Plateau State, Nigeria for seedlings and seed tests, and green house training and maintenance.
National Veterinary and Research Institute (NVRI), Plateau State, Nigeria. 
They will be partnered with for laboratory test results. And by partnering with them and other institutes in the horizon, Vertifarms will ensure the progress of its mandate to fruition.