The concept of circular food production is difficult in practice. With the development of Industry 4.0, the idea that a complete cycle from food production to food consumption can be achieved with the help of automation is proposed and piloted. Soil-based organic vegetable production required vegetables to be cultivated in soil and compost. This is a nature-based solution since compost can be produced from organic waste, agricultural waste, and post-consumption food waste. The process of composting, cultivating, and waste recycling are labor intensive and not easily done by individuals in an urban environment. At Raina Robofarm, the automation system is developed for handling small- to medium-sized sustainable vegetable production processes including composting, cultivating, and recycling of container, organic waste, and soil. We have demonstrated in our farm located in the Bangmod-Thungkru community within the Bangkok metropolitan area. Our model enables nature-based vegetable consumption and transforms the relationship between producers and consumers. People in the community can buy organic vegetables that come in the grow bag. They can choose to harvest the whole vegetable at one time or slowly consume it over a longer period of time. When the vegetable is consumed, the leftover grow bag can then be returned at the predefined pickup location. Customers will receive the credit refunds, and the grow bag and soil can be recycled using the automation system at the farm’s composting facility. This model completes the economic cycle of organic vegetable production and consumption efficiently enabled with the use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

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Circular Organic Food Production in Urban Environment Enabled by Automation at Raina Robofarm

  • Thavida Maneewarn,
  • Supaporn Lertsiri

摘要

The concept of circular food production is difficult in practice. With the development of Industry 4.0, the idea that a complete cycle from food production to food consumption can be achieved with the help of automation is proposed and piloted. Soil-based organic vegetable production required vegetables to be cultivated in soil and compost. This is a nature-based solution since compost can be produced from organic waste, agricultural waste, and post-consumption food waste. The process of composting, cultivating, and waste recycling are labor intensive and not easily done by individuals in an urban environment. At Raina Robofarm, the automation system is developed for handling small- to medium-sized sustainable vegetable production processes including composting, cultivating, and recycling of container, organic waste, and soil. We have demonstrated in our farm located in the Bangmod-Thungkru community within the Bangkok metropolitan area. Our model enables nature-based vegetable consumption and transforms the relationship between producers and consumers. People in the community can buy organic vegetables that come in the grow bag. They can choose to harvest the whole vegetable at one time or slowly consume it over a longer period of time. When the vegetable is consumed, the leftover grow bag can then be returned at the predefined pickup location. Customers will receive the credit refunds, and the grow bag and soil can be recycled using the automation system at the farm’s composting facility. This model completes the economic cycle of organic vegetable production and consumption efficiently enabled with the use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI).