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Japanese engineering and electronics giant Toshiba is getting into the agriculture business by converting one of its disused factories into a farm.
A former electronics and lighting factory in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, is being converted into a “plant factory” that will produce lettuce, greens, spinach, mizuna and other vegetables in a clean room environment.
Toshiba, better known for its flat panel TVs than its cucumbers, expects to sell 300 million yen's worth (about £1.8 million) of salad and veg annually after the factory opens later this year.
The plant factory will use systems similar to those the company uses to produce semiconductors to grow plants in a “close to sterile” and “almost germ-free” environment. The factory will feature closed growing systems that use fluorescent lighting optimised to promote vegetable growth. An air-conditioning system will maintain consistent temperature and humidity inside the factory, while remote monitoring systems will track plant growth. All packaging materials and systems will also be sterilised.
The company said: “Minimizing the entry of germs and the damage that they can do considerably extends the freshness and shelf-life of vegetables, a major concern for retailers of cut vegetables and salads. We plan to meet market needs by offering functional vegetables rich in polyphenols and vitamin C, achieved by careful control of the growth environment.”
The company is also considering building a large-scale plant factory outside of Japan, and plans to start selling the equipment for plant factory applications this year.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, there are 211 plant factories in Japan producing crops such as lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and strawberries in controlled environments.
Industrial scale plant factories are also increasingly being used in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors to grow ingredients for beauty products and drugs.