Strawberries, basil, but also tomatoes or peppers and melons. For the past fortnight, a new kind of urban farm has been born on the roofs of the Market of national interest from Toulouse, the local Rungis. By the beginning of July, the first harvest can take place. But unlike the market gardening areas that have sprung up in recent years on the roofs of buildings in the city center, at Fermes Ionaka, you don’t have to break your back to pick cucumbers and other herbs.
Here, there is no tray on the ground, but fifty columns 2 meters high, filled with several small baskets where the seeds grow thanks to aeroponics. Like hydroponics, the roots are not in the ground. But with this technique above ground, they are not immersed in water either. “The water rises in the columns, then comes back down in a shower on the roots of the plants. The droplets then fill up with oxygen and bring the nutrients,” explains Magalie Rosso, the founder of this young shoot who hopes to spread her concept of farms throughout the region.
Local production that takes up little space
After having spent ten years financing projects in the energy and environment sector, the young entrepreneur had the click during the confinement. “I grow plants at home using different techniques without being an agronomist. And during this period, I gave a lot of vegetables to city friends. I figured there had to be an easy and efficient way to bring fruits and vegetables back to town. To produce, while vegetating, which makes it possible to reduce the heat, one of the problems inherent in urban centres,” explains the young woman.
A proven technique that has many advantages. It takes up little space: the footprint of each column is 2 m2 and you can plant up to 36 plants per m2. They can then each produce 1 to 2 kg of seasonal vegetables per week. In her pilot farm, Magalie Rosso expects to harvest 40 to 50 kg per week, from July until the end of November.
A farm that she sees as the brick of a place. “I buy the seedlings from local producers, including Growdeal installed in parking lots at the MIN. In terms of outlets, I am also in contact with several restaurants in the MIN who will buy seasonal vegetables from me”, continues the manager, putting the green side of the project, the carbon footprint being more than limited. Especially since, thanks to a closed circuit, its 50 columns also consume 90% less water than conventional cultures and are islands of freshness.
Spread Ionaka Farms on rooftops
The creator of Ionaka Farms is already thinking about having these recycled plastic structures imported from the United States produced locally. With the challenge of making them in agro-composite material. In the meantime, with her first pilot farm, she wants to prove the reliability of her project to other structures to whom she would sell the turnkey concept. It is already in discussion with a training center for people with disabilities to install them on their site, which has a restaurant.
But this can also apply to promoters, social landlords and also schools. “It requires quite a bit of work, because there’s no need to weed, we don’t use phytosanitary products and we’re outside. We can complete the activity by doing educational workshops,” says Magalie Rosso, who hopes to grow her fruit and vegetable columns on the roofs of the Pink City.
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