London Inc. Summer 2022 - 10

Upfront Agriculture
FARMING UP THE CITY
Nestled aside the attractions and eateries at 100 Kellogg Lane, an ag-tech
operation is out to prove the viability of vertical farming
THE 100 KELLOGG Lane complex has certainly done a lot
to establish itself as Canada's largest entertainment complex
- there are restaurants, a brewery, distillery, retailers,
attractions and (soon) a spiffy new Hard Rock Hotel.
But deep in the heart of the former cereal plant, the facility
is harkening back to its agro-industrial past as it has quietly
become home to one of Canada's largest vertical farming
operations. And perhaps not a moment too soon, as food prices
grow more volatile, and global supply chains more fragile, by
the day.
The tenant, Farmia Agritech (www.farmia.ca), has taken
up residence in the former storage area of the complex,
transforming it with up to 11 levels of largely automated,
hydroponic vertical farming infrastructure, with leafy greens
fanning out of futuristic growing towers.
" It's been growing at a phenomenal rate, " says Mohammed
Zayed, co-founder and COO of Farmia. " We started this
project in December 2020, after seeing the effects of Covid
- the catalyst that allowed us to finally push this project into
fruition. "
But if you ask Zayed, Farmia is no mere produce grower, but
10|londonincmagazine.ca|SUMMER 2022
Farmia Agritech co-founder and COO Mohammed Zayed
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a large-scale demonstration of the viability of new modes of
agricultural production. " We're technically a food security
company, " he says. " We're not a produce company - we
provide solutions to problems. "
Standard-issue tech lingo, but what does it all mean? Applied
to food production, it's actually an important distinction.
Farmia sees its product not as the produce their operation
outputs, but the technological solutions that make it possible.
And that matters quite a bit for how it could fit in the wider
Canadian agricultural conversation.
The availability of fresh fruit and vegetables has declined in
Canada over the past decade. We're feeding more people with
less farmland and declining soil health (and importing labour
to do it). The pandemic, meanwhile, has caused persistent
disruptions in the global supply chain and exaggerated the
negative effects of food insecurity.
From Zayed's perspective, it's ripe turf for new modes of
agricultural production. Vertical operations like Farmia,
with low labour inputs, represent one potential answer, one
http://www.farmia.ca
London Inc. Summer 2022

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