Smart farm may hold solutions for North

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This article was published 10/07/2021 (1689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A five year-old indoor, high tech smart farm at Opaskwayak Cree Nation could hold the key not only to better access to affordable, high-quality fruit and vegetables in Northern Manitoba, but it could also help address the diabetes epidemic in the region.

This week a researcher at the University of Manitoba received about $1 million from a federal government program on smart cities to train and conduct research for six years on the potential health benefits that could come from the consumption of super vegetables in the region.

Dr. Miyoung Suh, a professor in the department of food and human nutritional sciences in the faculty of agricultural and food sciences at the U of M said she is very hopeful that the project can have some lasting impact.

“There is food security issues leading to nutrition insecurity leading to health insecurity in the North, “ she said. “It is a vicious cycle.”

Suh said about 47 per cent of the adult population of OCN have Type 2 diabetes.

Others believe it is higher — in the 60 per cent range.

Suh said her project will include training both the workers at the smart farm and others in both growing different types of vegetables and enhancing them through different levels of light and nutrients to enrich their nutritional components. The project will also include input from clinical dietitians to come up with ways to integrate the super vegetables into the diets of OCN and Northern residents who may not be immediately predisposed to consume the healthier produce.

“We won’t change things overnight but over time if people can see evidence of health benefits, that will play a role,” she said. “If it is successful at OCN other communities can do smart vertical farming as well. That is my dream.”

Glen Ross, executive director of the OCN Health Authority, is hopeful both for the health outcomes of the project and also for the chance that additional attention on OCN’s smart farm might spur more growth and increased production.

“The equipment and technology is so good,” he said. “In the future these are the ways we are going to be growing all our produce.”

Ross said he has been anxious in the past that it was not producing even more than it was. As well, he said at first people had misgivings about the produce because of the high tech growing process. But that is no longer the case.

Stephanie Cook, the operations manager for the OCN smart farm, said in the first three years they distributed — free — about $1.3 million worth of produce in the community.

“We’ve tried about 75 different fruits, vegetable and herbs over the years,” she said. Leafy green vegetables have been the mainstay, but there’s been strawberries, melons and root vegetables grown over time in the 850-square-foot operation, with four six-metre-long rows with four layers of growth chambers.

She said there is talk of expansion, especially since the operation just received certification allowing production to be sold across the province and work is being done to be certified for cross country distribution.

The additional attention to the project may spur more action. Many believe the technology, originally developed by a South Korean company, is very well suited for Northern Manitoba communities.

“Some people believe health issues like diabetes in Northern Manitoba all stem from nutrition and food,” Suh said. “Hopefully we can do something with the smart vertical farm to decrease the disease burden.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca