Locally Grown In

 

 

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests Majid Almasrouri, Jaibir Cheema, and Saleh Alshanfari – as they explore the local food system in Muscat, Oman.

In this episode, we interview Jaibir Cheema CEO, Teejan Podponics and Saleh Alshanfari the CEO, Oman food investment holding.

Muscat, the capital of Oman, is a port city also surrounded by mountains and deserts. Rainfall is Muscat is insufficient for growing crops. Water problems, along with overfarming, caused the government to establish the Ministry of Water Resources in 1990. The government's economic development policy emphasizes the expansion of non-oil sectors as an effort to diversify the economy and diminish its dependence on oil exports.

Have you listened to Episode 9 - Locally Grown In: New Delhi? If not, check it out first!

 

 

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests – Briana Zagami, Bharat Budhiraja, and Ambar Sinha– as they explore the local food system in New Delhi, India.

In this episode, we interview Bharat Budhiraja, who actually built the first vertical farm in India. Bharat is now working with farmers in the Himalayas in India (about 250 miles away from New Delhi) at an altitude of 7000 ft, cultivating Kale and selling fresh leaves as well as powdered Kale.

The second guest interviewed is Ambar Sinha who is creating India's first citizen incentives toolkit as a Fellow in the India Smart Cities Fellowship program. The government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission, under which they are developing 100 cities, with the aim to make them citizen-friendly and sustainable. Urban Agriculture is something that is not yet fully a part of their agenda, as access to potable water and safety are higher priorities.

In this episode, we learn more about this city of 25 million people and how urban agriculture has been incorporated into the government’s agenda. Our interviewees also share advice to entrepreneurs in India who are thinking about starting an urban farming business.

Have you listened to Episode 8 - Locally Grown In: Miami? If not, check it out first!

 

 

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Jeffrey Landau and guests – Briana Zagami, Lisa Merkle, and Art Friedrich – as they explore the local food system in Miami, Florida.

Miami, Florida, The Sunshine State, known for its groves of citrus, but how has the agriculture industry changed in the last decade? Tune in to this episode of Locally Grown In, and learn more about how the hospitality industry is helping to share opportunities for locally grown food. With some of the challenges the agriculture industry in South Florida faces around it’s growing conditions, controlled environment agriculture provides a viable solution for growing produce year-round.

In this episode, we meet with two entrepreneurs who are leading the local food movement in Miami through their work! Lisa Merkle of BoxGreens, a hydroponic farm growing fresh greens that are pesticide & herbicide free, non-GMO and packed with incredible taste and nutrition. Art Friedrich of Urban Oasis Project, an organization whose mission is to make healthy food accessible. They do this by educating the local community on how to create and maintain food gardens in underserved communities, and by connecting local farmer’s produce to consumers through their established farmer’s markets, that accept EBT and SNAP benefits.

Follow BoxGreens on Instagram

Follow Urban Oasis Project on Twitter, Instagram, and check out Art’s nutritional popcorn company, Greenthump Popcorn!

Have you listened to Episode 7 - Locally Grown In: New York City? If not, check it out first!

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests – Briana Zagami, Rob Laing, Anastasia Plakias, and Raymond Figueroa – as they explore the local food system in New York City.

Developing urban agriculture in New York City has the opportunity to reduce food transportation costs and the associated environmental impacts, provide economic opportunities, and improve public health. In this episode, we meet with two entrepreneurs who are utilizing unused space to grow food in New York City and are sharing their narratives with the public by hosting tours at their farms. Anastasia Plakias Co-Founder and COO of Brooklyn Grange, and Rob Laing CEO of Farm One, are helping to change the local food landscape in NYC.

We also interview Raymond Figueroa, who has been involved in countless efforts to increase access to fresh food in New York, especially in the South Bronx. He talks to us about the importance of community gardens and their co-benefits specifically to New York’s urban environment. He also tells us about how community gardens are empowering New York City’s youth.

Want to learn more about urban agriculture in New York City? Attend NYC AgTech Week (Sept 21-26), the only AgTech conference on the East coast run by the leaders of the industry themselves. The six day conference features exclusive farm tours, panels, workshops and presentations focused on the fast growing and innovative AgTech sector in NYC and the Eastern Seaboard, along with unprecedented access to industry Founders, Investors, CEO's, Startups and Thought Leaders through curated networking events and opportunities.

Attend Nyc agtech week

Have you listened to Episode 6 - Locally Grown In: Brussels? If not, check it out first!

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests – Jeffrey Landau, Nele Lauwers, Stefaan Kint, Alexandre Van Deun, Olivier Paulus, and Alexandre Lefebvre – as they explore the local food system in Brussels, Belgium.

Brussels is an ideal city for creating a regenerative agriculture system, being the political center of the European Union. This position in European politics and the physical position of Brussels to its surrounding farmland, gives Brussels a strong profile for urban agriculture initiatives.

While the demand for organic and local food products is rising in the city of Brussels, rural farming around the city is producing products using conventional farming methods and directed for the European and world market. How can food production in and around the city meet local demands? A network of both urban and rural farmers could learn from each other in order to accelerate a healthy, local food production that plays an important role in feeding the city of Brussels.

In this episode, we speak with Nele Lauwers, Stefaan Kint, and Alexandre Lefebvre and learn more about the ambitious targets set by the Good Food Strategy. The policy calls for a 30% reduction in food waste by 2020, 30% autonomy in fruit and veg by 2035, and a 30% increase in revenue from organic food.

We also hear from entrepreneurs, Olivier Paulus and Alexandre Van Deun, who founded Urban Harvest a vertical farm in Brussels that uses a minimum input to produce a maximum yield.

Have you listened to Episode 5 - Locally Grown In: Toronto? If not, check it out first!

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests – Yara Nagi, Lauren Baker, Christopher Wong, and Laura Headley – as they explore the local food system in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto is at an advantage over most cities grappling with food system resilience, because the City and Province have committed to addressing climate change resilience and already recognize food systems as a priority in resilience planning.

In this episode we talk with Lauren Baker about the policy put in place to meet Toronto’s goal to create “A resilient food system that provides all residents with adequate and equitable access to food within walking distance immediately after an extreme weather event.”

We also talk to Christopher Wong and Laura Headley about the challenges and opportunities urban agriculture entrepreneurs face and learn a bit more about current state of Toronto’s local food system.

Have you listened to Episode 4 - Locally Grown In: Atlanta? If not, check it out first!

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On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests – Jeffrey Landau and Maurice Small (see below) – as they explore the local food system in Atlanta, Georgia (GA), USA.

Georgia is home to 680 food processing companies and 50,000 farms: together these account for $26 billion USD in GDP.

For a city that faces challenges such as food insecurity, what are the economic opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to protect and increase local food production? In this episode we talk about the current state of Atlanta’s local food system with Maurice Small.

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests as they explore the local food system in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Did you know that Dubai has committed to building 12 vertical farms in the city by 2030, and at the same time reduce food waste by 50%? In fact, the entire UAE’s National Food Security Strategy is in the spotlight at the moment as the country aims to break into the top 10 in the Global Food Security Index by 2021.

In a country that imports 90% of its food and significantly lacks arable land, what are the economic opportunities for entrepreneurs in Dubai to help provide food security to the growing urban population? In this episode we’ll hear from interviews with local sustainability and farming pioneers at Agricool, The Sustainable City, and Badia Farms.

On this episode of Locally Grown In, join Henry Gordon-Smith and guests as they explore the local food system in Sydney, Australia.

Sydney is a major agricultural producer and AgTech provider, but local food is also under increasing threat from population growth and the city’s resulting expansion outwards onto fertile farmland.

For a city that faces challenges such as urban sprawl and a rapidly growing population, what are the economic opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to protect and increase local food production? In this episode we talk about the current state of Sydney’s local food system with University of New South Wales Research Fellow Dr. Luke Craven, and we also speak with farming entrepreneur Scott Gregory from Sprouting Good, an urban farming concept that grows food and helps homeless youth.

Have you listened to Episode 1: Introduction to LGI? If not, check it out first!

“Locally grown in” is a podcast on a mission to help entrepreneurs growing food locally. Every episode we will explore local agriculture in a different city by looking at existing data and interviewing leaders in that city’s local food movement. Our goal is to help you identify the economic opportunity in growing fresh local food around the world.