Page 221 - Towards A Sustainable Future 2024

Eco-Solutions

Following a discussion between the ESI team and the V-plus
Agritech team, we prioritised the reduction of crop waste.
Our eco-solution involves the installation of sunshades
above the vertical planting towers, by utilising mesh netting
to obstruct harmful UV light. However, it is essential to
maintain a balance, as vegetables require a minimum of six
hours of sunlight for photosynthesis.

To address this, the team recommended implementing
a retractable pulley system (RPS) integrated with digital
sensors. This system operates with sensors that trigger
notifications to farmers via an application when temperatures
surpass a predetermined set point. Consequently, farmers
can manually open or close the sunshades as required,
thus ensuring optimal sunlight exposure to the crops while Figure 3: The aquaponics farm before installing the RPS.
mitigating UV damage.

Recorded data shows that the temperature at the farm area may exceed 34°C around noon (Figure 4). Drawing on the
experience of farmers, it has been determined that vegetables should not be subjected to temperatures exceeding 31°C.
Consequently, we set the temperature limit on the digital notification sensor to 31°C. .

Figure 4: Weather records before the RPS installation.

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