This supermarket in Cairo is taking its produce aisle to the next level.
Namely, according to a video shared by Reuters, this supermarket has set up a hydroponic fridge inside their store.
This fridge currently grows various types of lettuce inside and makes sure everyone can get their hands on the freshest salad.
Installed and designed by the Egyptian company Schaduf, this hydroponic fridge uses 90% less water than the water needed for traditional lettuce farming.
The veggies are planted in a hydroponic no-soil system with water. This mini farm is supplemented with the necessary nutrients and fertilizers to thrive.
The Future of Farming: Freshest Salads Thanks to Hydroponic Fridges?
According to Malik Mohamed Tag El Din, the business development head of the company, this type of farming is known as hydroponic farming or farming without any use of soil.
The fridge doesn’t contain any soil for the growing of veggies because the entire process happens in water. He adds that the nutrients and fertilizers that the plant requires are inside the water, in a closed cycle.
Namely, the bottom of the fridges pumps out water which nourishes all of the plants inside. When a customer buys one of the plants, the plant is immediately replaced with another.
This type of farming is sustainable, says the company, due to its 90% reduced use of water than in traditional farming. Moreover, as the veggies don’t require any transport, the carbon footprint is low.
What Are Schaduf’s Plans for the Future of Farming?
The company hopes that its innovative and sustainable tech will expand in other stores as well.
Farming in front of customers helps decrease the costs of transportation, which is beneficial for everyone, according to the operations manager of the company, Moatassim Mostafa.
The produce is fresh without the need for any packaging which is often plastic and contributes to plastic pollution. Schaduf is a pioneer of sustainability in the middle east as of 2011.
They believe in showing social responsibility towards emerging problems like food sovereignty, food security, and the expansion of urban spaces at the expense of green space.
They provide solutions for sustainable and eco-friendly urban cities and offer services like urban farming, green roofs, green walls, and landscape design.
They want not just Cairo, but all Arabian cities to become sustainable.
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