Malaysia: Greens fresh from a mall’s rooftop
Emil said they chose the mall’s rooftop for their vegetable garden because the shopping centre was strategically located and thus it was easier for urbanites to get a supply of fresh vegetables and experience the garden environment.
Excerpt:
Entrepreneur Emil Jihad, who used to live in New York, is offering people the second option with his organic farming, with vegetables that are pesticide-free.
His smart greenhouse cultivation uses an aquaponic system (a combination of fish and vegetable farming) on ??the rooftop of the 1 Utama shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, over an area of ??about 7,000 sq feet.
Customers can self-pick the produce from the vegetable garden called Fresh Growcer.
Emil, 32, told Bernama that since he and partner Tony Yong, 52, began this venture in March, they practised the concept of sustainable agriculture to produce crops that are safer to consume.
He said the use of pesticides in vegetable cultivation is feared to be harmful to health and that although many vegetables sold in the market are said to be free of pesticides, there are doubts.
“Our customers can see for themselves that the water system used for crops is shared with fish farms and the fish waste provides a natural source of organic food for vegetables,” he said, adding that the greenhouse also uses 100% sunlight, and the mall’s exhaust fans for ventilation.
