Herbs and barramundi - the perfect complement for urban farming technology

In the year 2000, Urban Ecological Systems Australia (UESA) co-founder Hogan Gleeson met Commercialisation Australia Case Manager John Grew at a social function in Sydney. Gleeson and his co-founder, Andrew Bodlovich, had developed a patented, low-energy, sustainable, organic food production system whereby they grew herbs and barramundi simultaneously, with no effluent.

That first meeting led UESA to a successful $1.9m Early Stage Commercialisation grant which has seen the concept grow into a $5m integrated glasshouse and aquaculture polyculture system. Commercialisation Australia supported the R&D facility scale-up and technology optimisation at a greenfield site near Narellan, NSW, close to the key fresh food market of Sydney.

UESA co-founder Andrew Bodlovich.

The glasshouse, located on a 7 ha block at Cobbitty owned by the University of Sydney, links beds of herbs by a complex system of pipes to water tanks containing barramundi. As the barramundi grow, their waste is biologically transformed into safe plant nutrients and then used to feed parsley, basil and coriander. The only way that water leaves the system is through evaporation from the plants.

“We are marrying biology and technology to replicate what occurs naturally in nature,” said UESA Chairman Adam Steel.

Said to be the first of its size and scale in the world, the system is forecast to produce more than 10 times more organically certifiable food than traditional field horticulture. Because it produces no effluent, it is suited to urban and suburban environments - areas where farmland is at a premium.

The company has now won a five-year organic produce supply agreement with Coles. UESA will sell the herbs and barramundi through its marketing partner, Edison, to Coles each week. Coles Fresh General Manager Greg Davis said Coles was delighted to support such an innovative and sustainable producer as “UESA takes sustainable horticulture to a whole new level”.

“By safely treating and re-using the fish waste, there is zero effluent and the farm can coexist comfortably in a residential setting,” he said.

Edison Director Ben Meadows explained how the deal with Coles was formed, saying, “We introduced UESA to Coles and negotiated an agreement that gave us a fixed price.

“When you deal with a central market system, you send it in and hope you can get the right return. Coles gave us certainty; a five-year tenure and something we could bank on when we reached a commercial scale.

“From where we are now, we will scale up tenfold with Coles’ support.”

Steel notes that this is “the first time in Australia that herbs and barramundi are being produced together in a sustainable and commercially viable operation that we hope will soon be certified organic”. He estimates 90% of the company’s income will come from herbs sold to Coles, with the barramundi accounting for 10%.

Once the system is at optimum production, the company will be producing 129,000 plants every 28 days and the equivalent of 15,000 to 20,000 kg of barramundi a year. In the future, the company aims to be carbon neutral, with Bodlovich saying “If we can achieve that with food, it will be an excellent outcome.”

UESA is currently looking at several renewable energy solutions, including solar energy for heating and lighting in the glasshouse. To replace chemicals, the company already uses beneficial insects - such as parasitic wasps, predatory mites and lady bugs - to control harmful pests.

As part of UESA’s lease arrangement with the University of Sydney, the company has a research agreement which allows academic research to be undertaken at the site. Bodlovich said the company is working with the university “to produce a sustainable option by converting household food waste into insect larvae ... then processed into fish food”.

Bodlovich acknowledged the support of case manager John Grew, who was heavily involved as both a technology and strategic business mentor for the project scale-up.

“In addition, independent advisors with expertise in energy management and auditing, professional service providers, as well as potential investors were accessed and introduced from the Commercialisation Australia and personal case manager networks,” he said.

“Most important was the monthly independent review of progress and issues as they inevitably arose on such a large and complex build as well as its subsequent commissioning.”

Meadows concluded, “This is world-first technology and now that Coles has given us the opportunity to prove ourselves, UESA will soon be able to export this technology to the world.”

For more information, go to www.urbanecologicalsystems.com.

Published courtesy of Commercialisation Australia. Original article published Value Proposition magazine, October 2013, pp 30-31.