Case Study # NXTLVL FARMS in New Manila

NXTLVL Farms is an indoor faming company based in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. The company aims to grow high

quality food in the city, closer to urban dwellers to reduce food miles. Unlike other companies NXTLVL Farms sets up their

hydroponic farm in a fully enclosed repurposed 40 feet container vans which the company calls Farm Box. These vans house

different green produce such as arugula, basil and kale. Hydroponic farming, specifically Nutrient Film Technique, is the system

that the company uses, NFT is a system where the plants are placed in channels where their roots are allowed to touch very

shallow moving water that is recirculated around the system. The water contains all the required nutrients to keep the plants

healthy and growing.

The company use full spectrum of LED lights and according to Sandro Cruz, who is part of the Engineering team, NXTLVL farms

doesn’t use pesticides as well. The Farm Boxes are outfitted with hydroponic equipment and hardware, it is fully climatically

controlled so that it wouldn’t be infested by insects, and everything ranging from the water, the nutrients, the lights, the light

hours, the temperature, C02 and humidity, are also controlled. With this set up, and fully relying on technology, according to

Cruz, electricity is one of the company’s main costs in terms of operations expense, however being close to the city is an

advantage for the harvests can be delivered at the same day it was ordered, it is more fresh and the quality is much better, and

since the quality is higher, it can be charged with a higher price.

With years of service NXTLVL farms have been supplying green produce to different high-end restaurants and supermarkets.

NXTLVL is currently working on new designs for their boxes, as well as improving their hydroponics system and looking into the

possibility of growing more types of crops such as mushrooms, strawberries, and tomatoes. As they expand their farm, they

plan to grow one crop per box. There are also plans to set up FarmBoxes in other parts of the country.
Source: maps.google.com
Source:

https://www.nxtlvlfarms.xyz/

https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2020/01/29/millennial-led-hydroponic-farm-grows-vegetables-right-in-the-middle-of-new-

manila/

SWOT

STRENGTH

 It is located in a highly urbanized area which makes it close to its target consumers.

 The farm is surrounded by minor roads which makes it easier to access.

WEAKNESS

 The site is not directly along the major arterial road but still have access through minor road, Levitown Ave. and

Wales St.

OPPORTUNITIES

 The farm is surrounded by different restaurants where it can possibly cater its services.

 The company is located in an urban area, and with its flexibility, the Farm Box can be easily transported to any

location.

THREATS

 Since police stations are quite far from the site, the response for possible crimes or accidents within the site can be

slow.
https://modernfarmer.com/2018/07/how-does-aeroponics-work/#:~:text=Aeroponic%20systems%20nourish%20plants

%20with%20nothing%20more%20than%20nutrient%2Dladen%20mist.&text=In%20aeroponics%20systems%2C%20seeds

%20are,place%20as%20the%20plants%20grow.

https://www.igrow.news/igrownews/how-does-aeroponics-work-a-beginners-guide

https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/aeroponics-equipment.html

http://www.hydroponicsequipment.co/aeroponics/

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2019/hydroponics-the-power-of-water-to-grow-food/
HOW HYDROPONICS WORK

Hydroponic systems today are very sophisticated; there are systems that will monitor the level of nutrients pH, and

temperature of the water, and even the amount of light the plants are receiving. There are three main types of hydroponic

systems: Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Ebb and Flow System and Wick System, with NFT being the most used system by farm

companies.

The three most common techniques for hydroponic farming. In all approaches, water is fortified with a nutrient solution and

is stored in a nutrient reservoir. The water is then actively pumped to the grow tray (panels A and B) or it is passively passed to

the grow tray (panel C) through a wick. The plant roots grow thicker than those of plants grown in soil, which allow them to

uptake nutrients more effectively.

The water used is greatly conserved due to the nutrient reservoir because the same water can be reused over and over.

Source: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2019/hydroponics-the-power-of-water-to-grow-food/
HOW AEROPONICS WORK

Aeroponics is another type of hydroponic farming. The plant roots are not exposed to water directly as they would be in a

hydroponic system. There is also no growing media used. Instead, the plants in an aeroponic system will typically be held in

place with foam rings. The rings are wedged into a perforated panel. Above the panel, the plant is exposed to light and circulating

air. 

Below, the roots are exposed to an aeroponic mist like environment (see diagram above).

Source: https://www.igrow.news/igrownews/how-does-aeroponics-work-a-beginners-guide
 source:

https://modernfarmer.com/2018/07/how-does-aeroponics-work/#:~:text=Aeroponic%20systems%20nourish%20plants%20with

%20nothing%20more%20than%20nutrient%2Dladen%20mist.&text=In%20aeroponics%20systems%2C%20seeds%20are,place

%20as%20the%20plants%20grow

For DIY NFT SYSTEM (see link)

http://hydroponicpassion.blogspot.com/2013/12/diy-nft-system.html#more

For HYDROPONICS GROWING EQUIPMENT (see link)

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hydroponics-Growing-Equipment-in-Agriculture_62079240713.html?

spm=a2700.7724857.0.0.6c2b3240iD6qeq&s=p&fullFirstScreen=true
EQUIPMENTS USED IN VERTICAL FARMING

Vertical led grow light 80w full spectrum grow led light 660nm 730nm UV farming hydroponic Samsung lm301h horticulture

light

This Sennov 120 led grow light bar truly offers a sunlike full spectrum grow light. It contains all wavelengths of light from

380nm to 660nm, delivers more highly-uniform light needed by plants than those single red and blue spectrum led plant light.

The prior lighting solution for commercial growers and home hobbyists.

See link for full details: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Vertical-Farming-Vertical-Led-Grow-

Light_1600154061718.html?spm=a2700.7724857.0.0.2ba864c6jg2Clu&s=p
cooling and heating equipment, temperature controlling facilities, such as draught fan, cooling pad, hot blast stove, hot water

boiler, finned tube, warm-air unit, electric warm-air blower and ventilation window 

Good Greens and Co. (Taguig)

 Arugula

 Basil

 Pechay,

 Butterhead and iceberg lettuce

 Chili

 Coriander

 Spinach

 Kale

 Cabbage

NxtLVL Farms (Paranaque)

 Dinosaur Kale

 Genovese Basil

 Roquette Arugula

An Italian chef once told the farmers that their arugula reminds him of the arugula back in his native Italy.

Urban Greens (Makati) – they partner up with NGO’s and school feeding programs in the slums of Metro Manila.

 Pesto

 Thai Basil

 Sweet Basil

 Arugula
Seeds:

https://alliedbotanical.com/

The three major operational expenses in a vertical farm are the electricity cost with 25-30% of the total cost, the operational costs

(OPEX) with 27% of the total cost and capital expenditures (CAPEX) with 18-20% of the total cost.

There are multiple examples of vertical farms that are operating under smart grid systems that generate energy for the demands of

the farm via wind turbines or solar panels or even geothermal energy.

WASTE MANAGEMENT – anaerobic digestion

Indoor vertical farms have the advantage that allows them to generate bio-waste as bio-product during the process of

edible biomass production. According to the cultivation system that plants grow in (hydroponic, aeroponic or aquaponic), the

opportunity to farmers to collect easily all the by-products after the harvest period such as leaves, roots with fibers, stems, or even

damaged vegetable and fruits and use it as well waste is offered. Based on Adenaeuer (2014), the bio-waste that is collected and

used in indoor vertical farms can be 2443 metric tons per year and with daily plant wastes that are collected for the indoor farms

of roughly 8.11 tons. Since indoor vertical farms use advanced close loop systems, present also the possibility to convert the daily

amounts of biowaste and after careful processing to useful resources material for the crop as liquid fertilizer or biofuel (Nikas et

al., 2018). There are several cases of installation of indoor vertical farms that have designed specific lines of biowaste

management in their production line that only serve this specific purpose.

It should be stressed that indoor vertical farms have the option to implement high tech equipment for conversion of food

waste into energy production via anaerobic digestion. More specifically, this technology is a biogas recovery system that

captures methane from food waste and convert it to heat, steam and electricity to meet the energy demands of the farm.

This process requires a close-loop system, which creates biogas from organic material by piping it into the turbine generator. The

electricity that is finally produced meets the high-energy demand of indoor vertical farms such as the operation of the lamps.

Anaerobic digestions is also compatible with aquaponic systems by receiving the organic waste of both fish and plants to produce

electricity (AgSTAR, 2020, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017).

The philosophy of indoor farming depends on monitoring and constant controlling of the crops as also of all the resources that

come in and out from the farm and they are isolated from Mother Nature where many threats and contamination sources may

appear. For this reason, indoor farmers suggest that their products do not need to be washed before consumption, as they are

already clean by a protected and purified growing process and a quick delivery to local grocery stores.

PROCESS

Plants that grow in soilless systems can travel along their production process giving the opportunity to be inspected for health

status. For example, after sowings, seeds are moved to germination rooms with high humidity that boosts their sprouting. Then,

seedling is moved to propagation room with controlled climatic conditions that promote their development. Next, young plants

usually located in the main part of the cultivated room in floating rafts, receiving a nutrient-rich water. After finishing their

development and reaching their mature stage, they are daily harvested and shipped. Between every translocation of plants, there

is intensive quality check to prevent crops' contamination.